Year: 2006

This place is a mess, sorry. Between, college graduation, getting married, canceling my internet account (hence the reason the pictures are gone), and traveling around Europe for over a month now, Foodforfish has gone a hyatus. But come back in a month or so and it’ll be back up, and hopefully with at least weekly updates! Blessings!

Revel in your singleness, I have just three more days of single-hood and there is a small part of me that will definitely miss the freedom of doing whatever I want when I want. However, there is a larger part of me that is very much ready for a life-helper to share life with. You could say that something is dieing so that something much more beautiful may come, or you could say that this process is something like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, neither way of life is better than the other, they are simply different. The process however of going from singleness to marriage is not a simple one, not matter how “similar” you and your partner may be.

Alexis and I have one very strong chord that keeps us in line, it is God, and He has certainly shown us amazing things, about each other, the past, and the future. We know that our future together is God’s will and is an essential part to the ministries He has called us into. We have a firm belief that we do not do commit to anything unless is somehow fits into the ministries God has called us into. What that means is that because He has called us into leadership training and restoration we will not commit to just “any” ministry simply because there is a need, we will earnestly pray and seek God’s wisdom in ministry decisions to see if it lines up with His will and call on our lives. If we can incorporate what He has placed on our hearts then we will consider it, if we cannot we will not consider such opportunities. What we have learned is that weather you are single or married ministry is not something to simply do for the sake of doing it, it is something that we are all called to (Eph 4:12, we are all to be equipped for ministry), however God’s desires are in our heart, and if we are not doing what God desires specifically for us, then why do it?

PS. We are still short of our missions funds for the summer, please consider donating (donation information on right). Thanks!

So, yes I should have gone and looked at the details. But everything seemed peachy until today I look at our Honey Moon details and discovered that the ferry Alexis and I are taking (the only one on the day we leave) from Pula, Croatia to Venice, Italy gets to Venice at 11am on the 21st of July, which is the same time our flight from Venice to Frankfurt is…

There are two options, one leave Pula on the 18th (which means staying three very expensive nights in Venice and changing our Hotel reservation, another fee). Second, changing our flight to a later one on the 21st out of Venice (probably cheaper than staying three days in Venice, if possible). Pray that one of these works out and the money to make the changes comes through. Thanks!

I wish it were easy to “just say no”, in many ways. Sometimes people ask you to do things that you really don’t want to do, just say no. Sometimes people ask you to do things that you don’t have time for, just say no. Sometimes you want to do something that you shouldn’t, just say no. Sometimes you do things that you shouldn’t, so you do it more, just say no. Sometimes

That’s what life feels like, and I know that when life feels this way I start to detach from reality. Just three more days to go, and graduation! YAY.

Tomorrow night Alexis and I will be enjoying Les Miserable at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle. Earlier in the day Alexis will be trying on her wedding dress too. We have just over a month to go! Pray that we can somehow get everything in order, this past week I applied for 11 jobs, and so now I wait, and apply for more next week. Thanks for your prayers and know that we are seeing God in all kinds of things.

I’m finally making some changes around here… I like the layout, but I’m ready for a new paint job. I’m thinking something that says “a hike in the mountains”. Wait and see.

Listening to: Everyday – SONICFLOOd
My laptop randomly chooses pictures from my large assortment of pictures over the years, currently a very nice picture of my old apartment is set as my wallpaper, and I miss that place! As I think back to those days I remember a time when life had a steady pace. I worked Monday – Friday, and had the same activities weekly on the same days, and those days that didn’t have anything I always had people to call or I always had a place to go home to be by myself. These days I live with 10-15 other people at all times (right now I’m the only one downstairs though, it is quite nice) and after two years of this I am certainly ready to have a place to call “home” again, of course this time Alexis will be with me and a whole new atmosphere will be built, but that’s okay, I’m so looking forward to it. I have a lot of ideas for our new place, and so does Alexis (our invitations have TMA, for Travis Mielonen Alexis, I laughed today when Alexis said it stood for “too much attitude”, pretty true when it comes to decisions such as how to decorate the house).

Anyway, my prayer request is that when we get back from Europe I can find a job quick enough that Alexis and I can get a new place fairly quick, right now it’s a little hard applying for jobs since we’ll be gone for seven weeks. If I don’t find a job quickly we’ll need to stay somewhere for real cheap, like $300 or less (and that’s pushing it if we want to keep up on our regular bills) until I get a job. We have our eyes on some townhouses right here in downtown Gresham, they go for $710/month, two stories, one

I think I may have God induced exhaustion. What I mean is that I have been so physically exhausted the past few days that I am finding myself doing some things that I really enjoy, and I am totally hearing from God. At the same time temptations have been strong. But this entire season the words for me have been “endurance” and “perseverance”, everyday I have to lean on God for the strength to resist temptations, endure frustrations, and persevere in speaking truth to the lies that I deal with.

I feel the edge of passion returning, a sacred kind of passion, and an incredible return to that first honeymoon of my salvation. Amazing grace that is what this is.