Allright, here's the latest:
The past couple weeks have been kinda slow on the business side of things at the cafe. While we have been getting new customers virtually every day, there are still times where no one comes in as well. Part of that is due to some unusual circumstances which haven't allowed Sam and me to go promote at PCC, and some of it is just because we are starting a business from the ground and it takes awhile. Needless to say, the word is getting out to the community and we're excited for that. Today especially has been encouraing because we had a good time promoting and there have been many new people who have come in to check it out due to the signs we have up or just because of word of mouth. I talked to one of the leaders of the Black Student Alliance at PCC and she wants to use the cafe for a poetry slam they put on. All good things! God is doing stuff down here, and we're trying to give him the credit. Sam and I are trying to surrender the whole ministry to God and have faith (ie do what we can do, and then give the results to God and trust Him), but it's so easy to grab on and try to control things ourselves! Always a struggle...
We are having open mic nights every other Friday evening, and they have been incredible. It has actually seemed really therapeutic for many people to come and get things off of their chests. We've experienced quite the range of talent and a variety of performances, from rap to piano playing to spoken word to oprah to full bands. It's a great way to facilitate community where people can express themselves in a safe environment.
On the other Friday evenings we started that gathering I mentioned in my previous post. We are calling it Doulos, and we're doing it for three months and then reevaluating (By the way, Doulos is greek for slave or bond servant, showing who we pledge our allegiance and service to). We had the first one a couple weeks ago, and it went great. People really felt okay to speak up and share as I facilitated a discussion, and we also had a good time of praise.
DJ and Charese and Marlene came down this past week/end. It was wonderful to see them. We went to the Melting Pot for dinner Saturday, and it was incredible. Fondue is great. Also, DJ and Charese are pregnant. Good times. Unky Doug.
Peace,
Doug
Monday, October 15, 2007
Less Frequent Posts
Hello friends, for those who actually read this, I wanted to let you know that I am going to write less frequently now. It will probably be like once every couple week instead of every six or seven days. I will probably keep putting pics up (which I have a few I need to upload soon). The blog's main purpose was to help with the transition from Spokane to Pasadena, so if you do read this and want to stay updated, just give me a call and I would love to chat. Like I mentioned, I'll probably update this once every couple weeks or so.
I'll write an update soon. Thanks!
I'll write an update soon. Thanks!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Internet Fun
Hello friends,
Quick word here (after I wrote those words, I realized that I think I start almost every blog off with something like that. And usually they're not that quick or short. Oh well).
God's working in the lives of the people here in Pasadena. For the past couple weeks, Sam and I have been feeling like God is trying to do more in our community. There are a lot of people who are pretty new in their faith, and they have been growing. At the same time, Sam and I have been feeling convicted that God wants to grow people more, so that we can become more mature in our faith. For most of us, the only time we spend some time in the Word with others is at Crux on Wednesday nights, and we haven't been doing praise and worship there because it is an outreach first gathering.
So Sam and I have been praying and wondering what we should do. Last Wednesday Sam spoke on this topic at Crux, and afterwards there was a tremendous response from a large part of the "core" of Crux. People have been feeling the same way-that they want to be fed in other ways, they want to step up in ministry and serve others who are younger, and they just want more of God. It was incredibly encouraging to see how God has been working in everybody's lives, guiding and convicting us in similar ways.
The students who spoke up on Wednesday at Crux have decided that they will take the week to really seek the Lord out (in prayer and in the Bible) and get together again this week to see what they have come up with. Most of the people I've talked to all agree that they want to have a time of corporate praise/worship, some more accountability, some more in-depth teaching/learning in the Word, and a greater time of corporate prayer. So we're going to get together this week and see what we are going to do. Very exciting! I might be the one who is heading up the teaching at these gatherings, which I'm excited about. It will be good to get back into teaching the Word like I was in Spokane.
Please be in prayer as we try to listen to God and be more obedient. It is exciting because I feel like with this other gathering we are becoming a more holistic/healthy ministry/community. We have our outreach focused avenue of Crux, and now we're getting another gathering together for those who are interested. And we have the everyday ministry of the cafe as well.
Another note: Sam and I have been quite convicted of this idea: I have all to often thought of Christianty as an adjective in my life, not as the main noun. In other words, I consider myself to be caucasian, an athlete, a musician, have red/brown hair, a Christian, etc. Jesus often times is another adjective, another part of my life which describes who I am, but not the core from which I find my identity and live. Jesus wants us to find out identity solely in Him, understanding that everything seems like rubbish/crap compared to the all surprassing greatness of knowing Him (Philippians 3). Jesus needs to be the best part, the main part, with all the other "parts" of me being far less important. Check this out: say you are meeting someone. They ask you who you are, what you do, etc. And the most truthful, accurate way of describing yourself is for you to say "I know God" or something like that. It may sound crazy/corny/stupid, but if it was really the way you felt, if you really believed and understood how amazing it is to know God and to be found in Him, then it would seem incredibly natural and right. For me, Jesus is all too often simply another adjective which contributes to who I identify myself to be, when in reality he deserves to be the one who defines who I am, motivates what I do, and supplies the energy to carry all of this out. Hit me back if you have any thoughts on this.
Once again, this is long, but it's been awhile. Heck, I don't know if anyone even reads this, but it's a good way to get some thoughts out there.
Til next time,
Doug
Quick word here (after I wrote those words, I realized that I think I start almost every blog off with something like that. And usually they're not that quick or short. Oh well).
God's working in the lives of the people here in Pasadena. For the past couple weeks, Sam and I have been feeling like God is trying to do more in our community. There are a lot of people who are pretty new in their faith, and they have been growing. At the same time, Sam and I have been feeling convicted that God wants to grow people more, so that we can become more mature in our faith. For most of us, the only time we spend some time in the Word with others is at Crux on Wednesday nights, and we haven't been doing praise and worship there because it is an outreach first gathering.
So Sam and I have been praying and wondering what we should do. Last Wednesday Sam spoke on this topic at Crux, and afterwards there was a tremendous response from a large part of the "core" of Crux. People have been feeling the same way-that they want to be fed in other ways, they want to step up in ministry and serve others who are younger, and they just want more of God. It was incredibly encouraging to see how God has been working in everybody's lives, guiding and convicting us in similar ways.
The students who spoke up on Wednesday at Crux have decided that they will take the week to really seek the Lord out (in prayer and in the Bible) and get together again this week to see what they have come up with. Most of the people I've talked to all agree that they want to have a time of corporate praise/worship, some more accountability, some more in-depth teaching/learning in the Word, and a greater time of corporate prayer. So we're going to get together this week and see what we are going to do. Very exciting! I might be the one who is heading up the teaching at these gatherings, which I'm excited about. It will be good to get back into teaching the Word like I was in Spokane.
Please be in prayer as we try to listen to God and be more obedient. It is exciting because I feel like with this other gathering we are becoming a more holistic/healthy ministry/community. We have our outreach focused avenue of Crux, and now we're getting another gathering together for those who are interested. And we have the everyday ministry of the cafe as well.
Another note: Sam and I have been quite convicted of this idea: I have all to often thought of Christianty as an adjective in my life, not as the main noun. In other words, I consider myself to be caucasian, an athlete, a musician, have red/brown hair, a Christian, etc. Jesus often times is another adjective, another part of my life which describes who I am, but not the core from which I find my identity and live. Jesus wants us to find out identity solely in Him, understanding that everything seems like rubbish/crap compared to the all surprassing greatness of knowing Him (Philippians 3). Jesus needs to be the best part, the main part, with all the other "parts" of me being far less important. Check this out: say you are meeting someone. They ask you who you are, what you do, etc. And the most truthful, accurate way of describing yourself is for you to say "I know God" or something like that. It may sound crazy/corny/stupid, but if it was really the way you felt, if you really believed and understood how amazing it is to know God and to be found in Him, then it would seem incredibly natural and right. For me, Jesus is all too often simply another adjective which contributes to who I identify myself to be, when in reality he deserves to be the one who defines who I am, motivates what I do, and supplies the energy to carry all of this out. Hit me back if you have any thoughts on this.
Once again, this is long, but it's been awhile. Heck, I don't know if anyone even reads this, but it's a good way to get some thoughts out there.
Til next time,
Doug
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Quick Note
Hey, felt like the Lord was teaching something, so I thought I'd share it with y'all. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Sam and I have been making it a priority and a habit to pray together before we open up the cafe each morning. During these times of prayer, we have been asking God for encouragement, for new people to come, for God to make something great out of our often misguided and small efforts. One of the main things God has been teaching me is that through prayer we can see that God is working and give him the credit/glory for it. Because we have been chatting with God in the mornings (and consequently more throughout the day), we have been more aware of God answering our prayers. Instead of just glossing over someone new coming to the cafe, I can attribute it to God and thank him for the encouragement and for working. The Psalms talk all the time about ascribing to God the glory that is due him. Through prayer, I am beginning to see all the blessings he gives to me, and I am grateful for them. I think it makes for a healthier, more grateful, more biblical relationship with God. Recognizing God working throughout the day is like I am putting on a new set of lens to view the world because I can rightly attribute things to God and thank him for them.
Those are my thoughts for the night, bye
Doug
Those are my thoughts for the night, bye
Doug
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Sunday
Hello friends,
It is now Sunday and Mitchell and I are currently slothing it in front of the tv, eating chips and salsa and enjoying two leather recliners. Seahawks football starts in t minus one hour. Gotta love Sundays
Mitch is doing well, he has been out of the hospital since Monday morning. His birthday is this Tuesday the 18th, and then the next day he is supposed to go back into the hospital for his fourth (and hopefully final) chemo treatment. It's been real nice having him around. Yesterday Dion, Mitch and I decided to take a trip out to Manhattan Beach and check out the water. It was actually pretty chilly (much cooler than the water at Laguna Beach), but it was fun. Sam and Christy took off for Oregon on Wednesday for a friends wedding, and they are coming back tonight around 10. I've been training two girls (Rebecah and Tahlia) in the cafe and that is coming along nicely. Sam, Dion, and I have been setting up a booth and passing out fliers at PCC the past couple weeks, so business at the cafe has been increasing fairly steadily. We are certainly pretty slow still, but the word is getting out slowly but surely. I have been trying my best to remember the names of all the people who come in, but it's getting difficult due to all the people coming in. I believe we're going to do another open mic night this Friday evening.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, as you can tell things are going well and God is moving. He has been really affirming what we're doing and Sam and I are confident we are on the right track with the whole cafe ministry.
Til next time,
Doug
It is now Sunday and Mitchell and I are currently slothing it in front of the tv, eating chips and salsa and enjoying two leather recliners. Seahawks football starts in t minus one hour. Gotta love Sundays
Mitch is doing well, he has been out of the hospital since Monday morning. His birthday is this Tuesday the 18th, and then the next day he is supposed to go back into the hospital for his fourth (and hopefully final) chemo treatment. It's been real nice having him around. Yesterday Dion, Mitch and I decided to take a trip out to Manhattan Beach and check out the water. It was actually pretty chilly (much cooler than the water at Laguna Beach), but it was fun. Sam and Christy took off for Oregon on Wednesday for a friends wedding, and they are coming back tonight around 10. I've been training two girls (Rebecah and Tahlia) in the cafe and that is coming along nicely. Sam, Dion, and I have been setting up a booth and passing out fliers at PCC the past couple weeks, so business at the cafe has been increasing fairly steadily. We are certainly pretty slow still, but the word is getting out slowly but surely. I have been trying my best to remember the names of all the people who come in, but it's getting difficult due to all the people coming in. I believe we're going to do another open mic night this Friday evening.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, as you can tell things are going well and God is moving. He has been really affirming what we're doing and Sam and I are confident we are on the right track with the whole cafe ministry.
Til next time,
Doug
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Quick Update
Hello friends, a couple of things:
1. first off you should check out our website: corridorspasadena.com
It's legit. It's pretty new so we're working on adding things, but it's a good start.
c. We just mailed a new newsletter which shows what's been up over the past month or so and has pics and all that good stuff. If you got the first one about a month and a half ago, then one should be coming real soon. If you didn't, and you want one, email me and let me know.
VII. Because I spent a good amount of time writing that letter, I won't spend a lot of time writing this blog update, but feel free to call me or email me if you want to know more of what's going down here
rrs. Glorious news is upon us: the NFL season starts in t minus forty minutes, and tonights match up should be a doozy. Colts and Saints. Lovely. Sam and I just ordered NFL Sunday ticket, which means we will be able to watch all of the Seahawks games, as well as endless hours of all the other matches. Glorious. We plan on setting up shop on Sundays in Sam's living room, getting our recliners out, some mini fridges full of goodies and refreshments, put on our Seahawks jerseys, and sloth it for a majority of the day. Probably all day. Yes, we've turned into those guys.
4. On a different note, we've all been really encouraged by the cafe. It's been slow (especially in the mornings), but there I've already established some good relationships with some locals who come regularly, and I'm confident that we are doing what God wants us to be doing. Tomorrow night we are having an open mic session, and there has been a great response by local musicians and artists. Should be fun, and should be a great way to get some exposure. God's been giving us encouragment every day, showing us that (even if it seems slow) we are on the right track. Many people have said that this kind of community hang out is exactly what the area needs and people have been stoked.
IX. Sam and I have gotten up every morning a half hour before we need to to get together and just pray and chat with God and read some of the Word. It's been good, because it is something I'm beginning to rely upon. It's often tough at first because I'm sleepy, but God always meets us there and gives us a word for the day.
q. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts, I thought this update would be quick but it turned out to be long. Oh well. I don't have any new pics, so I'll just take one of myself on this computer and post it just in case some of you forgot what I look like.
Til next time!
Doug
PS happy bday to Dad, Smashly, Justine, Bishop Thomas, and everyone else who's day is right around here
1. first off you should check out our website: corridorspasadena.com
It's legit. It's pretty new so we're working on adding things, but it's a good start.
c. We just mailed a new newsletter which shows what's been up over the past month or so and has pics and all that good stuff. If you got the first one about a month and a half ago, then one should be coming real soon. If you didn't, and you want one, email me and let me know.
VII. Because I spent a good amount of time writing that letter, I won't spend a lot of time writing this blog update, but feel free to call me or email me if you want to know more of what's going down here
rrs. Glorious news is upon us: the NFL season starts in t minus forty minutes, and tonights match up should be a doozy. Colts and Saints. Lovely. Sam and I just ordered NFL Sunday ticket, which means we will be able to watch all of the Seahawks games, as well as endless hours of all the other matches. Glorious. We plan on setting up shop on Sundays in Sam's living room, getting our recliners out, some mini fridges full of goodies and refreshments, put on our Seahawks jerseys, and sloth it for a majority of the day. Probably all day. Yes, we've turned into those guys.
4. On a different note, we've all been really encouraged by the cafe. It's been slow (especially in the mornings), but there I've already established some good relationships with some locals who come regularly, and I'm confident that we are doing what God wants us to be doing. Tomorrow night we are having an open mic session, and there has been a great response by local musicians and artists. Should be fun, and should be a great way to get some exposure. God's been giving us encouragment every day, showing us that (even if it seems slow) we are on the right track. Many people have said that this kind of community hang out is exactly what the area needs and people have been stoked.
IX. Sam and I have gotten up every morning a half hour before we need to to get together and just pray and chat with God and read some of the Word. It's been good, because it is something I'm beginning to rely upon. It's often tough at first because I'm sleepy, but God always meets us there and gives us a word for the day.
q. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts, I thought this update would be quick but it turned out to be long. Oh well. I don't have any new pics, so I'll just take one of myself on this computer and post it just in case some of you forgot what I look like.
Til next time!
Doug
PS happy bday to Dad, Smashly, Justine, Bishop Thomas, and everyone else who's day is right around here
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Open...slowly
Allright here I am chillin in the cafe. It is Thursday around noon, and this is the second official day being open. Yesterday was crazy chaotic: the credit card machine wasn't working (and still isn't), I hadn't gotten any petty cash for the register, I hadn't labeled the different buttons on the cash register (which made it confusing when I was ringing people up), and I didn't have any milk at first (which is a problem when you're selling drinks). But it was fun, and it went well. We sold around 20 drinks during the day, most of them being either from people in Crux or from a group of pastors that came and used our conference room for a meeting. Everyone seems to really like the drinks, which is great. We just need to get the word out more.
I pretty much stayed at the cafe from 730am til 1030 pm yesterday, because I closed up around 6 and then did a bunch of closing/cleaning duties. I have a feeling there are going to be many long days at the cafe in the next month or so. Sam and I got the chance to pray the past couple days before the cafe opened, and we're going to contine to do that so that we start each day off on the right foot. As far as marketing goes, we made some quarter sheet fliers and Sam and Christy went over to Pasadena City College to set up a booth and pass them out. A bunch of people signed up to play music at the cafe, so we're going to try to start doing those next Friday. I think that will be the best way to grow the cafe and get the word out, because whoever is playing will want to bring their friends and then they'll get exposed to the cafe and hopefully it'll just spread from there. Some of the kids in the community have been really helpful in passing out fliers and they seem to be very excited about it, which is encouraging. Both Sam and Christy are taking classes right now (Christy at USC, Sam at PCC), so things are busy for them, but we're doing what we can to grow this ministry through God's help. It's pretty slow right now, but that's just the way it's going to be for a bit until the word gets out. The people who have come really like it, so I think it's just a matter of time. I need to not be discouraged by the slow start.
Thalia, Leo's younger sister, is moving into our house this weekend. She is very ambitious in her desire to clean up the house, make it nicer, and even cook, which is exciting for me!
I had a great time back in Spokane/Omak this past week, it was good to see y'all. I'm excited to get back here though and see what God has in store for the community. I greatly appreciate your prayers and phone calls.
I will try to put some new pics up later this week...
Til next time
Doug
I pretty much stayed at the cafe from 730am til 1030 pm yesterday, because I closed up around 6 and then did a bunch of closing/cleaning duties. I have a feeling there are going to be many long days at the cafe in the next month or so. Sam and I got the chance to pray the past couple days before the cafe opened, and we're going to contine to do that so that we start each day off on the right foot. As far as marketing goes, we made some quarter sheet fliers and Sam and Christy went over to Pasadena City College to set up a booth and pass them out. A bunch of people signed up to play music at the cafe, so we're going to try to start doing those next Friday. I think that will be the best way to grow the cafe and get the word out, because whoever is playing will want to bring their friends and then they'll get exposed to the cafe and hopefully it'll just spread from there. Some of the kids in the community have been really helpful in passing out fliers and they seem to be very excited about it, which is encouraging. Both Sam and Christy are taking classes right now (Christy at USC, Sam at PCC), so things are busy for them, but we're doing what we can to grow this ministry through God's help. It's pretty slow right now, but that's just the way it's going to be for a bit until the word gets out. The people who have come really like it, so I think it's just a matter of time. I need to not be discouraged by the slow start.
Thalia, Leo's younger sister, is moving into our house this weekend. She is very ambitious in her desire to clean up the house, make it nicer, and even cook, which is exciting for me!
I had a great time back in Spokane/Omak this past week, it was good to see y'all. I'm excited to get back here though and see what God has in store for the community. I greatly appreciate your prayers and phone calls.
I will try to put some new pics up later this week...
Til next time
Doug
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
We're Famous
Hey here's a link to the Free Methodist Southern Cal Conference website. As of right now (Tuesday) we're the story on the front page. Check it out...
http://fmcsc.org/
http://fmcsc.org/
Monday, August 20, 2007
Openhouse completed
Hey friends,
It is now Monday and I am writing this after enjoying a nice long day off yesterday. Sam, Christy, Dion and I went out to Laguna Beach for the majority of our Sunday. It was a great day off after a long week of work. I definitely got a good amount of sun, but that's what SoCal is all about, right? Getting skin cancer. Yeah. The water was a great temperature, and though the beach was quite crowded, we had a blast body surfing and enjoying the rays. It was enjoyable getting away from the church for a day, getting a break. And I'm actually taking most of today off as well because we worked all day Saturday getting ready for the open house.
Let's back up a few days. This past week has been spent getting ready for the "soft opening" of Corridors Cafe. We had an open house Saturday night from 7-9 and it went terriffic. We had a lot of things to do this past week, but God didn't put more on our plates than what we could handle. We ended up having just the right amount of time to get everything done that needed to be done by Saturday. We got our stage delivered and installed Monday, we figured out food costs and how much our drinks should cost, we decorated the backdrop of the stage, we installed a sound system, we hung and installed a projector, and many other things that I cannot recall at the moment. Oh and Marlene was an incredible help as she painted the awful yellow trim in the cafe. Now it is an aesthetically pleasing chocolate brown. The cafe is looking better and better each day. The stage really fills out the room.
Now on to the open house. We had passed out a bunch of fliers to the local businesses and our neighbors the week prior. The night was supposed to be a thank you to those who had helped out in the construction project over the past couple years, as well as a way to show the community what our vision is for the church building. The night went great. This guy named Erik Larson came and played music with his buddy for the evening, and they were perfect for the occassion. They were pretty chill, just acoustics and vocals, but they sounded great. I made a bunch of different drinks (with the help of my friends Leo and Rebecah) and we passed them out in sample cups. We also had little appetizer foods available. A few of the student leaders from Crux lead tours in the church to show people what goes on in a typical week and how we have revamped the building for different ministries. There was also a group there called Heavenly Treasures who are a non-profit group that sells different kinds of fair trade items. I think we are getting our coffee from them actually. In addition to that, we had several pieces of art by people in the community that were on display on the stage. Everything went great. People really seemed to just be having fun there. It wasn't like people were just obligated to be there, but they wanted to be there to hang out and have fun. It was neat because it felt like God was giving us a taste of what we envisioned the facility to be like. God really blessed us that night. We were tremendously encouraged because we saw a picture of what it looks like to facilitate a community that allows people to belong before they have to believe in Jesus. Our superintendent, Steve Fitch, seemed to be really excited about the direction of the ministry. Overall, it was just an amazing night where God really blessed us and blessed the community. There were about 80-90 people around at any one time, with the max being about 120 people in the church at one time. It was a good turn out!
We are going to try to do local concerts every Friday and (hopefully) Saturday nights, along with poetry slams and art showings from the community. Who knows how fast or slow God will take us, but we're excited to see what happens! Please continue to be in prayer for the ministry down here. We are having our "hard opening" on Monday, the 27th, because that is when school starts at Pasadena City College. This week is pretty mellow, but there are still a lot of things to do (program register, get signs, and many other things..).
Mitch is back in the hospital as of Saturday. He had a rough day yesterday, as he started getting more chemotherapy treatment and he spiked a fever. Please be in prayer for him. Hopefully he'll be out by his birthday (Sep 18).
For those of you in Spokane, I'll be around this Sunday (due to Big Daddy David Perry's wedding Saturday in Omak). If you're around it'd be fun to see you, I should be at church at Timberview.
Til next time,
Doug
It is now Monday and I am writing this after enjoying a nice long day off yesterday. Sam, Christy, Dion and I went out to Laguna Beach for the majority of our Sunday. It was a great day off after a long week of work. I definitely got a good amount of sun, but that's what SoCal is all about, right? Getting skin cancer. Yeah. The water was a great temperature, and though the beach was quite crowded, we had a blast body surfing and enjoying the rays. It was enjoyable getting away from the church for a day, getting a break. And I'm actually taking most of today off as well because we worked all day Saturday getting ready for the open house.
Let's back up a few days. This past week has been spent getting ready for the "soft opening" of Corridors Cafe. We had an open house Saturday night from 7-9 and it went terriffic. We had a lot of things to do this past week, but God didn't put more on our plates than what we could handle. We ended up having just the right amount of time to get everything done that needed to be done by Saturday. We got our stage delivered and installed Monday, we figured out food costs and how much our drinks should cost, we decorated the backdrop of the stage, we installed a sound system, we hung and installed a projector, and many other things that I cannot recall at the moment. Oh and Marlene was an incredible help as she painted the awful yellow trim in the cafe. Now it is an aesthetically pleasing chocolate brown. The cafe is looking better and better each day. The stage really fills out the room.
Now on to the open house. We had passed out a bunch of fliers to the local businesses and our neighbors the week prior. The night was supposed to be a thank you to those who had helped out in the construction project over the past couple years, as well as a way to show the community what our vision is for the church building. The night went great. This guy named Erik Larson came and played music with his buddy for the evening, and they were perfect for the occassion. They were pretty chill, just acoustics and vocals, but they sounded great. I made a bunch of different drinks (with the help of my friends Leo and Rebecah) and we passed them out in sample cups. We also had little appetizer foods available. A few of the student leaders from Crux lead tours in the church to show people what goes on in a typical week and how we have revamped the building for different ministries. There was also a group there called Heavenly Treasures who are a non-profit group that sells different kinds of fair trade items. I think we are getting our coffee from them actually. In addition to that, we had several pieces of art by people in the community that were on display on the stage. Everything went great. People really seemed to just be having fun there. It wasn't like people were just obligated to be there, but they wanted to be there to hang out and have fun. It was neat because it felt like God was giving us a taste of what we envisioned the facility to be like. God really blessed us that night. We were tremendously encouraged because we saw a picture of what it looks like to facilitate a community that allows people to belong before they have to believe in Jesus. Our superintendent, Steve Fitch, seemed to be really excited about the direction of the ministry. Overall, it was just an amazing night where God really blessed us and blessed the community. There were about 80-90 people around at any one time, with the max being about 120 people in the church at one time. It was a good turn out!
We are going to try to do local concerts every Friday and (hopefully) Saturday nights, along with poetry slams and art showings from the community. Who knows how fast or slow God will take us, but we're excited to see what happens! Please continue to be in prayer for the ministry down here. We are having our "hard opening" on Monday, the 27th, because that is when school starts at Pasadena City College. This week is pretty mellow, but there are still a lot of things to do (program register, get signs, and many other things..).
Mitch is back in the hospital as of Saturday. He had a rough day yesterday, as he started getting more chemotherapy treatment and he spiked a fever. Please be in prayer for him. Hopefully he'll be out by his birthday (Sep 18).
For those of you in Spokane, I'll be around this Sunday (due to Big Daddy David Perry's wedding Saturday in Omak). If you're around it'd be fun to see you, I should be at church at Timberview.
Til next time,
Doug
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Countdown Is On
Hello friends, here are some news and notes from the past week
*We have only one week until we officially open up the cafe. We are having our grand opening this Saturday the 18th, and there's a bunch of stuff to do still. I'm excited for the week to come, although it will be quite busy. Today (Sunday) I have just been taking it easy because I know the rest of the week is going to be nuts. That is one thing I am excited to be disciplined about: keeping a day off (a Sabbath) for every week.
*Jennifer Thomas was down here from Wednesday until this morning and it was wonderful having her down here. She was very helpful in aiding my understanding of the cash register (which I should probably start programming pretty soon) and also made us some delicious food.
*My good friend Christine came down for a friend's wedding on Friday and it was great to catch up with her. She fine-tuned my coffee drink making skills and now I am absolutely ready for barista-ing.
*We had a great night at Crux this past Wednesday. There was a good amount of time spent playing wiffle ball and "I've never..." and then Sam spoke a passionate word on the gospel. There were a good amount of new kids there and it was great to hang out with everyone and have them hear the word.
*Pastor Matt and Marlene are coming down to visit (and Matt has to do some bishop business) on Wednesday, which I'm really excited about.
*Earlier today I checked out the new church that is renting from us on Sunday mornings, and I had a great time worshipping with them. It was an interesting experience because I was definitely the only white person in a group of about 60 people. I'm not in Spokane anymore :) We have rentors for Sunday mornings and afternoons, but we are still looking for a good partnership for the evenings. In an earlier post I mentioned we were hoping to partner with a group that wanted to do a daycare during the week, but some logistic issues caused that to not work out, which is fine.
*We ordered a stage for the cafe and that is supposed to come in tomorrow. Then we're going to get some sound equipment and get all set up for the small concerts we're hoping on having at the cafe on a regular basis. I'm stoked for those!
*Right now it is just Leo and me living in our house, but the plan is to have our buddy Chris Anderson move in sometime next month or so. Hopefully we'll be able to do some remodeling before that happens and make the house a little nicer (at least paint anyways).
*I will post some more pics of the cafe later this week to show you the progress we're making on it. I'm excited to help facilitate a community where people can belong before they have to believe in Christ, and to promote healthy relationships.
*Yesterday we had a great fundraiser for Mitch. His work, Outback Steakhouse, paid for a huge bbq and some blow up games yesterday, and we charged five bucks for people to come and eat lunch and have fun. It was tremendously successful and Mitch was very appreciative.
Wow that was a lot of stuff. If any of you are still reading, thanks. I'm doing great and adjusting more and more to life down here. Thanks for your prayers and support!
Til next time,
Doug
*We have only one week until we officially open up the cafe. We are having our grand opening this Saturday the 18th, and there's a bunch of stuff to do still. I'm excited for the week to come, although it will be quite busy. Today (Sunday) I have just been taking it easy because I know the rest of the week is going to be nuts. That is one thing I am excited to be disciplined about: keeping a day off (a Sabbath) for every week.
*Jennifer Thomas was down here from Wednesday until this morning and it was wonderful having her down here. She was very helpful in aiding my understanding of the cash register (which I should probably start programming pretty soon) and also made us some delicious food.
*My good friend Christine came down for a friend's wedding on Friday and it was great to catch up with her. She fine-tuned my coffee drink making skills and now I am absolutely ready for barista-ing.
*We had a great night at Crux this past Wednesday. There was a good amount of time spent playing wiffle ball and "I've never..." and then Sam spoke a passionate word on the gospel. There were a good amount of new kids there and it was great to hang out with everyone and have them hear the word.
*Pastor Matt and Marlene are coming down to visit (and Matt has to do some bishop business) on Wednesday, which I'm really excited about.
*Earlier today I checked out the new church that is renting from us on Sunday mornings, and I had a great time worshipping with them. It was an interesting experience because I was definitely the only white person in a group of about 60 people. I'm not in Spokane anymore :) We have rentors for Sunday mornings and afternoons, but we are still looking for a good partnership for the evenings. In an earlier post I mentioned we were hoping to partner with a group that wanted to do a daycare during the week, but some logistic issues caused that to not work out, which is fine.
*We ordered a stage for the cafe and that is supposed to come in tomorrow. Then we're going to get some sound equipment and get all set up for the small concerts we're hoping on having at the cafe on a regular basis. I'm stoked for those!
*Right now it is just Leo and me living in our house, but the plan is to have our buddy Chris Anderson move in sometime next month or so. Hopefully we'll be able to do some remodeling before that happens and make the house a little nicer (at least paint anyways).
*I will post some more pics of the cafe later this week to show you the progress we're making on it. I'm excited to help facilitate a community where people can belong before they have to believe in Christ, and to promote healthy relationships.
*Yesterday we had a great fundraiser for Mitch. His work, Outback Steakhouse, paid for a huge bbq and some blow up games yesterday, and we charged five bucks for people to come and eat lunch and have fun. It was tremendously successful and Mitch was very appreciative.
Wow that was a lot of stuff. If any of you are still reading, thanks. I'm doing great and adjusting more and more to life down here. Thanks for your prayers and support!
Til next time,
Doug
Monday, August 6, 2007
Hookah
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I went to a hookah bar last night in Hollywood with some friends. It was fun...ok til next time...
-Doug
-Doug
Monkeys and Pine Sol
Hello friends,
It has been 10 days and now I have been rejoined by Sam, Christy, and Dion here in Pasadena. Well I haven't actually seen them yet, but they were supposed to get in last night from Seattle. I was kindof a sloth this past week-I worked on making drinks in the cafe, I tried to figure out some more stuff on the cash register, and did some more odd jobs getting ready for the opening of the cafe. (FYI We are opening up on the 18th of August! That's quite soon...) There are a lot of things to be done still but we're not stressing, we know God knows what He's doing. God has already proved himself faithful with money as there has been a very generous response by our friends and family. We greatly appreciate it. While we aim on being financially independent and successful, there are a lot of initial start up costs that can add up pretty quickly. I've also been working on ordering supplies for the cafe, and I'm finding out that there's a good amount of research and effort that goes into that.
Avandre, a friend from Crux, had his cousin shot and killed a week and a half ago. It has been tough for the family but we've been trying to love on them as much as possible. We had a car wash at the church last week to raise money for the funeral and we had a post-funeral hang out kind of thing on Friday, so it was good to be able to use the church facilities to bless their family.
I'm stoked to be getting a chance to get to know some of the guys here a little better. I'm meeting with Leo (one of the guys I live with) on a weekly basis, and I'm excited to see what we can learn from each other. We've been keeping each other accountable with reading the word over the past week ,which has been great. I've particulary enjoyed the Psalms, just seeing how honest and forthright David is. But he is always giving God praise, no matter how sucky the circumstances are.
Some great news is that Mitch is now home! He got out of the hospital yesterday and he was incredibly excited. We immediatley went to Outback (where he works) and got some delicious steaks for free. It was glorious. Then he relaxed with some other friends and caught up with them. He should be home for a little while-he will probably have to go back on the 18th or so, depending on bed availability. His blood counts aren't all the way up to normal, but since they have been climbing steadily and he is healthy, the doctors let him go. It's cool to see how far God has taken him. We've gone from initially worrying about how long Mitch was going to be alive to praying about his boredom in the hospital. It's great to see how far God's healed him and to give Him the glory for it!
One final note: I went to a Dodgers game on Saturday, and despite the fact that they lost, they are still the superior Los Angeles team (I say this because of my good friends Kyle and Smashley).
Smashley is down in Dena with me right now. That is neat.
Thanks for your prayers! I'm going to hang out with her and Mitchell
-Doug
It has been 10 days and now I have been rejoined by Sam, Christy, and Dion here in Pasadena. Well I haven't actually seen them yet, but they were supposed to get in last night from Seattle. I was kindof a sloth this past week-I worked on making drinks in the cafe, I tried to figure out some more stuff on the cash register, and did some more odd jobs getting ready for the opening of the cafe. (FYI We are opening up on the 18th of August! That's quite soon...) There are a lot of things to be done still but we're not stressing, we know God knows what He's doing. God has already proved himself faithful with money as there has been a very generous response by our friends and family. We greatly appreciate it. While we aim on being financially independent and successful, there are a lot of initial start up costs that can add up pretty quickly. I've also been working on ordering supplies for the cafe, and I'm finding out that there's a good amount of research and effort that goes into that.
Avandre, a friend from Crux, had his cousin shot and killed a week and a half ago. It has been tough for the family but we've been trying to love on them as much as possible. We had a car wash at the church last week to raise money for the funeral and we had a post-funeral hang out kind of thing on Friday, so it was good to be able to use the church facilities to bless their family.
I'm stoked to be getting a chance to get to know some of the guys here a little better. I'm meeting with Leo (one of the guys I live with) on a weekly basis, and I'm excited to see what we can learn from each other. We've been keeping each other accountable with reading the word over the past week ,which has been great. I've particulary enjoyed the Psalms, just seeing how honest and forthright David is. But he is always giving God praise, no matter how sucky the circumstances are.
Some great news is that Mitch is now home! He got out of the hospital yesterday and he was incredibly excited. We immediatley went to Outback (where he works) and got some delicious steaks for free. It was glorious. Then he relaxed with some other friends and caught up with them. He should be home for a little while-he will probably have to go back on the 18th or so, depending on bed availability. His blood counts aren't all the way up to normal, but since they have been climbing steadily and he is healthy, the doctors let him go. It's cool to see how far God has taken him. We've gone from initially worrying about how long Mitch was going to be alive to praying about his boredom in the hospital. It's great to see how far God's healed him and to give Him the glory for it!
One final note: I went to a Dodgers game on Saturday, and despite the fact that they lost, they are still the superior Los Angeles team (I say this because of my good friends Kyle and Smashley).
Smashley is down in Dena with me right now. That is neat.
Thanks for your prayers! I'm going to hang out with her and Mitchell
-Doug
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Life goes on...
A quick update and a few thoughts...
Sam and Christy are gone for a week (until Sunday evening), so I'm the big man on campus now. I moved into Sam's office and have been trying to get things organized for the cafe. I finished my official training from the guy who sold us the coffee cart (Andy) but I spent several hours typing all the recipes and cleaning procedures. Today I actually practiced making some of the drinks myself, and there is quite a bit of tweaking to do, but I'll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime people around here are going to be getting many free samples, for better or for worse. Craig and Christine (and others), I may be calling you to get a couple pointers. And good news-my car finally passed emissions, so I can get my car registered in California! The second time was the charm.
My friend Leo and I are doing some bible reading accountability, and it has been great to get into the word more. God's given me a desire to read a lot, which is great. And hopefully this will make it a discipline that I will do even when I'm not feeling stoked about reading. I've been going through Nehemiah, a little Hebrews, some Psalms, and I finished Acts up today. I've also been reading more of Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God, and I have been reminded how i just need to be acutally training myself to be in God's presence throughout the day. To be giving him praise and surrendering to him and being obedient to him. It's tough becauseI've been training myself for the past 22 years to rely upon myself and do my own thing, that it is going to take a lot of practice to reverse that and rely upon God. But it's not supposed to be easy...
I don't really talk to people about Jesus very often. I think that that is because he has been a part of my life for awhile, but he hasn't been the best part (at least in my eyes). I think if I am really loving God with everything and realizing he is my essence, then naturally I would want to talk to others about him. So I am working on surrendering and loving God more...
For those of you in Spokane, I'm planning on going back there for David Perry's wedding at the end of August, probably the 23rd through the 27th or so. Look forward to seeing yall.
Til next time,
Doug
Sam and Christy are gone for a week (until Sunday evening), so I'm the big man on campus now. I moved into Sam's office and have been trying to get things organized for the cafe. I finished my official training from the guy who sold us the coffee cart (Andy) but I spent several hours typing all the recipes and cleaning procedures. Today I actually practiced making some of the drinks myself, and there is quite a bit of tweaking to do, but I'll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime people around here are going to be getting many free samples, for better or for worse. Craig and Christine (and others), I may be calling you to get a couple pointers. And good news-my car finally passed emissions, so I can get my car registered in California! The second time was the charm.
My friend Leo and I are doing some bible reading accountability, and it has been great to get into the word more. God's given me a desire to read a lot, which is great. And hopefully this will make it a discipline that I will do even when I'm not feeling stoked about reading. I've been going through Nehemiah, a little Hebrews, some Psalms, and I finished Acts up today. I've also been reading more of Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God, and I have been reminded how i just need to be acutally training myself to be in God's presence throughout the day. To be giving him praise and surrendering to him and being obedient to him. It's tough becauseI've been training myself for the past 22 years to rely upon myself and do my own thing, that it is going to take a lot of practice to reverse that and rely upon God. But it's not supposed to be easy...
I don't really talk to people about Jesus very often. I think that that is because he has been a part of my life for awhile, but he hasn't been the best part (at least in my eyes). I think if I am really loving God with everything and realizing he is my essence, then naturally I would want to talk to others about him. So I am working on surrendering and loving God more...
For those of you in Spokane, I'm planning on going back there for David Perry's wedding at the end of August, probably the 23rd through the 27th or so. Look forward to seeing yall.
Til next time,
Doug
Friday, July 27, 2007
Early Morning Surfing
Hello people, it's been many days since I last chatted, so here's an update. This past week has been pretty crazy busy. Sam is speaking at a Family Camp in the Seattle area all next week, so he spent much of the week preparing for that endeavor. We were also busy entertaining possible tenants for the church, and we actually got one church to rent out our Sunday morning slot every week. That's a big praise, because our some of the aid we were getting from our conference is stopping at the end of this month. I suppose it should go without saying that God knows what he's doing (although I just said it...) Yesterday was my birthday and I spent the morning getting my first training session on the coffee cart. It will be nice to finish the training tomorrow morning and be able to practice and feel competent at what I've been hired to do.
After that I worked on some things on my car (replaced o2 sensor, etc), and it felt good to take make progress on that. Then we had a good bbq at Sam and Christy's place, and then played some basketball. It was a lot of fun.
Sam and Christy left this morning, and so Dion and I decided to go surfing after we took them to the airport. So we got up around 330 in the morning, dropped them off, and then tried to find the beach. It was supposed to be only about 10 minutes away from LAX but somehow Dion and I couldn't find the beach, and it took over two hours to get to one (we ended up going to Huntington). The waves weren't great, but it was still fun. Dion and I have just been working around the church-as you can see in the picture, we finally got up our two banners outside the church, which is sweet. So things are coming together.
It's been interesting having a change in work. I'm no longer in the clock on clock off kind of job, so I have to change my mindset. The schedule is obviously much more flexible, which is nice but can also mean I feel like I have to always be working.
Allright I'm falling asleep as I type, so thank you for reading this and for your prayers and calls, and I'll write some other time.
Doug
After that I worked on some things on my car (replaced o2 sensor, etc), and it felt good to take make progress on that. Then we had a good bbq at Sam and Christy's place, and then played some basketball. It was a lot of fun.
Sam and Christy left this morning, and so Dion and I decided to go surfing after we took them to the airport. So we got up around 330 in the morning, dropped them off, and then tried to find the beach. It was supposed to be only about 10 minutes away from LAX but somehow Dion and I couldn't find the beach, and it took over two hours to get to one (we ended up going to Huntington). The waves weren't great, but it was still fun. Dion and I have just been working around the church-as you can see in the picture, we finally got up our two banners outside the church, which is sweet. So things are coming together.
It's been interesting having a change in work. I'm no longer in the clock on clock off kind of job, so I have to change my mindset. The schedule is obviously much more flexible, which is nice but can also mean I feel like I have to always be working.
Allright I'm falling asleep as I type, so thank you for reading this and for your prayers and calls, and I'll write some other time.
Doug
Monday, July 23, 2007
California Camping
Hello everyone,
This past weekend Corridors Church had a camping trip. We had about thirty people come, with the predominate age being in the high school area. We packed up and caravaned out on the freeway at about 6pm on Friday. The lake is only about 45 miles away, but, lucky us, a semi truck jack knifed on the freeway during rush hour so we didn't get to our campsite until about 10 at night. Then we tried to set up our tents, and I definitely failed at that. I was a driver for the trip, and two of the girls in my car were freaking out when they heard that we would be going without showers and without cell phones for a whole two days. By the end of the trip, they were glad they came, but it was comical at first.
We camped out at Castaic Lake, a man made lake north of LA. We had some good ol fashioned hotdogs and chili the first night of camping, and then the next morning we had a rock skipping contest and then I got a chance to share about my life and who I was. The weekend was really good for getting to know people better. The majority of the day on Saturday was spent at Six Flags theme park. I had never been there before, but it was great. The rollercoasters were pretty amazing, and I got a good chance to get to know people better while we stood in lines for much of the day.
Sunday we packed up and then swam at the lake until we headed home in the late afternoon. Once home, Sam, Christy, Dion and I relaxed and rented a movie. It was really nice to be done with the trip and not have any responsibility for a night.
The Lord has really been answering prayer with regard to our need for rentors in the church. There is a good chance we will get renters for Sunday mornings and for during the week starting as soon as August 1, but things aren't finalized yet. God has been so faithful in that regard (well I suppose in every regard). I am quite encouraged with what's going on here in Pasadena in our community, and while I do miss so many people from home, I am starting to become more and more acclamated to this community. Thanks for all your prayers! By the way, we could use prayer for getting everything in the cafe ready by the 18th of August. That's when we're trying on doing our soft opening and there are a lot of things to do. We have been making progress on different fliers/logos/banners etc, which is great. Anyways, I hope and pray the Lord is growing and stretching you all where you are. I'm tired now and I'm going to go to bed. I think I'm getting old or something because I've been going to bed earlier and earlier recently. One night I went to bed by 10....crazy stuff...
til next time
Doug
This past weekend Corridors Church had a camping trip. We had about thirty people come, with the predominate age being in the high school area. We packed up and caravaned out on the freeway at about 6pm on Friday. The lake is only about 45 miles away, but, lucky us, a semi truck jack knifed on the freeway during rush hour so we didn't get to our campsite until about 10 at night. Then we tried to set up our tents, and I definitely failed at that. I was a driver for the trip, and two of the girls in my car were freaking out when they heard that we would be going without showers and without cell phones for a whole two days. By the end of the trip, they were glad they came, but it was comical at first.
We camped out at Castaic Lake, a man made lake north of LA. We had some good ol fashioned hotdogs and chili the first night of camping, and then the next morning we had a rock skipping contest and then I got a chance to share about my life and who I was. The weekend was really good for getting to know people better. The majority of the day on Saturday was spent at Six Flags theme park. I had never been there before, but it was great. The rollercoasters were pretty amazing, and I got a good chance to get to know people better while we stood in lines for much of the day.
Sunday we packed up and then swam at the lake until we headed home in the late afternoon. Once home, Sam, Christy, Dion and I relaxed and rented a movie. It was really nice to be done with the trip and not have any responsibility for a night.
The Lord has really been answering prayer with regard to our need for rentors in the church. There is a good chance we will get renters for Sunday mornings and for during the week starting as soon as August 1, but things aren't finalized yet. God has been so faithful in that regard (well I suppose in every regard). I am quite encouraged with what's going on here in Pasadena in our community, and while I do miss so many people from home, I am starting to become more and more acclamated to this community. Thanks for all your prayers! By the way, we could use prayer for getting everything in the cafe ready by the 18th of August. That's when we're trying on doing our soft opening and there are a lot of things to do. We have been making progress on different fliers/logos/banners etc, which is great. Anyways, I hope and pray the Lord is growing and stretching you all where you are. I'm tired now and I'm going to go to bed. I think I'm getting old or something because I've been going to bed earlier and earlier recently. One night I went to bed by 10....crazy stuff...
til next time
Doug
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Lots of Learning...
Hello again. Well things have been going really well here, I'm learning a lot and growing a lot. Here are some salient points:
*I went to a Dodgers game a few nights ago, and they stomped the Phillies 10-3. It was a blast. The first of many games to come.
*The Cafe is coming along, although there are lots of things to do still. We put three mac computers in the cafe on desks and got them locked in there. Dion installed the sound system and that sounds great. I'm finishing some painting on some trim today. We still have a bunch of stuff to do (cash register, menu boards, some more furniture, I need to learn how to actually make coffee, credit card stuff, and so on...) but I am learning that I don't have to worry about everything, I just need to trust God. I need to seek him daily and live in his presence and be obedient, and then God will take care of the results. There is a tremendous amount of confidence and freedom in this perspective. I can be confident that God will
*I braved the California DMV and got my license yesterday. It actually only took an hour, which wasn't bad. I still have to go back and get my car title transferred, but baby steps. And I was kinda nervous about the written test, but I only missed three, so that's nice.
*A couple of guys and I started doing an accountability group (Sam, Chris Waters, and Dion). We met for a little bit a couple days ago, so I'm looking forward to that because I know how important it is to have good strong fellowship/accountability with peers.
*My prayer life and general spiritual life feels like it has been rejuvenated. I am learning what it means to live by the Spirit. I have been constantly reminded of the fact that I need God's help and mercy/grace/power/strength all day every day, or else I try to do things on my own and that sucks. I've done that too much of my life. It's like I need to be retrained, because I have had so much practice living on my own strength and will. It's a slow process, but it's been great. I have been just trying to trust God and surrender to him as often as I can. It is so crucial to try to live in God's presence, to practice his presence. If anyone wants to hear more about what's going on, feel free to give me a call because it's easier to explain that way.
*Sam and Christy and I are convinced that we need a day off, a Sabbath, and we are going to try to do that either Saturday or Sunday every week. It is so important to maintain a healthy balance and to obey God's call to rest periodically, so I'm excited for that.
*This weekend we are having a church camping trip to a lake and we are spending Saturday at Six flags Theme Park, so I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone and getting to know people better. We leave Friday evening and get back Sunday evening I think.
*For those who don't know, we have been looking at renting the church out to other people because we don't need the facilities on Sundays, and there has been a great response in the past week, so thank you for any who have been praying for that. We're not sure who's going to rent, but it will probably be figured out in the next week or so. God has been so faithful in answering prayers!
*God is good, and he's working. This is definitely a time of transition, but I'm excited to see all the God's doing and I'm excited to just be a part of it and be obedient. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Til next time
Doug
*I went to a Dodgers game a few nights ago, and they stomped the Phillies 10-3. It was a blast. The first of many games to come.
*The Cafe is coming along, although there are lots of things to do still. We put three mac computers in the cafe on desks and got them locked in there. Dion installed the sound system and that sounds great. I'm finishing some painting on some trim today. We still have a bunch of stuff to do (cash register, menu boards, some more furniture, I need to learn how to actually make coffee, credit card stuff, and so on...) but I am learning that I don't have to worry about everything, I just need to trust God. I need to seek him daily and live in his presence and be obedient, and then God will take care of the results. There is a tremendous amount of confidence and freedom in this perspective. I can be confident that God will
*I braved the California DMV and got my license yesterday. It actually only took an hour, which wasn't bad. I still have to go back and get my car title transferred, but baby steps. And I was kinda nervous about the written test, but I only missed three, so that's nice.
*A couple of guys and I started doing an accountability group (Sam, Chris Waters, and Dion). We met for a little bit a couple days ago, so I'm looking forward to that because I know how important it is to have good strong fellowship/accountability with peers.
*My prayer life and general spiritual life feels like it has been rejuvenated. I am learning what it means to live by the Spirit. I have been constantly reminded of the fact that I need God's help and mercy/grace/power/strength all day every day, or else I try to do things on my own and that sucks. I've done that too much of my life. It's like I need to be retrained, because I have had so much practice living on my own strength and will. It's a slow process, but it's been great. I have been just trying to trust God and surrender to him as often as I can. It is so crucial to try to live in God's presence, to practice his presence. If anyone wants to hear more about what's going on, feel free to give me a call because it's easier to explain that way.
*Sam and Christy and I are convinced that we need a day off, a Sabbath, and we are going to try to do that either Saturday or Sunday every week. It is so important to maintain a healthy balance and to obey God's call to rest periodically, so I'm excited for that.
*This weekend we are having a church camping trip to a lake and we are spending Saturday at Six flags Theme Park, so I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone and getting to know people better. We leave Friday evening and get back Sunday evening I think.
*For those who don't know, we have been looking at renting the church out to other people because we don't need the facilities on Sundays, and there has been a great response in the past week, so thank you for any who have been praying for that. We're not sure who's going to rent, but it will probably be figured out in the next week or so. God has been so faithful in answering prayers!
*God is good, and he's working. This is definitely a time of transition, but I'm excited to see all the God's doing and I'm excited to just be a part of it and be obedient. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Til next time
Doug
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Baseball Stuff!
Hello all, it is Sunday morning and in about an hour Sam, Christy and I are going to visit a predominately black church and worship with them-I'm really excited! In the meantime, let me give a quick update.
Sam got back late Friday night from Michigan, and while he was there he got hooked up with a pass to go to the Los Angeles Angels baseball stadium and take batting/fielding practice. So Christy and Sam and I went out there yesterday and we had a great time at the stadium. Sam also got some free tickets to the Angels/Rangers game last night, so we went to the game, but we actually left after the sixth inning or so because we didn't really have anyone to cheer for (because of course the Mariners are in the same division as those two and so we couldn't root for them). It is a beautiful stadium though. The day was a blast though, just relaxing and enjoying America's favorite past time with friends.
Couple of thoughts...thanks so much for those who are praying for me and the ministry down here, it truly makes a difference and I am so blessed. I had a good chat with Sam yesterday, and we agreed that there is a tremendous amount of hope and confidence that we can have in Christ. I'm not the one in charge of the results of my efforts. God makes things grow. As long as I am genuinely seeking out the Lord and being obedient then God will take care of the rest. It is a really freeing thought to me. It takes off much of the pressure that I too often put on my shoulders and become burdened by. I know that all I can do is seek God and be in a state of surrender and obedience. With that in mind, Sam and Christy and I are going to be diligent in spending a good chunk of time in prayer for the cafe every morning before we open, asking for God's blessing and direction. Can't go wrong doing that.
By the way, thank you to those who have dropped a note and let me know what's going on in your life, I really appreciate it!
Until next time...
Doug
Sam got back late Friday night from Michigan, and while he was there he got hooked up with a pass to go to the Los Angeles Angels baseball stadium and take batting/fielding practice. So Christy and Sam and I went out there yesterday and we had a great time at the stadium. Sam also got some free tickets to the Angels/Rangers game last night, so we went to the game, but we actually left after the sixth inning or so because we didn't really have anyone to cheer for (because of course the Mariners are in the same division as those two and so we couldn't root for them). It is a beautiful stadium though. The day was a blast though, just relaxing and enjoying America's favorite past time with friends.
Couple of thoughts...thanks so much for those who are praying for me and the ministry down here, it truly makes a difference and I am so blessed. I had a good chat with Sam yesterday, and we agreed that there is a tremendous amount of hope and confidence that we can have in Christ. I'm not the one in charge of the results of my efforts. God makes things grow. As long as I am genuinely seeking out the Lord and being obedient then God will take care of the rest. It is a really freeing thought to me. It takes off much of the pressure that I too often put on my shoulders and become burdened by. I know that all I can do is seek God and be in a state of surrender and obedience. With that in mind, Sam and Christy and I are going to be diligent in spending a good chunk of time in prayer for the cafe every morning before we open, asking for God's blessing and direction. Can't go wrong doing that.
By the way, thank you to those who have dropped a note and let me know what's going on in your life, I really appreciate it!
Until next time...
Doug
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thought for the night...
I've decided I might use this blog to just post some random thoughts I have at the moment, or things I have been learning, so here goes.
I think God is calling me to simplify my walk with him. I believe I mentioned this in my first blog, but it has been on my mind a lot recently. He's calling me to listen and obey. Very simple concept, but quite difficult to act out sometimes. And in order for me to listen to Him, I have to be surrendered to what He wants for my life. Earlier this evening I was visiting Mitch at the hospital, and we dialogued about what it means to surrender our lives to God. I sincerely desire him to be guiding me and directing me, but it is so easy to just take control and try to run my own life my own way. It seems much more natural to do the latter, but certainly less fulfilling. To be honest, I don't know practically how to surrender my daily life to God...what does that look like? I know I need to, and I know I need the Spirit guiding and empowering. If anyone has any wisdom to dispel, please do so.
I have been so very blessed to be around such amazing family and friends in the Spokane area. I am realizing this more and more, and how I took that for granted while I was there. I appreciate your prayers as I have gone through a pretty intense homesick phase and am now just trying to adjust to all the changes and get my feet wet in the community. Yesterday and today I got the chance to chat with some people in the community (at a carwash, the grocery store, etc) and it felt good to start to get plugged in to the area. One brother in Christ actually offered to help promote the cafe by passing out our fliers, which was neat.
I am very encouraged with the cafe. Sam (the pastor) came back tonight and it will be good to get on the same page with him and start pursuing some marketing options. I am also going to pursue some intentional accountability with a couple of guys down here, because we all need that. Being a Christian by yourself just doesn't work.
Sam, Christy and I are going to a Los Angeles Angels baseball game tomorrow, which I am quite excited for! Allright I'm going to bed...
-Doug
I think God is calling me to simplify my walk with him. I believe I mentioned this in my first blog, but it has been on my mind a lot recently. He's calling me to listen and obey. Very simple concept, but quite difficult to act out sometimes. And in order for me to listen to Him, I have to be surrendered to what He wants for my life. Earlier this evening I was visiting Mitch at the hospital, and we dialogued about what it means to surrender our lives to God. I sincerely desire him to be guiding me and directing me, but it is so easy to just take control and try to run my own life my own way. It seems much more natural to do the latter, but certainly less fulfilling. To be honest, I don't know practically how to surrender my daily life to God...what does that look like? I know I need to, and I know I need the Spirit guiding and empowering. If anyone has any wisdom to dispel, please do so.
I have been so very blessed to be around such amazing family and friends in the Spokane area. I am realizing this more and more, and how I took that for granted while I was there. I appreciate your prayers as I have gone through a pretty intense homesick phase and am now just trying to adjust to all the changes and get my feet wet in the community. Yesterday and today I got the chance to chat with some people in the community (at a carwash, the grocery store, etc) and it felt good to start to get plugged in to the area. One brother in Christ actually offered to help promote the cafe by passing out our fliers, which was neat.
I am very encouraged with the cafe. Sam (the pastor) came back tonight and it will be good to get on the same page with him and start pursuing some marketing options. I am also going to pursue some intentional accountability with a couple of guys down here, because we all need that. Being a Christian by yourself just doesn't work.
Sam, Christy and I are going to a Los Angeles Angels baseball game tomorrow, which I am quite excited for! Allright I'm going to bed...
-Doug
Thursday, July 12, 2007
24 Hour Car Rides Stink...
***Warning***This first blog is lengthy
Hello everyone, this is a blog for those who want to stay in touch with the happenings of my life in SoCal. I am going to send out monthly newsletters but this blog will be updated at least once a week, maybe more often depending on what happens down here. Of course, this may only last for a few months and then I'll get sick of it, but it will serve as a good connecting point for awhile at least. So please feel free to respond, to write comments, to email me, to mail me, call me, or anything else. I would love to be in contact with my friends from home as life goes on here in Pasadena. My contact information is:
192 S. Allen Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91106
509.844.5711
dlpettis@gmail.com
Ok, some background info. For those of you who do not know, I have been hired by a young church in Pasadena to manage a cafe. The church is called Corridors, and it is run by Pastor Sam Thomas (Matt Thomas' son for those of you who know him) and his wife Christy. They moved down here about three years ago to inject some fresh air into an older, almost stagnant congregation. Among the many remodeling projects they have undertaken on the church, one of the main ones has been the cafe. They completely remodeled the foyer in the church to make it a smaller version of the Service Station. The reason behind the cafe is twofold: to make money which could go support other Corridors ministries (and employees), and to foster a sense of community in the area where people can belong and be welcomed before they have to believe in Jesus Christ. We plan on having open mic nights, prayer and worship nights, small concerts, local artwork, and so on. We also want it to be a springboard for connecting those in need in the community. This could be achieved by having a bulletin board with information on social services in the community. This board could also be a way for people to find avenues to serve. Basically, we want the cafe to be an expression of the church of Christ: meeting needs, serving, worshipping, praying, fellowshipping, caring for the poor and disenfranchised, etc.
Our plan is to have a grand opening on August 18th, a week or two before the local colleges start up again. Corridors is located right next to three colleges: Pasadena City College (which is the one we're targeting the most), CalTech, and Fuller Theological Seminary. So the target demographic will be young adults. We have several new computers that will be available for use as well as printing services and free wireless internet. Hopefully it will turn into a college hangout/homework area. Maybe we will offer tutoring or something...
You might be asking yourself, "Why in the world did Sam hire someone who has no business, marketing, or coffee experience to manage and market a cafe?" That's a great question. Sam's crazy. I'm stoked for the challenge and Sam, Christy and I are all going to be pouring our energies into the cafe together. We're all going to be brain storming marketing ideas and helping run it, I'm just the official manager, the one who will order supplies and all that. I remember my good friend Jason Roberts giving me some good advice earlier this spring. He said that whatever I decided to do, I should put myself in a situation where I have to rely upon God for success, so that I have to give him credit/glory for anything that comes of it. Well, this is certainly a situation where I can't rely upon my experience or schooling. In our weaknessess, God will be strong through us.
Now on to my last week or so in Pasadena. I left Spokane Friday, July 6th around noon. I didn't start packing until that morning around 930, which wasn't too smart (I definitely forgot many things...oh well). I drove my 96 Accord down by myself. I got in to Pasadena around 3 pm Saturday and was quite sick of being in a car. I had slept for three hours, so I was tired, sore, and overwhelmed with change. I think I'm going to invest in some sort of butt cushion for any more road trips over 15 hours.
I am moving into a room in a house owned by the church in the church parking lot. The house is terribly old and pretty gross. It makes me the DriveInn look like a spotless wonder. Anyways, Christy and I spent the next day repainting the room to a two tone look of brown and avocado. I might get sick of this, but it's fun for now. Then I installed some trim and started moving in. I didn't bring any furniture down because I just took my car, so I am borrowing a bed and dresser and I'm using an end table for my desk at the moment until I get some other stuff.
I've been learning the area in the last few days. It is nice because everything is so close, I don't need to do much driving. I drove down to LA General Hospital to visit Mitch yesterday (FYI Mitch is Sam's brother and has leukemia, but he's doing well and is in his second round of chemo).
Every Wednesday night we have Crux, which is like a youth group deal with a wider age range (6th grade til college age, pretty much whoever wants to come). It was good to meet some new people and hang out. I have been learning quite a bit over the past week. I have definitely realized how important family and friends are. I definitely took all of you for granted when I was in Spokane. I went through a really tough couple of days when I was so homesick and overwhelmed with all the change and pressure of starting a cafe that I just felt sick. But that has gotten much better, although I still miss so many of you. As far as feeling overwhelmed with the cafe, that has gotten much better as well. I have had great conversations with Mom, Christy, and Sam over the past couple days that have helped tremendously. I just need to continue to rely upon God, to press into Him. If this ministry isn't based/guided/empowered by the Spirit, it's worthless. It has been made clear to me that I can't rely on myself for ministry anymore. That kind of ministry sucks. I have also been trying to get in a routine of devotions in the morning, a good amount of the Word and some Greek and some classic Christian literature as well. I would recommend Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God. It's good. God's also been reminding me to simplify my relationship with Him. Listen, and obey. Hear his word, and do it. Know the word, do it. Discern his spirit, and obey. It's tough, but necessary.
Today we had a big house cleaning day at my house, so we got it looking respectable. That's quite exciting to me.
Oh and on Monday I went surfing and got up a couple times, which was sweet!
Well, I'm sure there's more stuff to say, but I wrote a ton, so I'll write more some other time. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you. Like I said at the beginning, my new email address is dlpettis@gmail.com. While it would be nice to talk on the phone with everyone, it isn't too likely to happen too often, so if you feel so inclined please shoot me an email. Let me know what God is doing in your life. Shoot me the important stuff. Maybe this can be some kind of cyber church or something.
*Praises...I am getting paid and I will have health insurance! Yeah! ... I'm already getting stretched and learning what it means to be away from home and to be out of my comfort zone ... I'm not nearly as stressed/worried/anxious about the cafe and about life now as opposed to a few days ago ...
***Prayer...we need to rent out the church on Sundays to get some money, so however God wants to work that out ... for surrender in my own life to God on a daily, constant basis ... whatever else the Lord lays on your heart ...
-Doug
Hello everyone, this is a blog for those who want to stay in touch with the happenings of my life in SoCal. I am going to send out monthly newsletters but this blog will be updated at least once a week, maybe more often depending on what happens down here. Of course, this may only last for a few months and then I'll get sick of it, but it will serve as a good connecting point for awhile at least. So please feel free to respond, to write comments, to email me, to mail me, call me, or anything else. I would love to be in contact with my friends from home as life goes on here in Pasadena. My contact information is:
192 S. Allen Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91106
509.844.5711
dlpettis@gmail.com
Ok, some background info. For those of you who do not know, I have been hired by a young church in Pasadena to manage a cafe. The church is called Corridors, and it is run by Pastor Sam Thomas (Matt Thomas' son for those of you who know him) and his wife Christy. They moved down here about three years ago to inject some fresh air into an older, almost stagnant congregation. Among the many remodeling projects they have undertaken on the church, one of the main ones has been the cafe. They completely remodeled the foyer in the church to make it a smaller version of the Service Station. The reason behind the cafe is twofold: to make money which could go support other Corridors ministries (and employees), and to foster a sense of community in the area where people can belong and be welcomed before they have to believe in Jesus Christ. We plan on having open mic nights, prayer and worship nights, small concerts, local artwork, and so on. We also want it to be a springboard for connecting those in need in the community. This could be achieved by having a bulletin board with information on social services in the community. This board could also be a way for people to find avenues to serve. Basically, we want the cafe to be an expression of the church of Christ: meeting needs, serving, worshipping, praying, fellowshipping, caring for the poor and disenfranchised, etc.
Our plan is to have a grand opening on August 18th, a week or two before the local colleges start up again. Corridors is located right next to three colleges: Pasadena City College (which is the one we're targeting the most), CalTech, and Fuller Theological Seminary. So the target demographic will be young adults. We have several new computers that will be available for use as well as printing services and free wireless internet. Hopefully it will turn into a college hangout/homework area. Maybe we will offer tutoring or something...
You might be asking yourself, "Why in the world did Sam hire someone who has no business, marketing, or coffee experience to manage and market a cafe?" That's a great question. Sam's crazy. I'm stoked for the challenge and Sam, Christy and I are all going to be pouring our energies into the cafe together. We're all going to be brain storming marketing ideas and helping run it, I'm just the official manager, the one who will order supplies and all that. I remember my good friend Jason Roberts giving me some good advice earlier this spring. He said that whatever I decided to do, I should put myself in a situation where I have to rely upon God for success, so that I have to give him credit/glory for anything that comes of it. Well, this is certainly a situation where I can't rely upon my experience or schooling. In our weaknessess, God will be strong through us.
Now on to my last week or so in Pasadena. I left Spokane Friday, July 6th around noon. I didn't start packing until that morning around 930, which wasn't too smart (I definitely forgot many things...oh well). I drove my 96 Accord down by myself. I got in to Pasadena around 3 pm Saturday and was quite sick of being in a car. I had slept for three hours, so I was tired, sore, and overwhelmed with change. I think I'm going to invest in some sort of butt cushion for any more road trips over 15 hours.
I am moving into a room in a house owned by the church in the church parking lot. The house is terribly old and pretty gross. It makes me the DriveInn look like a spotless wonder. Anyways, Christy and I spent the next day repainting the room to a two tone look of brown and avocado. I might get sick of this, but it's fun for now. Then I installed some trim and started moving in. I didn't bring any furniture down because I just took my car, so I am borrowing a bed and dresser and I'm using an end table for my desk at the moment until I get some other stuff.
I've been learning the area in the last few days. It is nice because everything is so close, I don't need to do much driving. I drove down to LA General Hospital to visit Mitch yesterday (FYI Mitch is Sam's brother and has leukemia, but he's doing well and is in his second round of chemo).
Every Wednesday night we have Crux, which is like a youth group deal with a wider age range (6th grade til college age, pretty much whoever wants to come). It was good to meet some new people and hang out. I have been learning quite a bit over the past week. I have definitely realized how important family and friends are. I definitely took all of you for granted when I was in Spokane. I went through a really tough couple of days when I was so homesick and overwhelmed with all the change and pressure of starting a cafe that I just felt sick. But that has gotten much better, although I still miss so many of you. As far as feeling overwhelmed with the cafe, that has gotten much better as well. I have had great conversations with Mom, Christy, and Sam over the past couple days that have helped tremendously. I just need to continue to rely upon God, to press into Him. If this ministry isn't based/guided/empowered by the Spirit, it's worthless. It has been made clear to me that I can't rely on myself for ministry anymore. That kind of ministry sucks. I have also been trying to get in a routine of devotions in the morning, a good amount of the Word and some Greek and some classic Christian literature as well. I would recommend Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God. It's good. God's also been reminding me to simplify my relationship with Him. Listen, and obey. Hear his word, and do it. Know the word, do it. Discern his spirit, and obey. It's tough, but necessary.
Today we had a big house cleaning day at my house, so we got it looking respectable. That's quite exciting to me.
Oh and on Monday I went surfing and got up a couple times, which was sweet!
Well, I'm sure there's more stuff to say, but I wrote a ton, so I'll write more some other time. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you. Like I said at the beginning, my new email address is dlpettis@gmail.com. While it would be nice to talk on the phone with everyone, it isn't too likely to happen too often, so if you feel so inclined please shoot me an email. Let me know what God is doing in your life. Shoot me the important stuff. Maybe this can be some kind of cyber church or something.
*Praises...I am getting paid and I will have health insurance! Yeah! ... I'm already getting stretched and learning what it means to be away from home and to be out of my comfort zone ... I'm not nearly as stressed/worried/anxious about the cafe and about life now as opposed to a few days ago ...
***Prayer...we need to rent out the church on Sundays to get some money, so however God wants to work that out ... for surrender in my own life to God on a daily, constant basis ... whatever else the Lord lays on your heart ...
-Doug
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