Chistmas Video

Below is a video from the Advent Conspiracy that intends for us to get back to the heart of CHRISTmas.  Hope this is meaningful to you.

Here is a website with some ideas on alternative gift giving: www.rethinkingchristmas.com

Happy Day of Thanks!

Over the weekend my family was in town and we had a great time hanging out! Troy came in on Friday from Germany so he just missed Thanksgiving with us but we made up for it on Saturday by going to the beach and walking through Christmas lights. Here are a couple pics from Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Maddie! 

She loves her tongue and everyone loves her. It was great to play and be silly with Maddie all weekend! 

Our Feast

We made food for 20 but there were only 6 of us. One more reason I'm glad Troy came home- he is cleaning up on left-overs with me. 

Bath Time 

Maddie is our little dolly. It's amazing to me how many different expressions a baby can have on their face. 

I wish I still had my hooded towel! 

SoCal On Fire

This weekend I was planning on going to a monastery in Santa Barbara for a retreat with several people from our church.  The retreat is focused on getting away from the noise of life to listen to God and reflect His work in our life. I attended the retreat last year as a participant and this year would have been one of the leaders. The beauty and peace of God rests in that place. It was also there that God began to heal some deep wounds in my life. Needless to say, the monastery is special to me and many others.

 Well, we did not go because there were some serious fires close to the area and the roads were closed.  Soon after we realized that the monastery had burned down along with hundreds of homes and a portion of Westmont College, a nearby Christian University. Not only has Santa Barbara had severe fires but also many places in Orange County, about 15 miles East of where my brother Tyson lives, and Sylmar which is north of us by about 25 miles. Many of us are mourning the loss of homes, keepsakes, and even lives. Please pray for those who have lost so much. Please pray for a friend of ours who is a pastor with a young family in Sylmar who lost their home and everything in it while they were helping others. 

I have attached some pictures of the Monastery including the courtyard, a reading room and a place where I sat and took pictures of the sunset until it finally was dark one evening.  

November in LA!

It is kind of cold here but I don't think that counts as fall. After being in New York (where I took about 100 pictures of trees, no joke) I notice that the leaves are either green or dead- there is no in-between of orange, yellow, burnt orange, red, burgundy. Green and brown is all we got. Maybe because you either water the plants or don't and then they die. Or maybe because most of the trees are palm trees. I love trees! The longer I live in LA, the more I have a passion for and need to see trees. 

Here are a few pictures of Central Park trees.

Troy comes back home again on Friday and I think he is going to try to post again soon.  He has a bunch of pictures from Berlin, Barcelona, and Paris.  I hope I get to travel to those places someday.  

Currently, I am thinking of the holidays: How I can honor Jesus and serve Him in a culture that values serving ourselves first, which is very easy for me to get wrapped up in;  and how to love my family and friends well as we celebrate Christ together.  I have to be honest, I have been very anti-gift giving lately.  I just want to hang out and let people know how much they matter to me without having to buy something that they probably don't need.  I do have a great burden to spend my time and money on those that I see in need- like my neighbor who is having trouble finding a job, the villages I visited in Ethiopia who are facing possible relocation due to the vast deforestation of their land, and my baby nieces whom I love and want to make sure are well cared for.  

I want to start new traditions of sharing Christ with those in need and spending quality time with one another without the need for gift-wrap and Christmas sweaters. I need to pray that God help me be loving toward those who want to continue traditional gift-giving... I know Troy is dying for a new keyboard- how can I not love him. :) 

A few more pics...

Coffee and cupcake before 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' show. Mmm!  

Troy with Conan!

 

Us & P!NK just after the show. The performance was great! 

Today's Pics

We saw Blue Man Group the other night. It was amazing! They had us put paper around our heads- part way through the show everything went to black light and all of our heads lit up. This was probably one of the most creative interactive art shows we have ever seen. 

We are staying just down the street from MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art). They have Vincent van Gogh's painting 'Starry Night' and hopefully we will get to see it tomorrow.  For now, here's the pic just outside. I liked it :) 

St. Patrick's Cathedral

I think this is one of my favorite places in New York. The cathedral is huge, has the most intricate design and stained glass and smells like a a log stove and a touch of incense. There are candles everywhere which make it warm and cozy.  I have gone twice in the last 3 days. Yesterday, I went to pray and read a bit. It was awesome to worship God in such a beautiful place.

Troy playing at the show last night. They had a lot of fun... so did I.

Isn't this picture cool? :) It looks better when it's not downgraded. They were rockin! 

Fun in New York!

After our weekend together in LA, Troy and I traveled to New York yesterday.  He is still touring and they play a bunch of shows here and then head to London (while I go back home, booo). If you want to see Troy play, catch him on The View tomorrow morning or Conan O'Brien on Thursday.  We are having so much fun in New York- exploring and eating A LOT! The food is great here!  Tonight we saw Blue Man Group. It was amazing! The art, musicianship, creativity, and comedy in that show is some of the best we have ever seen. 

Troy's new guitar for tour. 

Our hotel room- so fancy. I love this bed! 

Us at Time Square. We are totally tourists! 

¡Muy Contento!

Troy comes home this Friday! I am so happy! I think that the first thing he will do when he gets here is give me a kiss, and the second will be to de-decorate the organ. Yes, I totally decorated his organ for fall. It is so nice with a green runner, some autumn leaves, indian corn in full color, and a nice scented candle. I showed him the other day over a video chat and he wanted me to immediately clean off the 'sacred space'. The organ is the perfect height and color for fall decorum! Being a bit defiant but mostly having fun with him, I told Troy that he would have to come home and take them off himself. Well, this week he's home and I prefer my husband to any decoration so I will just have to take a picture to remember my seasonal organ bliss! :) 

The organ is so happy here! This could cause serious strife in our marriage by posting this picture. 

I also took the liberty of decorating the book case full of CD's in the living room. It is a bit much, I agree. :) 

To give an update on my neighbors, we held a neighborhood BBQ last Saturday in our backyard. I am loving getting to know the families on my street and just beyond.  We talked and ate burgers and enchiladas while the kids decorated pumpkins and cupcakes. Then all of the adults joined in on the cupcake decorating.  We had a great time and I can see that my neighbors want to be a part of a greater community.

I am realizing that becoming a community takes a lot of effort and that it cannot all come from me.  As much as I enjoy hanging with people and sharing in their lives while trying to live out Jesus' love, I am praying for others who want to do the same to join me.  I believe my neighbors are looking for hope and a sense of belonging. They are seeking out God in some way.  I ache for them to find Him.  As our relationships grow, I need wisdom and courage to be bold in speaking the God's truth to them. I am excited for whatever is next- God is doing an amazing work in my neighborhood! 

Pics from Our Year

Pumpkin Patch

My friend Sam-Ana and her kids took me to the Pumpkin Patch with them on Saturday.  It was beautiful to be in nature and to feel like it was fall. 

The Sunflower Forest!

 

Old men singing 'Go back to your wife and family.' They were great! 

Sam-Ana and Zion on the hayride. There was a lot of dust.

 

Eden and Zion on top of the haystack being goofy. 

Learning about my Neighbors

I said in my first post that I have really been wanting to love my neighbors- to know them and hang out with them and share in the beauty of God with them.  I am so excited, it's happening! Honestly, I am amazed at how God is totally bringing people into my life.  

On Wednesday I had dinner with one of my neighbors who walks her dogs by my house often.  We originally struck up a conversation because I thought her dog's name was Banana, which it was not.  We started talking about random stuff like the dogs, her job, and the church and I ended up walking with her most of the way to her house.  The awesome thing about it was that she had said she felt like she really needed to read the Bible or go to church and now here I was, a pastor. 

I thought that a BBQ might be a good way for our neighbors to get to know one another so on Friday I walked to our neighbors homes passed out flyers for it. As I met people, I realized we have a lot of young families in our neighborhood and a good amount of diversity. I have never done a 'gather the neighbors event' so I really don't know what the turn out will be like. This week is going to include some serious prep work- the BBQ is on Saturday. 

My final neighbor story of this post: I woke up EARLY on Saturday morning (I think it was 7am). As I laid in my bed wondering why I was awake Starbucks popped into my head. My old co-worker and friend Shannon still works there and God keeps bringing her to mind.  So, I walked to Starbucks to see if she was there.  She was not there. I was bummed. I didn't even really want coffee. As I stared at the pastry case thinking that sugar might make up for the walk Shannon came around the corner. The first things out of her mouth were, "Trisha! How are you? It's so weird that you are here because I have been having all of these 'God moments' lately and I have been thinking that maybe I need to go to church." That was rad to hear. I let her know that I had only come to see her and that God has been putting her on my heart and that I am praying for her. I think I am going to go to class with her at USC sometime soon. I am so glad I got out of bed. 

By the way, I preached yesterday at church on Philippians 4:4-9. I am thankful for God to speak through me even though I always have a mini internal freak out right before. 

Happy Little Madison

Troy said we should add new pictures each time we post.  Here's my newest favorite- our niece Maddie! 

In Need of Rest

I think one of the most important things that I am learning is to both live and minister out of a quiet place. I am really good at being busy- too good. And what I end up doing is not valuing my personal time- the time that I spend taking care of my soul.  Since Troy has been gone (a little over 2 weeks) I have managed to fill most hours with activity. Each day full of something wonderful like a good conversation with a friend or something hard like grieving the loss of another friend and helping others through.  

I am being forced into slowing down. This morning my body told me that I have had enough- I had a migraine and then threw-up (sorry, I know it's sick). I didn't realize how exhausted my body has been. I didn't want to rest. I was trying to read about the Sabbath! Trying to learn what it means to take a day off for real.  I did not expect a day of rest to come in this form.  

More than anything, it's difficult to trust God to take care of everything in His time. This may seem like a big leap, but I have been working really hard to minister to every person and take care of all the needs I see around me.  

slow down...  

God is so good to give us rest and to call it holy.  I was told recently that it's more important to run at a pace that I can keep up for the next 30-40 years of ministry rather than the next 3-4 weeks. This means a lot more rest and a lot less pewk.  Nobody wants that. :) 

Day Off In London

Hello from London!  I'm out here playing a bunch of TV's shows and promo with P!nk.  We've been in London now for about a week and I love it here!  A couple days ago I had a chance to get out and see the city a little bit.  I got a day pass for the tube (the subway) and went to as many places as I could.  I saw Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London and a bunch of other places in-between.  It's fun being out on the road and getting to see the world a bit.  I'll post more soon...

A Friend's Journey

The last few days have been quite a whirl wind and a bit intense.  A good friend of ours, Mitch Thomas, met Jesus face to face yesterday after battling Leukemia for the last year and a half. Everyone who knows Mitch loves Mitch! He was a part of the ministry here in Pasadena up through his diagnosis and did not move back to Spokane until earlier this year. We are part of the many in our community that are hurting over our loss.  However, I am so excited that Mitch gets to be with Jesus! If you want to read more about his incredible journey check out this link: Mitch Thomas' Journey

Please pray for this community. I believe that God wants to do healing work in bringing people into reconciliation with Him through celebrating Mitch's life. We are having a memorial service on Saturday at 1:00pm and inviting all who were touched by Mitch. 

Wahoo, a 3rd Post!

I am just finishing breakfast (yes, it is 12:51pm right now) and have planned a whole day of running errands, cleaning and paying bills. Today is my day off and Troy left yesterday for tour so I am reorganizing a bit while he is gone.  As much as I enjoy having free reign to decorate and organize part of me is doing this because being busy fills time and I really miss Troy when he's not home. I am so used to being married and having him here that when he's out of town I kick into turbo Martha Stewart mode. So, I am trying to live on the glass is overflowing side of life without faking it. I really am hurting because I LOVE being with Troy- he is my best friend and he is hilarious. But on the flip side I really enjoy the quiet time, the girl time and chick flicks, and decorating for fall with no critique that our place looks too girly.  

We are both looking forward to the ministry that God has for us in this season.  I am going to get to know neighbors, and spend time reading, praying and being with people. I am hoping to invite our neighbors over for a backyard hang.  

As for Troy, he gets to use the gifts God has given him and share his life with the P!nk band. He will be traveling all over the world with them (Canada, Europe, Australia...) and will be home for short spurts in between. God has definitely called Troy to be a light in the music industry which can be a very dark place. Please pray for Troy while he is on tour. If you would like to join me I am praying Psalm 23 for him: 

The LORD is my shepherd, 

I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters. 

He restores my soul; 

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I fear no evil, for You are with me; 

Your rod and your staff, 

They comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; 

You have anointed my head with oil; 

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all of the days of my life, 

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

Got It

I got the gig with Pink!  

-Troy 

Numero Uno: sort-of

Today we are starting a new blog. We weren't sure if anyone was reading our old one (that we created and then never update- oops, it had some great pictures though) until we were on vacation and some friends we rarely see told us they were waiting for the updates I had promised nearly 6 months ago.  So, here's the update Beck. 

We did just return from vacation and had a great time hanging with our family!  Troy was all about shooting nerf guns and I wanted to ride bikes 24-7. It was nice to be in the forest again- LA cannot manufacture the beauty that seems almost effortless in the OR. 

Now that we are back to the grind, I am finding that I really want to know all of my neighbors. Like really know them and have them over for dinner and coffee and to play the wii.  I have never felt the huge urge like I have recently to walk up to their doors and say hello and just hang out for a while.  I wish more people had porch swings so we could talk and swing. I sound like a hill-billie. Anyway, I really want to know my neighbors. Hopefully I will have some good stories for you about them- I already got a hug from one neighbor who told me he was gay and then called me baby. 

As for Troy, he is at a pretty huge audition right now which I think he will probably get.  He is still at work on writing his own stuff and he is planning to do a Christmas album this year titled 'Merry Folkin' Christmas' which I think is a brilliant name.  We'll see what happens this year with the music biz. Nothing is ever for sure which makes us trust God a lot.  I am sure Troy will post soon too...

Promise another blog soon (and some pics).