New blog

I now have a new blog here. Please change your readers, book marks or however you come here to this new address. Thanks and God bless.

http://johngruber.us

Week in Review

Since the economy is not doing well, I thought I would offer a special 2 for the price of 1 Week in Review since I didn't write one last week.

highlights of the week: Portland to see the Putz' and Denise. Fixing the truck. Dad registering us (John, Dad and my sister, Leah) for STP. A soon to be revealed gift from a friend. Starting a new job. Three guys in the youth group deciding to follow Jesus.

lowlights of the week: Nichole having a combination of work and guards for five days in a row.

on my to-do list: we are going to try and sell our house, so my to do list grew tremendously after the walk through with our realtor. I did however, chop down a tree, and mow the yard yesterday.

procrastinating about: some phone calls.

books i’m reading: Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King, for fun at night I have been reading music biographies.

music i'm listening to: U2, No Line on the Horizon, of course.

anecdote of the week: I enjoy playing guitar and this week had an opportunity to bring someone else into the world of guitar. One of my friends, Brittain Gibson, saved up his money to buy a guitar. He wanted me to help him find one and we found a winner at Guitar Center. It was a great price and we had it set up by Lynn Collins. On Thursday we had our first of many jam sessions.
In addition to the anectdote I will clarify some of my items you have just read through. We are not moving away from Puyallup and I am still the youth pastor at CCBC. We don't have to sell our house, but are going to see if we can. Nichole and I are managing a couple of commercial properties for some extra income.

Ten Things

The ubiquitous n-things-you-didn't-know list, where n = any number. In my upcoming Week in Review 2 for 1, the music I have been listening to will be U2's new album. Straight from the Gibson website comes the list of things you didn't know about U2.

“We’re not Irish,” The Edge once announced on national television. “Honestly, we’re not. We’re from Duluth, but we saw this Irish Spring commercial one day and we just went, ‘That’s it, we’ll be Irish.’” Naturally, the guitarist’s faux confession was for a comedy bit called “U2 Secrets” on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Since forming in 1976, U2 have been mostly drama-free, with their original lineup still cranking out the massive hits over 30 years later. But that doesn’t mean you know everything about them.

Link - via Gibson

Something funny for the end of Monday

Hopefully your Monday has gone well. I was on Facebook and someone suggest to do this. Navigate you way to google, type [your name] needs and then get the first 10 things you need. Here are mine from Saturday afternoon.

John needs . . .
1. help.
2. a hug.
3. 13 bottles of water from the store.
4. charisma.
5. a plumber.
6. Joe, more than ever.
7. workers.
8. to fall of his high horse.
9. help's Q&A profile.
10. your bone marrow.

knowing vs. knowing about

I've been on a journey during my sabbatical to recalibrate some areas of my life. Came across this post a couple days ago and it really spoke to some of the feelings I have been having.

God is a person. He speaks. He listens. He feels. He loves. He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. Jesus was Immanuel, God with us. He sent His very Spirit to dwell in our hearts. Somehow beyond my understanding, the believing heart is the dwelling place of this Personal God.

Link - via Boundless

Week in Review

highlights of the week: Sonny Landreth concert. NW Trek with the family. Finding out the pickup repairs will cost way less than quoted thanks to Ernie and his mechanical helping. NABNW Cluster.

lowlights of the week: dealing with the Credit Counseling Agency.

on my to-do list: repair the truck.

procrastinating about: I don't think anything. I knocked almost everything off of my to do list.

books i’m reading: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, heard about this one while in CO. It is being held right now at my local library.

music i'm listening to: Last night I went to a Sonny Landreth Concert. While waiting for the show, the opening act, Son Jack Jr. came and got drinks where I was sitting at the bar and we had a conversation with each other. Just picked up the five disc collection of Blues by Martin Scorcese and am excited to plow my way through all 100 songs.

anecdote of the week: Not a very exciting week this week, but one of our friends we met at Marble was visiting a brother in Puyallup and we go to go out to lunch with him. It was great to connect with him and see how he has been since we parted ways.

Week in Review

Sorry this is a day late. It has been a different week for me.

highlights of the week: returning home to my daughter. Having the opportunity to go to Marble Retreat. Starting a new chapter in my marriage and life.


lowlights of the week: I really can't think of any.

on my to-do list: taxes. Read a new book that was just released, write a review for this blog and receive a free copy of the book. Read books for NABNW Tacoma Cluster.

procrastinating about: Nichole wasn't feeling well, so our cleaning day didn't go as planned. I didn't clean all what I had agreed to.

books i’m reading: Brisingr, book three in the Inheritance trilogy.

music i'm listening to: today, while cleaning, I listened to Led Zeppelin's epynomous debut album and the Definitive Muddy Waters Collection.

anecdote of the week: Nichole and I recently returned from our marriage retreat in Marble, CO. The house we stayed at was nestled on the side of a rocky hill. In the days leading up to our visit, the area experienced unseasonably warm weather. During our orientation we were briefed about how to handle wild animal encounters. Our first night in the outdoor hot tub, surrounded by nothing but the wilderness, Nichole pondered aloud, "What would I do if we saw an animal while out here." Not thirty seconds later, Nichole jumped up and bolted back to the cabin. I calmly turned and saw why she had run. About fifteen feet away, a medium-sized black bear meandered its way along the side of the hill. I didn't stay in the tub either. The other couple was planning on attacking us with snowballs and verified our sighting as they saw it also. It was a fun start to our week at Marble.

Safety Graphic Fun

Start this week out by thinking about safety. Here is a blog the specializes in fun pictures that warn us about danger.

Safety Graphic Fun