it's official...we're hillbillies!

sorry. no "lost" post this week. we have been way too busy. "with what?", you might ask. well we have moved out of one place, moved into a trailer in shingletown, started a new part-time job, had a garage sale, you get the idea. most importantly though, is this: 2 days ago zech caught his first fish. no joke. he said, "dad, i fish." to which i responded, "ok, i'll show you how." after 3 or 4 times casting while holding his hands in mine & letting the fly drift 25 feet or so i let him do it by himself. he casted perfectly & let the fly drift just like a pro. then, when the fish struck he jerked back on the rod & set the hook himself. all i did was keep the rod tip up & help him reel it in. it was a 9 inch rainbow caught on a beadhead pheasant tail nymph #14. i don't mind telling you that catching fish with zech that day nearly brought me to tears & at this rate he will be outfishing me by his 3rd birthday. but then again outfishing me really isn't that tough.

p.s. our phone is not up & running yet, but should be by the end of the week.

the great pumpkin

here are some pictures of the welch side of the family at nash's. mama, papa, us, aunt shannon & uriah. it was lots of fun & they even had a camel, well, technically it was a dromedary but who's keeping track? we tried to get zech to take a pony ride but he wasn't having it. so we had a pony ride observation, definitely not as much fun as an actual pony ride. overall it was awesome & always a good photo op.

this is nothing like a pauly shore movie

so i’m posting this as i sit inside jury duty as i wait for what will probably be the entire day. technically i’m not posting right now because the geniuses at our local government decided not to put in an internet connection in the courthouse. i know what you are going to say... “it’s for security purposes.” that is not a goood reason nor is it the reason i think they failed to properly outfit the jury room & here’s why: reason #1-i honestly don’t think they thought of anyone but themselves. reason #2-the legal system has this ridiculous attitude that they are doing us a favor by letting us get to the courthouse @ 8am, stand in a line, & wait in a crowded room with not enough seats. (i’m sitting on the floor as i write this) reason #3-there is this idea that jury duty is my civic obligation as well as a privilege of citizenship. you know i would probably be cool with that if the idea of citizenship wasn’t so tainted nowadays. why should i view jury duty as the great benefit of citizenship when illegal aliens can recieve all, or most of the benefits without the hassle of jury duty. man, those dudes sneaking across the border from canada got it made. i know i sound negative but it’s really hard to be positive when i have an apartment to clean, a wife who’s stressing out, & no money coming in. which reminds me, if any of you would like to help clean our apartment just give me a call. we really need help. see ya.
p.s. there is an internet signal, i was just on the wrong side of the room. let that be a lesson to you.

ode to a fish

the season for fishing creeks, streams, & most rivers is rapidly coming to an end. in fact there are only a few short weeks left. yeah you can still fish the sac but it's just not the same. oh well. of course, i will be living up in shingeltown & will be able to fish mccumber almost every day (rachael permitting).well that makes me feel much better. fish on!

Lost...it's the new X-Files3

last wednesday's episode of lost was of particular interest to me. the story focused on locke’s history. for those of you unaware, locke is a very interesting character as well as my favorite. i don’t know why he is my favorite but his story in many ways is the most heartbreaking & compelling. in fact i believe that he is the single most important & strategic character on the island. this week picked up with locke, charlie, mr. eko, & desmond shortly after the explosion (or implosion) in one of the hatches they were in. following the --plosion mr. eko had been taken to which locke felt compelled to rescue him since it was his decision that led to eko’s capture. i think some of the spiritually related issues regarding free will, repentance, & reconciliation were the most interesting. in many ways locke is a microcosm for many of the christian experience. in his character there are the essential elements of faith: hope, suffering, betrayal, uncertainty, inadequacy, failure, joy, determination, friendship, & most importantly-the desire to be a part of something bigger than oneself. this is what makes lost & locke such an enjoyable experience on wednesday nights. oh, that & the fact that it is the greatest show of all time.

Contemplate This!

i am currently reading a book i have had for a while. contemplative youth ministry by mark yaconelli, son of the late youth specialties founder mike yaconelli. the book focuses on applying variations of practices & methods for the purpose of recognizing the presence of Jesus in our everyday lives. while i know most of you who are reading this are not youth workers i think the principles still apply. one of the key things that the book focuses on is the benefit & necessity of silence. some catholic monks spend 20 hours a day in silent reflection. some buddhists will spend spend weeks in silence. the amish & mennonite communities value silence so much that they do not permit spoken prayers. why do i say all that. simply put, even these distortions & outright perversions of the Truth get one thing right that most of us do not, silence. when was the last time you took five minutes to be in silence. no phones, no homework, no parents/kids, no distractions. just you & God in what He desires most...time with His beloved. you all know i love giving assignments & projects. so here goes. i will give you two options. (1) take 5 or more minutes to meditate on your relationship with Christ, but do it in a loud, busy, crowded place. starbuck'’s, the grocery store, you get the idea. then take the same amount of time to do the same thing, but this time do it in silence. go into your closet & turn the light off if necessary. try to limit any & all noise as much as possible. then evaluate which seemed to be more effective. (2) there is an ancient practice that has been used by jews & christians for the purpose of connecting to the Word of God in a deeper way. it is called "lectio divina", meaning: divine reading. there are 3 steps. step1-pick a passage of scripture. read it 3 times & pray that God will direct your thoughts towards what the passage means as if you were the first person to ever read it. step2-read the passage 3 more times & use some tools (dictionary, commentary, whatever) to discover what the passage truly, at it'’s heart is speaking about. then pray. step3-read the passage 3 more times & pray about how God might be using it to direct your life through His word. bottom line: get quiet, calm down, listen... God is here. please tell me about your experiences.

Lost...it's the new X-Files2

"spoiler warning" the last episode of lost was the most revealing to date about the others. the most remarkable peice of info...they have lived there their entire lives. what? is this some kind of neo-utopian experiment gone wrong like they might have us believe? or maybe it is in fact a very sophisticated, technilogically advanced para-military installation for the purpose of intelligence gathering & alternative weapons capabilities. yeah, you heard me! now i must say that i am not fully in agreement with this theory. it is however one i have been hearing lately. i would also like to take this opportunity to address the "purgatory" theory. many of you seem to treat this with an almost snobbish dismissal. "it's too obvious!" you say. well i would like to remind you of many of the catholics overtones & a few key pieces of info.
(1) the statues of the virgin mary found by locke & boone
(2) locke's belief that the island demands certain actions for everyhting to go well for the crashies.
(3) mr. eko is a priest & confessed to "henry" or "ben" if you prefer. this is significant because priest can only confess to other priests of equal or higher standing in the church & "henry" is the clear leader of the others & by extension the island itself.
regardless of what theory you subscribe to, you cannot discount the supernatural happenings on the island. so if you think it is a real place with real people in the real world that you & i live in then think again. things are happening on the island that are not that easily explained. well that's all for now until next week. oh by the way, i do know that it is just a show & not real life. but for one hour on wednesday nights it might as well be. so long.

i am the fish whisperer

i (nick) went fishing on battle creek wednesday evening & have no independent verification for this so you will just have to trust me when i tell you i caught 9 trout, 8 rainbows & 1 brown. they ranged in size from 10" to 18". the brown struck & fought like a fish twice his size & the rainbow was probably one of the prettiest fish i have seen in person. hardly any silver, mostly reddish-brown with a dark purple stripe. strictly catch & release, all caught on olive & crystal wooly buggers & sculpin, 1-3 splitshot & with hardly any backcast. it was awesome. i took pictures of 4 of the 'bows but then dropped the disposable camera into the creek which i recovered but have yet to find out if the pics will turn out. if they do i will post them asap so you will all know that i'm not lying. anyway, i had a great time & would love to go fishing with you, whoever you are. if you want to know where i got them you have to spring for gas. hey, i'm not cheap...just poor!

i'm off the bread line!

so the last couple of weeks has been pretty weird for me (nick) since i haven't been working. don't get me wrong, it has been great to stay home & help rachael out with zech & our nephew uriah but there is only so much a man can take. i have felt totally worthless not bringing home a paycheck so today (wednesday) will be pretty sweet as i get to work at two jobs today. one will be a doing some light construction work on a deck & the other will be up in shingeltown putting on a roof. the best part...i'm getting paid for it! i may even stop on the way home & do some fishing. can life get better, i submit that it cannot. well it could, but right now i'm just happy to be working. by the way, i watched "the royal tanenbaums" today for about the 100th time & it's still hilarious! definitely on the must see list.

Lost...it's the new X-Files1

just prepare yourself now because every thursday blog from now on is devoted to "lost". here goes. first, observations & questions. #1-what's with the subdivision on the island? #2- why are there all kinds of cages & facilities for animals.? #3-what in the world did "henry" mean when he said to kate, "the next two weeks will be very unpleasent"? #4-how did they have jack's dad's autopsy report? #5-who was that other prisoner that helped sawyer escape? (one of the "others", a tailie, what?) now the theories. #1-it's purgatory. why? juliet's file on jack. according to her it contained his whole life which he was being asked to give an account for. hmmm. #2-paramilitary/government co-op with the dharma initiative to keep secret what was really happening on the island, an electromagnetic super weapon the likes of which the world has never, nor will ever see again! hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA! MMWAAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! let me know what you think.

still looking

okay, apparently there are not a lot of jobs out there that involve playing games, hanging out with students, & talking about the Bible. there are however plenty of jobs for home health care providers & doctors.(thank you reddingjobs.com) that is not to say that we are going hungry just yet, God has been very good to us in providing for our physical needs through other people. just yesterday one of our poor, out of work, youth pastor friends actually gave us $200 out of the blue! it was awesome & incredibly humbling. i (nick) still don't have a "job" but i am doing some work here & there for various people, which reminds me, if you are reading this & you need help doing something, anything, & you want to pay, just email or call. i am looking forward to our lives becoming a little more normal but if normality means complacency or boredom then i am not down for that. God is doing some neat things in our lives right now & i don't want to miss out on that. thanks for praying for us & by the way, only like 2 people ever comment on this stuff which leads me to believe maybe they are the only ones reading it. please comment, we would love to hear from you. oh yeah, what is going on with "dog" the bounty hunter? is he in jail? is he back? did they make him cut his sweet mullet?