How is it July already?!

Hello!!

We hope that you all had a VERY happy Independence Day and were able to enjoy the long weekend!

We had a great weekend! It was beautiful here with temperatures in the upper 70's and lower 80's. The 80's are a rare treat here in Anchorage.

Here is a quick re-cap of what we have been up to:

On July 2nd we went and saw The Wailers in concert. They were Bob Marley's band and they were really good!! It was great to hear such classic songs buy the band that made them famous! It was a beautiful sunny evening and being outside listening to reggae music just felt perfect!

For the 4th we went to the parade downtown and then got together with friends for a BBQ and games all day and into the night!! It is still light here almost all night so fireworks are shot off but they aren't that big of a deal. Most of our big fireworks shows are in the winter months because of the dark/light issue.

On Sunday the 5th we slept in (11am!!!) and then got up and made a picnic and took our basket, camping chairs and books to Jewel Lake and sat outside for 3 hours just enjoying the sun. It was such a great time. There were a lot of families there, kids swimming in the lake and we even saw an Eagle come in and land in a tree about 100 feet from us! It was VERY cool! Sherri and I didn't swim but we did wade out in the water a bit, which felt good on such a warm day. We both got a little sunburned though.

That's all for now!

Happy Solstice!!

Hello Readers!!

Summer Solstice is a BIG deal in Alaska. I bet there were at least 10 large festivals / events here in Anchorage yesterday along with a marathon that draws running clubs from around the country. For Sherri and I, it has become a yearly tradition that we stay up almost all night with friends to watch the sunset (11:45pm) and then the sunrise a couple of hours later. It really is amazing to see the sun barely dip below the horizon.

It never gets totally dark here right now, the darkest it gets is more of a "dusk".

Next summer we are hoping to go to Fairbanks for Summer Solstice. They have a baseball game that has been named one of the top 10 "must see" games in all of baseball. The game starts at 10:30pm and ends around 1:30am and they play the entire game using no stadium lights. It is a game that draws baseball fans from around the country and we have never been, so I think next year it is time that we go!!

Here are some photos from last night!!

(Sunset, around 11:30PM)

(Sky getting lighter for sunrise, 2am.
This is about as dark as it gets right now.)

Looking to start over?? Pack Your Bags!!!!!

Here is a great article that came out today that a friend linked to on Facebook and I wanted to post.

Click here for the article.

YES!! We're #1!! And, I could not agree more with this article! What a great place to live and the opportunities here are amazing!

We recently had some friends stay with us who are considering relocating to Anchorage and they asked a very interesting question at dinner one night, a question I don't think I have ever been asked. They asked us:

we see a lot of great things about Anchorage, but what do you NOT like about living here?

It honestly took us a minute of thinking and the ONLY thing we could come up with is that it is far away from family. It is certainly more difficult to feel "involved" in life from such a distance, but that was the only thing we could think of that we didn't like. I would say that is pretty good!

So pack your bags, you can even stay with us while you are looking for houses!

See you soon "neighbors"!

Nancy Lake

This weekend we went and stayed two nights at one of the Public Use Cabins on Nancy Lake, about a 90 minute drive North of Anchorage, with our friends Jason and Jana.

The State of Alaska has built a lot of these cabins all over the state that are for the recreational use of residents and visitors. Some are accessible by car, but a lot of them are only accessible by boat, plane or hiking trail. The cabins are pretty basic with a wood stove, picnic table, counter space and a few wooden sleeping platforms. But they are perfect for quick and cheap getaways! The cabin we stayed at is one of four that are located on Nancy Lake. The cabin is about a 1 mile hike from the parking lot, but it is a pretty well defined trail, so it isn't very hard.

These cabins are a great benefit and I am very glad that the State of Alaska built them because it really encourages people to get out and enjoy their state. They are a big step up from a tent and give you a great shelter that lets you enjoy being "outside" no matter what the weather does.

This weekend we played Yahtzee and Dutch Blitz, talked a lot, drove into Talkeetna and enjoyed a Saturday in the town, killed a million mosquitoes, I even took a quick, but cold, dip in the lake and Sherri took a quick, but painful tumble down a hill (she is fine).

It was a great weekend, we were able to enjoy a great cabin, a beautiful lake and excellent company!

(Our packs all ready to go! Sherri's is the one with the purse strapped to the outside, imagine that. You should see her with her pack on, she is 5'1 and her pack is probably 3'0, kinda funny)

(View from the waters edge, right outside our cabin)

(Inside the cabin)

Mini Getaway

For my birthday some friends gave us a gift card to Alyeska Resort. It is located in Girdwood, about 45 minutes from Anchorage and is a world class ski resort in the winter and a mountain biking / hiking destination in the summer. At the resort they have a great 4 star hotel that we stayed at last Friday night. The hotel is really nice and the area around the hotel is just so beautiful. We hung out in our room, watched a movie and enjoyed an amazing dessert called a "Baked Alyeska" that is made with: milk, dark and white chocolate mousse, brownie, liquid chocolate center and Italian meringue and it was AMAZING!!

The following morning we spent some time walking around the property enjoying some morning coffee and the scenery.

It was a great little getaway that we both really enjoyed!

Here are some pictures:

(Alyeska Resort Hotel)

(Sherri relaxing in a chair and enjoying the view)

(The view from our room. You can see the tram going up the mountain. At the top of the mountain there is a 5 Diamond restaurant that is one of the best in the state along with a museum, a cafeteria and some great views!!)

Memorial Day Camping

On Memorial Day weekend we went camping for 2 nights at Bertha Creek Campground about an hour and a half outside of Anchorage. It is a campground we have been to 3 times now and we really enjoy it because it is a quick, easy drive and it is in an amazing setting! The first night we camped by ourselves, but the second night 2 other couples joined us and we had a great time!

Sherri has never been a big fan of camping because she says that she can't get comfortable and its cold at night, and camping is one of my favorite activities so over the past couple of years we have outfitted ourselves with great quality camping gear and for the first time, Sherri said that she was comfortable and was only cold at the beginning of the night, once in our bags and blankets she warmed up! So apparently the hundreds of dollars spent at REI have been worth it!

The campground is at about 2,000 feet elevation in one of the snowiest areas of Alaska so at night the temp got into the upper 30's and during the day was mid 60's. During the days we had a mix of clouds and sun and at night it rained on us, but fortunately none of our stuff got wet.

Here are some pictures from Memorial Day Weekend Camping!

(Bertha Creek, where the campground is)

(A waterfall we stopped at on the drive to the campground)

(Sherri and I at Quartz Creek / Kenai Lake)

(Our campsite. Quite the view)

(The whole crew, The Harts, Grenns and Us)

When did we start missing the point?

I don't blog too often on religion but I think this is a post that everyone, regardless of religious origin can relate to.

I am a Christian...I often cringe when I say that, not because that word relates me with Jesus, but because it relates me with other Christians. I love Jesus, I believe that His teachings and messages are revolutionary and life changing. Yet I can't help but wonder what has happened to Christianity? Why is it that when you read of Jesus in the bible and then you look at the church today they are almost unrecognizable? This is a generalization of course, I know many people who live lives that are amazing examples of the love and grace that Jesus showed people. However, I am sad to say, they are in the minority.

In High School I was a big fan of the grunge / rock band Nirvana. Their music sang my pain and the pain of a generation. When their lead singer, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide it was big news. However, he had a quote that has always stayed with me.

"I am tired of hearing about christianity, just once I wish I could have seen it"

Wow. Here is a guy who, at the time, was the most famous rock star in the world. A guy who's concerts drew thousands upon thousands of people, yet in his most vulnerable moments he expresses, what I believe to be, the sentiment of most people.

The issue isn't that people haven't heard about christianity, it's that they haven't seen it. How sad.

How sad that what people too often see about christianity is picketers outside of abortion clinics, the protesting of gay people, people trying to push through "christian" legislation, people condemning anyone who lives a life not up to "our" standards, people looking down on unwed teenage mothers and the list could go on and on and on.

Missions trips, church work days, volunteer projects and other activities are good, but they are not nearly enough. These type of activities should be what defines us, not what we do monthly or once in a while.

I often think that if Jesus was here today a church is the one place He would not be found, rather he would be with the people that we protest and picket.

Jesus was a rebel. His words and actions offended the religious people of his day. He was harsh to the religious and loving to the un-churched. He spoke out against pastors who spoke empty words and loved the "sinners" who flocked to Him. I think we forget this about Jesus. We have turned him into something He is not. If we are religious, we need to be on guard that we do not become like the religious that Jesus spoke out against.

How did this happen? How is it that Jesus said the most important thing is to Love God and Love Others, yet we show so little love to the "others" that Jesus talks about? Christians are very good at loving and supporting other christians, it the the rest of the people that we struggle with. How many gay people would say that they feel loved by christians? How many ACLU members would say that they feel loved by christians? How many single mothers struggling to make ends meet would say that they feel loved by christians? How many muslims would say that they feel loved by christians?

In 1874 Henry Drummond wrote the following statement in his book "The Greatest Thing in the World"

"For the withholding of love is the negation of the spirit of Christ, the proof that we never knew Him, that for us He lived in vain. It means that He suggested nothing in all our thoughts, that He inspired nothing in all our lives, that we were not once near enough to Him to be seized with the spell of His compassion for the world."

My hope is this: I hope that the christian church stops following christianity and starts following Jesus, because I believe that those two things are vastly different. I hope that we show people Jesus more than we tell them about Him. The Bible says that it is the Kindness of God that draws people to Him. Let us reflect that same kindness. Let us love the un-lovable as Jesus did. Let us stop trying to legislate people to change. Let us stop being so damn religious. Let us stop creating lists of "can do and can't do". Let us stop being legalistic.

The message of Jesus is freedom, it gives hope to the hopeless and grace to those who need it, let our lives be no different.

This is the journey that Sherri and I are on. This is what we are trying to become, more Jesus and less Christian.

_____________________________________________

If this is a topic that interests you I would recommend the following resources:

"They Like Jesus but Not the Church" - author: Dan Kimball
"The Jesus of Suburbia" - author: Mike Erre (this could be the best book I have ever read)
"Jesus Wants to Save Christians" - author: Rob Bell (hands down my favorite Rob Bell book)
"Blue Like Jazz" - author: Donald Miller

Also, please feel free to post comments on this topic. Do you agree? do you disagree? Am I a heretic? Lets discuss...lovingly.

Weekend Recap

This was a GREAT weekend full of EVEN MORE sunshine!

On Friday night we went and saw Angels & Demons, we are both big Dan Brown fans so we have been looking forward to the movie for a long time. The move was really good but did stray from the book quite a bit. After the movie we went downtown to Subzero Micro Lounge for dinner and a few drinks with friends.

On Saturday we went to some garage sales, bought 3 hanging flower baskets for the house, went to church and then got together with about 15 friends for a BBQ at Jason and Jana's house! The BBQ was SO much fun! We had a ton of food (steaks, pork chops, kabobs, burgers and moose steaks) and played ladderjacks (one of our favorite summer games) and we ended up staying at Jason and Jana's till about 2:30am talking with friends.

On Sunday we slept in and then drove to Girdwood for lunch and then continued on to the Portage Valley for an afternoon hike. We ended up hiking the "Trail of Blue Ice" which is a hiking trail that goes along a creek at the base of mountains that are covered in glaciers. It was awesome to get outside and get a nice hike in on such a great day! We even crossed the river and found a great secluded sand bar where we had amazing views in such a peaceful setting! Once we got back home after the hike we planted some Alaskan Wildflower seeds around our house so hopefully we will have a great mix of wildflowers in a few weeks!!

Our streak of AMAZING weather is supposed to continue so I am sure we will be outside as much as possible this coming week.

Here are a few pictures from our hike today.

The creek we hiked next to. Yes, it was VERY cold.

The mountains from our trip

Us on the hike