Open hands.

Helloooooo and welcome. Welcome to week 9.

We got about 660 campers and leaders on their way to the canyon right now and I'm sorta feeling on top of the world right now.

"Sorta" being a severe understatement.

Let me just re-cap yesterday for you. Yesterday being one of the best days of my life.

Well I'll start you off with the night before yesterday..

So, it's night 4...which is the night I produce my final copy of the camp week. I was in the process of exporting, importing, and burning and I ran to the sassy for a treat and a visit with friends.

I ran into Krista while I was there and she said "Oh hey, wanna go to Portland with me?"

And I said, "Umm...yeah right, that's ridiculous. For just a day? You're gonna drive all the way to Portland" (which is a 3 1/2 hour drive out and a 3 1/2 hour drive back) "for a day?"

The conversation ended with me saying yes, of course. Although I was hesitant at first, I thought what they hay? We could all use a little more spontaneity in our lives.

So she told me we were to rise and be out of the house by 6 am the following morning.

I ran back to my hole in the wall aka the video suite and finished my work for the night. And I have to admit, despite the major freakouts of this week, I'm pretty proud of Week 8's DVD.

And then I ran home to sleep.

We left the house at 6am sharp and I thought I would sleep on the drive, but I was terribly mistaken. Krista and I had beautiful and intense and wonderful conversation the entire drive. I'd been praying for those minutes, those moments, with that girl, for some time now.

We talked about a lot of things but one of the things we talked about was the concept of living life open-handedly for the Lord, and how I can bring that back with me to my life in Santa Barbara. I'm essentially resuming the life I had prior to moving to the ranch. Same house, same jobs, and a lot of the same friends. How am I going to cling tight to the new me that came up out of that water on July 23rd?

And the past week or two I've been thinking about a new tattoo. I wanted to get something in the palm of my hands. Something to remind me to always leave them open. And then the words "without hesitation" floated across my mind. So often in so many areas of my life, I hesitate. With finances, with speaking, with listening to and obeying the nudges of the Lord.

And so I decided at some point, I'd like to get "without hesitation" tattooed in the palms of my hands. I was telling Krista about it during our convo and we talked about how we'd never seen anyone with tattoos in the palms of their hands. Well, she got fired up and said "Let's do it. If we can find a place that will take us, we're doing it."

And that sealed the deal. We got to Portland and talked to some friends about where we could get the tattoos done, reliable sources mind you, and then we headed to Powell's, the biggest book store in this country. It covers an entire block of downtown Portland. I was on Cloud 9 in that place. After purchasing 4 new books, we met up with Molly Margaret Miller, one of Krista's summer staff girls from first session. We grabbed lunch with her at Red Robin and it was magical. We grabbed lunch, but not before we passed several dodgy looking strip clubs, one advertising rubdowns, shower shows, and stripper poles while another advertised a $3 breakfast room. What in the world? We had a laugh and I almost shed a tear about how much this world is suffering in the darkness.

And then we got tattoos. I'd post a picture but I don't have one yet. We both got "without" on our right wrist and "hesitation" on our left.  We decided on wrists instead of palms because we were told that tats in palms fall out after a couple months and they hurt like hell. Todd the tattoo artists words exactly. And wrists are so much more symbolic as Jesus had His pierced with nails.

I also got a matador mustache on my left index finger. It's name is Mr. Snidely and the laughter it has produced in the past 24 hours has already made the permanence of it sooooo worth it. I can't wait until I'm 80 and still whippin' out Snidely for pictures with my grandkids.

I arrived home from Portland to find a brand new car. I mean, it was still my nifty '04 Corolla, but it had been washed inside and out so that it now looks immaculate and the oil had been changed. Steven did it. Steven is the waterfront intern out here and he's incredible. His servant's heart is admirable and unbelievable. And I am blessed to call him friend.

New tattoos and a new car. And then I headed over to the Inglesby's and got a new book for my birthday. Maggi made me a blueberry milkshake and we rocked out on Guitar Hero for a bit.

And then I got the news. I had headed home to hit the hay when I checked my email and found out I got the job.

Katie Campbell, Sonia Malmquist, and myself are doing program for the work crew summer staff reunion!! EEEyayahhhh!! So freakin' excited. I couldn't stop jumping around my house in my knickers screaming my head off to an empty room.

And so I head out, to film another Day 1, in which we welcome 660 new kids into this holy place, where they will experience the abundant love of Christ.

I challenge you to evaluate your life, and decide if you're ready to live it open-handedly, without hesitation, as God has called you to.

Good day kind friends.