SF2

Whenever we've gone to spend time in SF, we've tried to do something different each time. We've been to Alcatraz and Angel Island; we've hiked around the city; we've been in shops and sampled wonderful food at different eateries. This time we decided to go the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf. Here are a few folks we met there.

In the hall of WWII leaders we ran into FDR and Harry Truman.

Of course, there was the coronation of the boy king of Egypt, King Tut.
I enjoyed a conversation with the guys who found the unspoiled tomb in 1926.
There were 3-D wax depictions of a number of famous pieces of art, including DaVinci's Last Supper.
Don't know if I'll ever visit the Wax Museum again or not, but it was definitely worth going once. It takes incredible talent to create all those figures, and I expected Yao Ming to stuff the basketball.

SF

Virginia and I are spending a couple of days in San Francisco using our "use it or lose it" time share points. Ruth dropped us at the Pittsburg BART station yesterday afternoon, and we relaxed on the train all the way to the Powell Street Station, a few short blocks from our hotel. We're staying at the Donatello near Union Square. It's a nice place, and we can walk almost everywhere we want to go. Today we relaxed early and headed out about noon, hiking the Powell Street hills over to Fisherman's Wharf. Here are a few pics of our adventures.

TransAmerica Tower from Powell Street on the way to Fisherman's Wharf.

Good shot of the Bay Bridge and East Bay. See Mt Diablo?

Peter and Paul Church, often used in movies.

Looking up Lombard Street from Mason. If you look really close, you can see cars on the switch-backs at the top.

Virginia wanted to get some footage of fog rolling in to use in video projects.

It was quite breezy and in the 60s, but it was really beautiful today. For the most part the air was crystal clear. I'll post more pics over the next couple of days.

God's Timing?

The Diane Ave Church of Christ is a relatively small African American church in our neighboring city, Pittsburg. They've been at their current location for about 60 years. The building has begun to deteriorate in recent years; they really can't afford to build at this time, and recently they've come to the conclusion that they can't grow at their current location. Their young minister, Lamont Francies, is doing a good job of helping them think outside the box, and that's where Eastside enters the picture.

We've offered to work out some sort of facility sharing arrangement at our place, and we had an initial "possibilities" meeting last week. The meeting went really well, and it looks like initially they will use our fellowship hall on Sundays for class and worship, and we'll do some joint fellowship activities... sort of a trial run with an evaluation in a few months.

I'm not sure how God will work in all of this, but my hope is that over time we can eventually become one congregation. What a blessing... what a demonstration of God's mercy and grace... what a testimony of unity to the world around us if something like that does come to pass. I'll post more later. Blessings!

Minister Search

Well, our minister search has moved back into high gear again. Many of you remember that last fall our initial conversation, before even posting the job, was with Brice Smith. Well, it seems as if we've come full circle. Here's what I wrote for today's bulletin.

As Brad Spainhower announced last Sunday, the elders met Sunday afternoon with Brice and Neisha Smith to further discuss the possibility of them joining our ministry team here at Eastside.

Many of you remember that Brice, Neisha and little Zeke were with us for a weekend last December, resulting in almost all of us believing they would be a good fit for us here at Eastside. Based on the church’s positive response, we offered them the job. After much prayer, they declined the offer, deciding there were too many unfinished issues in their current ministry setting. Over the past several months, things have developed that make it easier for them to be much more comfortable leaving Santa Rosa.

At our meeting last Sunday it was decided to have them come next Sunday, July 1st. During our combined adult class at 9:00 Brice will talk about their journey of the last few months and answer questions you may have. He will preach during our 10:00 worship assembly.As a church we have learned a new level of patience over the last ten months… always trusting God’s faithfulness… always wanting to be as close to the center of God’s will as we can be.

Part of discerning His will is listening to the Body, so please make plans to be here next Sunday so you can meaningfully participate when our elders seek your feedback. Also, please continue to pray for this process.

Please join us in praying that God is glorified in this process and is all we do.

Busy Weekend

Well, this weekend is ripping by, as is usually the case when there is a lot going on. Yesterday Virginia got off at 4:00 and we headed toward Vallejo to meet the Koonce family for dinner. It was Karen's b'day and we hadn't seen them in a while, so we met them at Olive Garden. From there we all headed over to the Fairfield Church of Christ for a Won By One concert. They're wrapping up their summer tour with some NoCal concerts, and they sound really good. They've had a good tour, and they're ready to be off the road for awhile. After they got their equipment packed up, we joined them at Mimi's Cafe to hear tour stories and sip coffee. It was fun!

This morning I met Randy and Jeff at the trail head for a run... it's been a while... a long while. I managed to run about 40 minutes, but I felt pretty bad... not my Achilles, but just being out of shape from resting my Achilles. :) Hopefully I can get back into it now.

I came home and showered, and VJ and I headed for Jack London Square in Oakland to meet an old family friend, Jim Elliott. Jim was in the Navy and stationed at Port Hueneme back in the late 60's and/or early 70's. We knew him from church where he was one of many military guys who were "adopted" by the Beans over the years. He's lived in Monterrey since 79, but we haven't seen him since before that. Jim bought us breakfast at Jack's Bistro, a nice place right on the water, and we enjoyed catching up.

This weekend is also the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, and VJ and I are walking with our church team. Click here if you want to learn more or make a donation through our Eastside Church of Christ team. Basically, it sort of a 24-hour relay and celebration all rolled into one, complete with food, music, and lots of people. This year it's at the Los Medanos College track in Pittsburg. Virginia and I are signed up to walk from 7:00 to 8:00 and 9:00 to 10:00. After that I'll be ready for bed!! Here are a couple of pics from last year.

Looking forward to being with our church family tomorrow. Don is preaching, and we'll be looking at how Jesus handled conflict. Maybe I'll see you then!!

Father's Day

Most of us have good memories of times with our dads. A few do not, and all of us remember experiences that let us know our dads are not perfect, but human beings who are subject to sin and failure just like the rest of us. Take a look at this passage from Luke 9:

The next day, Jesus, Peter, James, and John came down from the mountain. A large group of people met Jesus. A man in the group shouted to Jesus, "Teacher, please come and look at my son. He is the only child I have. An evil spirit {from the devil} comes into my son, and then he shouts. He loses control of himself and he foams from the mouth. The evil spirit continues to hurt him and almost never leaves him. I begged your followers to make the evil spirit leave my son, but they could not do it." Jesus answered, "You people that live now have no faith. Your lives are all wrong. How long must I be with you and be patient with you?" Then Jesus said to the man, "Bring your son here." While the boy was coming, the demon threw the boy to the ground. The boy lost control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit. Then the boy was healed. And Jesus gave the boy back to his father. All the people were amazed at the great power of God. The people were still amazed about all the things Jesus did.

It’s interesting, these men who had been with Jesus, experienced his teaching and witnessed miracles, who had performed some of their own, who had been with him at the transfiguration, failed in this opportunity… just as you and I and our dads do so often. Jesus was disappointed with them, but he didn’t give up on them. He knew who they could become in spite of their human weaknesses.

As we celebrate Father’s Day tomorrow, let’s each one give thanks for our dads at their best, when they have been like the dad in Luke 9 and the times they have been most like Jesus. Let’s also extend grace to our dads for the times they have failed. And let’s be thankful for a God who never gives up on any of us.

Mini Heat Wave

It has turned off hot the last few days... not as hot nor as long a heat wave as last summer, but 101 yesterday here in Antioch, warmest in the Bay area, and close to that today. We even lost power for about 30 minutes this afternoon. Was supposed to be a couple of hours, but they got the power back on pretty quick. My guess is that it was some sort of fuse or re-closer switch that blew instead of a transformer burning out... at least this time.

It's supposed to cool down to the lower 90s and even back into the 80s over the next few days. I guess we'll see. Those temps are really pretty close to normal around here for this time of year. It just seems hot because it's been cooler than normal in May and early June.

The garden looks pretty good. Beans and especially snap peas won't fair well if it get's too hot, but the tomatoes and squash seem to like the heat. And, of course, grilling is fun, no matter how hot it gets. Those pork chops tonight were really good!!

I guess all this means is that summer is here. Ah... at least it's a dry heat. :-)

Wedding Weekend Part 3

Here are a few more shots from the weekend.

Girls headed to the nail place.

Kaleb swimming with his cousins.
In Mom's hotel room with me cloned in.
Family with Kaleb the Cool
View of the Bay that sent us off and welcomed us home.

Wedding Weekend Part 2

Here are a few more pics, this time from the wedding itself. Like the rehearsal dinner, the wedding was also outside... and the weather cooperated with clear skies, not too much heat and comfortable humidity (especially for Nashville in June).

Grandmothers and part of the assembled friends and family.

Russell escorting Susan to the front row.
Amber and her dad.
Russell and Amber are moving so fast they blurred the shot.
Amber with most of her new Johnson/Bean family.

Wedding Weekend

What a great weekend! Wednesday we flew to Little Rock, then drove in Mom's car to Nashville for the wedding of Russell and Amber. Russell is my brother's (and VJ's sister's) oldest, and, yes, we now are blessed with two Ambers in the family.

All but one of Virginia's siblings were able to make it to Nashville with many of their kids as well. All of ours made it, Fok and Kaleb flying in Friday afternoon, Jen late Friday from a conference in Calgary, and Jeremy and Amber on Saturday after her final day at school on Friday.

It's always fun seeing all the in-laws (and cousins for the kids). Kaleb had a blast playing with Greg and Colt. The weekend was pretty hectic, but our moms did well, resting when they could and enjoying all the festivities.

Here are a few pics from the rehearsal dinner Friday. I'll post more about the weekend later.

Russell and Amber

Janet and Virginia
Ruby with Jim and Julie
Mom and me with Dan and his root beer
Some of the cousins

Special Olympic Torch Run

Some time back I became a chaplain with the Antioch PD... one way to get more involved in the community. Most of that work so far has been to be with family members when there has been a death. However, there are other things as well. Last week I got to help with a program called Every 15 Minutes, whose purpose is to discourage teen drinking and driving. It's a really well-done program.

Today I got to do another pretty cool thing. Our backyard neighbor, Art Acosta, is a sergeant with the Antioch PD, and each year he runs in the Torch Relay for Special Olympics. Officers from various agencies carry the torch from city to city in the Bay Area for a week or so until it winds up in Berkley for the Northern California Special Olympics. Well, Art asked me if I wanted to run with them this year (I think he just wanted another "old guy"), and I said sure... I guess I represented the Chaplain Corps.

The Oakley PD handed us the torch at the border of Oakley and Antioch, and we ran about 5 miles across town where we handed it to the Pittsburg PD. It was really cool, because they also had about 25 or so Police Academy Recruits who also ran with them in formation. Here are a few pics.

Here we see Art and me bringing up the rear.

Running in formation past Antioch HS. We had this cool motorcycle escort the whole way.

I got to take a turn leading with the torch as well.

After the hand off to Pittsburg.
And, my Achilles tendon seems to have survived just fine. Of course we were running a pretty slow pace, but I was just glad to be able to do it.

New Bike

Anyone who knows me very well knows that my preferred exercise routine is simply to lace up my running shoes and head out for a run. That experience has been enhanced here in Antioch by our proximity to the hills and trails of Contra Loma Regional Park and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. There are miles and miles of winding trials that traverse the valleys of these two wonderful preserves.

However, having run for over 40 years and all the hills have taken a toll on my right Achilles tendon... nothing major, but pretty sore off and on. Anyway, because of that I've been riding my bike a little more than usual. I often ride it into the office 2 to3 days a week, and I've recently added in some longer rides, especially when my Achilles is sore.

My bike is pretty old... bought it used in 1986 or '87. Not a bad bike, especially back then, but the technology has really changed over the years, so I decided to get a new one for my birthday-Father's Day-Anniversary present. :-) A friend works at a bike shop and Trek was running a sale, so I got a good deal on a Trek 1500 road bike, ordering it about a week ago. I picked it up yesterday, and it rides like a dream. The change in shifting technology alone is amazing. Here's a photo:

I'm looking forward to many blissful commutes and other miles. And just think of all the gas I'll be saving.