Friday, September 20, 2013

Mariners Worship Fall Album

Literally two weeks ago our team had the idea to record the new songs we plan to introduce at Mariners Church Irvine this Fall. We thought it would be fun as part of Fall Kick-Off to invite our church to participate in a unique way. A few us gathered in the studio last Friday to record what is now a very fun EP for our church. 

We're really excited about--and proud of--this album. You can listen to and download the five-song EP here.

Monday, September 16, 2013

A Short List of Things I Would Consider To Be My Love Language(s):

1. Paper Chains
2. Beards {embarrassing amounts of proof found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
3. Striped Sweaters
4. Pumpkins
5. "Saw this and thought of you" presents

Monday, September 09, 2013

What Good Is Living The Life You've Been Given If All You Do Is Stand In One Place

While uploading the photos from my adventure at the Rose Bowl Flea Market yesterday {crossing items off of my 35 by 35 right and left!} I realized how many fun pictures are on my phone from this last week. 

I hope you don't mind that I do a quick run through--with photos--to remind myself of how much laughter and learning has been wrapped up in the last 10 days. (If you follow me on instagram {which most of my six readers do} you've already seen a few of these photos--my apologies.)

baptismal pool parties and park bbqs,
dance parties and fully-clothed pool jumping
{a costa mesan friday night}



a dunk tank on the lawn after saturday night service

delia and i ate our way through
night one of michelle's food tour:
cuban food, lavender americanos and coffee oreo ice cream 


 a night of worship with our friends from bethel church
{more on this soon}

a visit to the rose bowl flea market
{more on this soon, too}

finished off the weekend with our sunday night service!
trevor and dallas are more excited than they seem

two of my favorite drummers:
ty and kev

about fourteen photos later we have a normal shot

also, we watched the third-to-last Dexter episode last night
and the second-to-last Newroom...
are you watching?
what do you think might happen?

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Abandonment Issues

I receive three to four emails from Fast Company each day, on the recommendation of my friend Stan. Stan has been a worship leader for a very long time, he is one of the most authentic and hilarious people around. It is an honor to work with him and learn from him at Mariners Church.

Stan often begins stories with the caveat, "If you've heard this one, don't stop me, I like telling it!"And so, obviously, he's one of the greats--and when he tells you to do something, you do it.

And, thus, I have begun to receive these daily Fast Company emails with articles on a variety of topics.

Last week, I opened this link and was eerily fascinated by these Dioramas of A Post-Apocalyptic World. I scrolled through the slideshow several times, each time feeling more and more unsettled--as if I were being pulled deeper in to the Twilight Zone. And yet, I couldn't look away; the details, the creativity--it's really captivating.



Yesterday, I received an email from another friend with a link to this article: Abandoned Amusement Parks: terrifying (and also kinda cool).



Which reminded me of this collection I had seen a few weeks ago: 30 of the Most Beautiful Abandoned Places and Modern Ruins. I may have added a few of these to my list of places to visit--though I would definitely have to make sure to visit in the daytime.



Each of these links are worth a bit of your time. Click through and check out the amazing (and super creepy) photos of sites to see. (Francesco Mugnai has a series called Abandoned Places, collections ranging from abandoned hotels to shipwrecks. They are hauntingly beautiful.)

Monday, September 02, 2013

In Praise of Marisha Pessl

I spent the majority of my Labor Day reading a novel by Marisha Pessl.

I recently posted about pre-ordering Pessl's newest book (Night Film) based on my love of her first novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics. As I began Night Film last week, I was terrified by the storyline. (For some reason I can watch an entire season of Dexter and sleep just fine, but reading one chapter in this book today made me hesitant to open the door for the Chinese Food Delivery Man.)

When I finished the novel this evening, I was, pleasantly, as impressed by Pessl as I was in 2007. Both of her novels are so captivating that you should plan to read the final 300 pages in one sitting. This girl knows how to write an impressive sentence.

Special Topics:
"She emphasized what few wanted to accept, that some people did win Trivial Pursuit: The Deity Looks Edition and there wasn't a thing you could do about it, except come to terms with the fact you'd only played Trivial Pursuit: John Doe Genes and come away with three pie pieces."

Night Film:
"I'd barely worn it out. Life has been a suit I'd only put on for special occasions. Most of the time I kept it in the back of my closet, forgetting it was there. We were meant to die when it was barely stitched anymore, when the elbows and knees were stained with grass and mud, shoulder pads uneven from people hugging you all the time, downpours and blistering sun, the fabric faded, buttons gone."

I sincerely hope she writes a third book.
For now, I'll settle for a fourth go-round of the Harry Potter heptalogy.