I love impulse. Not materialistic impulse, but adventurous living impulse. It's one of my best friends. Saturday morning, I got a text from a friend who lives in Hood River. She had come up with a plan to get me to and from the Gorge this weekend, without me touching a steering wheel. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity, because I don't think things like this through, I just go. Alright, so I made sure I hadn't made any important committments, which I hadn't, and then I jumped into the car. Got to Hood River around 2pm, jumped in my friends AWD Audi, and went exploring. We spent the entire afternoon and early evening in and out of the car, driving around roads that she had always wanted to see, and finding parks and cliffs along the Columbia, to take pictures for my darkroom photography class. I love the Gorge. I say this all the time. But I do. Our photography instructor asked us to refrain from Mt. Bachelor and Drake Park photos for our landscape and light assignment. This trip worked out perfectly.

There's something different about film photography. It takes patience, manual setting manipulation, and the mindset that what you set out to create, might be entirely different from what comes out of the chemicals. I've never been good at waiting for things. I just told you, I'm insanely impulsive. I don't like to have to plan things out, or be constrained to a schedule. Perhaps we can compare this side of my personality to digital photography. I want to take a picture of this thing, and it doesn't cost me anything, so I'll take the photo, and I get to see it right away. Whereas, film photography is the opposite. Maybe that's why it's a dying art, because we live in an 'I want it right now' society. Hmmmmmmmmmm? Regardless, I'm stoked about film. I think it's going to teach me things.

I'm having to suppress my impulse lately. I'm almost positive that at least half of my winter will be spent in the Mt. Baker/Bellingham area, and I'm very excited about it. In fact, I want to go now now now. But, of course, I can't. I have school, friends, house, obligations here in Bend, and I can't just pack up and leave, no matter how much half of me wants to. I'm going to miss this place when I leave, absolutely. And if I were to leave now, I would probably regret it quite a bit. But there's something exciting about the idea of packing up everything in a Uhaul this afternoon and getting the hell out of town. I'm crazy.

Peace, love and patience

Some of the things I believe are different than you. Can you handle it?

I don't believe that it matters if we know how old stuff is. The earth. Dinosaurs. Does that change the fact that I believe in Jesus and everything he said? No. Was Jesus running around trying to convince people that the earth was so many years old? No. He was running around loving them and caring for them. Now, that being said. I'm gaining an appriciation for science, and scientists. Their work matters, but it shouldn't change your salvation until they prove that Jesus didn't exist.

I don't care if you want to debate anything and everything until the cows come home, it doesn't change my mind about what I believe, simply because you get heated and show me youtube videos and your interpretations of the Bible. I'm stronger in my beliefs then that, even if you think otherwise, because I won't share my thoughts all the time.

I'm not sure that I care if abortion and gay marriage are legal. In fact, I almost think they should be. I don't think that it's the right of a bunch of Christians to impose our morals on an entire nation through laws. Ya'll seem to think that this is a "Christian" nation. It's really not. The founding fathers were not Christians by your standards, so this nation isn't really either. "One nation, under God", doesn't mean as much as people like to think. I think we need to live a certain way and be an example instead. Think abortion is wrong? Don't outlaw it... just don't have one, and be there for those who might be thinking about having one, and don't judge them for it. Provide educating services for other options. Be involved in places like Planned Parenthood as an abortion advocate. And, people are going to be gay whether they can get married or not. Why can't we let them have a civil union? This nation is supposed to be founded on freedom. It's not the Christians job to say what's free and what isn't. Sorry. But if it was, there's quite a few more things that we ought to be dealing with more often. Drinking. Lying. Cheating. Stealing. Yeah.

My Mom said it would be harder to raise my kids in a society where things like abortion and gay marriage are legal... maybe so. But they're already issues, and they're everywhere. I'm going to have to teach my kids what's right and wrong either way, and I think the world is going to do what it pleases. The ways of the world shouldn't change how I raise my children, if I'm teaching them what is right. What is right doesn't change. The amount of wrong in the world does.

I'm not emergent. I'm not religious either. I don't like either of those labels. I'll associate myself with Jesus til I die, absolutely, but the other things? Blah. I think people like Brian McLaren, Jim Henderson, Rob Bell and Donald Miller all have amazing things to say, and I don't care much for people like Rick Warren or Mark Driscoll. The fact that your church is ginormous doesn't impress me. The car you drive and the huge sound systems you have in your eight different campuses don't either. I don't hate these guys, that wouldn't be right. But I sure don't like with the way they run their ministries.

That's all for the soapbox. Sorry if I've offended you, really.

Peace, love and honesty,