TATTOO on the HEART

The last thing I see @ night…

// April 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // EVERYDAY LIFE

From our backyard, during the day we see the ocean, and at night, fireworks when Sea World closes

Paul’s Book: TATTOO on the HEART

// April 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // EVERYDAY LIFE

CHECK OUT PAUL’S BOOK AT: www.TATTOOontheHEART.com >

*Shoefiti*

// April 4th, 2009 // No Comments » // EVERYDAY LIFE, OUT LOUD THOUGHTS

Shoes hanging over telephone lines in Ocean Beach - across the street from Newbreak Cafe

It’s a pretty common site around San Diego – particularly Ocean Beach.  Our oldest daughter thinks it’s stupid.  Jessica seems to have mixed feelings about it.

Me?  I like it. 

Granted, I’m a person who visits coffee shops that have mix-matched chairs, floors stained with years worth of dirt, and smeared chalkboard menus.  These kinds of places have reputations – much like their regular clientele.  The people are known by name and their regular habits just as much as their habitual coffee drink.

These coffee places don’t pretend to be anything but who they are. 

I prefer to buy used books rather than buying new – not because I’m a cheapskate – but because of the story.  I mean, yeah, there’s obviously a story about the book itself, but the other narrative – the story of the person who’s held this book and mistreated it with earmarks, highlighting, and fraying the cover – is just as important to me.  What were they thinking when they read that line.  Did it mean the same thing to me as it did them?

But back to shoefiti…

I just don’t want to believe that someone would just chunk a pair of shoes tied together by the laces without a reason.  Was it art?  An artist?  We’re they commemorating an event?

Some of the theories behind shoefiti are those very things and more like: signifying gang territory, or a marriage, or a great place to buy crack.

Regardless, while some show disdain, seek ordinances to ban and remove them, I’ve formed somewhat a fascination with shoes that are so worthless and too worn to wear but they would be elevated to share the beauty of a sunrise or sunset. 

Last night, I got the opportunity to meet in person and hang out with a guy at Starbucks on Newport in Ocean Beach.  Often your “getting to know someone” conversations involve sharing the “where I’ve been” or “how I got here” story.  As he traced a difficult to follow history of twists and turns, he found himself talking about the role of God, but, more specifically, the role of men who called themselves Christians in bringing disappointments in his moments of profound need and emptiness.

He remarked that he was done with church and that he deliberately doesn’t call himself a Christian because he doesn’t want to make a claim to be something that he’s not – that he can’t live up to.

That really saddened me.

I wasn’t preachy, but I told him that I think the label Christian has often been hijacked, but that the basic tenet of following Jesus is making the claim that we aren’t anything on our own.  Following Jesus is making a public statement – not of righteousness – but brokenness, and saying “Here is what is possible with God.”

In a very real way I think we’re all called to be shoefiti. 

The story of the Gospel isn’t shiny shoes, but shoes that were saved from loss, dusted off and given their worth.  No one cares about your story if you have shiny shoes do they?  Because shiny shoes don’t have a story.  And if shiny shoes tried to tell a story everyone would know it’s a lie from the apparent lack of scuff marks to the smell of factory glue.

Who can appreciate the wornoutness and brokenness enough that they’d elevate it to a place of beauty and reverence and use it as the tool of bringing hope to the world?  Well, Jesus can.  It’s the mystery and offensiveness of the Gospel of Jesus – ourselves sharing the beauty and splendor of a sunrise. 

I wish this suit still fit…

// April 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // EVERYDAY LIFE

I’d be the man…

Guinea Pig Birthday Party?

// April 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // EVERYDAY LIFE

Well, I thought I was just going to come home from working for a little while before I needed to go to a coffee shop to do some writing, but I walked in unsuspectingly to a Guinea Pig Birthday Party. Roxy & Miss Piggy are 1 now.

I ended up being the official photographer:

Singing Happy Birthday

I thought I'd try a taste of their birthday fruit & veggie cake. It's just a step above rabbit food.

In case you're wondering: Jessica & the kids made the party hats - they don't see them at Petco

Dabdoub words of wisdom [4.02.09]

// April 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // EVERYDAY LIFE, WORDS OF WISDOM

For those of you who know me past and present, you can probably tell me a lot by reading this whether it be morals, karma, or whatever your persuasion. Feel free to comment

JADYN: Daddy, open this there’s money in it.

I opened the toy hippo and found a guinea pig turd and my 4 year old laughed at me.

Time to say goodbye…

// April 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // EVERYDAY LIFE

Myspace,

I really enjoyed you.  You contributed in an amazing way to my life, beginning when our cellphones wouldn’t work after Hurricane Katrina. We would have never been able to stay in touch if it wasn’t for you.

But me?  I’m growing up.  I don’t want to, but it just seems like people my own age are somewhere else.  Somewhere not myspace.

I’ll leave my page as a lasting tribute to what once was, but I’m not going to be visiting.  I think a clean break is best.

so long & thanks, myspace!

Dabdoub words of wisdom [3.31.09]

// April 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // WORDS OF WISDOM

Today we were discussing the finer points of twitter when John said that he doesn’t care to have people knowing what he does all throughout the day. Travis said He did.

I responded:

“Dude, once you get in to self-worship there’s no going back.”

It is addictive.