the society of the sea

"If the coast guard did stop by, it was for a cup of coffee. We were part of a society: the society of the sea."

-Latts & Atts

from the first week i breathed life on this planet i became a member of the society of the sea. i have the seas in my veins. and i will promise you this friends, there is no better life than the one spent on the water.

"Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind
That our forefathers harnessed before us
Hear the bells ring as the tight rigging sings
Its a son of a gun of a chorus"

dear friends,

i must say, i truly enjoy reading your blogs. i enjoy reading about your dreams [sleeping or awake], your travels, your thoughts, your struggles, your triumphs, your lives, and your stories. i love being able to connect with you through your words. whether you are 2 blocks, 2 states, or 2,000 miles away. 

i love reading your words, listening to you wordsmith. listening to you wrap and weave words with the skill of wise craftsmen. and you all use them so differently. so beautifully. some of you use raw words. writing allows you to escape, to say what you want to say. for some of you, your writing is thought out, detailed. every word is carefully chosen, exchanged over and over and over until the right combination is found.

your words. i read them all [although perhaps a little too often]. i love your words. i value your words. so please. please. please. please. please. please. write. write a little. write a waterfall of words. but please, write. because if you don't, who will? who will tell the world of your dreams? who will tell the world of your travels? who will tell the world of your stories, your struggles, your anger, your beauty, your sorrows, your joy?

please continue writing friends. 

i like your words.

postscript

p.s.

many new photos up on my art blog: visual abundance

doesn't mean i'm lost

lately i've been loving the song "Lost" by Coldplay. its a song about losing, but not being lost. and there is something about the way that the notes fall into the riff and the way chris martin sings that speaks about redemption.

and i think that's kind of what its all about. i lose. everyday i lose. but i'm not lost. and thats the greatest irony in all of history; everyday we're losing, but at the end of the day, we're not lost. at the end of the day

we have redemption.

we have grace.

we have mercy.

we have restoration.

and that's the truly beautiful part. not just that we are given redemption, grace, but that then

we are restored.

we are made new.

we are brought into a new and better life.

this week has been a week of redemption. its been increasingly refreshing in a world of dry leaves, like small trees bursting through the rotting decay of the forest floor. and leaves opening up to warm, warm sunshine. i feel like i'm feeling the sunshine for the first time in so, so long. 

but its alright. because i feel like redemption is better. being brought back from wandering, from losing, from making a general mess of life is the best gift of all. 

"just because i'm losing

doesn't mean i'm lost."

-coldplay

nice things:

*cooking

*cleaning the boat with my father

*indoor bonfires

*lightening storms

*dresses

*longboarding

*bicycles

*fedoras

*coffee

*tea

*pesto

*guitars

*leftrightleftrightleft

*ray lamontagne cover of gnarls barkley's "crazy"

*the Lost theme song

*dogs

*people taking photographs with my camera

zoooooooo

new photographs up on my art blog. check out some visual abundance.

wedding dress

The raw, but very convicting words of Derek Webb:

If you could love me as a wife 
and for my wedding gift, your life 
Should that be all I'd ever need 
or is there more I'm looking for 

and should I read between the lines 
and look for blessings in disguise 
To make me handsome, rich, and wise 
Is that really what you want 

I am a whore I do confess 
But I put you on just like a wedding dress 
and I run down the aisle 
and I run down the aisle 
I'm a prodigal with no way home 
but I put you on just like a ring of gold 
and I run down the aisle to you 

So could you love this bastard child 
Though I don't trust you to provide 
With one hand in a pot of gold 
and with the other in your side 

I am so easily satisfied 
by the call of lovers so less wild 
That I would take a little cash 
Over your very flesh and blood 

Because money cannot buy 
a husband's jealous eye 
When you have knowingly deceived his wife

be a localvore:

10 Reasons to Buy Local Food

1. Locally grown food tastes better.  Food grown in your own community was probably picked within the past day or two.  It's crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor.  Produce flown or trucked in from California, Florida, Chile or Holland is, quite understandably, much older.  Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles.  In a week-long (or more) delay from harvest to dinner table, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality.
2. Local produce is better for you.  A recent study showed that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly.  Food that is frozen or canned soon after harvest is actually more nutritious than some "fresh" produce that has been on the truck or supermarket shelf for a week.  Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest, retains its nutrients.
3. Local food preserves genetic diversity.  In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packing and shipping; and for an ability to have a long shelf life in the store.  Only a handful of hybrid varieties of each fruit and vegetable meet those rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown.  Local farms, in contrast, grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors.  Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste good.  These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.
4. Local food is GMO-free.  Although biotechnology companies have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms.  Local farmers don't have access to genetically modified seed, and most of them wouldn't use it event if they could.  A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on genetically modified food - most so that they can avoid it.  If you are opposed to eating bioengineered food, you can rest assured that locally grown produce was bred the old-fashioned way, as nature intended.
5. Local food supports local farm families.  With fewer than 1 million Americans now claiming farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed.  And no wonder - commodity prices are at historic lows, often below the cost of production.  The farmer now gets less than 10 cents of the retail food dollar.  Local farmers who sell direct to the consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail price for their food - which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.
6. Local food builds community.  When you buy direct from the farmer, you are reestablishing a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower.  Knowing the farmers gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food.  In many cases, it gives you access to a farm where your children and grandchildren can to go to learn about nature and agriculture.  Relationships built on understanding and trust can thrive.
7. Local food preserves open space.  As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely.  You have probably enjoyed driving out into the country and appreciated the lush fields of crops, the meadows full of wildflowers, the picturesque red barns.  That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable.  When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.
8. Local food keeps your taxes in check.  Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies.  On average, for every $1 in revenue raised by residential development, governments must spend $1.17 on services, thus requiring higher taxes of all taxpayers.  For each dollar of revenue raised by farm, forest, or open space, governments spend 34 cents on services.
9. Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife.  A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued.  Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops.  Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming.  According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage could sequester 12 - 14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry.  In addition, the habitat of a farm - the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings - is the perfect environment for many beloved species of wildlife, including bluebirds, killdeer, herons, bats and rabbits.
10. Local food is about the future.  By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, and that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food.

Buy local food.
Sustain local farms.

these friends of mine

friends. i see Jesus in these people.

alexandria.

the God loving, earth caring, food cooking, beautiful soul that i call my best friend. a lover of God and of people. so full of adventure and life. when i'm around her, i'm more compassionate, more honest, more of the me that God is calling me to be.

jaime.

lays down her life for the best and worst of friends. holds tightly to God's promises and is a friend who truly understands what it takes to stand in the will of God. she keeps me sane when i'm tip-toeing the edge of insanity.

marcus.

the kindest man i know. loves those who don't deserve love. cares more deeply for the people around him than anyone i have ever known. chases after God with such fervor. and never, never, never gives up on anyone.

nathan.

the thinker. the professor. the contemplator. he wrestles with every idea, relationship, aspect of life. when he cares, he cares deeply. he is one-hundred percent in or one-hundred percent out. he is deep and good and full of wisdom. he is my brother, the first person i call. his wisdom is a strong, steady keel in an ocean of waves.

behr.

makes everyday new. everyday bright. everyday beautiful. she's a rock in a crashing sea of unsteady friendships. beautiful, free, and young. she grows boldly and pulls others up off the ground as she grows upward. she's full of forgiveness and mercy. she's my neighbor, my friend, my late-night-confidant. i laugh harder and breathe deeper when we are together.

andrew.

sacrifices sleep, food, homework, sanity for his friends. gives so much of himself. lives abundantly, beautifully, and true. lays down his life for his friends daily. honest and true, and his friendship makes me more so. our first conversation was 10 hours long. (not exaggerating)

paul.

his smile, laughter, humor are contagious, but not ignorantly so. his kindness shows the wisdom of a life that has seen less happy times. he soaks up each day so fully, sometimes, i swear i can see each ray of sunlight sink into his skin. he is so sincere, and i learn what sincerity is every time he hugs me.

arin.

wonderful. wonderful. wonderful. one of the most intelligent minds and souls that i know.  a lover of words and thoughts. he has taught me the value of every-single-word.  every word is carefully chosen. every thought, thought out. he is bluntly honest and wonderfully bold. his life humbles and encourages me.

allison.

humble and beautiful. steady and bright. her laughter lights up rooms. her compassion topples buildings. she has a voice that the most talented lark would envy. a beautiful woman, down to the deepest part of her soul. i am humbled to call her friend.

you bless me more than you know.

"in case of rapture"

i saw this license plate border driving back from the thrift store:

the pedestrian life

i made my first dinner in the new house!

i cooked for trena, gabe, mike, and ben. i made stir-fry with lime-cilantro chicken and peppers and onions. i also made home-made guac. everyone seemed to enjoy it!

pictures to come of food and house soon!

(also: going on a bike ride tomorrow on sophia[my schwinn breezer])

"This is what I’m finding, in glimpses and flashes: this is it. This is it, in the best possible way. That thing I’m waiting for, that adventure, that move-score-worthy experience unfolding gracefully. This is it. Normal, daily life ticking by on our streets and sidewalks, in our houses and apartments, in our beds and at our dinner tables, in our dreams and prayers and fights and secrets – this pedestrian life is the most precious thing any of use will ever experience."

-shauna niequist