25 Things

i have been asked to re-post this...so i have...welcome to my world...

hmmm....I have been tagged a bunch of times and am usually very disinterested in responding to such things...BUT, for some reason this one has provided a spigot for inner musings...here we go:

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once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. at the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. you have to tag the person who tagged you. if I tagged you, it's because i want to know more about you.

(to do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)
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1. i love to journal. the discipline of articulating thoughts, fears, dreams, prayer, love, etc on paper provides me a place of stillness. good for my heart. BUT i have been wrestling with switching to some sort of computer program, cuz when i die NOONE will be able to read anything i wrote...which is great for the immediate privacy problem - i don't have to worry about someone reading something - but terrible for posterity.

2. coffee. hmmmm. finding/making the perfect cup of java is a truly noble endeavor. earthy. bold. well balanced. and just about boiling. perfect. sigh.

3. i had 5 concussions my junior year in highschool. one of which left me with amnesia for 3 days. highschool wrestling was the cause of 4 of them. and the amnesia causing one was the result of a crack the whip on roller skates gone bad. forehead...cement...blood coming out of nose and ears...you get the story.

4. Tracer, my lover, is truly the most gifted photographer in the world. The way she captures people is incredible. She has the ability to capture who people are in a moment...quite often moves me to tears.

5. Which leads me to this thought...i cry alot. I never know what may cause tears. The sight of the Pacific Ocean can do it...or a piece of music, or a face i've never seen before...or maybe one that i haven't seen in a really long time. A look. A smile. An expression. A moment. Almost any movie that has the heartbreak of loving and loosing. A high school basketball team running onto the floor at the end of game, exultant in victory...or the opposite team, broken in defeat. Two young lovers exchanging a look and a kiss on a train, or two much older lovers, exchanging a years-filled glance and a gentle caress. Memories..and dreams...i can never be sure. But of this i am sure. Whenever i find tears in my eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is wise to pay very very close attention.
example? I was reading a Berenstein Bears book to Rosie this evening...and those unexpected tears came on the last page. Why? Gran and Gramps has swept brother and sister bear into their arms and were saying how thankful they were to have them as granbears(grandkids - for those of you who don't know Berenstein Bear language).
I was thinking a little later, after Rosie asked me what was wrong and I quickly moved along, that those tears tell me something about the secret of who I am. What is it that strikes the chords of my heart in such a way that I am moved to tears? As I think about those moments, more often than not, God is speaking to me through them of the mystery of where I have come from...and is summoning me, if my heart is willing, to where I should go next.

6. I cannot stand the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sorry...gotta keep it real.

7. I love airports. love em love em love em. Back in the day, when Trace and I were dating, we used to go to the Calgary airport, sip coffee, flirt and watch the planes land. There is something awe-some about watching people and wondering where they are going, or coming from and what their life is made of. My favorite airport is the Hong Kong Airport, followed closely by the Vancouver Airport.

8. My Caleb, my 12 year old son, amazes me. The mixture of boyish roughness (his love of violence...whenever we are looking at movies is standard line in response to a movie that is rated beyond what is acceptable for 11 years olds is 'Dad I love violence, its not gross kissing stuff') and tender compassion (Trace dropped a TV on her toe the other day and it was hard to tell who was crying more...her or Caleb. And Caleb was crying out of pure empathy) is very moving...and challenges me to be a more balanced man.

9. My Rosie, my 8 year (going on 18) old, inspires me. She sings constantly. And is always asking for a hug. Since she was a very little girl she has been able to find someone who is hurting or feeling left out...and make them feel loved. Sigh. When she says, 'you are my favorite daddy'...i want to give her the world...and warn her future suitors, you mess with my little girl and i promise to hurt you. seriously.

10. food and friends...food is every cultures relationship vehicle. Around our tables, we engage each other better, especially when we do it over a meal we love. Think about where we do our most important relationship things…our dates, our relationship stepping stones, our family gatherings, our celebrations, our reflections…all are couched, encouraged and augmented by the food we eat. In an urban environment and a racing global village, many people find themselves sucked dry, and left barren. i love creating spaces that allow us to experience food, culture and people. Spaces that return the color to a pale and bleak rat race. I think of words like inviting. Stimulating. Inspiring. Soulful. Moving. Expressive. Safe. Alive. From the perfection of a dish, to the painting that hangs on the wall. From the musical ambience to the color scheme. From the lighting to something gentle and complete offered by a group of people committed to restoring your soul after a long day...sigh.

11. Top 3 places i have yet to visit: Scotland. East Coast of Canada. Aushwitz.

12. I own every Louis Lamour book. yup. all of em.

13. Speaking of books...i love love love to read. I have lots of em...everywhere. It is bad news for me to go into a book store of any kind. I have a long list of 'to read's. My goal this year is to read a book a week.

14. I notice that i pace. When i talk on the phone. When i am thinking. When i am fretting. When i am longing. I am a pacer...funny enough that is the name of our dog. Pacey is his name but we call him pacer....

15. Someday I am going to go to a Steelers game in Pittsburgh and wave a terrible towel and howl like a mad man. My son has informed me that is sooooo coming.

16. Someday I want to see U2 live in Ireland.

17. We are going to adopt some children someday. How can I not be moved by the plight of the worlds orphans?

18. We recently got rid of our big screen TV. How can our home be a place of rest when the center of attention is a big TV that constantly 'feeds' our minds. We have decided to rest more, reflect more, read more, play more, laugh more, and intentionally engage the people we care about more. Do I really need my mind numbed by a world of fiction?

19. I am deeply challenged by the words of Jesus: 'if any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.' What does it look like to live life not for yourself...but to truly live in a way that gives all that you are for the good of others. i constantly rub shoulders with people who are desperately trying to outrun the feeling of emptiness inside. Fear of failing, fear of disappointment, fear of pain, fear of being alone...and I am one of them. And these words i find true mission...the power of leveraging all that i am and all that i possess for the sake of someone else...something deep draws me there.

20. i grew up in the Philippines. My mom ran a medical facility that provided care for the poor and specifically focused on providing a safe environment for pregnant mothers who could not afford hospital care. So by the time I was 16 i knew more about pregnancy and giving birth than most women. Did many a homework assignment holding baby.

21. I really want to learn how to speak another language. Top of the list? Mandarin. But could be easily sucked into learning arabic or french.

22. I play the saxophone. the guitar. and would love to master the piano.

23. I love to sing. am not sure i have ever written that before.

24. I run my own business. So does my wife. Two entrepreneurs. We were made for each other. uh huh...woot woot!

25. i love the friends we have chosen to journey with. life is full because of their love.