Vikings Game

Jenna and I went to the Vikings game yesterday with Brent and Karna. We got our grandparents season tickets, so we were close to the action. It was really fun and actually a good game to watch. Lot’s of ups and downs and sloppy football made for an interesting game. Plus the Vikings were able to beat Denny Green and the Cardinals despite them scoring off the kickoff 16 seconds into the game. I was that guy who took my camera, so I snapped a few photos. It gives you a picture of how close we are. (Row 4) All in all it was a good time.

The good life

Jenna and I are heading down to Omaha Nebraska this afternoon so that we can celebrate the blessed union between Ben & Piper. I am excited for this wedding and a chance to celebrate with Ben, who is one of the greatest guys I know! I had the opportunity to work with Him as well as lived with him for 2 years, and was constantly encouraged and challenged to live out this journey that we are on with passion and excitement. Ben is one of the most “real” people I know and I am honored to know him and call him a friend. Piper is amazing too, but i don;t have as many comments since we didn’t live together.

The wedding is in Omaha, otherwise known as “the good life”, as well as “home of arbor day” and to some it is considered to be Heaven on earth or the modern day Eden. You may or may not be picking up on my sarcasm, but I will have you know that I have nothing against Omaha. But after hearing about how sweet it is for 6 years or more from various O-towners, (they call it O-Town…i know…it’s lame) and having been there myself several times, I am still trying to figure out why it is so sweet. There is nothing wrong with it. It is just fine, but there is certainly nothing to write home about. Probably the best thing to come out of Omaha is Rilo kiley, or Bright Eyes or perhaps Brian Kurbis’s Beard. All of which are amazing, but I doubt they are going to put Omaha on the map so to speak.

Anyways, I am excited to go with exception of having to embark on one of the most boring drives I know of. I am hoping to not have to stop at all! not even for gas. Which is easily possible since I can get about 600 miles on a tank pretty easily in the Jetta TDI! It’s a beautiful thing. it will be fun to see friends and most of all celebrate the life of Ben and Piper. I gotta go pack.

Damien Rice does it again

Damien Rice released his cd “9″ yesterday in the US and let me tell you….there is nothing disappointing about it. Which considering How amazing his last cd was, set himself up for at least a little disappointment. It is filled with emotion, poetic lyrics, haunting melodies, and beautiful arrangements. He is not the best singer in the world and the recordings are never super “shiny” and polished sounding, but his songwriting is second to none and the energy and emotion he puts into his music is unfortunately a bit rare these days. If you have listened to Damien much, you know that he doesn’t hold back when trying to express himself. This sometimes comes out in the form of profanity, so those of you that are easily offended by an occasional swear word may want to skip #4. If not, It is a really good song, but beware. For those of you in the Minneapolis Area, he is coming to the orpheum on the 20th of Dec. Jenna and I are going and so should you!

Westwood Retreat

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak at Westwood’s Sr. High fall retreat. It was a fun time for many reasons. For one, it was at Covenant Pines which is very near to my heart as I attended that camp all throughout my childhood and even worked there for a summer, which was a blast. It was through Covenant pines that Jenna and I met, so I guess I owe it to the pines for hooking me up with the Love of my live! Also, because I used to work at Westwood, i know a good # of the students that were along for the weekend. It was fun to see familiar faces and catch up on some of their lives. It was also great to see the leaders that I have known for quite some time now. These are the people that I admire and look up to because of their dedication and hard work that they put into this ministry week after week. Especially now since Al Norby took another Job and they have been without a sr high pastor for about 6 months now. Tom Anderson is one of them and has written some thoughts about the weekend on his blog “A Chronicle” It was a fun weekend as well because Jenna was able to come and it allowed us to spend some time together away from the normal things of life. Plus the weather was AMAZING! All in all, it was a great time.