Kara's Art

Hello all, long time, no post. To much of your dismay, things have been a little crazy lately, and blogging kind of fell by the wayside. Now, we are back on, and back at it. We are so committed to blogging that Kara now has a new blog! It displays her artwork that she is working on and has already painted. To give you a bit of a teaser, I have decided to post a couple, hoping it will peak your curiosity to view her blog. She is very talented (and I am not just saying that).

If you are interested in checking out more of Kara's work go to the Kara Whalley's Art Blog. God Bless!

Paradox...the website

Well, I want to announce to you all...the Paradox WEBSITE! It is brand new and is in full swing. I have been working hard on getting it dialed in and I think that it is looking good and working good. If there is anything that you think would be better for it, let me know. But I hereby invite you all to check it out for yourself.

The address is:

www.paradoxsb.com

That is all for now, there will be a post coming soon. God Bless!

davies' wedding...

It seems like only yesterday that Kara and I were walking down the aisle and exchanging vows and becoming one in front of our friends and families. That was such a special time for me, therefore, I was so excited to see my good friend Tim Davies get married on Saturday.

Tim "Nailgun" Davies was a college roommate of mine (David) during my years at Cal Poly. He was definitely the manilest man in the house (for evidence, observe his nickname). He is a great friend and married a great gal. Their wedding was inland from Leucadia (15-30 min. north of San Diego) on an estate that was B-E-A-utiful! But more than that, it was a beautiful wedding.

We also were able to reconnect with many friends of the past. It was wonderful to see them all, especially our good friend, Melanie Rhodes. She was like a sister to us in the A-Town house. She would bake us cookies, style our hair (mainly Tyler's dreadlocks), and bring a joy to the house that only she could. Currently, she is in New Orleans teaching 2nd grade in tough school district. But if anyone could do it, it would be Melanie!

Congrats to you Tim and Jen, may God Bless your marriage and your lives! We had a wonderful time, enjoy the pictures!

photo display...

I wanted to pose a survey to all you "Blog-watchers" out there. Do you prefer the "Slide" way of observing photos (see planting trees...) or the posting of the photos individually (see spring retreat...)? 

I much appreciate your input and I will utilize that method in the blog entries to come. Thanks so much!

spring retreat...

We want to first give "props" to our parents for taking us camping all of during our younger years. We learned that there is a lot more work involved than in your average weekend away. From the shopping, to the setting up of tents, to the cooking for 20, and to the drive down gave us much more respect to the efforts of our parents. Therefore we want to thank them.

Anyway, we took 20 college students down to San Clemente State Beach for a Spring Retreat. It was the first retreat for Paradox and for us. Hence, it is needless to say, we learned a lot and had a great time. We left on Friday, which was more monotonous than working at the Library, and sat in traffic for about 4 hours, and we returned on Sunday, and that took a record time of 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The weekend was filled with bonfire smoke, sugar, tents, surfing, soccer, pranks, and a lot of milk. All in all, it will definitely be something that will happen again. Below are some pictures of the weekend.

planting trees...

Well, albeit that there are many out there who wonder what exactly I (David) do for a job. You might ask yourself, "What in the world does he do all day at church? Is there enough for him to do to fill all the time?" And those are legitimate questions to ask if you have never worked done this type of work before, it would seem that there was enough things to fill up my time. But, let me tell you, there is plenty of things to be done.

One thing that Paradox (the college ministry) was involved in was the planting of trees at a nearby High School. One girl in the group had a desire to reach out to the community of Santa Barbara and show the love of Christ to them, therefore we have participated in numerous service opportunities to exemplify that love to those who don't normally see it. This particular time we planted trees. It was a great time, although hot, it was great doing something out of love for the people.

I have included a slideshow to show you all the good time we had.

The Angels

This is the whole Angel crew with our newest addition. Sadly we are missing my hubby in these shots. I made that Too- Too for Addy and she could not figure out why she was wearing so much material. Her face tells the story.

Our Little Girls

Ava, my new neice, is a joy to be around. She is learning new words everyday, but still loves the word "ball" the most. Addison, my brother's daughter, is an absolute doll. She has the best personality and I miss her everyday. I hope to go back to Colorado soon and see how much she has grown in person.

Women

Today I went to a womens bible study at Susan Riders house. While I was there I realized that there is something special about Christian women. We are able to gather with all different types of ages and feel completely at home. The bond that Christ gives breaks down all barriers and gives you a connection to anyone. We also ate an amzing breakfast of red rasberry waffles and had a study on prayer. I can't think of anything I would have rather done on a foggy morning in Santa Barbara. David is sitting in front of me studying the bible right now and I have nothing to do today. That means that I might just paint or read. I am so excited because I found a chair and a half on craigslist that we are planning on purchasing. I love decorating my new home!

reflections on evangelism...

I, David just finished, yesterday, another book. For some that is an accomplishment that is as normal as apple pie, but for me I get this feeling of Gladiator-like accomplishment. I, Kara, am still in the middle of a book I started on our honeymoon. Finishing a book for me is more like a painful run where the finish line never seems to come and the light at the end of the tunnel seems more like a distant fade.

The book was Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. Which, as a side note, I think that if I ever become an author I am going to use my initials as well. There is something quite awesome about the initials (for example, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.H. Spurgeon, and the like). Anyway, this book was a challenging book for me. Not in the respect of the words used, but rather in the content. The premise of this book is since God is sovereign over all things, including salvation, what role does the Christian play in evangelism. And the answer is, a huge role.

As Christians, our lives should be devoted to the vocation of sharing with others the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be people who share the death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all sins, the burial, and the resurrection. However, many times, I fail to do so. Not because of the intense persecution that I face, but rather just that fear of not knowing every question that comes my way, the fear of man, the doubt of the power behind the gospel, and just the sheer discouragement of feeling ineffective in my sharing. And that is where God's sovereignty is so sweet. The Apostle Paul states that it was he who planted, Apollos who watered, and God who grew the people who heard the gospel. In the same way, when we plant the seed, God is the one who does the growing. It is nothing that we can do, but it is all on God, and HE ALWAYS COMES THROUGH.

Therefore, be encouraged that when you evangelize, it is never done in vain. Even when you feel discouraged or frustrated, God is always there and His word doesn't return void. I definitely recommend this book to anyone! God Bless!

engagement...

As I reflect upon the best time in my life, marriage, I couldn't help but remember that glorious day when my bride said, "yes". So, me being the "youtuber" that I am, remembered that Ben Potter, who made our engagement video, had posted it on youtube. And upon seeing it, the memories filled my mind, and flooded my soul. I praise the Lord for how blessed I am to have found such a beautiful and wonderful bride. It says in the Bible, "he who finds a wife, finds a good thing". And I have found the best!

...baby humor

This is probably the funniest video that I have ever seen. You may ask yourself, "Isn't it just a baby laughing?" And my reply would be, "Yes!" It is just a baby laughing, but in the most joyous way. You can just feel the utter joy that this child has and the sheer satisfaction he gets in just laughing. I think that it is a lesson we all should learn. Laughing is good, make sure it is part of your day today! God Bless!

ONE TRUTH...RIP

Well, with deep sorrow in my heart, I am moved to inform you about the closing of one of my most highly esteemed and greatly loved clothing companies, ONE TRUTH. Now, I know what you are thinking, "What? That is ridiculous. You need to suck it up." Well, my response is this, "I am trying." You see, for you hard of heart, this clothing company means more than just sweet SWAG, it means that there is a discontinuing of "clothing with a cause". And their cause was, "the gospel". Being a Christian, it is extremely hard to represent for the Savior when your clothing spells out "nerd alert". You see, ONE TRUTH, with their ingenious designers, were able to produce clothing that screamed, "Redemption, Salvation, Mercy, Love, Grace, and ultimately Jesus" without screaming, "Nerd, Awkward, Rip-off, and ultimately Un-intriguing." But more than the awesome rep that you were able to establish, the message of the clothing was at the center of it all. Many times Iwould leave people stunned and curious after wearing one of my favorite articles of clothing. So I want to express my deepest sorrow, and yet my hardiest blessings to the fellows of ONE TRUTH, and say thanks for showing us that it is okay to not only be a Christian, but to dress the part as well.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. There is a ONE TRUTH "Pillage my Village" sale this weekend, March 15 in SLO. It is at their warehouse, and it will be awesome. I am not able to go, so please go for me! God Bless!

an ode to mustaches...

Oh mustache, oh mustache,

how delicate art thee.

Although

 your presence

is very much annoying.

You look so dapper upon thy upper lip,

but be careful or else the razor will slip.

So, to you oh mustache, the fairest of them all,

keep right on marching beautiful and tall.

For those who are either uninformed or have enough intelligence to pass this trend by, it is Mustache March and I have been faithful to uphold the long tradition. And since the beginning of time all men, from around the world, have joined in this tradition of growing out the hairs on their upper lip despite the repulsion of their immediate families, friends, co-workers, barbers, grocers, and basically everyone else they come in contact with. So, I salute you, oh mustache grower in the face of the negative stereotypes and all, keep on growing, keep on growing, keep on growing. The mustache lives!

(P.S. There is no "official" tradition, just something we do for fun.)

...slo town

Kara, myself, and our good friend from Germany, Tobias Grunick, all trekked to San Luis Obispo a couple of weekends ago. The reasons for this journey were two fold. First, and in Kara's eyes most important, was the haircut appointment. Since there was "no one" in Santa Barbara who could wield scissors like "her girl" 

in SLO, she made the appointment

 and went. Now, to me, this seems quite odd, considering the amount of talented hairstylists in the area of Santa Barbara, BUT the more I think about it, it probably sounds odd toher that I would travel to Ventura for surf when there are waves just over the mountain. Anyways, those will be mysteries, yet in each of our minds they make sense.

The second reason was to see family, sister Lindsay, and friends. And what a blessing they are to our lives. One of the hardest things, among others, about leaving SLO was leaving behind friends who are near and dear to our hearts. And being there brings back those memories of going to Sunshine Donuts at 12 am, hanging downtown at Linea's Coffee Shop, indulging in the best, best, best Tri-Tip Sandwich in

 the world (Firestone's, oh yeah!). 

SLO is near to our hearts and maybe someday (maybe not, I don't know, it is totally hypothetical) we will be back, living the SLO life. You never know what the Lord is doing! Peace!

nuestra casa...(our house)

Now that we are somewhat settled into our new home, I thought that it would be appropriate to share some pictures of our place. It is a quaint two bedroom back house situated quite comfortably above the garage area of the front house. We are so thankful to be blessed with such an amazing house to enjoy. So, here we go, we would also like to extend an invitation to come by and visit!

the great freeze...

This is one of the most impressive/awesome things that I have seen. If there is anyone out there inspired to do something like this, I WANT IN. Let me know when and where you are doing this because I want to be a part of it. It's great!

...what's so great anyways?

I just finished (I know, I can't believe it either) "What's So Great About Christianity?" by Dinesh D'Souza and let me tell you, if you want a book that will challenge you, this is the one for you.

D'Souza is a well-known author/speaker known mostly for his writing on politics and government. However, being a Christian, he set out to combat this ever growing "atheist regime" whose sole objective is to eradicate religion from the world. Leading atheists such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris, among others, have been writing books proclaiming that faith is a sickness, that God is only a delusion, and that Christianity is a cruel and brutal religion. Therefore, D'Souza has taken these claims and confronted them in this book. 

The interesting thing is that he not only confronted them on small scale, but on the large scale as well. His arguments address issues such as evolution, morality, wars, education, science, philosophy, all of which the atheists along with many others claim to have rendered Christianity helpless and unable to explain itself to these challenges. But, as D'Souza has accomplished in this book, Christianity has no reason to hide or to run from these claims. TRUTH IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE, and we can't doubt that.

So, I want to encourage you, if you want, to read this book. Even if you are NOT a Christian and share in the same views as those who are questioning Christianity and have the same objectives as these people above, this book is worth checking out. For me, these were also questions that I had concerning my faith, and now it is good to see that I am not crazy and I don't have a "blind faith". God is truth and Christianity is GREAT!

If you want to check out Dinesh D'Souza, check out his website here.

...new beginnings

Now, since we have become one flesh, according to Scripture, we have decided to take it upon ourselves to become "one blogger". Therefore, we are inspired to begin this new blog for the enjoyment for those who mean the world to us. And it is our pledge to bring you the following:

- up to date news on our lives.

- ramblings that most likely will make sense only to us, but we think you will enjoy as well.

- photos of our life together.

 - and anything else "blog-worthy".

We want to thank you all for reading our previous blogs, your support and curiosity are what keep this blogging dream alive. So, without further adieu, I bring you the first of many blogs. We wish you all God's blessing in all that you do!