2006 Christmas Letter

Greetings to friends & family near and far!

I had good intentions of writing a “Christmas letter” earlier than this, but here I am late on Christmas Day finally getting it done. We’ve enjoyed a nice family time today in our own home and then shared Christmas dinner with Lani’s sister’s family, Troy & Shauna Wagner and their kids. Last week we drove over to Idaho and spent a few days with my folks in Meridian (near Boise). We got a nice snowfall there the last day of our visit, so that will have to count as our “white Christmas”! Tomorrow our Montana relatives arrive.

As most of you know, this was a year of change for us in lots of ways. We’ve had job changes, moved back to Oregon after nearly six years in Texas, and of course had new schools for our kids. Looking back, we are incredibly grateful for all the prayers and support that carried us through these times of upheaval and change. Change is always hard, but I think we’re all doing pretty well in our new circumstances.

I won’t write a long letter full of the details of each of our lives, but I should mention a few things. Hannah has gotten quite involved with music & drama at Gresham H.S. and recently was selected for both All-State and All-Northwest Choirs. Micah is playing in band and also singing in choir in his freshman year. Caleb and Levi attend school at Hollydale Elementary where I teach music (we live less than two blocks away and walk together each morning!). Lani is teaching TAG half-time and subbing on her open days. I am enjoying singing as a staff singer with the Portland Symphonic Choir.

We have a new church home – after much visiting around the area – at the Abundant Life Church (you can check out their website at www.coolchurch.com). Our kids really enjoy the programs there!

We’ve spent a lot of time and effort these last few months working on remodeling and updating our home. Most of the major things are finished now and we look forward to having friends and family visit! Here’s all our new contact information:
(Information edited from this blog post, but included in actual letter)

May God bless each of you in this new year!



The Dalzells – Dan, Lani, Hannah, Micah, Caleb, & Levi

Mid-December update

Life is busy and it seems I hardly ever have time to blog (that is, check in on friends' sites or write anything on mine).
Tonight I'll just throw down a quick update:

I switched over to the new Blogger beta just a few minutes ago. I'll see if it works any smoother in my Safari browser; the old one didn't allow me to use most of the editing features (as I'm glancing up in the window here, I'm not seeing the buttons there for bold, italic, etc., just one for spell check and one for pictures. Hmm. . . So, looks like I'll have to remember to use IE or Firefox on my Macs.

My program last week went pretty well. Our school gym was standing-room only as the 2nd & 3rd graders did there musical and the 4th & 5th grade choir sang. It was a successful first program there, I believe.

We went last Saturday morning to cut a Christmas tree -- and ended up cutting two! Our new house actually has a large window upstairs in the living room and a matching one below in the family room, so we have two trees. I put up a few lights outside, but nothing like usual and I don't think I'll have time to worry about putting up any more. It was nearly nice to return to our old tradition of going to a Christmas tree farm and choosing our own tree; and we went with the McDonald family, just like old times!

I've got three rehearsals this week with Portland Symphonic Choir before we do our double-concert day on Sunday. Anyone in the area that might enjoy hearing us, let me know and I'll pick up some tickets for you. Lani and several friends are coming to the 7:30 p.m. program, but we also do it at 2:00 p.m. -- that's on Sunday, Dec. 17 at St. Mary's Cathedral (between NW 17th & 18th just a block N. of Burnside). Should be a lovely program (and I'm doing a solo!).

Lani has either the flu or food poisoning -- yuck! She was up in the night last night throwing up, etc. and stayed home today. We went to my staff Christmas party last Saturday night and apparently a whole lot of people from there have come down ill (we had 13 staff out yesterday and 10 out today at work -- all with the same stomach ailment).

Brian & Eryann Maki (Lani's brother & wife) have been staying with us since last Friday and leave in the morning. They came over from Missoula to help Troy & Shauna with moving and construction in their new home's basement. We all helped over there on Saturday & Sunday this last weekend, with much more work still to go.

Three more school days until we're on Christmas vacation! My choir has a field trip in the morning and I'm also supposed to play the piano and sing in the school lobby before school. Should be a fun day!

Post-Thanksgiving Thanks Giving

OK, I really wanted to post something on Thanksgiving Day, but then I just got so busy with working on the kitchen and then hosting family & others for the big meal and then we played games and such and soon the day was done. However, we did give special thanks around our table. I asked each person (at least those around the adult table -- kids had their own table downstairs) to share something they were thankful for as they looked back over this last year, and then the whole table would respond after each one with "Thank-you, God" (or some other similar sentiment). It was pretty cool to hear everyone's thanksgivings and then to give praise to God for these things He had done!

So. . . here are some things I'm thankful for:
My family -- we're all doing well and have been cared for and blessed throughout a year of big change.
My wife! We're still good friends and in love!
My job -- I am enjoying teaching and have been blessed with a wonderful principal and staff and parents and kids.
Our home -- it's consumed a LOT of my time and energy these last few months, but we're blessed to have a nice place to live.
Singing -- I'm enjoying singing with Portland Symphonic Choir and we've been singing a lot this Fall!
Living in Portland/Gresham -- it's been good to be near family and friends again.

I guess I could go on and get more specific, but really I just feel very blessed by God as I look back over this past year. I'm thankful for friends in Texas who supported us and helped carry us through a time of uncertainty and upheaval and for friends here who have welcomed us back to Oregon. I searched out many possible paths for where to work and live, but this is the way that seemed blessed by God. It's not all that I dreamed of, but it is good.

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And a closing note: if you live in the area, you should come hear the Portland Symphonic Choir's "WinterSong" concert on Sunday, Dec. 17. There is a 2:00 and a 7:00 performance and these are in the gorgeous & acoustically wonderful St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Portland. We will be doing some familiar carols, some other beautiful music of the season, and a special set of Spanish carols. I learned earlier today that I got a solo that I had tried out for too! Let me know if you need tickets. This program will be fun and is probably our most popular of the season.
http://www.pschoir.org/Season2005/Programs.shtml

Nov. 8 Entry

November is rolling right along! We've had huge amounts of rain the last few days in Oregon, but it has lightened up now to just the normal kind of drizzle. I hear the mountains will be getting a bunch of snow the next few days as the freezing level has finally dropped.

My mom and dad got into town tonight and will be around until Monday. Dad is here to help with my kitchen cabinet installation, plus my folks will get to see Hannah in her musical (which opens tomorrow), and then hear me sing with the Portland Symphonic Choir this weekend. Hopefully, we'll get all the upper and lower cabinets installed over the next few days!

My 2nd & 3rd graders are preparing a musical called "The Littlest Christmas Tree" and it's been pretty fun working on the songs and choosing the leads. The performance is on Dec. 5 (wish I had another week or so with them) and I've really got to work to get the staging blocked, costumes & sets ready, and songs choreographed. Still, this is nothing like the busyness of when I taught H.S. choir!

I guess this is enough of an update for now. . . bedtime now.

Halloween

So, it's Halloween tomorrow and our kids have all carved pumpkins to put out on our steps. We decided that I will stay home and answer the door tomorrow night and Lani will take the kids out trick-or-treating. I'm thinking that quite a few of my students will probably come by throughout the night, so it might be nice to be here and greet them.

It's been cold lately! Several nights this last week with frost and tonight is supposed to be a little below freezing again. Fall is definitely here and Winter is around the corner! It's been nice to enjoy all the Fall colors.

We're singing a Stabat Mater in Portland Symphonic Choir right now and will be performing on Nov. 11 & 12 with the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra. The traditional text is basically about the grief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, feels. This setting is by Salvador Brotons and has a lot of dissonant, modern harmony. It's tough to sing and not terribly enjoyable really. I'll be glad when we're working on our Christmas program music!

Hannah will be performing soon as Rapunzel in the Gresham H.S. production of "Into the Woods". If you're in the area, come see her and an excellent cast Nov. 9-12 and 16-19. Let us know if you need tickets!

Oct. 15 and I really need to post something!

I know, I know. It's been a long, long time since I wrote anything here.

Well, life is good and life is busy! I often think of things I'd like to share here, but seldom have the time to actually go do it. Anyway, here are some recent things of note:

We have finally decided on a new church home. It's been hard and no one place met every family member's criteria, but we are going to be a part of the Abundant Life Church. They have great children's and teens' programs, dynamic preaching, very lively worship, and are really growing alot. They seem to have lots of good ministries to hurting and recovering people, they offer many service opportunities, and they are baptizing 100-200 people each year. You can see their website at: www.coolchurch.com

I sang in my first concerts with Portland Symphonic Choir this weekend. We get really busy during concert week! This past week we had evening rehearsals on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, & Saturday nights and then did an afternoon and evening concert today. Whew! Tomorrow night we're back to just our regular Monday night practice time until the second week of November when we'll do the concert-week schedule again (and then again the third week of December). We shared this program with Seattle Pro Musica, each doing a section alone and then two pieces together to conclude. Saint Mary's Cathedral was a gorgeous and reverberant place to sing and both choirs performed at a pretty high level. You can see what we're singing the rest of this season at: http://www.pschoir.org/Season2005/Programs.shtml

Saturday, while Lani was out of town at a TAG conference in Bend, I rebuilt our front steps. Like any project, it took more than I thought to do what I was attempting. As I tore off the old step boards, some of the framing and stair risers broke apart and couldn't be reused. I ended up having to cut two new stair risers and reinforce both side risers that I could reuse. I got the steps done finally, but don't have a railing back up yet. It's wider now and does look nicer!

Hmm. . . there are probably plenty of other things to say, but I'm ready for some rest. Brian & Eryann Maki -- along with Lani's mom -- are coming from Missoula this Thursday and staying through the weekend. We may try to go to the Oregon coast, or a local pumpkin patch, or do something else special. Looks like we'll be here during Thanksgiving and then make a trip to Montana during Christmas break. We've ordered new kitchen cabinets (to install ourselves) which should arrive in early to mid-November, so we'll be working hard to get those all done before Thanksgiving break is over. I started up a choir at my elementary school and have about 62 kids in it so far! It's cool and rainy today; the weatherman says that we may have had our last 70-degree days for this year. The leaves are turning lots of beautiful colors too!

House of Hope

Last Saturday night Lani & I attended a dinner for the Hope of Hope - Portland. I want to encourage you to learn about House of Hope (they may have one in your community too) and to consider supporting them. They offer support, counseling, intervention, and (eventually in Portland) residential treatment centers for troubled teens. My brother-in-law, Troy Wagner, is now serving as the Executive Director for House of Hope - Portland as they build a base of support and begin to offer services in the Portland area.

You can see their website at: http://www.houseofhope-portland.org/HofH/House_of_Hope_Portland.html

Of course, at the banquet they asked for everyone's support and took up a collection and pledge cards. I wasn't able to give a whole lot there, but started feeling convicted about how much stuff I have -- just plain EXTRA stuff that I can't even use -- and decided that all the things I'd decided to list on Craigslist could just go to benefit House of Hope. Now, I'm not telling you this to say how good I am or anything (I'd much rather not let my right hand know what my left hand is doing here!), but I want to encourage you too to see what resources or stuff you might be able to let go of which can then benefit a good cause like this. It's been pretty cool. We've sold about five things so far and collected more than $300 and still have more items to go. It's a win-win-win situation too because I'm getting rid of things I don't really need, House of Hope is going to benefit, and other people are also picking up stuff they can probably really use. It also makes you feel good to be a part of reallocating God's resources for use somewhere else (it's all HIS anway, right?)!

So, what could you let go of and bless others with?

They grow up so fast!

I'm not even talking about my own kids! Yesterday, our very good friend, Jennifer Hamilton and her daughter, Olivia, stopped by our house. They are on their way up to Seattle Pacific University where Olivia is about to begin her freshman year! It was great to visit with them for a little while -- along with Bruce & Shirley Hamilton and Molly House (Jen's mom) -- but what a reminder of how fast all our kids are growing up! They gave us a picture of their son Lukas in his football uniform and he was looking like one tough, grown-up dude. On the flip side, our guests all commented on how much bigger and older our kids looked too.

All of this is just reminding me that I really need to cherish and enjoy the time I have with my children now, because sooner than I think they'll be out the door and off to college or work or who knows what.

Love your kids today!

End of the week update

Well, the second week of school is complete and I'm starting to settle in a bit. I'm also exhausted after staying up too late this week working on the downstairs bathroom at night. Good news there is that it's mostly finished and looks pretty nice!

Hannah got a part in the Gresham H.S. musical!!! She figured yesterday that maybe she wasn't going to be cast, but found out today that she'll be Rapunzel in the show, "Into the Woods". It's really cool because this show has a very small cast and being new and up against alot of other kids, the odds seemed stacked against her landing a part. She'll be really busy for the next couple of months. Shows are the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving.

I'm attending the Portland Symphonic Choir retreat this weekend -- Friday night and daytime Saturday -- and then going to see the musical "Wicked" Saturday night. For a couple of days, no working on the house!

Trying to find time to blog!

Life has been busy!!! And to any friends or family watching here for updates on life here, I'm sorry that I haven't had time for posting much on my blog.

I'm now into my second week of teaching at Hollydale and starting to get a feel for my schedule and the people here. I probably know only 10 or 15 student's names at this point and am trying to figure out who everyone is and what I'm to teach them. There are 18 classes of students in our building and I see most of them twice a week.

At home, we're still trying to unpack the scores of boxes that are piled in the garage and in many corners of our house. We don't have room for quite a bit of the stuff we own and are really trying to let go of a lot of things. We've got a bunch of furniture that just won't fit in this house that I'll be craigslisting (when I have to time to photograph it and post some ads!). I'm also still finishing up many of the remodeling projects that we started. This week I should be able to put the downstairs bathroom back together now that I've finished grouting and sealing the slate floor (and painting the walls and wiring in new lights, etc.). We have painted every room in the house, put slate floors in the entry and three bathrooms, put new light fixtures in almost every room, and reworked the walls in the kitchen/dining/living room area. We'll replace the main electrical panel in the next couple of weeks and then totally gut and redo the kitchen sometime around Thanksgiving or Christmas. Ah, the joys of home-ownership!

Hannah and Micah seem to be adjusting to Gresham H.S. pretty well. Hannah has been driving them to school each day (at least for now). Hannah is trying out for their musical today. They're doing "Into the Woods". Micah is in band again and also got into a men's choir. Caleb & Levi go with me to Hollydale and we've been walking together since it's only about a block and a half. They seem to like their teachers and are starting to make new friends here. Lani is busy doing two jobs in the David Douglas School District: 2 days a week on a long-term sub/job share, and two and a half days a week teaching TAG. She's been very busy!

Well, I'd better go and get my plans ready for today's classes!

Summer is over!

Today was my first official day at work (actually it was "New Teacher Inservice Day" for both Lani and me in both our districts). So, Summer is now over! The kids start school next week after Labor Day weekend. The way it should be everywhere, you Texas friends!!!

We're still living amid lots of still-unpacked boxes and there are still lots of house projects not fully completed, but it's nice to be in our own home.

I found out tonight at Portland Symphonic Choir rehearsal that I will be a paid "Staff Singer", so that was cool news! Also, Hannah auditioned for choir at Gresham H.S. earlier in the evening and the teacher agreed to put her in their top big choir (she is the 97th person in the group and the principal had told the teacher to cap it at 90).

We have a working home phone now, but still no internet service. I'm back over at Troy & Shauna's tonight typing this. I can check my personal e-mail and my blog at work, if needed. If you'd like our phone number, e-mail me at DanDalzell@aol.com and I'll send it to you (along with our new address too). Lani says I shouldn't just post it all here publicly.

We look forward to having guests in our home soon, but if you come right away we may put you to work helping put things away and finishing something. We have realized -- far too late -- that we just have too much stuff! So now one of our goals is to get rid of furniture, clothes, toys and such that we don't need &/or won't fit in our new house. Pare down and simplify!

In Our New Home

Sorry for not posting lately! Life has been a busy blur as we've been working every day on the house and then finally moving in yesterday. We got all our stuff out of storage and piled into the garage, family room, back yard, etc. Thanks to many good friends here, the move-in was done in one day!

Later in the day I cleaned up and auditioned for the Portland Symphonic Choir. I think I did OK, but I certainly hadn't had the time or sleep to prepare to sing at my best. I find out sometime today if I made it.

Well, this was just a quick update. I'm off to sort boxes, unload things, put together some stuff, and continue the fixing of the house. Tomorrow Lani and I both have our first meetings at our respective schools. Busy, busy, busy. . .

Closing on house tomorrow!

Just heard that we should close on our house tomorrow! Woohoo! The last 24 hours we've been thinking that maybe it would be delayed a week, then that it might not even happen because of some hold-ups in paperwork, and then suddenly a call saying that it should close tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 4).

I've got so much nervous energy! I can hardly wait to dig in and start working on things!!!

It's August and what are we doing?

So, today it's August. Can you believe it? We were hoping by about now to be getting into a house. Or be close to closing so that we could start working on the house. But we're waiting. Our mortgage company is waiting on Lani's school district who is waiting on the Oregon TSPC and so on. Meanwhile, Lani & I are a bit fidgety as each day slips by bringing us closer to the end of our free summer days. I wake up each morning thinking through the projects I need to do once we get possession of the house. Hopefully all this mental energy will be helpful as I rehearse my strategies for each project over and over!

I had hoped to totally gut the kitchen and put in new cabinets, countertops, lights, etc. but after visiting Home Depot, Lowe's, and a cabinet shop, I've had to face the reality that you don't just order cabinets and get them overnight, or next week, or even two weeks from now. We're looking at 4 to 6 weeks to get cabinets -- if I order them today. So, now my project list is being reshuffled as we decide which things we want to do before moving in and which to put off due to cost, lower priority, or lack of available materials. There will be plenty to do any way you look at it!

Maybe next time we're in the house I can take some digital pics so that we can share a "before and after" look at things.

We did a second visit to the East County Church of Christ this last Sunday. I think we all enjoyed it a little better the second time around. There are a couple of other places we'll make return visits to. Of course, with people's summer schedules and all, it may be hard to get a complete picture of a church until after school starts back up in September.

Heat over, Troy & Shauna back.

Oh, it is so nice today! Highs in the upper 80's, sunny, and breezy! It's especially nice after those triple-digit days recently. I baked a fresh apricot cobler and also cooked chicken nuggets in the oven tonight; we wouldn't have dreamed of turning on the oven the last few days!

Troy & Shauna, along with our friends Paul & Linda McDonald, are flying back right now from Hawaii. Sounds like they've had a wonderful time. Watching all the kids here hasn't been too bad, but it'll be nice to have all the parents back here. Lani says they owe us a night or two out!

We're still waiting for some things to move ahead toward a house closing. Mostly the mortgage company has been waiting for Lani's district to confirm her employment, but they won't issue a contract til they have forms back from her Texas school district and from the Oregon licensing folks (TSPC). Lani turned in everything well over a week ago, but it just takes time for all those things to get processed. In the meantime, we're both a little restless while waiting for things to happen. I've been pricing kitchen cabinets, sinks, bath fixtures, flooring, and such. My recent shock was how long it takes to get cabinets if you have to order them (4-6 weeks!). I think tomorrow I'm going to check out a couple of local cabinet outlets.

Lani's final paycheck from her Cy-Fair teaching comes this Friday and then we will have a loooonnnnng stretch until our new jobs start paying (both will get our first paychecks on the last Friday of September). This will be a test! Still, when I was praying today, I was thankful as I realized that God has ably taken care of all our needs so far through some difficult months and in making a move. I have no reason to doubt that He will take care of us over these next two months too!

Heat wave!

It's hot!!!! Current temp is about 103 or so (which I think is a new record high). Good thing is that it's only 22% humidity and there is a l2 mph breeze. I've mostly stayed down in the basement doing stuff today (I built a "Monkey Bar Golf" set -- you can find plans on the internet). Tomorrow is supposed to be about the same high temp again. Whew!

We just decided to load up the troops (all ten of us here -- Troy & Shauna are off on vacation to Hawaii) and go to a double-feature movie: "Over the Hedge" & "Nacho Libre" (playing at a cheap, air-conditioned theatre!). I'm off of here!

Feeling better

I've had a cold the last few days (came on Sunday), but today am starting to feel better. Thank God for healing! Yesterday I felt really achey and stuffed up, then sometime in the night it seemed like my fever broke and the tide turned. It's always so nice to start feeling well after one of these bouts.

I've been reading "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. It's one of those books that lots of people were recommending for the last year or two. I started it just before moving from Tomball, but then it got buried in the shuffle. Last week I picked it up again and have nearly finished it (three short chapters to go). Miller is not like me at all! The first few chapters I was just not connecting with him, probably more on a personal level because he lives in such a different way than I've chosen to live. But I was intrigued at the same time because he lives in Portland and makes numerous mention of places he goes (parks, coffee shops, pubs, Reed College, downtown, etc.) and they're all places that I am quite familiar with! This far into the book, he has grown on me. Not that I will change my personal habits to be like him (he smokes, drinks, etc.), but I appreciate his thoughts and real-life attempts to make his Christian faith real, true, relevant, down-to-earth, and sincere. I think I see how his faith-walk can certainly better reach many unchurched, faithless people than mine does.

Last weekend I took Caleb & Levi to the Father-Child Retreat at Camp Yamhill. It was beautiful, of course, and we had lots of fun doing things together, but it was also (I hope and pray) a good time for relationship-building and meaningful talk with my two youngest kids. Some things we did: built a sailing boat from foam blocks, sticks, & plastic (we got 2nd place at the "Regatta"!), built a kite, built two wind chimes, went out in a canoe on Sat. & Sun., did a river walk & swam in the creek (where Levi gashed his chin on a rock), went on a hike, did an obstacle course, had fun at "campfire" both nights (Levi got up and told a joke), had some scheduled times for father-child devotionals & discussions, and also had group times of teaching, singing, and such. It was a great experience, even if I did come home sick!

One more note: have any of you discovered "Craigslist"? Lani & I started looking for things that we'd like for our house and have gotten hooked with watching for cool stuff. Check it out! Here's the URL I use, but you can see that it's world-wide, so you can navigate to your own city or area.
http://portland.craigslist.org/

Choosing a new church

We've been visiting different churches each week since arriving back in Portland (5 so far) and have been thinking and praying about where we should be.

Here are some things that we're weighing:
1) Will we stay in a Church of Christ, or go to a different church?
2) How good of a church will this be for our kids? (Do they have a quality children's & teen program/ministry?)
3) Is this church close to our community? How close does it need to be?
4) Do they have God-centered, celebrative worship times?
5) Do we like the worship style? (a more honest question!)
6) How do Lani and I see ourselves involved here as volunteers in ministry?
7) Could I be useful and fit here as a part of their worship ministry?
8) Does this church have a mission and ministry focus that is evident (and that we're in agreement with)?
9) Do we like the ministry staff, and in particular, the lead minister (and his preaching)?
10) Where does it seem that God might be leading us to be?

We've obviously been swayed by many friends and relatives to check out the churches they are a part of (and that's been nice to do), but at some point we need to focus in on the places that seem the best fit. Mostly, we've just dropped in for worship assembly times so far, but plan to do repeat visits to our top choices in which we all go to classes and worship to get a better feel for everything.

So, any input from others out there who have gone through the process of finding a new church family/home would be most welcome!

Peaceful Sunday afternoon

Just thought I'd add a post about life today as I'm enjoying a quiet, Sunday afternoon.

We visited the Metro Church of Christ in Gresham today and like some other places we've checked out, we knew a lot of people. Greg Woods preached today and James Stanley (their youth minister) led singing -- both guys we've known for quite awhile. We sat by and went to lunch with Mike & Joni Tolon. Mike was (and still is) the band director at Parkrose H.S. the last three years that I taught there.

Brian & Eryann Maki and their sons, Orion & Jaden, headed back to Missoula today, so it's a little more quiet around here now that we're back down to just 12 people and 3 dogs in the house. Hopefully we'll get to go visit them in Missoula sometime soon since it's not really that far away now.

Tomorrow they do the inspection on our house. I guess I can say "our house" since we've got a signed offer on it and are just trying to go through all the steps now to get into it. We'll go over there while the inspector does his work and see and hear what he thinks about everything -- hopefully no bad surprises! I'm eager to start doing some of the things to the house that will need done. I plan to carefully measure some floors and the kitchen area so that I can get materials and such lined up before we take possession.

Yesterday we saw the new "Pirates of the Carribean" movie. Pretty fun, but maybe not as good of a story as the first one. Then again, they were only telling half of their story in this release and now you have to wait to see the next installment. We were trying to see whether Caleb & Levi should be allowed to see it yet and probably will hold off since there are more scary-looking creatures/people(?) and tense scenes this time around. Didn't seem quite as funny as the first one either.

Lani is off shopping with her sister at Mervyns (they still have them here) and I think I'll take Molly for a jog through Laurelhurst Park. It's sunny, 87 degrees with 38% humidity; it beckons one to be outdoors. . .

Check out Laurelhurst Park at:
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=224&c=38308

House deal

Looks like we'll be homeowners once again! We reached an agreement on our offer for a house and now the wheels are in motion to get things done. We're shooting for a closing near the first of August which would give me a little time to do some work on the place before school starts here.

The house address is right by the school I'll be teaching at in Gresham, OR and it's MLS #6047012. You can see it online at:
http://www.rmls.com/RC2/UI/search_mlsnumber.asp
and then put the number in there. We'll need to do new flooring in the entry, kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room plus some minor reworking of doors and walls in the basement (it was a rental property since the late 80's and at times the basement was sub-let, so it has separate doors to the garage/upstairs, etc; we plan to take out four doors!). The main work will involve pretty much gutting the kitchen, removing a wall between the kitchen and dining, & then installing new cabinets, counters, and flooring. And most all of the light fixtures are pretty dated. I'm ready to start working on it, but will have to be patient and wait for about a month!

Tomorrow we plan to go to the big 4th of July celebration at Ft. Vancouver, WA (just over the Columbia River in Washington). It's always touted as the biggest fireworks show west of the Mississippi and there are huge crowds, bands playing on a main stage starting about noon, lots of vendors, etc. We'll head over there about 2 pm with the Dalzell-Wagner-Maki clan (17 from this house) and meet about 40 or so friends. Note to Texas friends: it'll be about 85-90 during the afternoon, but drop to the low 60s by fireworks time, so you have to bring sweatshirts &/or blankets!

Made an offer. . .

This morning we looked again at a house right by where I'll be teaching and then wrote up an offer! Now we're just waiting to see if they accept it, or counter, or. . .

Lani's mom, Gladys, is here and Brian & Eryann Maki (and their kids, Orion & Jaden) get here tomorrow. All will be here through the 4th of July. Should be good family time, lots of card-playing, lots of cousins running around all over!

Next steps here

Yesterday Lani accepted a half-time job with the David Douglas Schools as an elementary TAG ("Talented and Gifted") teacher. It's something she is looking forward to doing and is good at! We're hoping that she might pick up a half-time job-share with another teacher or at least be able to sub on her open days too. (Also yesterday her sister, Shauna, with whom we're staying, accepted a job to work at Womack Auto Body -- so both sisters were blessed with jobs on the same day.)

I met with a mortgage broker and laid out our financial scenario with him to see if we could qualify for a loan for a house that we're interested in. It's uncomfortable to have to openly discuss the good & bad of our finances. We have not always been the best money managers and are still trying to pay off some old debts. And housing is much more expensive here. Our house in Tomball would easily sell for double here and so we just couldn't afford it if we were looking at it here. We have found a 70's-style, tri-level that is just one block from where I'll work (so Caleb, Levi, and I could walk each day) that we could probably get for about $265,000. It seems like a ton of money, but we're just not finding anything much cheaper that we can fit in. This house has been a rental since the late 80's, so the yard looks somewhat neglected and it has some cosmetic flaws that we'd have to work on, but overall it could work for us. Now we'll just wait and see now how the financing goes.

Finally, a bit of news to celebrate. My great aunt, Lois Dalzell, turns 100 years old today! She lives in Fresno, CA and this weekend a bunch of relatives will be there to have a party in her honor. She has been a spunky, talented, strong, encouraging woman for most of her life and has only just in the last couple of years seemed to slip quite a bit in her mental & physical capacities. I'm thankful for the ways that has blessed so many people throughout her long life.

Thanks for your prayers and encouraging words, friends!

Decisions, decisions. . .

Lani & I are stressing a bit over several decisions before us:
Lani's job situation -- she has a half-time offer that she could still probably take, but financially we'd be much better off with a full-time job (yet, will one be available?). She also could take a job at a private school, Portland Christian, and then our kids could go there for free, but she'd make just a little more than half of what a public school job would pay. Then again, should we send our kids there instead of to public school? We're just not sure what to do here (and need to decide really soon!).

Where to live -- we've looked at some houses (all of which are much more expensive than our home in Tomball) and have found one or two that could work. We've also learned of a couple of rentals that we could probably get right into. So, do we rent a house and try to pay off some debts and save more toward a house, or do we do what we can to get into a house now (since prices here are jumping up higher and higher all the time)? Another tough decision before us.

Just thought I'd share what we're stuggling with and ask for your prayers.

We had a really nice time over the weekend at the Columbia Christian/Cascade College 50th Anniversary Reunion. It was great to see so many old friends (and their kids), to sing in the alumni choir, and to just get reconnected with lots of classmates, teachers, and friends.

We went to church yesterday at the East County Church of Christ and it was a bit strange to be in a church that we've never been a part of and yet know about 2/3 of the people. They mentioned a number of people who were being considered as elders and I think I knew them all. Afterward we enjoyed lunch with three families that are very good friends.

Life in Portland

Well now that we've been here over a week, I should mention how things are going and what we're up to.

We've settled in a bit here with the Wagners and it seems like our kids are enjoying playing every day with their cousins. Hannah and Micah went to Sr. Teen Camp this week at Camp Yamhill. Caleb and his cousin, Makinna, will go to 3rd & 4th grade camp next week (and Hannah will be a counselor there).

We've visited two churches, Renovatus and Crossroads, and plan to visit many more including Abundant Life, Rolling Hills Community, East County C of C, and probably more. It's nice to be able to try several places, but I look forward to plugging in and "belonging" somewhere.

Lani and I have been looking around at houses, both online and just driving around. We've got a bit of sticker shock as we realize that our home in Tomball would cost about double here in Portland (and we can't really afford that!). Once Lani has a job, we'll see what we qualify for in a mortgage and how outrageous the payments will be (!) and then hopefully be ready to be seriously shopping. We're looking mostly at homes in Gresham or out that way from Portland.

Lani did have a half-time job offer to teach TAG in the David Douglas schools, but she has now turned that down as we feel that we'll really need her full-time income to make everything work. I know she'll make a great teacher somewhere, but it's proving difficult to get an interview.

Our house officially "closed" in Tomball and I was notified this morning that we've now dispersed the funds and everything is done. That's a blessing.

Later this week is the Cascade/Columbia Christian College Reunion and it sounds like it will be a fun event. We're looking forward to see lots of old friends, classmates, teachers, and supporters. This year marks my 20th year since college graduation and 25th since H.S. and my H.S. classmates are having a little get-together in conjunction with this larger college reunion. I'm leading worship in chapel Friday morning and have been OK'd to use a praise team for my part (two other guys are also leading parts, Tom Buchanon and Tracey Edson).

And today's closing news: Levi got sick this morning and threw up near the toilet -- he almost made it there. He seems fine now, so hopefully it's not a major stomach bug.

Every day has it's blessings and challenges!

New cell numbers

Here are our new cell phone numbers:
Dan: 503-927-2210
Lani: 503-927-2211
Hannah: 503-927-2212

I was happy to get consecutive numbers for us, but disappointed that they have no forwarding service at all (so if you call our old numbers you will not reach anyone or anything at all).

Lani interviewed for a job today, but I'm not sure when she'll hear back about it.

Today was the last day of school for my two neices here, Makinna & Lydii Wagner (and all of Portland Public Schools). Most districts here finish up this week, although the district I'll be working in doesn't finish until next week. Teachers & kids here are celebrating Summer (even though it's in the 60's)!

Next steps

We got our two trucks unloaded with help from family & friends here. Somehow we packed most everything from two solidly fillled 26' trucks into one 10' x 30' storage unit (and I mean PACKED! No chance of running by the storage and just pulling something out!).

We have an interesting situation before us for tomorrow: for the first time in most all of my life, I do not have any attachment to a particular church and so we're not sure where we'll go in the morning for services. It's kind of fun and exciting to just be able to visit wherever we'd like for the next few weeks, but at the same time it's a little strange to not have a place -- a church family -- where you belong.

Lani is excited because she got called yesterday for an interview in the David Douglas School District for a special TAG teaching position (in Texas they'd call it "GT"). She would love to get this job for many reasons (it's a good district, we need the income, etc.), but really is just totally excited about the possibility of teaching "Talented and Gifted" learners. She's trying to review and refresh her memory about things she has learned about working with these exceptional, creative kids. Her interview is this coming Wednesday, so keep her in your prayers.

We had fun viewing Portland's "Rose Parade" this morning. It was a beautiful day here and lots of people came out for this big annual event. We sat among a bunch of friends and enjoyed the floats, bands, horses, pooper scoopers, and everything else. In our previous Portland years we were regular parade-goers and it just seemed natural to be back here doing it all again.

Safely arrived in Portland

We safely arrived in Portland tonight. Our travel was all safe and pretty much right on schedule each day. Thanks be to God for His traveling mercies. We were cared for at each point along the way.

Now that we're here we have to unload our trucks over the next two days, figure out where to put everything (storage &/or at Troy & Shauna's), take care of lots of business loose ends, etc.

It's good to be here! Thanks for all the prayers and help from so many of you. Now to rest a little. . .

Ready to Roll!

Thanks to help from many friends, we are loaded and ready to pull out tomorrow! I'm so glad we ended up getting two 26' foot trucks because we filled them both completely up -- front to back, bottom to top (it's actually a bit embarrassing to see that we have that much "stuff"!).

We have been soooooooo blessed by loving and generous friends here. We had a very nice going away party hosted by Jeff & Erin Lonard last night. It was a special time to see many dear friends. Everyone blessed us with a book full of thoughtful going-away messages and also with a "money tree" (Levi & Caleb thought each of our kids should get one branch of the tree!). We've also had many people stop by our house to wish us well and several dropped off cards &/or gifts. We've been humbly amazed as people's gifts have totalled almost enough to pay for our moving trucks!

Here's our schedule for the next few days:
Monday -- drive to Abilene and stay with Bill & Mary Womack (my mom's sister)
Tuesday -- Abilene to Cortez, CO (750 or so miles -- a long day!)
Wednesday -- Cortez to Boise, ID to stay with my parents (also a long drive)
Thursday -- Boise to Portland, where we'll stay with Troy & Shauna Wagner.

Troy & his dad, Dick, are with us to help drive the trucks. Pray for our safe travels these next days. I'll probably not get back on the internet for a few days.

Nice blessings

Several nice blessings to share today:
The Spring Woodlands Praise Team gave us a special good-bye tonight. After our practice (our last time there), they gathered in a circle and sang "The Lord Bless You and Keep You", prayed for our journey, and then had a delicious chocolate cake while many people hugged us and said nice things.

A mystery "box fairy" has left moving boxes at our front door the last two days (and we can certainly use them!). Whoever it is has secretly deposited them right in broad daylight -- and that's not easy with our dog, Molly, always poised to bark at anyone or anything that comes near our house (or the neighbors, or anywhere in the cul-de-sac, for that matter!).

The appraiser and the surveyor each came and did their things today. Seems like a good sign that all is proceeding towards closing.

Moving party!

This Saturday, June 3rd, we'll be loading our moving trucks starting at 9:00 a.m. I'm just posting this because some of you have asked about how and when to help us! We should have most everything boxed or taken apart and ready to load by then. We'll also finish any other loading on Sunday afternoon.

On the Portland end, we'll probably be unloading on Friday, June 9 and on Saturday afternoon, June 10 (after the Rose Parade!). Not sure where everything goes there, but most will be into storage somewhere.

We'll be living with Troy & Shauna Wagner in Portland (Shauna is Lani's sister). Here is our contact information there:
Dan & Lani Dalzell
5209 S.E. Stark St.
Portland, OR 97215

503-235-7551

Gettin' bigger, gettin' ready

We're all busy here (well, at least Lani & I!) packing up things and getting ready for our move. All the pictures and other wall things are down and there are boxes everywhere! It's quite obvious now that we really are going to move. Soon! Lani decided we should go ahead and pack up our dishes and just use paper plates and plastic cups for the next week, so even our cupboards are getting emptied.

For years we've had a chart taped up on which to mark the ever-increasing height of our kids. It's always fun to see who has grown the most since the last measurement! A few months ago it started coming untaped from the wall and so I just rolled it up and set it aside for awhile. Yesterday, as we were packing things I decided we better have one final measurement here in Texas (you know, everything's bigger here!). And the results are:
Hannah - 5' 7 3/4" (she grew 1/4" since last Nov.)
Micah - 6' 0" (actually about a millimeter short, but he'll be there next week! 2" inches growth since Nov.)
Caleb - 5' 2" (about 1 1/2" since Nov.)
Levi - 4' 6" (and 2" more than Nov.)
Lani, who assisted with the measuring, says that I better watch out because the boys may all pass me up some day! Micah already wears size 14 shoes -- two sizes bigger than mine. Whew!

Big Job News

Yesterday I found out that I got the elementary music job in Portland (at Hollydale Elem. in the Gresham-Barlow District). The principal called to let me know and now it's just a matter of doing all the paperwork with her district's HR dept. and getting my Oregon certification taken care of.
Here's their website: http://hollydale.gresham.k12.or.us/

I feel very blessed! Our house sold on Monday and I got a job on Wednesday. It seems obvious to Lani and I that God is blessing us as we go down this pathway. I look back and see that I applied for about a dozen different worship leading jobs over the last year and yet none of those worked out. Now, the first people that looked at our house after we listed with a realtor bought it. And the only music job in the Portland area that I applied for, I got (there were some others in more remote parts of the state that I started the process for). I still would love to be involved in worship ministry and will prayerfully see what opportunities God puts before me as a volunteer.

Keep praying for Lani to find a job and for all the details of our move. Thanks!

Breaking news on our house sale

Tonight we signed a contract on our house! We're praising the Lord and so thankful to have this step accomplished!

Two weeks from today we start our move back to Portland (we'll be in Abilene for our first night of the the four-day moving trip).

Thanks for all your prayers!

Latest Moving Plans

We've set our moving plans now:
Means:
Two Penske diesel trucks (one 26' and one 16')
One car carrier/trailer for our Camry

Dates:
We'll be picking up the trucks on June 1 or 2
Loading will commence on June 3 & 4 (nearby helpers welcome!)
June 5 - Tomball to Abilene (staying with relatives)
June 6 - Abilene to Cortez, CO
June 7 - Cortez to Boise (staying with my parents)
June 8 - Boise to Portland (moving in with Troy & Shauna Wagner)
June 9 - Unloading trucks into some temporary storage (Portland helpers welcome!)
(June 10 - Going to Portland's Rose Parade)

We're still working on arrangements for an additional truck driver (Troy is coming down to drive out/up with us). Anyone got a deep urge to see lots of the Western U.S. from the comfy, air-conditioned cab of a Penske truck?

In other news:
I had a conference call interview for a music job at Hollydale Elementary in Gresham, OR. Seemed like all went well and they will decide within a week's time.
Lani is still applying for all kinds of elementary classroom openings, but hasn't been interviewed yet.

Thanks, friends & family, for your encouraging words and prayer support. God is good all the time!

Movin' on

Well, I've continued to sub every day. Yesterday 8th grade Eng./L.A.; it went great! Today, Boys' Middle School PE; it was fun! Who knows what'll be up tomorrow?

I got a call today about doing a phone interview for a music job at Hollydale Elementary in Gresham, OR. I had a really nice, positive, comfortable chat with the principal there (who it turns out, had a daughter in my middle school choir a few years back!). She even said she'd put in a good word for some jobs for Lani too. Thank you, God, for this bit of encouragement today.

We decided we need to go ahead and list our house with a realtor, so we met with one tonight and worked out all the details. His signs and everything will go up tomorrow. Interestingly, after I'd called him and set up an appointment, we got a call from someone who scheduled to see our house on Friday and would be a cash buyer(!). So, who knows what'll happen. Hopefully, something soon!!!

Once we have a signed contract, then we'll be able to start packing some things. We're looking at moving on or about June 5 (arriving in Portland on June 9 or so). It seems so close to that time to still be looking for a buyer. We could go ahead and move without the house sold, but it won't sell as well being empty. Still, every time someone looks at our house I'm thinking. . . we just need one buyer! Actually, I've been praying for this house to bless a family with kids (with the pool and close-to-schools location and all).

So, there's a little update our our life!

Patience (It's hard to wait!)

We're waiting. . . Every day we're waiting for something to happen, for an offer to come on our house, for a job, for some direction about how to proceed. And it's hard to wait! Anxious moments creep into quiet times. It seems like something is always occupying a portion of my energy and mind; it's like a part of me that is on hold and just ready for the go-ahead about our next steps in life.

I didn't get the worship leading job in Tulsa. And that's fine. I like getting clear answers like this, because then I can go on to the next thing. I thought I had a great experience with the folks there, but I trust that there are some good reasons why that wasn't the place for us. What that means now is that we're going ahead full steam with applying for teaching jobs back in Oregon. And we're setting our plans to move there in early June.

Now to sell this house! That's probably our biggest bump in the immediate road. We've put in a good effort at selling it ourselves, shown it alot, and had two quite low offers which we didn't accept. I guess we're ready to turn to a realtor (though I hate to pay that commission). It'll be interesting to see where a realtor will recommend we price it at.

I'm subbing every day. This week H.S. drama (two days), M.S. language arts, 5th grade, and H.S. science (tomorrow). At least every day is something new!

Hannah sang at an end-of-the-year recital tonight at her school. She sang very well (although she was a little bit nervous). With a little more confidence, she's going to be a fine soloist. We'll have to find her a new voice teacher when we get to Portland.

May 7

Well, one month from today would be our anticipated day to start the move back to Portland, that is, if we don't make a move to Tulsa. Strange how things are that near, but still unknown!

Today we had another open house -- only one couple visited, but then they called back later and said they were going to see their banker tomorrow and would like to make an offer later in the day if everything works out. We're cautiously, but optimistically waiting to see if this all works out. The potential buyers are an older couple who love the one-story floor plan and the large covered patio. On the other hand, they have no interest in the pool and asked if we'd take it out (if they give us a decent offer, yes!). So, tomorrow at this time I may be calling friends and saying, "Would you like a free pool? Just come give me a hand in taking it down and it's yours!"

Today was kind of odd for me at church. Lani sang on the praise team and I sat with our kids (and only went to first service, in order to get back home to get ready for the open house). It's a little bit of a challenge for me to not get in a critique mode during worship, when I really just want to be a worshipper. The new leader is a fine guy and a dynamic leader, but of course, I'd do some things differently and so there I sit trying to worship and trying not to be distracted with thoughts of how he's doing as a leader, what I'd do differently, etc. I guess I've got some more character development to work on!

The next two days I'm subbing for H.S. drama. That should be fun, challenging, & interesting.

Busy, but no BIG news

If you read my blog to see what's happening with us, then you've probably wondered why I'm not posting very often. I'm just busy!

I've now started subbing every day, since my stint at Spring Woodlands is over. This week it's been:
M - alternative H.S. computers
T - M.S. band
W - half-day Elem. PE
TH - H.S. mixed assignment covering teachers conferencing w/parents
F - (tomorrow) back to the alternative H.S., this time in English/Lang. Arts

No new house-selling news. Lots of interested folks, but no real offers.

No new job news. Still waiting to hear back from Memorial Drive C of C in Tulsa. In the meantime, Lani & I are both filling out several applications for teaching jobs back in Oregon.

That's a quick update!

Riding the waves. . .

Today it feels like I'm riding the waves of life's ups & downs. This week started with a too-good-to-be-true sale of our home to the first person that viewed it after our ad came out. After stringing us out most of the week, our "buyer" came again today but brought their loan officer (read "realtor"). They looked the house over again with him, then left to decide on their offer amount. About an hour later their "agent" came back to present their offer. It was one of those "you've got to be kidding" moments. They offered $5K below our asking price, plus $6K toward the buyers costs, plus asked us to pay his 3% commission (about $4600), and of course split the other closing costs (the only thing that was not unexpected). We can entertain reasonable offers below our price, but this was crazy! By the time we paid all that he asked for, we'd barely get more than it was worth 5 and 1/2 years ago when we bought it.

Another smaller wave: last night at our praise team rehearsal one of the ladies said she had a perfect job for me: her school needed a 4th grade sub. teacher through the end of the year. Sounded like a good opportunity and possible blessing. One of the keys is that long-term pay requires 20 consecutive days and if I could start Monday there would be exactly 20 working days. Problem is I'm not even registered to sub in this district and jumping through all those hoops could take awhile. But I was told that her principal could pull some strings and push things along. So, pretty early this morning I put a call in to the principal, but had to leave a message since the principal was out for the morning. All day I waited for a call. Finally, after 3:00 I called again and was told that she was unavailable. So, what sounded like a good possibility probably slipped away. Maybe not, but most likely.

Overall, I feel so blessed in my life, but today felt like I was hitting more of the dips than the highs. And I guess some days are just like that.

Tomorrow will be a new day. As far as I know we can all sleep in. We should have a mildly relaxing morning. And we'll go ahead and do an open house from 2 to 5. You know, waves go up and down. Maybe tomorrow we'll catch a big wave and go for a fun ride!

Blessed endings

Two chapters of our life ended today (or at least almost did):
I packed up my office at Spring Woodlands and hauled everything home. It seems kind of odd to not be a worship leader (at least for awhile). For almost six years I've led worship nearly every Sunday. We'll still be at Spring Woodlands for at least a few more weeks, but it will be a little different. I told the new leader, Rod Brady, that I'd be happy to sing bass any time he needs me and I do really like to do that too! Also, I'm the music director for a children's musical there that will perform on June 4 (which will likely be our last Sunday there).

And. . . it looks like we sold our house! Our newspaper ad came out yesterday and I had two calls about coming to look at it. The first caller didn't end up coming by, but the other couple came and were ready to give me an earnest money check on the spot. I told them not to rush it, to think about it overnight if they'd like and today they said they'd like to come tomorrow with their kids and that they'll be bringing a check with them. All I can do is say, "Thank you, Lord!" What a blessing! I told Micah and Hannah that I'm very happy that we sold it so fast, but I'm also a little sad to sell a home that we've put alot of effort into improving.

Thanks for your prayers! God is good and has blessed our family again. Now, to see where we're headed! Isn't it weird to have your house sold and not know where you're moving?

Pressing on, moving ahead!

Today was my final day leading worship at the Spring Woodlands Church. It was a nice day there (despite a few technical glitches) and people were very loving and kind. I've sure enjoyed my short stay there!

This afternoon we're doing our first open house. As I'm writing this, we've been "open" for an hour-and-a-half and we've had one couple come through (I keep telling myself, you only need one buyer!!!). Lots of people have driven by and taken flyers!

Now, to see how things go. . .

Trusting. . .

Never be afraid to trust
an unknown future
to a known God.
- Corrie ten Boom

I'm wrestling a little each day with what my future holds, and at this point it's pretty unknown. Yet, I've seen the gracious, loving hand of God take care of me at all times in the past and I believe He's still going to on all of my unknown tomorrows. Now that the extra-busy activities of Easter are past, I'm more aware that in just a few weeks I'll be headed somewhere else -- I don't know where yet, but somewhere (Tulsa? Portland? Walla Walla? Elsewhere?). We put up a "For Sale" sign in our yard, placed ads in two local papers, and are readying for an open house on the next two weekends. This is more evidence that a change is coming soon! This Sunday is my final week leading worship at Spring Woodlands. It's been a great blessing and opportunity in many ways and I'm thankful for my time here. So, while lots of things around me are in a state of change, I'm thankful that God is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer!

Happy Easter!

Hear the bells ringing, they're singing, "Christ is risen from the dead!"
Christ, the Lord, is risen today! Hallelujah!
You Can't Keep a Good Man Down!
Hallelujah! Jesus is Alive!

Just wanted to share some of the words of songs that are echoing around my head today as we celebrate the risen Savior! We had a great Easter Sunday, starting with a sunrise service at a community park, then two special worship times at the SWCC building (the praise team did great today in leading the celebration!), and a relaxed afternoon with family and friends! God is good, Jesus is risen, and that makes all the difference in my life!

Good Friday

Today is "Good Friday" and it really was a nice day. All of our family was at home today (Texas schools almost universally take Good Friday as a holiday). We cleaned house, played, kids swam (it was in the mid to upper 80's), the girls went shopping, and we got ready for a garage sale tomorrow.

Today is also Levi's Birthday! So he got to choose where we'd go for dinner and we went to Fuddruckers. After eating, I told them that it was Good Friday and that we had one special birth to celebrate and two deaths. Right away they all said something about it being Levi's birthday that we were celebrating and then with just a little thinking they remembered that this is the day we recall Jesus' death and burial. So we talked a little about that. I asked them how Jesus' followers must have felt -- sad, depressed, confused? Lani pointed out that Jesus' body hadn't been properly prepared for burial and that some of the women wanted to do that but couldn't because after sundown it was the Sabbath. I think we had a good teaching moment going. Then I mentioned that this is the day that Abraham Lincoln was shot (141 years ago today). Micah jumped in and told a bunch of details about all of that that he'd heard or read.

Personally, late last night I was thinking about how that was the night that Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples, how he agonized in prayer in the garden, how they couldn't stay awake with him, and what a struggle He was going through. Today I recalled several times that this was the day of his condemnation, the walk with the cross on the Via Dolorosa, the crucifixion, the words on the cross, his death, and finally his burial in the tomb. What an amazing sacrifice on our behalf!

Stomp!

I subbed in elementary music today and showed the video "Stomp Out Loud" to all six classes. Also, a couple of weeks ago I showed the same video to four classes of middle school band. I guess most music teachers figure they are not going to get a musically proficient substitute so they just fall back on a video for the day (so far I've done four music sub jobs and never yet been asked to do any music teaching!).

Anyway, Stomp is a pretty lively group that creates all manner of percussion performance pieces using only body sounds and common items like trash cans, brooms, pipes, pots & pans, etc. "Stomp Out Loud" is a special show produced by and for HBO. They also have a show that tours around the country. After watching this video ten times now, I'm good at catching when brooms break, spotting where microphones were placed, and watching what's going on with the part of the cast that is not the main focus at the time.
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I'm excited about our Easter worship plans! Sunrise Service at 6:45 at Northshore Park in the Woodlands and then two special Easter Services back at our building. I really hope we reach a lot of visitors and that we encourage everyone with the hope and power of Christ's resurrection.

My Day in the DMC

Yesterday I got a call to sub -- Middle School English/Language Arts. Sounded kind of interesting, even if not my favorite pick. I got to the school and was in the classroom just about ready to begin first period, when in walks the regular teacher and says, "I don't think you're supposed to be here today." Awkward. Then she said, "Hold on just a minute" and off she went to speak to the sub. coordinator. Several awkward minutes. Then she reappeared and told me there'd been a mistake and I wasn't needed for her class, but they would love to have me help in the "DMC" room.

"DMC." Just the way she said it made me a little nervous. I'm thinking. . . I wonder what that stands for. . . De-Militarized Classroom. . .hmm. (Lani told me later that it's actually something like "Discipline Management Class").

So, I spent a day in the detention room. Honestly, I never spent a day in detention in all my school days. I learned some things yesterday:
Whoever runs DMC (or whatever they call it in your local school) should get a big bonus pay. And lots of admiration and appreciation for their efforts. We had a room with 24 students assigned there who all were supposed to work silently in their assigned desk or cubicle. That meant that the coordinator had to have seven assignments (one for each regular period) for all 24 students somehow organized, passed out, collected, etc. Whew! I don't know how this lady did it on a regular day by herself. She was SO thankful I was there and was nearly begging me to come back again tomorrow.
DMC students are not dumb or "bad kids". I was actually pretty impressed with how most of the kids acted. Generally, they were considerate and cooperative (it could partly be because if they messed up there they'd be in real bad trouble!). Several were probably "gifted" as far as intelligence goes. I couldn't believe how quickly some of them did the assignments. I'd always heard that some kids who get in trouble are just bright kids who get bored with the slow pace of things in a regular classroom and have too many opportunities to get into mischief. It's probably true.
I also looked at these kids and wondered how many of them don't have a stable home, how many have suffered abuse, how many didn't eat breakfast that day, how many have parents with serious problems of their own. I'd bet that these kids were fighting a lot of battles that most kids don't have to face. I know I never had to face those kind of things and I'm glad my kids don't either, but now I have more understanding and caring for children who do.


I survived my day in DMC just fine and was happy to have helped out in a difficult little corner of the world. And I learned some things about people. I was blessed today.

Oh, what a beautiful morning. . .

Oh, what a beautiful day. . .

It's a lovely, sunny day with a gentle breeze and a high in the low to mid 70's (and low humidity, to boot!). So, the yard got mowed and edged, flowers got spruced up, windows were opened up -- it was just a really nice day!

Tonight we're going to Olive Garden to celebrate Micah's 14th birthday. His birthday was actually on Thursday, but we were too busy that day to do much (I was actually in Portland, and Lani was single-parenting and just trying to keep everything and everyone going).

Tomorrow our worship service theme is "Celebrate Jesus!" and I'm really looking forward to it. It's the final Sunday of our series on things you just have to celebrate. It should fit in really well to be shouting "hosanna" and "hallelujah" and singing praises on Palm Sunday!

Home Sweet Home

Back home again! I'm thankful for safe trips this last week to Tulsa and Portland.
Seems like lots of possibilities, but now I'll need to be patient.

Today I'm working at Spring Woodlands to catch up on things and then there's a school carnival thing at Matzke tonight (that's Lani, Caleb, and Levi's school).

"In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Signs that you're in Portland

I'm writing from Troy & Shauna Wagner's home in Portland, OR! Yesterday I attended the Oregon Professional Educator Fair at the Oregon Convention Center. There were over 220 school districts there and probably over 2500 teacher applicants. I was able to talk to many districts that are looking for music teachers and gave my resume (& Lani's) to about 15 of them that seemed most interested. I was "interviewed" (to some extent anyway) by four districts, while several others took down notes about me and said they'd follow up later.

Interesting note: I was originally only thinking of talking to Oregon districts (or maybe ones right across in Vancouver, WA), but at lunch yesterday, two administrators were sitting by me from Walla Walla, WA and after we talked awhile they showed interest in me as a music teacher and encouraged me to come by their booth. When I did so that afternoon, they were excited and immediately had me sit down and be interviewed by a grade school principal. Another interesting thing happened when I was walking past a booth for Nyssa, OR (a small town near where I grew up in Eastern Oregon). One of the three guys there caught my eye and he said, "Randy?", then stepped toward me and said, "or, Dan?" Turns out it was Geno Bates, a guy who'd gone to school with us in Ontario (in Randy's class, I believe). He didn't have any openings to fit us (and I wouldn't have wanted to go there anyway!), but he recommended I talk to the folks from Nampa, ID. When I stopped there, they were very interested right away and asked to interview me right then. So, two districts that I wouldn't have even talked to ended up being the most interested in me. Interesting! I also did interviews with Estacada, OR and the David Douglas district in Portland.

So, now to the title for this post. Here are some signs that one is in Portland:
First sign, when Troy was driving me home from the airport Monday and we were turning onto his street, we stopped at the corner for a jogger -- at 11:38 at night!
You see lots of women with little or no make-up on (and it's just a normal thing).
There are big mountains nearby.
There is lots of snow on the big mountains.
People at a restaurant picked up your plastic bottles separate from the trash to recycle them.

I suppose I could list a lot more, but these were some things I noticed right away.

Final notes: I got to eat last night at Chevy's with Troy & Shauna & kids, and my good friends Paul & Linda McDonald.
Then we went to see Makinna and all the 3rd grade class at Glencoe Elementary do a musical intitled: "Portland, a Musical".
After that, my good friend Jeff Beachy joined us back at the house for a couple hours of visiting.

Today, I'm hoping to have lunch with Ike Graul (WorshipForum.com founder, PUMP minister, Take 6 lover, and good friend). Tonight I'll go see Randy & Charlene at their new home. I also hope to go for a run through Laurelhurst Park; it's a beautiful day and the park should be full of runners, walkers, children playing, people feeding birds. . .

Great weekend!

We were blessed with a wonderful weekend in Tulsa! Safe travel, good discussions during the interview, and worship seemed to go well. Thanks be to God (and thanks to all who prayed on our behalf!).

As it turns out, I am the first of five guys that are being brought in. So, they have four more weeks in a row to do this, four more guys to try out (and they are gonna be really tired after doing this for five consecutive weeks!). I guess we need the virtue of patience as we wait for a month or more to hear what they will do there.

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Tomorrow I fly to Portland to go to a big teacher's job fair. They will have something like 216 districts there to meet and interview teachers. I'm going to take my resume (& Lani's too) and see how God leads and blesses on this pathway too. It's kind of hard to know just what to do. I still have it in my heart to be a full-time worship leader, but there are reasons that returning to the teaching field might be the way to go (we could bless a smaller church, we'd be close to family, we'd be ministering in "secular" jobs, etc.). I'm praying daily for God's wisdom, leading, and blessing.

Oklahoma!

Today Lani & I fly up to Tulsa, OK to interview with the Memorial Drive Church of Christ for their Worship Minister position. We'll be going through a full day tomorrow of interviews and meals with various groups (staff in the morning, worship team representatives in the afternoon, then the elders later). Sunday I'll lead worship and then we're back home by Sunday night.

Thanks for your prayers!

College Choir memories

Last night Hannah was showing Lani & I her choir music -- several songs that they are learning for UIL competition -- and asked us if we knew any of them. The first one was, "All That Hath Life and Breath Praise Ye the Lord" by Rene Clausen. Immediately Lani and I both started singing the song. I guess Hannah figured out right away that we knew it! Then, I said, "Wait a minute, I think I've got a recording of that" and off I went to the garage to look through all our old records.

Talk about your "memory lane"! I found the box of records and pulled out all the ones from Columbia Christian College, where Lani and I both sang in the Concert Choir, Joyful Noise, and His Heirs groups that my dad directed. Just reading through all the song titles and looking at the pictures of the groups filled my head with music and good memories. I saw some peoples' faces that I haven't thought about in years (and a couple that I couldn't remember their names). What was amazing was how many songs just came right back as soon as I read the title. I could even picture singing them in certain places.

Eventually I made it back inside with the album, "Glorify the Lord" in my hands. The first track is the "All That Hath Life & Breath. . ." that Hannah is learning. So we put it on and Lani and I kind of sang along. Then we played it again for Hannah without singing, so she could hear it. And then we just listened to most of the album with Hannah and Micah there too. I dropped the needle on "Set Down Servant", a song which I had a solo on, and Micah and Hannah didn't think it sounded like me at all! Micah actually didn't realize for awhile that this was a recording that Lani and I were both singing on; he was wondering why we knew all these old songs.

So, it was a fun time listening to our old college choir and recalling friends and choir tours and yellow tuxes and all these songs. And you know, that choir sounded pretty good too!

Faithwalkin'

Today I heard from a WorshipForum friend who said that he was also interviewing at Memorial Drive in Tulsa. I appreciate his openness and let him know. And we'll be praying for each other. He also indicated that they have three other guys that they're bringing in (though I don't know who they are). So, we'll be praying for them too. It just reminded me today that I'm perfectly fine with getting this job or with not getting it, because I'm confident that the Lord is at work and is leading me, my friend, and the church there. Of course, I want to do well and to lead people in an intimate worship time with God this Sunday; but, I also want God to help make it clear whether this ministry and place is a good fit for me and my family (or if it's best for someone else).

It rained most all day here. . . and I was thankful because yesterday I planted a bunch of new flowers in our flowerbeds and patched ugly places in our front lawn with new grass. Thank God for small blessings.

Just a nice Saturday

What a nice day! I think it topped out right around 70 and with low humidity. Caleb, Levi, Micah, and a friend who's staying with us today all went swimming this afternoon (I think the water temp. was 69 -- brrrr!). Lani & I went to Houston Garden Center and got a bunch of flowers and stuff to spruce up the yard before we put the house up for sale. I like working in the yard, especially on nice days like this (not so much in 90+ degrees and/or 90+ humidity). It may be "Adam's curse" to till the soil, but I kind of like it in small doses (I probably wouldn't want to have to make a living that way).

This week I subbed two days, but times in 5th grade classrooms. I kind of like that age-level. Friday I was actually in Lani's building and was her "teaching partner" (our classes traded back and forth; she teaches math/science and I did language arts/social studies). I've met all the other 5th grade team there and it was fun to work with them.

I'm enjoying the NCAA tourney! Just now saw UCLA finish off Memphis! Go Pac-10. I still can't believe Gonzaga lost that game to them Thursday though.

A week from today Lani and I will be in Tulsa interviewing with the Memorial Drive C of C. Some odd things about that weekend: we'll be doing the interview on April Fool's day and daylight savings time begins (so Sunday morning will feel especially early!).

God's blessings to you!

American Idol thoughts

OK, until this year, I had never watched an entire episode of American Idol (I'd watched a few clips, but never a whole show). This year all of my family -- led primarily by Hannah -- tune in to watch most every episode. And, I confess, I've watched several (but not all) of the shows too.

I really dislike the regional, qualifying-event shows. What a big, staged farce! They show about 2/3 of the really terrible performers just for the allure & amusement and I can't stand these shows; I could turn it off and walk away at any moment. On the other hand, once they got down to the top 24 or so, then it was all pretty good.

Here are my comments at this point:
I'm so glad Kevin (a.k.a. "Chicken Little") is gone! I was cringing every time I heard him sing because of the pitch problems (and as Simon says, "This is a singing competition.").
When they had the bottom three standing there together, my son Caleb (age 10) was terribly sad, saying, "Oh, I don't want either of my favorites (Kevin & Bucky) to get kicked off. . ." I wanted to laugh & cry at the same time!
Ace has got to go! Again, he's just not a strong singer. Obviously, he's getting by on his looks. And my favorites: Mandisa (can she ever sing!), Elliott (looks odd, but has impressive vocal style & agility), and Chris (just seems like a pro already).
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Here's a great verse for today:

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Here's an encouraging verse that I read today (from Heartlight):
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought. -- Jeremiah 17:7-8

Keep your trust in the Lord!
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I've been playing with my blog a bit. Did you notice the Flickr pictures box on the sidebar? (I got that idea from Ike Graul's blog, then had to figure out how to do it!). I tried to change the look a little, but only managed to change my overall background color (and then had to figure out how to change all the "rounders" or corners, since they weren't black before). I don't know much of anything about HTML, so whatever I attempt is trial and error. I'd love to have some sort of graphic in my top header box, but am not even sure where to begin. Maybe on some rainy day when I'm not subbing, I'll explore the template code again.

Final Four and more!

OK, first, here are my "Final Four" picks: Duke, UCLA, UConn, and Florida. So far, my top picks are still in. It's always fun to pull for an underdog and today I thoroughly enjoyed watching George Mason beat the "defending Nat'l champion" UNC. And I really pulled for Arizona to beat Villanova; it was close, but they just couldn't pull it out at the end. And though I didn't see any of this one, somewhere a bunch of Bradley alums must be awefully elated. I'd love to see Gonzaga win, but just don't think they'll get past UCLA and then I'm picking UCLA to win it all.

Yesterday I watched a ton of basketball and then at night's end I was feeling kind of guilty about it. As I prayed, I was confessing to God that all this basketball wasn't really that important and that it's all just a game for fun. And then I heard this question: "So why did you spend so much time watching it if it's not really that important?" It was hard to come up with any reasonable answer. Today I watched some games, but I folded laundry and did some other chores while it was all going on.

I'm loving the free games via computer video feed. I'll keep the CBS-televised game on and then select an online game that I wouldn't otherwise get to see. Sometimes the one on the computer is more fun to watch (and you can switch back and forth between 2 or 3 online games at once). I suppose we'll all get hooked on these free video broadcasts this year and then next year they'll charge a fee for them.
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We had a good worship experience at Spring Woodlands today. I introduced a new arrangement that I'd done of "We Want to See Jesus Lifted High". We'll come back and do it again in a couple of weeks. Carl did a great job teaching about "Celebrate Suffering". I think we were all challenged to have an attitude like Paul, Silas, and many early Christians who were positive in the midst of intense trials and suffering. Like Carl said, "I'm not there yet, but I want to be more like that!"

Latest News

Today I subbed in Jr. High band. I monitored two periods of written exams, but during the periods when bands actually rehearsed I just watched as another teacher did the directing (pretty easy day!). I also taught a math class during my "prep"; I guess I needed to actually do some teaching!

Remember your Jr. High days? To start 2nd period, they came on the intercom and said that this pinching thing had to stop, or students would be charged with physical assault (remember it is St. Patrick's Day today!). Ah, the joys and craziness of that age.
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So, here's the latest on my job search: I have an interview/try-out scheduled at the Memorial Drive Church of Christ in Tulsa, OK on the first weekend in April (yes, I'll be interviewing on April Fool's Day!). Seems like some great people there and a healthy church.

I've had some good e-mail correspondence with the senior minister at the Norkenzie Christian Church in Eugene, OR. I don't know how fast they'll be moving along, but it also seems like a good church (in a city that really needs the light of Christ!).

My back-up plan has been to seek out a music teaching job back in Oregon. I've started watching for openings there and have considered going to a big teachers' job fair there on April 4 & 5. My first desire is still to find a full-time worship-leading position, but I also need to take care of my family and so I'm ready to go the teaching route if needed. And too, God may lead me in that direction for His purposes too. We'll just keep praying and see what doors open up and which ones get closed.

To my Montana relatives: Go Griz! (Montana won an NCAA tourney BBall game for the first time since 1970-something!).

Today's blessings

All of our house guests got off to the airport this morning. It was nice to have family visiting (we got to play cards several times, went to Galveston one day, even all pitched in for some heavy-duty house-cleaning), but now we can get things kind of back to normal. Actually, we're trying to get things in tip-top-shape so that we can put our house on the market.

Seemed like a great time of worship Sunday (especially during 2nd service). The video testimony of Jeff Pleshek was especially heart-touching and inspiring. Jeff has some sort of untreatable or incurable brain cancer, but also has a great faith in God!

Wherever I go, I'm sure gonna miss the excellent video production done by Cindy Cochran. She typically produces two special videos per week (writing scripts, shooting the footage, then editing/mixing the finished product) and they are incredibly well done!

Our church staff ate lunch today at the new Red Robin here in The Woodlands. Red Robin was one of our favorite restaurants back in Portland (in fact, Lani & I ate our first meal together there as a married couple -- we were going to eat at a fancy restaurant, but opted at the last minute to go to a favorite place where we were comfortable). Sitting in this new Red Robin (it opened two days ago), I was reminded of many other times, places, & people that I've eaten with at Red Robin. It was a good flood of memories!

Busy week!

It's been hard to post this week, since I've been extremely busy with other things! I guess this is what happens when Lani is off for Spring Break!

Since she had time off, we decided to do some painting in our house. So, we painted ceilings and walls in three bedrooms and the master bath. We started painting on Sunday and finished on Wed. night (er. . . actually Thursday morning, since it was after 1:00 a.m.!). My shoulders and back are still sore from painting over my head! Also, we cleared out gobs of stuff from these rooms. All this is to get ready to put our house up for sale. Even though we don't know where we're going, we feel that we need to be ready to move and don't want to be stuck with a house that's not sold.

Also, Lani's mom, Gladys, and her sister, Shauna, and her brother Brian's wife, Eryann, are all here for a few days, along with Brian & Eryann's youngest son, Jaden. They got here Wednesday night and leave next Tuesday. Today we went out to Galveston for the day. It was a pretty nice time there with temps in the 70's. We ate at Joe's Crab Shack, played on the beach and collected shells, and then walked and shopped on the "Strand".

Now for some job news. After a few days with no worship jobs in sight to even apply for, I've had three pop up in the last two days. One with a Christian church in Eugene, OR (I saw their listing on WorshipLeaderJobs.com), one inquiry from the First Baptist Church in Bend, OR (they had my name in their files from when my brother attended there two years ago), and today an inquiry from an elder with the Memorial Drive Church of Christ in Tulsa, OK (my name was given to him by a fellow WF member). So. . . now to do some paperwork, some prayer, and see if any of these are directions I'm supposed to head in. I've mostly only applied previously for jobs within the C of C (the previous exception was a Bible Church in Portland where I knew several people); now I've got to carefully consider how to proceed with these possibilities. I'm thinking that I should go ahead with these and see how God leads, blesses, and directs.

What makes a song connect?

A guy came to talk to me yesterday after church and asked me, "What makes a (worship) song connect with people?" I'll admit that my first reaction inside my head was a little defensive as I wondered if he was going to be critical of some of our song choices or something. But, as I started to formulate a safe answer, he cut in and said that it was when a song uses "I" instead of "we" and "me" instead of "us" (and so on). He wasn't judging any of our song choices at all, but was just thinking about what made some songs really "connect" and others not (including songs in the service we'd just expeienced). He went on to say that he thought that songs in the first-person -- whether old hymns or new songs -- connected a lot better with people's hearts. I think he's on to something. At the same time, I think there's a time to sing together as the church or the body of Christ (like in "Revive Us Again" or "Had It Not Been the Lord"). In either case, I think that songs from our individual perspective or sung as part of the redeemed Church/family of God speak to our hearts and allow us to have engaged spirits as we turn our thanks and praise and petitions to God. More impersonal songs that talk about God or talk just to each other as believers don't seem to connect as well, in my experience. Lots of worship leaders talk about "horizontal" and "vertical" songs, "horizontal" being to each other and "vertical" being to God. So, what do you think?

Subbing in elementary music today and it's at the closest Cy-Fair school to my house. Today is Cy-Fair's last day before Spring Break, so it ought to be a little crazy I'll bet. The phone message said they had a party at the end of the day. (I'm sure all the teachers will be partying at the end of the day too!)

I found out that I'm no longer being considered for the worship leading job at the Eastside C of C in Colorado Springs. The note I got just said they had other applicants who better matched what they are looking for. I was a little bummed about it -- rejection always feels a bit personal -- but trust fully that God is in control and that that must not have been the right place for me either. On a more positive note for me, one of the Spring Woodlands praise team members (who can't always come to rehearsal due to his work schedule) just realized last night at practice that they had offered that job to another guy and that I wouldn't be there after April. He told Lani that he was really, sincerely disappointed because he had been pulling for me all along. It was kind of funny to see him just find out the news, but it was kind of a pat on the back to hear his reaction. Two church members came by my office yesterday just to say good things to me and tell me how much they enjoyed my leading there (one said he hadn't counted on how much he and others would start liking me). Now if I can just find a place with a job opening that has such open arms!

Back in the Classroom again

Today was my first day subbing! I taught a 4th grade "Spanish English Immersion" class at Matzke Elementary (where Lani teaches). I was eligible and equipped to sub for my first time on Monday, but decided to totally finish up my tax return before beginning the sub routine (lest I find myself on April 15 still trying to get it filed; so my taxes have now been filed -- I had to pay to bit, bummer).

I got a great first subbing assignment. Only had eight students, since they're all from Spanish-speaking families (though they all seemed to know English pretty well), and they had an Spanish-speaking aide help for one hour in the morning and a different one help for an hour and 15 minutes in the afternoon. I'd be happy to take that job again any time! It was quite chaotic all around my classroom, however, as there were subs in all three of the adjacent rooms in that quad area and in most of the rooms up and down the hallway (seems all the teachers were pulled out for a training). So while I was enjoying a pretty easy ride, I heard some wildness here and there around me and saw one sub have to yell at her kids toward the end of the day. Funnest part of the day was all the 5th graders who peeked in my room and said, "Are you Ms. Dalzell's husband?" Recess duty was a little warm outside today (must have been about 80), but I can hardly imagine how it is in August or May!

A Case for Acappella & Instrumental Worship

I picked up a couple of books this week while up at the ACU Lectures and one of those addresses the acappella/instrumental music issue for Church of Christ people. "The Other Side of the Keyboard" (ISBN 0-89900-918-2, copyright 2005 College Press Pub.) is a brief, balanced, and personal book by Milton Jones. Jones tells why he has changed his view from being one who was opposed to instrumental worship music to being one who supports it's use (but doesn't judge those who use or don't use instruments).

Jones' six chapter book (only 61 pages long) explains his thinking by telling his own story and offers an overview of the traditional C of C position(s) and then his more enlightened view. The six chapters deal with 1) Jones' own experience 2) Methods of "Interpretation" 3) What the Bible says on the issue 4) How church history bears on this issue 5) "Entertainment" (what it is and whether that's bad) 6) The "Division" over this issue and how we might reunite. I found this short book to reaffirm most of the positions I've come to believe on this issue. While Jones now advocates the use of instrumental music in worship, he still maintains that those who don't use instruments should be respected for their view and that we all should be able to practice unity, if not in our actual assemblies then at least in working together in other ways. Jones' own church, the Northwest Church of Christ in Seattle, recently merged with the Shoreline Christian Church. They now have a combined leadership and ministries, yet offer two worship services representing their acappella and instrumental heritages.

I'd be happy to share this book with any of you nearby that might like to read it (it'll probably take you only about an hour or so to read).

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I had fun Friday afternoon doing an arrangement of "We Want to See Jesus Lifted High". It's a pretty pumped up worship song that's been out for quite awhile, but I didn't seem to have an acappella arrangement of it anywhere.

Post-ACU

I had a great time at the ACU Lectures. I certainly enjoyed getting to see and visit with some dear old friends (notably, Rex Hamilton and Ike Graul). My dad and I also enjoyed chances to get together with relatives there: Dave & Joyce Dalzell, Bill & Mary Womack, Joy Crouch, and Doug Dalzell (and his companion, Leah).

The best classes I attended were Jack Reese & Ike's class on worship/hymnody, the Restoration Unity Forum, and the Kairos Church planting. Best worship experience was the Taize service on Tuesday night in the Chapel on the Hill. Best meal was the "$2.99 Taco Plate" at Rosa's (although BBQ at Harold's was a good experience too!).

I shook lots of hands and inquired often about worship leading opportunites. No one seemed to have or be aware of any new full-time job leads, but several people invited me to come and be a volunteer worship leader at their church. I may end up teaching again and volunteering for a church, but at this time I'm still praying and looking for a full-time ministry position.

I also came home with a head cold and feel stuffy and achy today. I guess that might have come from all the hand-shaking!

ACU Lectureships

I'm heading to the ACU Lectureships tomorrow right after morning church services. My dad flew in from Boise tonight and we're going up together, staying at my Uncle David's. Should be a great few days there and I'm looking forward to seeing several good friends, being stimulated by some good teaching, and worshiping with the Zoe Group and others who are leading. I hope also to network a bit and see if there are any job leads.

So. . . keep me in your prayers (and pray for Lani as she's here at home for a few days with all the kids!). And I probably won't have a chance to blog for a few days!

Things that get you excited

So, what gets you excited? What are you passionate about?

I can tell when I'm really wrapped up in something because I don't want to put it down or walk away from it. I'll ignore other things that I could or should be doing to keep doing this. I might work right through meal times or late into the night. And I feel good about the experience while I'm doing it and after I'm finished.

Yesterday (and part of today) I've been doing an arrangement of the song, "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" (performed by Newsong, when Russ Lee was still with them -- what a voice!). I spent hours yesterday tediously setting up the layout and entering notes. I love doing this (and I think this one will turn out pretty good, as long as there's a gifted soloist to present it). I could keep at this for hours and hours, maybe days and days, if it weren't for all the rest of "life" that needs my attention too. Sometimes I get like this when I'm working on home improvement/handyman projects (not maintenance like plumbing, but like when you're building something). Occasionally, I might get this drawn in by a movie, a TV show, or a book ("24" is doing this to me this year).

So, what is it for you? Is it something creative (building, song-writing, poetry, writing, etc.)? Is it something engaging like a good book or movie?

Tax Time

I started doing my taxes today and so now I've taken over our entire informal dining table. Evey year I think "this would be sooooooo much easier if I'd file things better or start using Quicken faithfully" and yet here I am again sorting stacks and stacks of reciepts and payment records and hoping I find everything.

Other notes:
In the Texas Master Chorale we're rehearsing "The Chichester Psalms" by Leonard Bernstein. It's tough! Not only are we dealing with strange tonality and lots of changing meters, but on top of that, it's in Hebrew!

We received a generous gift of support from some friends today (a "Valentine", they said). I'm still moved by the caring and love and support that so many have shown us. We are trying to be more and more careful about how we spend money because it feels like we're spending other people's money. Hmm. . . maybe we should have that in mind all the time; after all, every good gift is from our Father!