Men's Advance- the drive home

Men's Advance- the drive home
Originally uploaded by gkhamilton

Here is my first attempt at a mobile blog post from my cell phone. On the
way back from the Men's Advance weekend,our car stopped for a quick fool's
gold prospecting opportunity. No joke, check out Greg behind me. I chose to
upload one of those cheap looking, squinting into the sun pics that only
cell phones can take. I loved the retreat this weekend, but I can't wait to
get home!

Growing Up in a Van, DOWN BY THE RIVER!!

Some moms encourage their little ones to learn how to play piano or create art. Apparently Chris Farley's mom made him practice his Gap Girl character, in hopes that he would someday become an SNL cast member.

My First Ever Photo Post- IMG_9096.JPG

IMG_9096.JPG
Originally uploaded by gkhamilton

This blog post has the very first picture ever added to my blogspot page. I chose this photo as my first in honor of my friend Elaine. Elaine was excited to check out my new blog, but she was less than impressed when I told her about the plain, text-only layout.

This photo shows BJ (my former roommate), Elaine, and their boys hanging out in front of my Jeep. BJ was the guest preacher at our church that morning, and we went out to eat at Amigos' II afterwards. Doesn't my Jeep look great?

I have several past blog entries that are completed but have yet to be uploaded to blogspot. This explains why older posts will pop up occasionally, behind the newer posts. With my new Flickr account, I will try to include photos with many of those upcoming entries. If you would like to access my other non-public Flickr photos, please drop me a line so I can add you as a "friend."

Jeep Off-Roading

For Memorial Day, I tossed a few ministry students in my Jeep to go 4x4 driving at Brown's Camp. We made a caffeine stop at Starbucks and were served behind the counter by our gradutates Will and Bethany!
It rained just enough to make the trails a little muddy, but then the weather dried up. Despite the chilly and foggy air, the guys took the top off of the Jeep so we could climb the hills in style.
It's hard to tell from this shot, but the Jeep was parked at a fun angle on this one.
Before we headed for home, we watched some quads and dirt bikes jump a giant pile of gravel repeatedly. Good times.
After all was said and done, I drove the Jeep home with the same tires that we drove up with... which is more than I can say for our last trip. To look at other pictures from this trip, create a free Yahoo ID and I'll give you a pass to look at all my "private" pictures on Flickr, too.

Ten-Forty, Little Buddy

On March 14, my dozen year relationship with Kathy resulted in a decade long marriage. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary by surprising each other on Friday and Saturday. Then, on Sunday, I helped surprise my parents to honor their 40 year anniversary.

After work on Friday (our actual anniversary), I "kidnapped" Kathy and drove her to the Chart House, high up in the hills of Southwest Portland. Valet parking, mouthwatering seafood, and one of the best tableside views overlooking downtown Portland all helped to make the night special and unpredictable for Kathy. Tossing in a 14K, diamond-studded anniversary ring (in place of the tacky gift card that I had been teasing her with) alongside the Chocolate Lava Cake dessert also seemed like a nice touch.

*****

Kathy's anniversary surprise to me was a couple's full-body massage at Ruby's Spa at McMenamins' Edgefield in Troutdale on Saturday. We capped off the afternoon (hey, we're getting old now!) with a St. Patrick's Day dinner on the grounds, followed by enjoying some live Irish music.

*****

The third surprise celebration was on Sunday. My sister Girl (a.k.a. Summer) and I had been planning for a few months to have a 40^th anniversary party for my parents, Doug and Susan, unbeknownst to them. Girl came up with the initial idea (and did much of the leg work), and I helped her amp up the details.

Most of Sunday afternoon was spent finalizing the slide show. I cut it so close that I had to send my laptop ahead with Kathy while the DVD was completing the burning process. I drove to Vancouver and put my aforementioned kidnapping skills to use by herding my parents into the Jeep and driving to Warner Pacific College. WPC is where they first met. The Woodstock Church of God, where they married, is now a Korean church and was not available.

As my parents and I approached the door of Kardatzke Hall, I explained to them that Girl and I had made preparations for them to renew their marriage vows (we also had a plan B, respecting that this should be their decision to make). They excitedly accepted the offer, and I ushered them inside.

The people who yelled "Surprise!" included their original wedding party, as well as Pastor Hooker, who was the actual minister who performed their ceremony in 1968. At the conclusion of the slide show, everyone walked up the stairs from Kardatzke into Schlatter Chapel. With family and friends looking on, my parents renewed their vows.

The evening concluded downstairs, where we all enjoyed food, cake, a toast, and a time of sharing to commemorating my parents' commitment to each other. In 30 years, assuming that God plans to keep us living in this world, Kathy and I will be celebrating the same achievement.

The Dirty Second Hands

Springing forward for daylight savings time means losing an hour of the day. Lately, I haven't had any to spare. I haven't blogged since the beginning of January, and this hasn't been from a lack of motivation.

Aside from the 50-55 hours a week I put in at the office and in my company truck, I often spend my evenings and early mornings analyzing data for my telecommunications job. Being management (and salary, not hourly), I haven't taken a full weekend off yet this year. Occasionally, Kathy mans the laptop and helps me with some of the work that my former secretary, Kathi, performed before her contract ran out.

Ministry, my primary calling, gets done in my "spare time." I study and plan youth lessons/ activities at every chance I get, although students are often at our apartment to watch movies and hang out. That is, when I am not taking them hiking, Jeep off-roading, or to youth group functions.

The limited time I spend alone with Kathy is often fragmented. My dual cell phones (one for work and the other for personal life/ ministry) are always on, and my job requires me to regularly monitor my email accounts, invoicing system, and Instant Messaging communication. Teenagers text my cell phone throughout the day and night. Even my daily quiet time with the Lord is subject to interruptions.

Faith, a woman whom I've been consulting throughout my ministry credentialing process, seems alarmed by my hectic schedule. She says that I won't be able to maintain this pace for too much longer.

She may be right, but I'm not quite sure what to do about it. My time management skills have, for survival purposes, improved considerably during this period in my life. If only I had more time to manage…

Things Change for the Busier

During the Sunday morning service, I had the privilege of baptizing a guy named Steve. I met him for the first time at his apartment on Friday. After listening to his testimony and going over some Scriptures with him, I was convinced that his commitment to Christ was (and is) genuine. However, earlier in the week I was not expecting to do anything during the Sunday service other than sing on the praise team... let alone baptize someone. Things change.

My management position at a major telecommunications company brings many responsibilities, many of which help prepare me for leadership in ministry. Yet no job experience is fully adequate to equip a minister for the unexpected busyness that a Sunday morning can bring. Among the fun surprises:

• Expected: Singing on praise team as scheduled; Unexpected: Being asked on Saturday night to lead congregational worship the next morning (our worship leader was stranded in Reno); I was also scheduled to give announcements during the service
• Expected: Teaching Sunday school; Unexpected: Being called out during my Sunday school lesson for a meeting regarding the praise song setlist that Kathy and I had crafted the night before
• Expected: Baptizing Steve (well, we decided on Friday) immediately after leading the congregational singing; Unexpected: running up and down the church hallways searching for Steve, as the service chairperson was introducing the baptism
• Expected: Relaxing over coffee and donuts after the service with my church family; Unexpected: Leading a parent/ student meeting after the service regarding this summer's International Youth Convention (Kathy and I forgot about this one until that morning)
• Expected: Catching some of the NFL playoffs before making up comp time at work on Sunday afternoon; Unexpected: hauling two carloads of teenagers (gotta love 'em!) to our apartment for pizza and Fantastic Four before work

Of course, each of these changes for the busier brought about additional unexpected (and occasionally unflattering) public moments. But as Warner Pacific's Dr. John Johnson preached from the first chapter of Colossians, who we are in Christ should be our central focus.

Our response to unexpected busyness is affected less by what we think we can handle than it is by who we are. When we identify with Christ, we come to realize that His greatness eclipses our challenges. Life's mini crises are revealed to be just that: mini.

Epilogue: Pastor Ellie, who resigned as Senior Pastor last week, approached me after the service with some encouraging words. She told me that I deserved an "A" for the way that I handled Sunday morning. I'll give myself a pass.