Tweets for the past week

  • Self discipline is the key to this life. Patience, peace, love, & dreams are all made of it, & it gives strength to survive through tragedy. #
  • It seems objectivity is a fine art not practiced by the general population at large… at least not in public, where it's needed. #
  • Good morning! #NoFilter #Gresham #PDX http://t.co/sGKgYRYU #
  • Super annoying when you miss your normal train and the next one just vanishes…. #TriMet #

Tweets for the past week

  • PDX is leading the way with returning our streets to moving people, not just cars: http://t.co/45l5kyBC #
  • If micro-apartments had been around when I was single, I would've lived in one! http://t.co/TRaervV0 #
  • Do you bike, ride transit, walk, or skate in PDX? Portland transport is looking to app-ize their magazine — http://t.co/SM0Tf3X6 #
  • Avoid the poison of pessimistic attitudes! #youcandoit #

Tweets for the past week

  • Yikes! Forgot laptop charger at home, anyone in #SEA have a Lenovo X series AC adapter? Or Anyone in #PDX coming to #SEA by Monday? #
  • Nothing quite like the Kirkland waterfront @ Kirkland Marina Park http://t.co/D2KKjXx6 #
  • Emma making wishes 🙂 @ Downtown Kirkland http://t.co/CKfzmnTP #
  • WATER for the imagination. @ Downtown Kirkland http://t.co/qRPPtjkb #
  • Alexis enjoying a smoke shop :/ I tried to warn her! @ Smokin Hot Smoke Shop http://t.co/2wgeJ7fC #
  • It's July 21st! People here are still setting off fireworks! Sounds like a war zone, this must be what it's like in some places. #LikeWar #

Tweets for the past week

What is a “live” neighborhood? Can the Church revitalize our neighborhoods?

Here’s something that maybe Christians could lead the way in, revitalize our towns, our neighborhoods, and bring a sense of community back to our lives. Markets have survived for centuries in other places, and we all love Pike Place, Portland Saturday Market, Fisherman’s Wharf and the neighborhood markets which have begun to find their way back into other communities.

Go, read this article or at least glance at it.

http://citytank.org/2011/09/29/s400-micro-retail/

Make sense? Not the entrepreneurial type? Don’t worry, we can all be excited for this!

For this of us here in the Portland area we’ve visited and love the food carts, well this idea is far more than just food carts.  It would require changes in city codes, allowing for businesses to spring up and move around. Little stores where people can buy and sell things, literally niche stores.

Now, imagine these little stores distributed throughout our neighborhoods but backed by the Church, giving people work, and at the same time being an outreach to our communities through real tangible service. This could be a great way to activate our boring spaces and energize our neighborhoods with a neighborly feeling of “local store” again.  It’s a little far-fetched, and definitely out of the box as far as the Church is concerned.

In our travels there are small little shops like this all over European cities and towns over time people come to know each other and create relationships, your local shop keeper becomes in a sense part of your community. It’s in these kinds of linking conduits that we can make connections that eventually become meaningful and thus open the doors to sharing the Gospel. Getting out in our communities is what the Church is always “told” to do – but honestly I don’t see it happening… probably because we have no reason… generally our communities in America are pretty boring (outside some city centers).  If we had actual things to do, places to be, and people to see in our neighborhoods, we might, just might actually connect and begin making some differences.

Oh blog, how I have forsaken you.

There’s far to many dumb excuses as to why I haven’t written in such a long time.  Most of my reasons are more about my ever changing take on life and redefining how I address the world around me.  Don’t worry, nothing life shattering or even controversial (although I suppose that would be fun), nope, it’s more about just looking at the world and not dividing myself up anymore.  I have 11 incomplete draft posts awaiting me and close to 100 “starred” items in my Google Reader to blog about.  So it isn’t a lack of ideas or content, it’s been simply a break to observe.

One of the repeating things in my life that causes me to pause my blogging is how wrapped up I can get in what people may or may not think about what I write me, since my friends come from all sides, from neo-conservative, to neo-liberal sometimes I find myself trying to please everyone… The funny thing is, it just makes my posts long-winded… and not much else. In the end I realize I just need to speak my peace, not be concerned with pleasing people, but instead I want to engage and encourage.  If I need to bring clarity to something, I will… in time, if I feel something isn’t represented well enough.

Yup, I think that’s what I want to say – meh… if not… people will figure it out over time.

Tweets for the past week

  • @trimet policy to consider? or at least automated anncmnts stating the current policy, music as an example. Other transit agencies do this. #
  • @trimet @maxfaqs Yup makes sense, just a suggestion since this is becoming more of a problem, maybe clarify with new signs in the ad space? #
  • @trimet @maxfaqs Also, most people when approached by other riders, even fare inspectors, try to argue or get upset & calling the operator.. #
  • @trimet @maxfaqs provokes these people even more, and they argue with the operator… unless the operator actually quotes the code. #
  • First a birthday bash, then sushi, next up Church, and after…??? @ Sushiville http://t.co/HnAyVXzj #