Smokey the Tree

Well, I finally downloaded some photos off my camera and relised that
it'd been over a month since I wrote something on this blog... So much
for trying to be better about writing this stuff...

Anyway, here's a cool photo of a tree by the place I live that kept
bending further and further over the road. I took some pictures of it
when it was clear, but the pictures of it in the smoke turned out to be
much more impressive. At some point I figured I'd come tooling down the
road and see the tree lying there blocking my way, but I never saw it
fall. I'm guessing someone cut it for firewood or something...

Blindside lyrics...

I had a dream the other day that was really powerful... this song seems
to remind me of it every time I hear it... Maybe it will speak to you
too: (video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei8Rh_cxh4w ... not what
I thought about when I hear the song, but it will at least give you a
tune to follow for the lyrics...)

That boy is gone
Sometimes I miss the way he wept at night
To be still and not run
To be rocked to sleep in your light
These days there is not much that will bring tears to my eyes
But when I remember who I am and who you are
When I remember
A cloud moves in, rain falls, thunder strikes, and sunshine breaks
through the clouds

I am walking blind
So distracted that I don't even feel when you hold me
When did I grow such thick skin
You are my sunshine and rain
My joy and sweet pain
I'm a spotless stain
That boy is gone
But nobody moves me like you do
When I remember

A cloud moves in, rain falls, thunder strikes
And sunshine breaks through the clouds
I can cry out of sorrow and joy
Every drop of rain turns into a crystal in the sun
So wash my eyes, my clothes, my skin, my bones, my soul
My feet, my love
I'm not forgotten
I'm in your thoughts cause I feel sunshine in the rain

To this day nobody moves
Nobody
Nobody moves me like you do

On Top of Old Smoky!!!

Alas, no cheese.

It's a smoky day in Fairbanks. About eleven this morning the smoke got
pushed into town, and it's just stayed now for a few hours. Hopefully
the wind will blow it out of town soon, because, as you can see from the
rough stitch photo, visibility (and thus breath ability) is fairly
limited today. I guess this is another sure sign of summer in Fairbanks.

I didn't have a good summer photo from the hill on campus, so you'll
have to contend with this stitch of the Sunrise Service on April 12th of
this year. But, I think you can tell that it's not just fog that you're
seeing...

Alaskan Summer

Well, here we go...

I got stung by a bee/wasp/hymenoptera on Tuesday while working on
removing some saplings for a guy I know from church... I didn't think
much of it, other than "ouch". I took an antihistamine, but just one...
that was my downfall. When I woke up on Wednesday my hand nice an
puffy. Not at all what you want to see first thing in the morning. So,
it was double doses of antihistamine for a few days until it finally
caught up enough to get my hand back to normal Saturday night.

I also had an eye appointment on Friday morning where I found out that
my upper eyelid/contacts have been scratching away at my eye and it
needs to heal... a lot... so I can't wear my contacts for at least two
weeks, and I have to put in these strange eye drops every two hours...
(good thing my watch has a repeatable timer.... <beep> <beep> <beep>
<beep>... drop - drop... ahhhh...

Then Friday night I was brushing my teeth and flossing like a good
little boy should, when a tooth started hurting and bleeding around the
gums... AHHHhhhh... ouchy. So, I'll be making an appointment for the
dentist this coming week... Why is my 27 year old body falling apart on
me? Why?!?!

So, Saturday I had a little melt down trying to figure out what I was
going to do (about paying for all this stuff without insurance right
now... I was supposed to be in another country by now...) and realized I
hadn't read my Bible much (ok, at all) this week... Solution? I sat in
the warm afternoon sun (why get up any earlier on a weekend?) and read
for several hours... just enough to have a nice, if slightly pinkish
glow. No, I'm smart enough (I think) not to get burnt, but that would
have made a great story.

What did I learn? Well, I read about Moses being called to lead his
people out of Egypt... "Don't pick me... Me words no gewd... Not it!"
And just laughed because I know that He's picked a path for me, and it's
the one worth following in life.

So, even though I don't know how to fix anything, I know I don't need
to. And even though I'm in Alaska, and not PNG, there are still really
neat things to see and do.

This afternoon I went with the Youth Group from my church and we played
disc golf on Birch Hill... The first time in probably three years that
I've played. I'm proud to say that my team had the lowest score of the
lot, and everyone had a good afternoon.

Then while driving home, I saw two moose next to the road that let me
take their pictures. You know what? Alaska's an ok place to be.