A Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I stepped out of my office building in downtown Seattle the other night to hear the sounds of a saxaphonist playing a jazzy Christmas tune. Ahh, Christmas in the city.

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the Christmas season. I am trying something new this year - actually writing a Christmas 'letter', but using my new blog to send it out.

A quick synopsis of the year gone by:

In April, my family joyously welcomed the birth of Isaiah, my nephew. My sister, brother in law and Isaiah live in Chicago, so late October I finally took a trip to see them. He's a cool little guy and pretty darn cute, I must say. Quite amazing to thinking about how a little person isn't there and then is there - wow. I am excited about the opportunity to get to know Isaiah better as he grows and grows. I will have to write more about him later.

Late May and into early June, I was able to travel with my Uncle Carter & Aunt Ellyn to China with a humanitarian relief organization called Heart to Heart International. Although the trip was composed of primarily medical professionals, us non-medical types worked on a couple of service projects. We helped construct a garden area at a senior's home, and then also did some construction at a school for deaf kids. I met some amazing people and tried some interesting food - chicken feet was probably the standout (I don't recommend it). Very interesting to visit the country - it would be nice to go back and see the countryside. We only visited cities while we were there: Beijing, Chengdu (Sichuan Province), and then Hong Kong.

The summer/fall was filled with many things, among them several outdoor adventures. I serve as a coordinator of outdoors trips for the Outdoors ministry at my church. I went on several hikes and backpacking trips this year - of course my camera came with. A few of the trips stand out: a wonderful 3-day backpack trip in the Olympic National Forest, with my church Outdoors ministry, where we hiked on a ridge with beautiful views of Mt. Olympus, saw two bears (the bears were a ways away, which was nice), had mountain goats running thru our camp one morning, and saw elk. We had a great group of people on the trip too. I took another backpacking trip to the Enchantments (almost) in early October. My dad was able to come on this one, along with a few other friends. It was very cold and we even had snow, so we decided to stay put at Lake Colchuck instead of hiking thru the normal Enchantment loop. Hopefuly next year we can get into the Enchantments proper. It was great to have my Dad along to experience what I experience on trips like that - I think he enjoyed it quite a bit, too, which makes it even more special.

I'm still playing soccer with a co-ed team called Mars Attacks (made up mostly of folks from my church). We play year-round. My ball handling skills still need work, so good thing I usually play defense!

Lately, I've jumped into a couple of new things. I am a coach for a peewee basketball team (4-6 year olds) at a local YMCA. We've had a few practices now, sometimes it's kind of like herding cats, but it's been cool to hang out with the kids and meet their parents. The other new thing I've jumped into is training for the King County Explorers Search and Rescue. I've made it thru a few training weekends, and will go thru a few more to complete the training. It's pretty intense at times, but it's been fun learning how to use a compass, tie some new knots and learn more about surviving in the out-of-doors. I've also met some pretty cool people in the group as well.

I continue to work for PND Engineers, Inc. here in Seattle. I have worked there for over 6 years now. This last summer I was able to travel up to Skagway, Alaska on a railroad bridge inspection trip for work. For those who may have taken an Alaskan cruise, the railroad bridge route is called the White Pass & Yukon Route. I worked on the design of the new installed steel girders for one of the bridges we inspected. (That's the bridge in the picture)

I also continue to attend Mars Hill Church, which continues to change and grow like crazy. I am blessed to be a part of this church and am blessed by the friendships I've made there. I help out with Children's Ministry a few Sundays here and there, and also attend a Community Group with other Mars Hill attenders. Because of my involvement with the Church Outdoors Ministry, I was able to attend a church sponsored teaching series for church ministry leaders and community group leaders, the first on 'How People Change', and the second was on 'People In Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change.' It was great to receive teaching on how people can practically work on their sanctification.

It's been quite a year. There are many things to be thankful for.

On this Christmas, I wish you hope that comes from knowing that Jesus will win in the end, I wish you joy that comes from rejoicing in Jesus' sacrifice to save us from sin, and peace that comes from resting in Jesus' promises.

Grace,

Lisa

Hospitals

I visited a friend in the hospital just before Thanksgiving.


It was tough to be there in the hospital. It was hard to be around people who were physically hurting. It was tough to see my friend in there, having to stay there because they were not certain what his body was doing, or if it could hold up outside the hospital on its own. It was hard to think about what would happen if my friend was not there anymore - what would happen to his kids, his wife, his family?


I think I feel uncomfortable in hospitals because it's uncomfortable being around suffering. I don't know exactly what to do with it. Do I smile in the face of death, putting on a mask, or do I slog around in pessimism, not expecting anything better? Those are two extremes. What I want to do is face death, suffering and pain head on, certainly try to avoid them if it is prudent, but if suffering is inevitable, i don't want to be afraid of it. I want my fear to be replaced with trust - trust in the Sovereign and Good God who knows the future, and has my best interest, His best interest, in mind.

I think it's good to see the whole picture of humanity, experience our depravity, and suffering is part of that human picture. Seeing people suffer, like my friend, make me realize how fragile life is - how quickly life can change. I see my need for something deeper than day to day life, but for something that is eternal and will endure thru suffering and that is bigger than suffering. I need hope to truly enjoy life.




Seeing suffering and realizing it could also happen to you is also a good way to put things in life in perspective. What do I want to leave behind after I'm gone from this world? Is getting that new car or home really that important? Nope.

My friend is doing much better, but the cause of his illness is still a mystery.

Why Beacon?

Why Beacon?

I live on a hill called Beacon, and on an avenue called Beacon here in Seattle. My housemates and I just had a house party, where we purposefully named our house 'The Beacon'. The word Beacon has been on my mind.

I like the word 'Beacon'. The word is attractive to me because it has meaning on more than one level. A beacon is a light, and provides light to help people on their way. A beacon is a physical object, but can also be a person, a thought, or a rebuke. There are also deep spiritual connotations to the word. This is also appealing to me because I want my blog to reflect something deeper than the ordinary goings on in my life.

Why Blog?

I've enjoyed reading others' blogs and have gotten to write a few for the Mars Hill Outdoors Ministry (see 'Links'). Why not start my own? Lately, I've enjoyed writing more creatively, so figured a blog would be a good outlet for some of my musings.

Over the past year and a half, there has been quite a few changes in my life - some hard changes, some pain, but also some amazing joys. I feel that I have come to see life in new ways, see relationships in new ways, and also appreciate the Living God in new ways. I enjoy writing - and so why not share some of these new experiences and thoughts with other people? Perhaps some of the things I write may shed a little light on what other people are going thru?

So, sit back, relax, and hope you enjoy the 'Beacon'.

A Vision of Struggle

The dark and dampness surrounded me like a heavy, constricting blanket.

With a white knuckled grip, I held onto a rope, suspended in the darkness. The rope cut into my palm, but I could not let go. I felt myself slipping.

I held out my arm, and frantically strained to feel something more to hold on to. I felt blood running down my wrist, but I could not let go for fear of falling - falling into the unknown.

Finally I touched it - another rope - and this one felt stronger, thicker.

I abandoned my old bloodied rope and grasped the new rope with both hands. This one felt strong. I felt secure in my choice (or was it really my choice) of a new lifeline. Yes, this one will hold me, I told myself, and hope swelled.

The rope that felt strong began to disintegrate, slowly at first but then more and more rapidly. Again I reached into the darkness, straining to feel the faintest touch of another rope. I found one and reached for it, only to find it gone.

Gone.

Only the black void was there to catch me - or so I thought.

I fell on a rock, solid and strong, eternal, with not a hint of wavering. All I had to do was stand upon it.