The Parnells

Moving Day!!!!!

2011-08-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

I feel like the title of this post is really unfair to a lot of people because you maybe thought that Eric and I were announcing that we were moving again. Not true. I'm sorry I deceived you.

BUT...this blog is moving to it's new home here - thenotsonewlyweds.com. For those of you who have followed this blog faithfully over the years, thank you much! I do hope you'll make the move with me and continue to read along. I'm so looking forward to blogging more regularly and seeing what happens through it!

Lindsay

Frigid and absolutely lovely.

2011-02-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

We unexpectedly found ourselves with a whole day of no work, no church, no practice...

Nothing.
Beautiful, frozen nothing.
We're talking negative degrees frozen.

However, one of my new years resolutions was to take more pictures, so that's exactly what we did!

Anniversary Numero Tres!

2010-11-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

Oh love...it only gets better with time. Three amazing years, and a little trip to Santa Fe to celebrate!

On the hour long car ride to Buffalo Thunder Resort.

Our gorgeous hotel. It was absolutely beautiful!

There were three or four restaurants in our hotel, and once we got there we found a cute little one we liked. It was the yummiest grilled cheese I've ever had.

That night, we found a little sushi place that had live music. The waiter bought us dessert. How nice!

The next morning we set out to find a yummy little breakfast place.

It was awesome! If you ever go to Santa Fe eat at Counter Culture. It reminded me so much of Oregon.

We got a corner seat right by the fire.

The best lookin guy in the place : ).

Feeding the meter. I HATE paying for parking!

Eric chasing some pigeons.

Outside my favorite little store "Poem".

Shopping on the inside of my favorite little store.

It was windy, windy, windy!

Eric wants to shoot a movie right here, so we took a picture so we can find it again.

Mini photo shoot on this cool bridge we found.

More plaza-ness...

Getting ready for dinner.

The beautiful place we had dinner the second night.

Our hotel at night.

Last picture before we head out.

AMAZING food. AMAZING weekend. AMAZING three years of marriage.

All by Myself

2010-10-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

These days I'm finding I'm alone a lot.
I know it's just the timing of it all and that I'm not actually this hermit crab, loner of a girl but still, being alone is not always the most fun. Eric is on a 6 day shoot which means 15 hour days, and my job has morphed into me working bi-monthly which means I have this whole week off. Everyone else in my life has a job or goes to school or lives 1400 miles away...lame.
I came to Albuquerque with the sole intention of pursuing my dreams and partnering with Eric to pursue his. I'd say we've kept pretty busy. So finding myself with an ungodly amount of time on my hands has proved to be exhausting. I'm not very good at being by myself...
My default is to get freaked out...to not be okay with being by myself for fear that it means I'm a loser, or lazy, or that it looks like I'm those things to other people. For some funny reason, I felt like I needed to read a lot, or get in the car and go somewhere just to be somewhere. I'm a weirdo, I know, but I just haven't known what to do with myself.

But then...

On one of my "outings" I put my headphones in. I was at the noisy mall but could hear no outside noise, just the music in my ears. It was nice. I'm walking around and before I knew it, things changed. I went from being a little self-conscience, to me actually seeing the people around me. In those few moments, such clarity came and I was reminded of why I was here: It's not actually about me. None of it. Then with that thought came another. "Lindsay, you've been so caught up with everything else, that you've forgotten".
Once again with such clarity, I could see. I had taken my eyes off the prize. Him.

It's crazy how easy it is for me to get focused on stuff. Not bad or evil stuff, just the everyday, ordinary stuff. I forget about a God who is more than able and more than willing to not only meet every need, but to also exceed my every expectation. I get so caught up on all the other little temporary "prizes" like the paycheck, the gig, the movie shoot - in other words - the immediate and not the eternal. I forget that when I put all of my dreams and wants and worries on the back burner and make it all about Him, everything else will fall into place (Matthew 6:33). It's good to be reminded of that. It's necessary to be reminded of that.

Who knew?
Being alone enabled me to hear. To remember. It allowed me to get away from the routine, the "pursuit". I'm thankful for a week of lonely that has drawn me closer to His heart and breathed new breath on an old revelation.

Maybe all by myself isn't such a bad way to go : ).

P.S. It's the most perfect overcast day here. Fall has definitely been a long time coming! However, I believe that I have most definitely stumbled upon the perfect gloomy day playlist. Since it is absolute perfection I am obligated to share:
William Fitzsimmons
Gary Go
Luke Parker
The Edward Scissorhands soundtrack
Feist
Copeland (duh)
Coldplay (Parachutes)
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Ray LaMontagne
The Assassination of Jesse James soundtrack
Pat Metheny (Orchestrion)

You're welcome!

Momentum

2010-10-14T14:01:00.001-07:00

Man how that word has taken on new meaning. Well, maybe not so much new meaning as real meaning. I know that I've prayed for it to happen in the various youth groups that I've been privileged to be a part of. I also know what I thought it looked like. Let me tell you...I didn't really have a clue.

Momentum is taking place in our lives right now. It didn't happen overnight, nor did it happen to us. We have worked for it. We have paid a price. And we are beginning to see fruit. I never thought momentum would require faith. Oh but it does! 2010 was set aside as a year to pursue our dreams. Yes, I most definitely had preconceived notions of what that looked like. I had some expectations. (Some of them may or may not have included winning the dream home from HGTV in March of this year....which, for the record, we did not.) Let's just be honest people - pursuing your dreams is hard work. We've shed some tears (and by some I mean a ton!), we've been broke the majority of the time. We've been told no more than yes. Turns out, you have to fight for the call of God on your life! So now, ten months later, we are starting to see it take shape right before our eyes. And so, we have decided to stay in New Mexico a little while longer. We want to give this momentum, which is still in its infancy, a chance to grow. We want to allow the Lord to finish this amazing work that He has begun.

Eric has gotten on a project (this month actually) that will give him all of the union hours he needs. After that he will be eligible to FINALLY get into the union and start working on projects that he actually wants to be working on. In fact, for all you praying folks out there, Eric really wants to be a grip or electrician for "Breaking Bad"- an Emmy award winning show shot right here in Albuquerque. They start up in January and end in June (ish) which is perfect! So please pray!

As for me, Jayne and I are writing songs, saying yes to every single gig we are offered, and we've started recording an EP. It's so exciting and SO MUCH FUN! I would have never dreamed that 10 months in, this is where I would be. I am in absolute awe and a testimony that the Word of God never returns void. I moved here with His word that I was a songwriter and nothing really to show for it. Now Jayne and I have songs! I have written songs! Songs that I like! Songs that I would listen to! It's pretty amazing...God's pretty amazing.

To move back to Bend now would be just plain silly. Momentum is in the air! We do miss Oregon, though. We miss our friends and our family. But I know that when all this is said and done, it will all have been worth it.

Here's to momentum, and living the dream!

Long Lost Blogger

2010-07-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well, 7 going on 8 months is definitely too long to go without blogging...as my friend Christine so kindly reminded me last night... especially given the journey that Eric and I embarked on at the beginning of this year!

To be honest, I put this update off for so long because SO much has happened. Where do I even start?

Eric is absolutely thriving. It is such an incredible feeling to watch my husband do what he was created to do. He is so passionate about what he's doing and has found such favor in his classes and on all the projects he's worked on. I'm so so so proud of him. He's meeting the people he needs to meet and making connections left and right. It's an exciting season for him and we're believing that very soon, he'll be launched into his new career in the movie industry!

As for me...well I jumped into serving at our local church which turned out to be absolute life to me. I LOVE volunteering. I love doing things in the house of the Lord just because I want to! I sing in the choir some weeks, sing on a mic others, and play guitar some others. I help with an internship for high school students on Tuesdays, and am on youth staff...I just can't seem to stay away from young people! It's been a blast serving with our church family here in Albuquerque.

I worked full time as the office administrator at a place called Inteli-Care for about a month. I was having lots of fun being a working girl and spending the fruits of my labor, when a gigantic door of opportunity opened and I could not say no to it. I was asked to be a "stand in" for a pretty big actress in a pretty big budget movie filmed outside of Santa Fe. (I wish I could tell you who and what but for legal reasons...I can't) Eric was asked to be an extra on the same flick so he and I got a taste of Hollywood together for 5 weeks. I had a blast and got to work with and meet a lot of cool people. But I must admit, I was glad when the 14 hour work days were over!

Since then, I've started watching three kids a few times a week, which leaves me lots of time to write music. I've joined forces with my beautiful and talented sister, Jayne, who sings and plays the piano like an angel! (Assuming angels are really good piano players...?). We've got six songs in the bag and three or so in the works. We had the pleasure of opening for Elliott when they came through town and have played a few other venues as well. We're having so much fun playing and writing together, and are excited to see what the Lord is going to do! We're still on the hunt for a name and I would love to hear your suggestions!

Eric and I are learning what it means to walk in faith. We are discovering our identity as a married couple, as well as gifts in each other we didn't know were there. We're spending much needed time with my wonderful family and can't believe how quickly this time is going by!

Well there is the past 7 months in a nutshell. I promise I'll update more...and next time I'll throw in some pictures!

A New Season

2009-12-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

Back in March of this year, the Lord started to stir some things in Eric and I. He started reminding us of the big dreams that He had placed in our hearts, and of what we are called to do. So we started praying. We wanted to be good stewards of the gifts and callings He has given us, and above all else, we wanted to be obedient.

We know Eric is called to make movies and to be an influence in media. We know I am called to write and play music, as well as lead worship. We knew that He was calling us somewhere else. We prayed about Australia, we looked at some different film schools. We looked at a worship college for me. All of which seemed wonderful and grand, but not what we felt the Holy Spirit was calling us to do. Through nothing short of the supernatural, we landed on Albuquerque. All of my family is there, and there's a film tech program, which is exactly what Eric had been looking for.

I'm going to take this next year and write like crazy. I'm going to take a guitar class at the college and serve at the church I grew up in. And while Eric has already been perfecting his craft in video work, he's now going to make the leap into the film industry. As well as still doing some contracted projects for Westside Church our home church here in Bend.

We're so excited for this new season.
We're so excited to partner with the local church there.
We're so excited to see what the Lord has for us.

We do, however feel like our move there is only for 2010. We want to go, get trained and grow like crazy, be a blessing to our friends and family in Albuquerque, then come back and apply all that we've learned. We'll still call Bend our home and the church here, our home church. We'll be back in Bend for the summer (because there really is nothing quite like Bend summers!) and then make our permanent move back in January of 2011.

We're officially moving the beginning of January 2010. While we'll be sad to leave our family here (our friends, our church, and Eric's family who live just two hours away) we look forward to spending time with my family, and making new friendships.

So all this to say, if you're reading this from Bend or Eugene, we love you, and we'll miss you. If you're reading this from Albuquerque, we're excited for our season there with you, and we'll be seeing you soon!

Anniversary Part 3

2009-11-21T10:14:00.001-08:00

Ensanada, Mexico and the Beautiful Cruise life:

We rode some horses on the beach!

The view we had pretty much the whole time.

At "La Bufadora"

Onto the glorious Towel Friend sequence.
Each night Eric and I came back to a new towel animal.
I made him take pictures with every one.

Towel Friend #1 - The turtle
Towel Friend#2 - The puppy

Towel Friend #3 - I haven't the slightest idea

Towel Friend #4 - By this time we know that our cabin attendant
had run out of ideas for animals, for clearly this is not an animal at all
but a heart.

A not so ghostly shot of our ship.

Our day at sea. We found a cozy little spot with the ocean right by our side.

Breakfast on the deck. This stupid seagull stole the bacon right off of
my plate. Right off.

Formal night, in our formal dining room, with our formal three course meal. Yummy!

Our last night.

Praise Him from whom all vacations flow!

Anniversary Part 2

2009-11-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

Now onto Newport Beach and Catalina Island:

Driving like we do...Phil's GPS saved us.

The lifestyle.

It doesn't get much better than Jesus, and the ocean.

Isn't he so handsome?

Catalina Island

They liked us so much, they named a restaurant after Eric!

The famous self portrait:

The view of our ghost ship from the tender boats we took
to get to the island:

Stay tuned for more pics! (I told you there was a lot!)

Anniversary!

2009-11-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

Well two years have come and gone. Come and gone super fast I might add.
To celebrate this occasion Eric and I decided that we would hop on a ship and head for Mexico, with a little detour to Disneyland. We took so many pictures that I'm going to break it into parts, the first part being the happiest place on earth:

Never too cool for the Mickey ears
Never too cool for a fanny pack.
Splash mountain. Kinda hard to see Eric and I, but my face is ridiculous.
Eric let me drive, which turned out to be a mistake.
Needless to say it was a very bumpy ride!

A parade!

The castle.

Picture break during the parade.

Fantasmic - seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Some more fantasmic. It was fantastic!

The Celebration of my 23rd Year of Life

2009-08-27T18:29:00.001-07:00

For my birthday, Eric surprised me with a trip to Seattle.
It's probably my favorite city right now.
Love, love, love it.
And I loved, loved, loved this trip!

The lovely drive which was so marvelous since we hadn't seen each other
for a week! (summer camp was in sesh)

I know it's a little strange, but I absolutely love hotels! To the point

where I will sacrifice shopping in order to stay in one.
(Okay, not all shopping...)
This was my "We're staying in hotel I'm so happy!" face.

Last year , we discovered this amazing little french restaurant right

by Pike's Place. It's the little place to the left in the picture.
Seriously, soooo yummy.
If you ever go to Seattle, eat there.

What is a Parnell blog without some alley way artistic shot?
Why, it's no Parnell blog at all!

I realize I look extremely unhappy here, but trust me when I say, I'm not.
This was right outside Pike's Place. So pretty!

We were trying to get the water behind us here like in the picture above,
but I guess either Eric's arms aren't long enough, or
our heads aren't small enough.

Cheesecake Factory, Cheesecake Factory, Cheesecake Factory.
Yummy!

Downtown Seattle. Sittin' on a wall somewhere.

We met up with Nicolette Sunday night for the
Linsolette Bday Bash '09.
5 years running strong!

Here's to the best year yet!

The 505

2009-06-01T10:38:00.001-07:00

The Party

The Preparation

The Graduation

The Trip to Santa Fe

The Girls

The Nintendo

The Sisters

The Drive

The Saving Grace

The End

Mind Control

2009-04-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

So I was writing my friend Brent, in response to his blog titled, "Are you offline" at: http://www.pleadthecause.org/v2/index.php?c=home&type=menu&section=21~blog. As I continued the thought it seemed like it might an interesting topic to post on here and see if you people have any thoughts on the subject.

"... read your blog on technology and the web vs time in his presence. I think you're right on. I set up imeem (internet playlists) to play music every morning when I do my devotions, and it's tempting to log on to facebook, or to check emails before seeking the Lord. But I've disciplined myself to push my desires aside so I'm able to focus. But then find that after I've spent my time with the Lord, I can almost get the idea that, now I can spend the rest of my day however I want (web, tv, movies) because I've already spent time w/ Jesus. I constantly need to remind myself that I walk with him, throughout my whole day and that there's so much more to be had in relationship with him. Not to short change myself by cutting off the communication after that short time in the morning.

BUT... I also had some thoughts on the subject in a different light, sorry if this isn't interesting to you and I'm going on, but I thought it was.

I recently read an article on "walk throughs" of video games. There was a video game producer who was encouraging players to not use walk throughs (an online guide giving step by step instructions for how to beat the game, contributed to by many different users with helpful tips and tricks) to cheat their way through the game. He made the game difficult on purpose but not impossible so people would have to work through the puzzle. BUT w/ online walk through postings, his game was cracked with in a couple days of it being released because thousands of users from all over the world contributed. Instead of one mind taking months to figure out this puzzle, thousands of minds working together solved it in days.

Also, yesterday a film casting director that I follow on twitter, who has over a thousand followers, sent out a message saying, "I can't remember, who do I know in New Jersey? Help me tweeples." Within minutes she had her answer.

With this connectedness of minds, I can totally see how learning and knowledge will accelerate. And this is just the beginning. As time goes on it will only get faster, multiplying itself. Impossible puzzles in science and technology may be solved faster and faster. Kind of a crazy thought as to where this could all lead."

It's been a whole month...

2009-04-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a while.
Things have been busy, yet uneventful. Does that make sense? Still good (I can't tell you how much I love consistency and routine), just....uneventful. I'm teaching ballet now. That's new and fun and exciting. It has woken up a plethora of passions that were once asleep, and I'm having a blast rediscovering them all. As riveting as a life update would be, (and by riveting I mean boring) that is not the purpose of this post.

I was spending some precious time with Jesus this morning, and I felt like I was supposed to share my journal entry.

Matthew 8:25-26
Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

I have to admit that I can't count how many times I have felt engulfed by the waves these past few weeks. It's hard to understand the why behind so many of the things I walk through, and it's even harder to to continue to trust despite the lack of that seemingly necessary knowledge. But this morning, I refuse to be one of little faith. I read how You healed lepers and servants on their deathbed. How You cast out a legion of demons to help one little man....so why is it so hard for me to believe You can do that sort of thing in my own life?

If the same power that raised You from the dead really does live inside of me, then why do I choose to live like it doesn't? I can believe for the miraculous in my life. But even better, I can see the miraculous happen in my life.

Jesus, I choose to believe You are who You say You are. Today, I take my eyes of these waves called circumstance and know that with one word from Your mouth it's over and You win. I believe.

So there it is. Raw, straight from the pages of my journal and my life.

Back to the routine!

Spontaneity

2009-02-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

I love this word.
I love it even more when we do it.
You know, be spontaneous.

For two weeks Eric and I decided to not watch TV.
It's been really cool, but that's another blog...

Anyway, I don't go in to work until 1 on Wednesdays.
I was not looking forward to being home with nothing to do until 1.
Eric, knowing this and being the sweetheart that he is,
decided he would take the morning off to keep me company.
We decided to drive to Sisters, Bruno and all.
We had coffee in front of the fire at Sisters' Coffee House,
read our Bibles,
and took Bruno for a little walk.
It was a lovely morning.

Here's Bruno in the car. Very curious about the camera....

Here's me!

For whatever reason, Bruno wanted to be in the drivers seat.
The beautiful view.

Here we are reading our Bibles. Well Eric was at least!

Going for our walk.

The drive home. And yes, Eric is wearing a pair of my sunglasses. He forgot his, and it was very sunny.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

Breakfast at our favorite place
Eric bought me these boots I've been wanting for a while (the greatest gift ever - shoes!)
A quiet afternoon, just the two of us
Eric surprised me with this:

A wonderful dinner cooked then eaten by candlelight.

He is good. He is very good.

We heart Sushi

2009-02-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

I got these sushi rollers
(I'm positive that's not the technical term)
as a Christmas gift for Eric.
The other night he put them to good use.
Who knew my husband could make sushi?

He's so handsome and so talented!

Eric's Birthday Surprise

2009-02-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, my amazing husband had a birthday.
I decided, since he always surprises me,
to plan a little surprise of my own.

One of Eric's favorite bands/musician is Jon Foreman.
Post Switchfoot Jon Foreman to be precise.
Well it just so happened that he was going to be in Portland
just a few days after Eric's birthday!
The scheming began...

I arranged with Eric's boss to give him half the day off.
We left work Wednesday afternoon, and he was clueless the whole time.
After a few hours we pull up to this lovely place:

Hotel Modera
I got us a screamin deal!

After we got situated, I took Eric to this sushi place he really likes called
Dragonfish Asian Cafe'.
We had super yummy sushi - Eric's favorite.

Then right after dinner I surprised him with tickets to see none other than Jon Foreman himself.

He's doing this new project called Fiction Family. A couple of members of Nicklecreek are apart of it as well. It was such an amazing show. This is the last part of one of my favorite songs he does.

This was when the entire crowd broke into "Hey Jude"
so that the band would come back out for the encore.
One of my all time favorite concert moments ever.

Here we are right after the show. Woo!

Our hotel had these cool fire pits in the courtyard.

Here we are enjoying them.

The next day we had breakfast at Cafe Bijou, coffee at Stumptown, we spent our Christmas gift cards at Urban Outfitters, read books at Powell's, and then headed home.
Truly, we enjoyed the Portland experience to the fullest.

Happy Birthday to Eric. The big 26.

Bruno hates Baths

2009-01-29T09:33:00.000-08:00

Here is the first official bath.
Clearly this happened weeks ago, otherwise we would have a very stinky puppy!
He hated every second of it.

A Parnell Christmas

2009-01-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

Better late than never right?
First of all I must say that Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year,
and I think it went by way too fast.
And second, here are a few pictures from our 10 day trip.
They don't do it justice:

Here was my first Christmas present:
Bruno

Here is my second Christmas present: my new glasses.
I love them!

I promise I bought Eric some really cool presents too, but failed and took no
pictures of him unwrapping them. He still loves me.

Here are some pictures from our 29 hour drive to Albuquerque.
Yes, 29.

Christmas morning at my dad's

Pretty Lisa.
Jayne and my dad. Yes, he wears that hat every year. I love him for it.

Christmas at my mom's.

I threw this picture in because it's awesome.
My grandma and grandpa bought a Santa hat and made whoever was passing
our presents wear it. It was my cousin Taylor. Hilarious.

Like I said the pictures don't do it justice. We got to spend time with almost all
of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We got to hear my sister sing, spend time with
long lost friends, and eats lots and lots of green chile!

Update

2009-01-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

I know, I know it's been over a month.
However, I have a very good excuse.
Bruno, our new puppy, chewed up my laptop charger, which means
my laptop has been dead pretty much since January 1st,
which means I can't get any of our pictures from Albuquerque or Christmas.
We ordered a new one, but it's shipping from Hong Kong
or somewhere like that and won't be here for a few more days.

"Why don't you just blog on other things that have happened since you've been home, Lindsay?"
you ask?
Because I'm weird and I want all our blogs to be in the order that they happened.
I know. It's silly.

Christmas Time is Here

2008-12-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

These were our excited faces on our way to pick out our tree.

We found just the right one.

The fresh cut makes the tree live longer.

This is how silly you look when you don't have a big truck for these sorts of things.

It didn't really fit through the door.

This was my view while I failed to hold the tree straight.

Singing to Christmas carols whilst hanging the ornaments.
Oooh. Aaaawww.
I don't remember why I was making this face.
Artistic Eric.

The final touch!

Perfect.

My Jayne

2008-11-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

Jayne

I can't remember really what did it.
What it was that made her say, "Forget what everyone else is doing. I'm following Him."
She didn't care what people thought. She didn't care if that meant she was walking alone.
I wish I knew what made it all click for her.
I wish I would've felt that way when I was in high school.
Maybe then, I could somehow translate it to the high school kids and junior highers
I work with every week.
(Not to say that there aren't those running passionately in 180. There absolutely are.)

I remember when she was going into her freshman year.
She saw and understood so clearly that her purpose for being at that high school
was not just to learn - although I'm pretty sure she's had straight A's all four years -
but it was to be a light in a very dark place.
It was to introduce Jesus to people who are genuinely searching.
Thus, the birth of "Seek".
A place on campus, where people can come and learn who Jesus is.

This past week a new idea was born.
Let's let them ask questions.
Anything they want about Jesus, Christianity, and life.
Then we'll take them to our pastors and leaders and give our peers the answers to their questions.
They had live music, and a table during their lunches where students could ask any question they wanted.
These are the questions that this generation is asking:

General God Questions
1. How do you KNOW God is real?
2. How and why is God outside of the time we think of?
3. Why is God beyond understanding?
4. Can God make another god?

In the Beginning
1. How did life begin?
2. Why were humans created? What is the purpose of life? What is the meaning of life? Why were we made to live this life?
3. Are there aliens?
4. Where did evil come from in the beginning? Where did Satan’s pride come from if Heaven is perfect?
5. How do you believe the flow of time is structured? Is it a predetermined fate or one alterable by the hands of mortal men?
6. Tell me about the end.

Heaven and Hell
1. Is there life after death? If there is, how do they know who to put in Heaven or Hell?
2. How do I know I will truly be SAVED?
3. Who decides which people get to heaven?
4. Do people that commit suicide still have a shot at making it to heaven?
5. Where does Hell exist? If it exists, how was Hell created?

Accuracy of Faith
1. How do we know what the Bible says is truly God’s word? Why do People say God wrote the Bible, when man did, and don’t give me that s*** answer saying God used them to write it…its hypocrisy. Did Jesus actually write anything?
2. Why do you discard equally relevant and veritable ancient texts not included in the Bible?
3. How does one account for extremely similar qualities between the story of Jesus and that of heroes before him (e.g. Dionysus, Mithras)?

Homosexuality
1. Is homosexuality caused by a chemical imbalance, is it caused by something else, or is it a choice? Why do people love each other?
2. What is so bad about gay people? Why does the church hate them?
3. Why do Christians seem to hate gays so much?
4. Why did God make gay people?
5. Why do some churches accept homosexuality when the Bible speaks out against it?
6. What if I like girls even if I know it’s wrong? I want to not but…

Life Application
1. Why does God give us challenges that we feel we cannot face?
2. If God really cares about me, then why did he leave me in the dark? I’m closer to death than Him.
3. How do I know I’m not missing what God’s trying to tell me and what He wants me to do? What do I do about it?
4. Why will being a servant to God make me truly happy?

Religious Questions
1. Do you think that other religions are wrong and that they could be condemned for these beliefs?
2. How do you help your non-Christian friends who are struggling in their faith?
3. I know I should be having daily devotionals, but I can’t find the motivation. HELP!
4. What can more people and I do to pronounce our faith and express it in ways that don’t offend other people or religions?
5. Does everyone have a guardian angel? If so…what do they guard you from?
6. What is purgatory?
7. I’m Catholic, but I want to convert. Will I go to hell?
8. The Ten Commandments say not to kill, but is it okay to kill in war? Or, if that person will kill someone else, is it ok?

Specific Questions
1. Are things ever going to get better? This has been the worst year of my life and I don’t understand why this is happening?!
2. Why do people have to ask so many questions? Why aren’t all the answers just there for us?
3. Why do I NOT have any friends?
4. Why are people so afraid to ask questions?
5. Why is Obama president?
6. What was Jesus’ favorite color?
7. Can you only see ghosts if you believe in them?

Drugs
1. What is God’s view on Marijuana and other drugs?
2. Does Marijuana have harmful effects on the body?
3. Why did God put weed in this world?
4. Why is Marajuana illegal?

How amazing!!
High school students want to know.
They're genuinely seeking after truth.

I'm so proud of Jayne.
Proud of her boldness.
Proud of her love for her high school.
Proud of her faith.

If you think about it, would you pray for Jayne and for this whole undertaking.
Pray for wisdom for the pastors and leaders who are going to be answering all of these questions.
Pray that lives would be changed because of it.
And pray, most importantly that eternity would change because of it.

Our First Anniversary

2008-11-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

So let me just start off by saying that this has been one of the
most amazing years.
Jesus is so faithful, always, consistently, unwavering.
He chooses things, lots of different things, in our lives to teach us
and to bring us closer to His heart.
Marriage has been one of those things for me.
I was reflecting on this past year in my journal today,
which happens to be our actual anniversary,
and said this,

"I've learned more, died more, loved more, sought more, questioned more,
and believed more, than ever before."

And it's true.
No two years in Master's Commission could have ever taught me
all that I've learned this year.
I stand amazed at the Lord in His purposes for marriage being just one more way
to know Him, see Him, and learn Him, even more.
What's even more beautiful is that I know the best is yet to come.

Now, on to the Bahamas.
The beautiful, amazing, 90 degree Bahamas!

Our first stop was in Freeport. This day wasn't as sunny as we had hoped.
In fact it even rained a little.
But it was beautiful and very warm, nonetheless.
Eric's hair was super curly!
I was asked if wanted my hair braided more times than I can count.

The next day we stopped in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.
It was sunny, super humid, and super hot.
As soon as we stepped off the boat we were bombarded
with taxi drivers, jewelry makers, hair braiders...everybody wanting to make a buck.
We weeded our way through them all and found a nice outdoor cafe' to read our
Bibles and get our caffeine fix.
It was way too hot for coffee, but hey we're addicts.
After time with Jesus and some walking around
we headed back to the ship and changed into our beach attire!
Again, as soon as we stepped off the boat we were bombarded once again
but this time with scooter venders!
It wouldn't have surprised me if they started punching each other.
Apparently our business was very valuable.
Oh yes, that's right. We rented a scooter.

It was surreal riding around this beautiful island, our destination being
this even more breathtaking beach.
I've never seen water so blue.
Oh and p.s., they drive on the left side of the road.
So scary! But Eric did great.

Here's Eric in the deep blue sea.
I went for a dip as well a few minutes later, and the water was so warm!Yes folks, that's a hammerhead shark!
But don't worry, it was in it's own separate pool.

We headed back to the ship for formal night, and formal dining, with three
yummy courses.

We wandered over to the theater to catch the show.

Here we are waiting for it to start!

Our ship.

The last day of our week was spent in Orlando. We rented a car and
explored the unknown land.
We only got lost a couple of times, but hey, it's all part of the adventure right?

Plus, look what we found because we got lost!
Who knew?

We had such a great time
and can't wait to see all the great things
God's going to do this year!

Mom.

2008-10-26T14:20:00.001-07:00

So, my mom is pretty much the best mom in the world.
She decided it was time to visit, and flew out for the weekend.
She treated us to an early anniversary dinner at Typhoon!
We drove to Eugene and stopped at Sahalie Falls on the way.
We went to the Saturday Market, and then drove to Hendricks Park
to partake of our hippie lunches.
We had some amazing dessert at The Sweet Life (I highly recommend it!),
and then drove my mom around showing her the city.
Sunday morning, while Eric went duck hunting, the girls went to breakfast.
So much fun!

Typhoon:

Sahalie Falls:

Hendricks Park:

There was lots of conversation, lots of good food, and lots of laughter.

It was an amazing weekend. I'm so glad we got to spend some time with mom.
She's the best.

LET"S TALK POLITICS

2008-10-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

(Eric) I have to say, I have found the thought of voting for Obama appealing. Something in me that says, “who says we have to vote Republican?” Sure our fathers have told us that since we were young but “because I said so” doesn't hold as much merit as it used to. I want to know, who are these candidates, what are they all about, what do they propose to do in office? And then I can make my own informed decision on who I think is best, right? Right!

So I dig in. I listen to National public radio, I watch the debates, I read the news articles, I listen to what people are saying, and I listen to some more NPR. And somewhere along the line I'm starting to think that maybe I ought to give Democrats a chance. I mean Donald Miller is at the Democratic convention leading them in prayer. Maybe I've just been following the tradition of man in my Republican stance all along.

Obama is talking about how he wants to take what hasn't been working in this county and make it right. He wants to refocus our resources into things like renewable energy instead of spending money on furthering oil drilling. He wants to reshape our tax system for the benefit of the individuals instead of lining congress's pockets. He's got a plan to find and stop terrorist threats in Pakistan.

And I'm thinking, you know what? Maybe our country needs a fresh set of eyes. I think of my work place and how there are many young staff members, whom without, the Church wouldn't be as good of a place as it is. If our influence wasn't made among leadership, services would become stale, and stagnant. A younger generation has ideas, ways to do things differently and isn't boxed in by the “this is the way we've always done it” mentality. So maybe America finds itself stuck in too many systems, policies, and procedures, and needs somebody who's willing to make some change. Right?

But... And there is a but, when I dug a little deeper, and I looked at what kinds of things both candidates stood for. And what kind of change may actually come with voting in Senator Obama, I have to say that besides the sweeping general statements of a better environment, a better economy, better warfare, there are some things that really started to concern me.

One, it's an old one, and one that goes right along with why my parents ever told me to vote Republican in the first place, abortion. I was speaking with a friend recently and they were saying how we need to look a little deeper into the candidates. Like they think that if they give us pro life that we're theirs.

And I was like, YA! We're smarter than that! But wait... isn't that a pretty big issue? The fact that our choice between one candidate to the other could determine the fate of millions of babies. Whether they live or die? I mean say the president does a lousy job in steering our economy and I in turn am living with more financial hardship. Would I trade that so that these babies could live? Yes. Absolutely.

Barrack Obama is said to be the most liberal Senator in office. On this issue, he has voted on multiple measures furthering pro abortion policies. As a president he would only have more influence to make this an easier, more accepted procedure.

It is also said that John McCain is the most outspoken pro life republican in the history of those running for president. And his VP running mate Governor Palin holds the same values. As president he too, would have more influence on how easy or how accepted this procedure is.

Two, Obama would be taking office at a delicate time for our country in the area of military opposition.
We are in a war, and if Obama were to take office right now, I would be concerned that he would make a decision that could set us up for disaster. It could be in cutting military spending, or invading on unwise terms, it could be a number of things. I guess I just feel like ever since 9-11 I've thought that we need somebody who knows how to fight, leading this charge. We've seen that we can't just sit back, chant peace, and hope nothing bad comes our way. There are militants that are taught from a very young age, that America is the enemy. They think that we hoard our wealth, that we're too prideful, that we don't really care about anybody else. Which I know is true to a certain degree, because we are very human and have those tendencies. But it's also not true of a lot of people in this country and is certainly not means for wanting to kill us, but regardless, that is what is happening. And there's things that could be nothing, if everybody remains calm, but we owe China money, there's tension with Russia, and the world knows we're struggling economically. They could see this as a good time to strike.

With this in mind, I have to say, ok forget the wind farms, (although McCain is for those too anyway), the tax breaks, the healthcare plan, the fresh new ideas. This is a life or death situation and if we don't choose wisely it could mean death, in a lot of areas. We can't afford to run with our non conformist desires and be different. We need to vote for somebody that will be a leader in the areas that really need it.

So with all that said, I wanted to tell you I'm voting for John McCain. I'd love to hear your feedback, thoughts, comments, opinions and all.

What Lindsay Does

2008-10-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Lindsay Parnell.
The Wife.
The Worship Leader.
The Preacher.

Oh yes she can preach.

This past Wednesday I was amazed at how many kids we had show up to the Gathering. The place was PACKED! God knew Lindsay had a message these guys and girls needed to hear, so he called them out. She spoke with passion, she spoke with authority, and the students received. They were cheering, and AMENing, and cheering some more.

I really am proud of my wife, that she is using what God has given her to help others. But mostly I'm happy for those kids. They got to hear wise instruction from a woman who knows. I'm happy that they could learn how to not get caught up in the ways of the world but to live lives of faith. That they could go forward in their walk with God one step ahead of where we were at their age. (Ok so like 20 steps ahead of where I was)

Anyway, it was a great night, one to remember and one to be shared. So for all you who were not there, here's a little peak at what it looked like.

Evan and Katie on worship

Lindsay preaching and having a good time doing it.

Ok so this was accidental but it turned out kind of cool.

Like I said, there were a lot of kids.

That's all.

Studio Seven Productions

2008-10-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

Studio Seven is finally launching.
This has been a dream in Eric's heart for over two years now.
He teamed up with his good friend JJ, and they made it happen.
Granted this is just the beginning,
the on-ramp to see the fulfillment of His promises.

While I would love to say, Come! And bring all your friends!"
I'm not going to.
This is ministry in an unconventional form.
We want to establish and build relationship
with the film community of Bend,
creating a bridge.
Whether it leads to church, to Jesus, or just to coffee with one of us,
we don't really know.
But then, that's the beauty of this whole thing, isn't it?
Walking in obedience, like Abraham.
All he knew was, "Go to the land that I will show you."
That's what we're doing.
We've got a great team of people who volunteered to get involved
and be a light in whatever way they can,
and we're excited to see what God is going to do.
And as for you, dear faithful reader, you can pray.
Please pray.

Oh, and....
WOOHOO!!!

A Moment in Time

2008-10-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

Do you know those moments?
Moments where everything is absolutely perfect.
So perfect, that it cannot be of this world.
It transcends your here and now, and gives you a taste of what eternity might be like.
This happens a lot when I'm driving in my car.
A song will come on and suddenly my eyes are opened.
All things are working together in that moment to make it beautiful.
I think Jesus is there in that moment.
Sometimes we miss it.
Sometimes we're too busy being busy to recognize it for what it is.
Thankfully, I paused this morning, and I saw it.

October 1st.
Fall feels official now regardless of the 82 degree forecast.
I debated wearing sandals, but thought to myself,
"No. It's fall now no matter what the weather man says."
I put on my scarf and boots and headed to a coffee shop.
The clouds are accumulating overhead threatening rain.
They're empty threats for now, so I chose to sit outside.
The sun is peering through, making the temperature just right.
I plug in my head phones, look up the Bible reading and get started.
The words leap off the page and into my spirit, stirring new faith.
It's exciting to me.
Taking a sip of my coffee, I look up to see the leaves have started to change color.
They won't stay that way long, so I allow myself the few extra seconds to take it all in.
Then it hits.
The music, the weather, the presence of Jesus, the beauty of life in this moment.
I was inspired.
For a moment I saw the bigger picture. I felt Love and not just for me.
I searched for the words to describe how amazed I was
without sounding terribly cliche. None came.
Even now I search for words to describe it for you. There are none.

Our God cared enough to give me a glimpse - even if only for a moment.

Confessions of being saved- by Eric Parnell

2008-09-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

So I was talking w/ Nico a bit this morning on facebook and she told of how she will blog as part of her devo's sometimes. That wording this for other people helps to form thoughts for herself. I thought that sounded pretty cool so I wanted to give it a try. So to the tune of Yann Tierson, I write

Confessions of being saved

When I think back about what has made me into who I am, crying comes to mind. I remember times when I would cry out to God and say please, form me. Shape me. Make me into the man that you want me to be. I would ask of him and he would act. Things would happen in my life that would give me the opportunity to become that man of God that I desired to be.

And now that process still continues on. In ways I have become that man that I desired to be, and I am starting to walk in these new shoes. But there is still a fight to continue in this way. I didn't arrive at some peaceful land of tranquility and happy bliss. There is pain that runs deep, perhaps even deeper than it did before because my eyes are opened to so much more meaning behind this life. And now I cry out to him, I have given my life to you, so I know that what is happening is you, so tell me what is it that I must do here? Why is this happening to me?

I am being beat down.

What I've known as “the way it is” I'm finding I may have been wrong about. The way I've always been, is not an excuse or a reason to continue in that behavior. Those thoughts and actions, the things that seem to be built into the support beams of my life, that are so ingrained into my being, are being identified as wrong. And I'm not talking about blatant sin, I'm talking about the inner development. The way I treat people, do I go outside of myself for their benefit or even in that do I have my own interests in mind? How do I think of myself compared to them? My motives, needing to be right, wanting my way, my pride. And they're so a part of who I know myself to be that to part with them leaves me a little bare. A little exposed. And pulling them apart from those support beams of who I am or how I am causes those beams to crumble. A crushing. It's real and I can feel it, a crushing that happens inside. It's very very hard.

And I have to think that this is not just because life is hard. That there is reason. That this being beat down can only be the potter's work. Pressing me firmly until I am soft and mold able. Because if I was to remain hard he couldn't shape me into the figure he purposed me for. And that is where I find relief, and I find strength. That he is responsible for this so there must be an answer, there is a good outcome in mind. That at the end of this hard thing I will be better than I previously was. It brings hope. Knowing that the pain lasts for a while but soon there will be new support beams that are built to last, and they won't have to be torn down again. That I will be stronger tomorrow than I was today.

So while life is continually breaking down, and things are continually dying, there is a seed that is planted in the process. And that seed brings new life, and the new plants do not die. Maybe someday I will be so full of new life, new structure and support, that it will outweigh the dying. That the dying will be here and there, out on the outer branches, but for the main part I will be a solid tree, like a strong cedar. I think it will come, the word of truth tells me it will, and I believe it. I guess that's what faith is. So I determine to keep going, to keep trying, to not give up. I will make it.

What Eric does

2008-09-02T18:29:00.001-07:00

A few of you have been asking to see some of Eric's work. So here's a couple of recent videos he's done.

He'd love to hear your feedback!

Procrastination.

2008-08-31T19:41:00.001-07:00

It only took me four years,
but they're finally here!

My Oregon plates.
(blurred to guard against identity theft or something).

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-08-27T12:17:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I turned 22.
I love birthdays. I always have and I believe I always will.
A day where everything is all about me, and I get presents.
What's not to love?

Well this particular birthday was special. I'm not sure why,
perhaps it's because of the insane surprise weekend that Eric
planned for me.

It started Friday the 22nd.
We woke up, packed our bags (I had no clue what I was packing for)
hopped in the car and started driving.

We hit a small speed bump on the way - and by speed bump I mean flat tire.
The Lord was watching out for us though.
There happened to be a Les Schwab just a few minutes away.

We were back on the road in no time.
5 and a half hours later, I guessed where we were going:
Seattle.

Here was my face:
I had never been to Seattle
so Eric took it upon himself to enlighten me.
We drove to our hotel which was just a few minutes away from downtown.
Eric gave me my first present:
Two tickets to see the Gypsy Kings.
I realize most of you have probably never heard of them.
Let's just say my dad wanted his daughters to grow up with some
culture and introduced us to them at a very young age.
We have home videos of us dancing to them while Jayne was still in diapers.

There were for sure camera nazis everywhere so we took these
from our phone.

It was definitely a middle aged dance party + me and Eric but
it was one of the funnest concerts I've ever been to. The next morning we drove to Pike's Place Market.
We had breakfast at an amazing little french restaurant, walked
the waterfront, explored the city, and got a little lost.
Every second was wonderful.
We had a great day of seeing this beautiful city, but Eric had
one more surprise up his sleeve.

Dinner reservations at the Space Needle!

The view.

It was a surreal evening.

The next morning we went to City Church.
If I lived in Seattle, that's the church I would go to.
It was amazing!

Afterward, we found an awesome restaurant called Purple.
It was delicious!

Then, we headed home.
Seriously, this was a birthday I will never forget.
I love you Eric. Thanks for an amazing weekend.
Now, what on earth am I going to do for your birthday?!

The End of an Era

2008-08-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Nicolette moved.
Amazing friend for four years, maid of honor, sister.
There is sadness in her leaving, but to be honest,
I'm excited for her.
I know that while this is the end of an era here in Bend,
it's only the beginning of a new chapter in both of our lives.
I know she'll move back someday.
I know our kids will grow up together.
I know that this friendship is nothing less than supernatural.

Here are some memories I want to share with you:

I love you friend.
Thanks for sticking with me all these years.
The best is yet to come.

Photoshop, meet the Blog.

2008-08-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

I've discovered Photoshop.
What a glorious thing this is!
Editing our pictures is going to be taken to a whole new level.
Here's how it happened:

Last night, I had a hot date.
I wanted to document this memorable night
with lots and lots of pictures. Mostly because I'm a big dork.
You have to understand something, however.
My husband doesn't just take pictures....oh no,
He will stinkin' spend 10 minutes positioning the camera
to get "the perfect shot".
I don't necessarily mind this.
1. It makes him really good at what he does for a living
and
2. You guys get blogs like this.

But moving on,
We got home from a very yummy dinner at Merenda's,
and I was so excited about our little date photo shoot,
that I convinced Eric to teach me how to use Photoshop
so I could edit our pictures right then and there.
Consequently, I spent the next hour or so (oh yes until after midnight)
messing with our pictures and discovering all the beauty that
that this ingenious little program has to offer.
The following is the fruit that bloomed from our
marvelous date and
Lindsay's first encounter with Photoshop.

The Christening of the Fire Pit

2008-07-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

That's right folks!
We bought a fire pit.
It looks so lovely in our backyard
It's like it was born to be there.

Remodel Update

2008-07-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hooray!
The bulk of the tiling is done, and our bathroom cabinet is in!
Almost finished.
What's left:
1. tiling the sink counter top and bathtub
2. mud and tape the drywall
3. Paint!
4. Get the plumbers and electricians back
and that's it!!!!
Here's the progress thus far...

Bathroom cabinet in.

Shower completely tiled (thanks Dane!!)

Bathroom floor completely tiled
(a little dusty but finished nonetheless)

Alright!
Keep checking back to see more progress.

Tahoe Baby!

2008-07-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

We just got back from vacation.
Glorious vacation.
It was sunny.
It was hot.
There was a large body of water.
Need I say more?
Yes I think I shall.

Let's just say it's a long drive. 9 hours to be exact.
We just so happened to be driving through Reno
and decided to make a pit stop at
the one and only Golden Nugget.

One dollar is all we bet.
We lost it all.
I'm gonna win big someday....you'll see.
You'll all see.

We finally arrived in beautiful Tahoe.
The smoke from the fires in Cali made the sunset phenomenal.

We were so happy!

One evening we decided to go mini golfing.
This was the raddest putt putt golf course I had ever seen.
And yes, that is Eric sitting in the palm of a monkey's hand.
Three ladies sitting in a giant volcano.
Nicolette thought the dinosaur looked sad.
She sympathized.
We woke up one morning to Mekenzie's mom
telling us to come look at the bear with it's cubs.
Now that's not a sentence you hear every day.
Nor is this a sight you see every day, or ever really for that matter.
On our way to the beach!

What a beautiful sight this was.

Mekenzie's parents rented a jet ski and let us all take turns,
It had been a very long time since I had ridden one (remember dad?)
so I was a little scared.
It ended up being one of the best things ever! I now want one.

We celebrated Mekenzie's birthday
on the last night Eric and I were there.
So fun, and so yummy!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip

I'll leave you all with this....

The Buck Stops Here...Literally.

2008-07-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

What can I say?

I'm just an animal person.
Actually that's not 100% true.
Don't get me wrong.
I like them, they like me.
We have a fairly amicable relationship.
But this was a little extreme.
A few days ago I walk into my office
to be scared/surprised at this:

Greg Kooistra so kindly informed me that
this was a five point buck.
I thought that was how many points you got if you shot it.
Apparently, it's how many points they have on their antlers.
Who knew?
Not me.

He was there when I arrived at 1:00
and was still there when I left at 5:30.

The animals are drawn to me.

9:45pm

2008-07-10T15:56:00.001-07:00

This is what it looks like:
I love Bend in the summer time.
The days are so long,
the sun stays up until you're ready for bed.

(excuse the crappy picture, it was taken from my phone)

Belated Fourth

2008-07-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

I realize the fourth of July
was a week ago tomorrow.
But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't
share this with the rest of the world.

Not only did this cake look wicked awesome,
it also tasted wicked awesome.
Thanks Jenna.
Way to be patriotic!

God made Dirt, and Dirt don't Hurt...

2008-07-01T17:26:00.001-07:00

So Nicolette and I have

always taken pride in the fact that
we love, hippie culture.
Food, jewelry, dancing, sleeping outside, the fairs...
and apparently growing your own herbs and vegetables.
This was a new one for me.
I'm known to kill plants.
Green thumb? Not me.
But in the spirit of all things hippie,
Nicolette and I decided to do
some gardening.

At first glance, you may think
"Why is Nicolette holding mouse poop?"
Oh no, no....those would be seeds.
We planted:
and some of these

What's that? You're not supposed to eat the veggies
until they grow?
Oops.
Old pro
You can't see the watering can,
but it's there.
I was very happy that watering was my job.

Let's hope they grow!

I LOVE Surprises.

2008-06-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

My husband knows this about me.
He also knows that when he says he has a surprise
I will do anything and everything to find out what it is.
I can't help it. I've always been this way.
Ask my mom.
Before every Christmas and birthday,
I would search the house from top to bottom.
Maybe it was the feeling of "the find".
Maybe it was fear of the unknown.
Either way, finding out is always anti-climactic.
Yet I try my hardest to be in the know.
Bless Eric for still planning surprises for me.
Bless him.

Anyway....all that to say
Eric planned a surprise for me Sunday afternoon.
He drove me to Sunriver.
Rented a canoe.
We spent three blissful, relaxing hours
on a river.
He packed us a picnic.
It was wonderful.

Here he his. So proud of his surprise.

Who knew this place even existed?

Amazing, picnic that consisted of:
raspberries, dried mangoes, pepper crackers, and spinach artichoke dip.
Yummy!

This was the position I chose the majority of the time.

Apparently rowing takes lots of concentration.

It appears it's pretty difficult too.
These ducks followed us for a long time. They could smell the food.

I think I might take up canoing. You know as a hobby....
What dya think?

Boat Day!

2008-06-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

Fact: We love boating.
Fact: Eric loves wakeboarding. I do not. (I'm supportive don't worry)

We have been so thankful for the beautiful warm weather.
It means we get to take the boat out.
It seems we have waited months and months, hope would shine through
the clouds, only to retreat again, forcing more months to pass us by.
But now, I believe summer is here to stay.
Here is the first official summer boating excursion!

Kirk, you daredevil!

This is what we call the "casserole" face. It's a long story.
Jenna's first time. She got up on her first try!

See, it wasn't so bad...
No matter where we go, we represent.

Woo... and I daresay hoo!

Dia de Padres

2008-06-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

We drove to Eugene this past weekend
to celebrate both Father's Day, and Chase's college graduation.
As always, here are the pics...

Here's the fam (minus Alex) waiting for the ceremony to start.
The proud graduate with his two favorite ciblings (in-law)...

Eric was getting artsy.
That night Chase opened presents, the boys played football, and we ate steak!
I grew fond of the backseat on this trip.

This is where we ate Father's Day brunch.
It was delicious, not to mention beautiful!Here's the view. Vineyards for miles.

Windy day.The boys.

Good times, good times.

Memorial Day

2008-06-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

Since it has been so very long,

I decided I would blog about the biggies.
The first being Memorial Day weekend.

I should preface this blog with saying that Eric's family has since
dispersed across the country.
It all happened so suddenly.
David, Kristen, and Jacob all made the trek (45 hours or so!)
back to Webster, New York.
Chase decided to take a job in South Carolina.
All within one week.

Due to these sad, but exciting circumstances, we all
met up at the coast - Yachats to be exact.

This was the incredible view from our room.

Sharon and JacobThe Parnell family loves to take pictures!

Reflection in the glorious ocean.
Love was in the air...and so was the smell of fish.
Speaking of fish...we went to the undersea gardens.
This is one of many ugly, ugly fish we saw.
Quite the touristy thing to do, so I'm told.
Yes, this is a picture of a picture...but I liked it so much
I thought carpe diem!
This was a boat. We posed appropriately.

Hooray for family and three day weekends!

Kitchen Cabinets

2008-06-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

I promised months ago to show you our finished cabinets.
Well they've been done for a while
and I know that you all have been losing sleep
wondering how they turned out...
so here you go!

Voila!
So much work, but so worth it.

The Burque

2008-05-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

We're back!!!

We had an amazing week in Albuquerque,

visiting my family and getting
some much needed r&r.

Our first morning. It was perfect!
Beautiful weather, coffee, and Jesus.
I love my daddy!
Mother's Day Pedicure. Of course.
My aunt bought a scooter, and let Eric take
us out for a ride.
This is Jayne before:
(aw brother and sister!)

And this is her after : )My mom took Eric and I to a spa.
We spent the day relaxing, and eating good food.
It was awesome!
And yes this was pretty much the temperature the whole time!
(Coming from 40 degrees in Bend, we couldn't have asked for more.)
He's such a conversationalist.
We discovered this restaurant downtown.
It was great for people watching.
Oh Gracie. She's sure grown on me.
A little photo op before the airport.
The drive to Bend from Portland.
The lighting was incredible.

Train.More train.

We miss it already!

Prayer Series

2008-05-06T17:31:00.001-07:00

Lindsay doesn't know I posted this because she probably wouldn't have it.
Funny thing though I was shooting testimonies for the prayer series coming up, and Lindsay happened to be there helping me out. So the people finish up and the guy who requested the videos coaxed Lindsay into getting in front of the camera and sharing something. So she did and as I'm going through the footage I was being totally unbiased and showing him all the different stories and he gets to Lindsay's and is like oh that's perfect, let's go with that one.
So a week later Lindsay's face is projected huge on two 15' x 20' screens (or something like that) for a couple thousand people in our weekend services. And everybody's like wow guess it pays to be married to the video guy! Kind of funny, but it wasn't even my idea! Anyways here's the video that played...

We love Barns

2008-05-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

I must say that I have

thoroughly enjoyed
Eric's posts.
He should write them more often.
But in the meantime...

Here is our life
in pictures from the
last month:

We took a spontaneous trip to Eugene!
One Sunday we woke up a little early and just decided to go.

We made an unconventional stop - coffee.

Eric has a thing for barns. Old beat up barns.
So we captured many on the beautiful drive.

No barn. Just cows.

We ate outside (a first for 2008).
It was delicious!

Fifth Street Market

If you detect a hint of fear in this picture, it's because
I was looking at a bush I thought was swarming with bees.
They were actually flies.

He like the dirty brick.

One morning I woke up early enough to watch the sunrise with
Nicolette and Jessica.
It was cold but totally worth it.

Eric and I decided to make our cabinets look prettier.
Here are the befores. You'll have to check back for the
finished product!

It was quite the undertaking. But thankfully I'm a really hard worker.

Eric is making progress on our closet!!!!

We bought a bathroom cabinet!!!

We went on a date. Unfortunately, these are the only pictures we took.
But it was so much fun.
Greg's Grill
Baby Mama
Banana Milkshakes.

Keep checking back to see our kitchen cabinets!

Well well well

2008-04-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Looks like I'm beating Lindsay to another post! She's out doing something silly like Pastoring in 180 and I'm home alone with my thoughts, and we don't want that! So I figure I better share them with this machine which in turn will allow them to be shared with you.

The other day I wrote something in my journal and it came out kind of poetic. I shared it with Lindsay and she was like wow you should post that on our blog.

And while I won't be posting that today, I did run across something short in my journal that was an interesting thought that I could share on the world of blog. So here is a bit on Rhythm...

____
Last night we went and saw the Ben Darwish Trio and heard some amazing jazz. It was really

incredible. Probably the best I've heard Live. Because they were freestyle, they were funky, and

beautiful all at the same time.

But I thought about rhythm.

And I thought today as I could feel my heart beat pulsing through my fingers, that we are

driven by this perfect rhythm. Always on time. Steady.

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

Increasing in climactic moments and slowing in slumber. This deep rhythmic force that keeps

pumping whether we're aware of it or not. God's perfect design, his perfect beat, powering all of

humanity across the globe. The master musician. It really is beautiful.

Lord allow me to appreciate and portray to others the beauty found in you.

Surprise, Surprise!

2008-04-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Alright, alright it's about time I did a post on this thing (eric). Lindsay has done a lot of the other blogs, ok well most of... ok more like all of the blogs on this thing and I figured it was my turn.
I would blog more but hey, I got married, haven't I done enough? I mean that's the end goal and all and now that I've arrived I figured why do anything else? Right?
Anyways here's a little picture I wanted to share with the great world of unknown readers out there, some family, some friends, some creepy people that really have too much time on their hands... (don't let that discourage you readers I don't know, really I'm kind of flattered you're reading this. I mean, people I don't even know peering into my life... I'm special! Oh, what's that? You're interested in what's going on in Lindsay's life and could care less about mine? Dang! No wonder she's the one who writes the blogs.
Anyways again, back to here's the little picture. These past couple of weeks I've been working like a mad man and I decided me and Lindsay were about due for a real live date. Somehow I passed it off on her to plan the date while I finished... working. So when I got home she swept me away to a night of surprises. Starting out at Makahnas to have a bite to eat and enjoy the wonderful sounds of Corey and Whitney Parnell. After that we hurried away to make some appointment which what I had no idea was (Grammar? I don't care)
When we were passing the sportsmans warehouse it dawned on me we must be heading to Sisters. We pulled in for a showing of Drillbit, or Sargent Drillbit, something like that, at the Sisters Movie House. Which I must say is a wonderful movie. I really hope Owen Wilson doesn't get too depressed to make movies because he is hilarious!
After the show we drove about 100ft over to none other than the Five Pine Lodge. And Lindsay explained how she was closing an old bank account and was surprised to find some extra bucks and if it was ok with me then we could use it to stay the night for a romantic evening in one of Five Pine's cottages (see picture) I agreed this seemed like a wise use of this surprise bonus money but told her being a surprise and all I lacked all over my overnight supplies. Well she was one step ahead of me and had already packed me a bag and we stayed and had a incredible little get away. YAY! So here's a pic of us the next morning heading to Sisters Coffee house for breakfast and we almost got tangled in those black briers coming in on the sides of the picture. Oh wait, that's just me being creative with my photoshop brushes. :)

Comments? How about where is your favorite get a way if you have a chance?

Ode to the Single Days

2008-03-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know two posts - one day. I'm awesome!
That, or I've got some time on my hands this afternoon.

One afternoon, I was trying to create more space on my computer.
How a person like me runs out of space on their computer
is beyond me - I email, blog (occasionally)
watch LOST, and that's about it. Anyway, I was going through all my pictures,
most of which encompass the last three and half years,
and I found the most wonderful thing:
Pictures of Eric.
Old pictures of Eric.
Pictures of Eric before he knew I existed.
Glory!
I thought I should blog about this, but only to be fair, I threw in some old ones
of me.
Enjoy this wonderful trip down memory lane!

Barrow, Alaska 2006
Mmmmm!
Los Angeles, California 2005
He always did love that Peter Pan.
Barrow, Alaska 2006
The kids ganged up on him, and if my memory serves me correctly
they got snow down his pants
Los Angeles , California 2005
Rockin the basebal hat. Los Angeles, California 2005
Stinkin soul eyes. They'll getcha every time!I have no idea when this was taken.
I do remember, however that he was asked to play Jesus in a video
for church.

More recent. I believe this was Christmas 2006.
The ladies love him.Eugene, OR 2007
We both apparently had a thing for cows - see below.
Ukraine 2005
See what I mean?

Ukraine 2005
Back in the days when I wore hoop earrings and red in my hair
and Nicolette died her hair black.
My how we've changed.
Encounter 2005
Ok, so we haven't changed that much.
Westside Church March 2006
Filming our now infamous Alias video for Kristin's birthday.
To see full length click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlMR8N3Bdck Albuquerque, NM - August 2004
Fresh out of high school, this was my going away party right before
I would move to Bend.

Albuquerque, NM
I'm not sure what year this was, but I do know that it was a birthday
and I do know I was forced to hold that pineapple over my head
while a group of Brazilian musicians sang me Happy Birthday. Santa Fe, NM August 2003
One of the most memorable dates I've ever been on.

Well I hope you either feel all warm and fuzzy on the
inside or are getting a kick out of some of the
hair choices Eric and I made.

The Remodel

2008-03-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are pictures of the remodel.

I found my old digital camera in a box in our garage
that had remodel pictures from before we were married,
so you all get the full scope of progress!

August 2007 - Eric's old wall and hallway to the bathroom

March 2008 (Sorry it's sideways) - the new carpet and tub

August 2007 - Derek's old room into the bathroom

August 2007 - demolition

March 2008 - drywall & plumbing

March 2008 - the future home for our double sink

March 2008 - our cool new whirpool tub
March 2008 (sideways yet again) - the shower all drywalled in

March 2008 (stinkin' sideways) - the entry way into our new closet (Derek's old room)August 2007 - How'd that get in there?! : )
Progress is being made more and more every week.
We'll keep you posted!

Adventures of the Beard

2008-02-24T14:10:00.001-08:00

So we lost our camera charger which explains the recent lack of blogging.
I think we're going to order a new one very soon, and then you all can
see all the wonderful pictures of our remodel which is coming along quite nicely!

In the meantime, I discovered how to email pictures I've taken with my
camera phone to myself so you all can see what we've been up to....well kind of.

For the past month or so, Eric's been growing out his beard.
It was fitting, since we felt like, because of all the crazy weather,
we were living in the snowy alps.
And everyone knows, only bearded, grizzly men live in the snowy alps.

Then, the morning came. He looked at me with a sense of sadness
in his eyes and said, "Lindsay, I think I'm going to shave my beard."
"Yes, dear husband. It is time."

Goodbye grizzly beard. We shall miss you.
The following is what ensued that fateful morn:

"Grizzly Adams"

"The Frenchie" "The Biker Cop"

"The Mullet of all Facial Hair" aka "Mustachio"Eric "Baby Face" Parnell

While we mourn the loss of our grizzly friend, we celebrate new life and welcome the sight of Eric's whole face once again.

The Day My Husband was Born

2008-02-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Eric is officially in his mid-twenties. That's right folks, as of Tuesday January 29th
he is a quarter of a century.
To celebrate I planned a spectacular weekend away at Belknap Hot Springs.
I had it all planned out. We would leave Thursday after we got off work, drive the hour and a half to our final destination where we would forget the rest of the world, soak in the hot springs, and have a great weekend. However, my plans turned upside down when we heard that
Santiam Pass was closed due to an avalanche. An avalache!!?!!?
I'm from New Mexico...those don't happen.
Either we couldn't go, or we had to go 5 hours out of the way to get there.
Terrible.
We decided to head out anyway, drive to Sisters and see if by
the time we got there the pass would be open, clearly we didn't know what an avalanche entailed:

av·a·lanche (āv'ə-lānch') Pronunciation Key
n. A fall or slide of a large mass, as of snow or rock, down a mountainside.
A massive or overwhelming amount; a flood: received an avalanche of mail.
v. av·a·lanched, av·a·lanch·ing, av·a·lanch·es
v. intr.
To fall or slide in a massive or overwhelming amount.
v. tr.
To overwhelm; inundate.

So we drove the nine miles down the pass only to be met with flashing lights and lots of cops. So we turned around.

(On the plus side we did discover that Eric's favorite sweet tart is green)

We decided we'll get dinner in Sisters then see if the pass is open. It turns out that the place we had our first date is in Sisters.

We had so much fun! We talked about the anxieties of our first date
(even though ours happened well after we'd started dating),
where he was going to take me before he decided on the delicious Bronco Billy's, he remembered how I ordered a salad, and the now infamous red dress that I wore.
Things were definitely starting to look up.

We payed the bill and called 511 for the billionth time that night to find out that, yes, the pass was still closed. So we made the best of it. We were already all packed so we decided we would stay the night in Sisters, and pray Belknap would give us a refund for the night. (they did).
We start calling around and find Five Pine Lodge.
It's fairly new and we had always talked about checking it out.
We arrive and they end up giving us a discount on our very own cabin.
Eric dropped me and the luggage off.
I take a peak inside...
I couldn't believe my eyes! The cabin was amazing.

This is my super excited face.
We couldn't believe the blessing of the Lord.

As silly as this may sound, I was reminded of the scripture in Genesis chapter 50 where Joseph is speaking to his brothers who are afraid Joseph will
kill them after now that their father has died,
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."
God took the seemingly bad and turned it around for our good.

I honestly thought that our entire weekend was ruined. Seriously. But it turns out that it was even better than if it had happened the way I had planned. The Lord continues to amaze us with His goodness, and continues to prove the scripture in Proverbs,
"Man makes his plans but the Lord directs his steps."

The next morning we awoke to find that the pass was still closed. Honestly I was
a little bummed. Everything, however was ok. I was still amazed what
God did for us the night before and so trusted that
the five hour drive for whatever reason would be the best thing.
It was.
Because we drove that way, we got to make a stop in Eugene at
Eric's favorite place to eat.
Yummy.
Across the street a store we like to go to whenever we're in Eugene was going out of business.
It just so happened, that that day was the last day and everything was 75% off.
It also just so happened that it was February 1st, which meant that our budget
was new and Eric and I had spending money.
We mosied on over to find a pair of earrings and three CD's for 12 bucks.
Again, the blessing of the Lord.

The drive was beautiful. We took our time, I read a very funny book out loud, and we both enjoyed the scenery.

We arrived at Belknap around 6 o'clock that night.
Checked in to our room with no TV or phone. Glory.
We ordered a pizza and then got ready to go for a dip in the hot springs.

Stylish. We know.

This was the pool that the hot springs flow into.

It was snowing but the water was so warm.
I felt like jello after a few minutes.

This was the view from our room
After we went for a morning dip and got all checked out of our room,
we went exploring in the snow!

View of Belknap from afar

It's amazing to me that the Lord loves us so much,
that He would go out of His way to make two of His kids so happy. To surprise us in such an unexpected way. To teach us to have joy in all circumstances.

To show Himself to us through an avalanche.

Happy Birthday Husband.

Trip to P-town

2008-01-20T22:08:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday, Eric and I decided to take a little trip to Portland

to spend our IKEA gift cards.
Our trip started off as all trips should:
Coffee

We drove past our beautiful mountains

Stopped at the Detroit Lake Bridge. Frolicked a bit, took some rock star pics,
but industrial is really our forte'.

One of the not so rockstar pics...but it's still nice, and you can see the water.

After 3 and half hours we arrive at our destination. We got a wicked awesome
coffee table, and brand new bedding! (pictures of those to come soon)
After about an hour in the madness that is IKEA on a Saturday afternoon,
we took a drive down our favorite street - Burnside.
We hit up Powell's (I could spend days in there), Buffalo Exchange (new cool shoes!),
Urban Outfitters, and of course, Chinatown.

We usually eat at PF Changs, but this trip we were feeling a bit
adventurous. We discovered this new super yummy restaurant called
Henry's Bar and Grill.
We highly recommend it.
This was at our table, and I felt artsy.Eric is way more artsy.

On the drive home. Portland glows at night.

The ride home turned out to be a little longer than expected.
We checked the oil (and by we I mean Eric).An hour or so later we found ourselves attempting to put on chains.
Neither of us had done it before, but we had fun learning!
My job was to yell directions to Eric out the driver side window.
We conquered!!! (And by we I mean he.)
The drive took five hours. We got pulled over twice within an hour
(we have a broken tail light)
And made it home close to two.
HOWEVER,
It was a great day. I love a rainy Portland afternoon.
Even more, I love a rainy Portland afternoon with shopping.
And yet, still more, I love a rainy Portland afternoon with shopping, and most of all:
Eric.

Lazy Sundays

2008-01-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

I have discovered something profound:

We are busy!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. We love our jobs and our ministries which fortunately for Eric and I they are one and the same. Yesterday, we had the privilege of serving the city of La Pine by shoveling snow filled driveways (or as I said about a billion times yesterday quite unintentionally, "snoveling show"), praying for strangers, and really just loving people. We saw over a hundred come to know Christ for the first time, and almost seven hundred were ministered to through a concert that was put on that night. It was amazing.

I forget sometimes how powerful outreach is, and how pouring out into other people inevitably fills us up. It definitely brought perspective and vision for our lives and stirred up passion to see the lost come to know Jesus. What an incredible thing it is to further advance the Kingdom of Heaven.

We got home pretty late last night and collapsed. Which then leads me to today:

A Lazy Sunday.

We started the day not knowing what it held or what we would do. We woke up went to Nancy P's, which has the best marionberry scones in all of Bend, read the Word, then went to church.
Who knew what wonderful little goodies the rest of the day held? Afterwards, we did such an amazing thing: whatever we wanted.

It's not often that a day presents itself with no obligations and so we took advantage. We had a leisurely lunch at a restaurant in the Old Mill, read the paper, talked about lots of things, saw a movie, but most importantly - we took our sweet time.

Now this wonderful evening I sit reflecting on the beauty of a day like today. I'm thankful for rest. For time with Eric. For relaxation.
Today was a day to catch up. Reflect on the miracle of yesterday. Learn more of God's character and recognize that on the seventh day, He rested.

And so, to cap off this lovely day, here is are some pictures to end.

Our New Life

2008-01-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

Well we finally did it...we have joined the world of blogging.
What a great way to share all the happenings of a new life together with friends and family!

Here are a few photos to catch you up on our new life:

November 16, 2007

November 17, 2007 through December 2, 2007
The Honeymoon

Our First Christmas

Eric putting the first ornament on the tree

Don't Ask.

Christmas Morn.
J Lo?I have the best husband in the whole world! New keyboard? Heck yes!
Don't worry, I got him this rad sweater, so we're even.

Warm new coats from the Parnell's to shied us from the up and coming blizzard. How did they know?Cutest new cousins in the whole world!

Jingle Bell race in Boise , Idaho .Chase - He got fourth. We were so proud!
Albuquerque, unaware Jayne, and my mother's third daughter - Gracie.

Eric being artsy. He's very good at that. Classic.

He rides again! My mom was scared for him, but I had faith. GREAT faith.
Other than the whole him getting lost in an unfamiliar city, it was great!Santa Fe. The greatest New Mexican food ever.
We didn't buy them, but this picture makes me wish we had.

New Year's 2007 - 2008

The drive to Eugene.

My first New Year's kiss.

Present Day

I know I said "a few photos" but a lot's happened since we got married.
I hope you enjoyed this view into our lives.
There will be much more to come!
Hello big wide world of blogging.