Happy Wedding, Jeremy and Rochelle!

Yesterday, Jeremy became the second Stick Horse to get married. (Kate got married last summer.) We carpooled up to Denver for the event. Both Jeremy and Rochelle are dear to our group. Ro has helped us with marketing and Jer is one of our strongest character actors. The wedding was beautiful. It seems the Horses couldn't resist a little goofing off, either.


Elisa and me having fun at the reception.


Lacey and Ethan performing an on-the-spot mother-son routine.


Icing, anyone?

Life is a Carousel

A cute picture of my brother Matt and nephew Aaron in Seaside, Ore.

So Long, Good Hair

My dear friend Tonya is leaving next week to head to L.A. I will miss her! She's been my friend (and hairstylist) for four years. Tonya and I led a drama group together and share a love for Mexican food. Is it shallow to say I'm also going to miss her mad skills with my hair? Well, I will. Love you, Tonya!

Quotable

"People can still learn stuff from watching Sesame Street...I mean, I can."

—Jared

Day at Royal Gorge

My parents were in town this weekend, and yesterday we went to the Royal Gorge in Canon City. (The Gold C Entertainment Book offers 50 percent off up to four tickets, which turns out to be a great value.) My friend Melissa came along, which was great fun. Not only did she talk me into riding the Royal Rush Skycoaster, she also took some amazing pictures—which I'm posting here. We had a great day.


The Royal Gorge Bridge is the highest suspension bridge in the world at 1,053 feet.


The gondola was built in the 1960s for the same price as the bridge in the 1920s.


Dad took this picture of Melissa and me on the Royal Rush Skycoaster, which plummets and then swings you 1,200 feet over the Arkansas River. It was awesome!


There are 13 prisons in Canon City—not including this one. Mom said this looked like a senior picture.


Mom and Dad seemed to enjoy the klink.

Lonely Blog

My parents are safely in Colorado, and we're having many wonderful adventures together. In the meantime, my blog is quiet. You can always see what I'm saying over at the Line if you get bored. Stay tuned....

Open Mouth Air Hockey

My nephew Ben demonstrates his special technique for playing air hockey. The part you don't see is his emphatic "NO!" each time the puck went into his goal.

Something Fun to Do

A huge thanks to Melissa Tenpas for creating this flyer!

Useful Christian Vlog

It's been awhile, but here we go.

Not Your Sushi Buddy

In a day where relationships can be confusing, it was refreshing to receive this clarity from a young man:

DTSR (Defining The Sushi Relationship):
We should just establish it now. Our sushi relationship can't be exclusive. I just can't limit myself to one person. Believe me, it's not you...it's me. I mean, I like eating sushi with you but I'm still young and I don't want to miss the possibility of other sushi relationships. We both need to move forward without feeling guilty. Please, just be careful as you're trying new rolls and experimenting. I would hate for you to have an "Chili Roll" experience with someone else.

My heart (and stomach) will go on.

What Can I Do?

"Sometimes doing what you can is more important than what you can do."

That's something the Lord has taught me repeatedly. Many times my most ordinary services seem to be the ones that encourage people the most. I wrote about it in "The Useful Christian."

You'll find them in every church. They hold babies in the nursery, take meals to the sick, show up for church work days. They pull weeds, chaperone teens, host missionaries, bake cookies for VBS and quietly write checks.

They are the useful people.

Which church they attend matters little. They will inevitably dig in and do whatever they can to help.

Sometimes I fight usefulness, because it seems unexciting. Plus, I'm lazy. (A friend recently quipped: "Laziness: You've either got it or you don't." I've got it.) But God has created us to be useful, and we will feel most fulfilled when we're using what we have for His glory. I've had some extraordinary examples of useful people in my life. And this lifestyle of usefulness is something I'm working on. I hope the story of "Mark the Slacker" encourages you.

Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half-Marathon

Saturday morning at 8, Krishana and I started running in Georgetown.


Two hours and twenty minutes—and 13.1 miles—later I crossed the finish line in Idaho Springs.


Tra'cee, our faithful friend, summer Georgetown resident and photographer poses with us after the race.

Beautiful Seaside

Beaches are my favorite. And my favorite beaches are in Oregon.

Last week, I spent four days in Seaside, Ore., with my family. My siblings, parents, sister-in-law, nephews, future brother-in-law, and sister's college roommate stayed in a large, cheery house an easy walk from the beach. During our stay, we got together with old family friends, played with my little nephews on the beach, enjoyed a sunset, feasted on Mom's good cooking and had a "siblings night out."


My sweet 20-month-old nephew, Aaron. The nephews really deserve their own post. I had fun teaching them "Get Down," a game we play in improv.


My nephew Ben, 3, thought he'd just played a pretty good joke on Amy by tapping on the glass.


Beaches are especially wonderful for the engaged...


...and the young.


It only took one piece of fudge to convince Ben to get in this photo with me. He calls me Aunt Zan.


Our old friends, the Curtises, were vacationing nearby. And we had a "shindig." (Yes, Isaac, I said "shindig.") It was extra-special to see them again after more than five years.


The trip ended with a trip to one of our favorite places. Hadleys in their natural habitat.

There are too many wonderful pictures to post on this blog. Look at them here.

Mia Loves the Olympics

Well my cat Mia didn't make the Olympic team after all. But she's very serious about watching the games. This was her answer when I asked if we could change the channel.

Steven Curtis Chapman Family on Good Morning America

On Friday Steven Curtis Chapman and his family discussed the loss of their 5-year-old daughter Maria Sue on Good Morning America. Their testimony is amazing. You can also watch them on Larry King Live.

Hey, Dude!

Early last month I drove to Kremmling, Colorado, to interview Hannah Levin at Latigo Ranch. She had won a dude ranch vacation for her family by entering a writing contest sponsored by Kids Talk About God.

As part of my "research," I was forced to ride horses...twice. (I appear in the video above at 3:11; I'm riding the white horse.) Actually, I love riding horses so the entire day felt more like vacation than work. If you know any young writers or artists 13 and under, send them to kidstalkaboutgod.org and enter to win a free dude ranch vacation.