Doing the unexpected
For a change . . . I thought I'd drop in and just mention how life is going in general . . . for those of you who used to know me, and for those who still think they do. :)
Since moving to California with little more than the clothes on my back and an old but reliable car, which I managed to wreck a few months after moving out, a lot of water has passed under the proverbial bridge. The first few months out here (July '03 - December '03), I spent covering court appearances for other attorneys, doing landscaping, and searching for permanent work. For various reasons, it was the most difficult time of my life, but not altogether unenjoyable. (Doesn't God always turn our sorrow into joy if we allow Him to? What a picture of heaven.) I learned a heck of a lot about life, people, and what it means to be reliant on God. It was actually a beautiful time. When things seemed like they couldn't get any worse, I was on my way to a job interview at a bakery and wrecked my car. Not being able to afford to fix it, I took off the broken parts and kept driving it for a month or so until I upgraded to an '85 Volvo that leaked transmission fluid like like a siv and had no A/C.
Between January and March of 2004, I worked at Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento as its staff attorney. While the experience there was a mixed bag, it was definitely interesting and I got to meet and work with a lot of great people. In March, 2004, I started transitioning from PJI into a solo practice arrangement with the attorneys I now work with. In June, I bought a new car (a silver Honda Accord V6 with black leather and the bells & whistles) and in September we moved into a new office building. Somehow I ended up our suite's second floor corner office. Both of the attorneys I work with are Christians and having access to their resources and knowledge is an absolute blessing. When I consider where I was a few years ago and where I am today, I am literally awed.
This summer, I started taking flying lessons and will likely fly solo for the first time this weekend. Flying's a trip, no pun intended. Eventually, I'd like to get a plane of my own for both business and personal use.
On the church front, our guitar-playing Sunday School worship leader left single life a couple weeks ago and is moving on to the young married's group, so it look like I'll be trying to fill his shoes for a while.
Since buying a new tennis racquet a month or so ago, I've been getting out and playing with friends pretty regularly. Matt McReynolds, a Georgia native who now works at Pacific Justice Institute, is my most common enemy on the courts. It's a good thing I'm not a sore loser when I play with him, 'cuz I'd be really sore by now if I was. :)
Along with a ton of other literature I've read lately, I read "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis the other day. A very interesting book it is (my best Yoda impersonation there). While I think his metaphoric approach could create some confusion among young Christians, there are some excellent points in the book. One of my favorite illustrations in the book was that of the artist visiting heaven, seeing its glory, and in his artistic ambition, failing to accept and recognize heaven's reality. How applicable that illustration is to our own lives. How often we take the ministry God has given us and become obsessed with the ministry itself, and not with Him who has given it to us. Our love for Him is derailed in the daily jungle of life's tracks and we end up pouring our lives into an empty shell named "ministry," "employment," "acheivement," or such like, rather than into the Creator for Whom those goals and occupations should bring glory.
And, for one last morsel of news, I decided to try a full goatee and have been getting a lot of positive feedback - mostly from females. I found that interesting. I'm still in the "demo" mode and haven't decided yet whether or not to keep it. Comments are welcome - pro and con.
And there you have it, the condensed version of two years of my life.
Since moving to California with little more than the clothes on my back and an old but reliable car, which I managed to wreck a few months after moving out, a lot of water has passed under the proverbial bridge. The first few months out here (July '03 - December '03), I spent covering court appearances for other attorneys, doing landscaping, and searching for permanent work. For various reasons, it was the most difficult time of my life, but not altogether unenjoyable. (Doesn't God always turn our sorrow into joy if we allow Him to? What a picture of heaven.) I learned a heck of a lot about life, people, and what it means to be reliant on God. It was actually a beautiful time. When things seemed like they couldn't get any worse, I was on my way to a job interview at a bakery and wrecked my car. Not being able to afford to fix it, I took off the broken parts and kept driving it for a month or so until I upgraded to an '85 Volvo that leaked transmission fluid like like a siv and had no A/C.
Between January and March of 2004, I worked at Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento as its staff attorney. While the experience there was a mixed bag, it was definitely interesting and I got to meet and work with a lot of great people. In March, 2004, I started transitioning from PJI into a solo practice arrangement with the attorneys I now work with. In June, I bought a new car (a silver Honda Accord V6 with black leather and the bells & whistles) and in September we moved into a new office building. Somehow I ended up our suite's second floor corner office. Both of the attorneys I work with are Christians and having access to their resources and knowledge is an absolute blessing. When I consider where I was a few years ago and where I am today, I am literally awed.
This summer, I started taking flying lessons and will likely fly solo for the first time this weekend. Flying's a trip, no pun intended. Eventually, I'd like to get a plane of my own for both business and personal use.
On the church front, our guitar-playing Sunday School worship leader left single life a couple weeks ago and is moving on to the young married's group, so it look like I'll be trying to fill his shoes for a while.
Since buying a new tennis racquet a month or so ago, I've been getting out and playing with friends pretty regularly. Matt McReynolds, a Georgia native who now works at Pacific Justice Institute, is my most common enemy on the courts. It's a good thing I'm not a sore loser when I play with him, 'cuz I'd be really sore by now if I was. :)
Along with a ton of other literature I've read lately, I read "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis the other day. A very interesting book it is (my best Yoda impersonation there). While I think his metaphoric approach could create some confusion among young Christians, there are some excellent points in the book. One of my favorite illustrations in the book was that of the artist visiting heaven, seeing its glory, and in his artistic ambition, failing to accept and recognize heaven's reality. How applicable that illustration is to our own lives. How often we take the ministry God has given us and become obsessed with the ministry itself, and not with Him who has given it to us. Our love for Him is derailed in the daily jungle of life's tracks and we end up pouring our lives into an empty shell named "ministry," "employment," "acheivement," or such like, rather than into the Creator for Whom those goals and occupations should bring glory.
And, for one last morsel of news, I decided to try a full goatee and have been getting a lot of positive feedback - mostly from females. I found that interesting. I'm still in the "demo" mode and haven't decided yet whether or not to keep it. Comments are welcome - pro and con.
And there you have it, the condensed version of two years of my life.
posted by jph | 12:40 PM
4 Comments:
=D HA! Hilarious and very fun, informative posting. My Jonathan has grown a gotee too. You have positive feedback from me on that score, even without seeing it. ;)
Why don't you post a picture and then we can really weigh in! ;-)
Here Here! We would all like to see you in your goateed glory:D
Great to get an update. I still check in on your site every now and then, and am glad to hear you are doing well. I thought your recap of the PJI experience was generous, and hope I can be included among those with whom you enjoyed working.
Have fun flying, and let me know if you make your way down to San Diego at any point; I'd love to get together with you.
James G.
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