Wednesday, December 31, 2008

cont. from yesterday

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.
Romans 1

If you read the letter I posted below from my good friend....then you should understand the above verse.

This is just part of what we are called to do.

E N C O U R A G E one another

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

a copy of a letter from a friend

Tater,
The real "Big Man" is a coming and He won't be dressed in red and white. He'll be burnished bronze and riding a white Horse. He is indeed Faithful and True to us my brother, isn't He. :) How you are a blessing to me. The CD being the latest example of your encouragement. I am glad that the Lord has blessed you through me Tate. Truly, it is I that has been the most blessed I think. Because you have served and given more. Your passion for life and living in the moment has taught me to really evaluate my perfectionism and need to "be right." Wow. Talkin' about being hit by a 2x4. :)Anyway, continue lovin' and livin' my brother. Consider this email the closest thing to a kiss planted on your cheek my friend. To Tate Perazzelli...a true Italian stallion in the faith. A blessing to many. One who indeed had a "lust for life" and more importantly a "lust" (love) for the Life-Giver and the Life that is truly Life. Press on my brother. Press on. Chet

MY WORDS---let's ALL just keep on keeping on and encouraging one another!! Love, Tate

Saturday, December 27, 2008

ol' man winter

I miss summer. Don't get me wrong...I love winter, but I miss summer because I love to watch things grow. I need to see the change of seasons and I LOVE snow & even ICE, but I miss my garden---really miss it.
I don't really have anything amazing in my garden. Some people comment that it looks cool. I really think that my rock garden in the front of the house takes away from the "curb appeal"...oh well....I like it. I love to weed and plant and watch things go and honestly....I hardly ever water-EVER. If you can't make it in my garden, you die. I don't give my plants and special treatment. I figure we don't get any so I am not going to give them any.
Of course there are always exceptions; if I plant you in the middle of the hot summer I am going to get you some water.

Today I did some minor garden work.....ahhhhh...the joy.

I miss my Shangri La.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

NAMINGS

When you name something...or someone it is important. It looks like a small group of people (myself included) are going to name themselves. We are a band. We do it for fun....and it has blossomed.
I named my 1st child...Sean; it's a bit of a long story, but let's just say he shares his birthday with John & Sean Lennon and John Lennon wrote a song for his son called "Beautiful Boy".
I gave my favorite daughter her middle name...Alison after a song by the same name.
And our final child was given a letter as his middle name....legally my wife changed the letter to a name and hid it from me, much to my angst, but to me, he will always be; Taylor "J".

I have named many groups of people that have been formed to change the thinking and passions of men and now...with great glee we are on the verge of naming a band.

In some ways it has importance and in others it doesn't.

It will be a collective decision; if and when we get to that point and my choice is as simple as it gets--- House Band

May you all have ,or be included in a house band and if we ever perform around or near you, you are a part of us...House Band,

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Lainey


Elaine is sitting on the far left. This pic was taken the nite of the church Christmas party. We did a big production for the talent show with our house band performing complete with slide show and the lyrics to Lean on Me showing. The pics were of lots of members of the church and it solidified this church as a family, a body, an imitation of Christ. We had everyone sing along to the classic Bill Withers tune, and they did.
Back to Lainey...Elaine. Elaine lost her father over a year ago. Her nearest blood relative is her brother in Tennessee.
After covering Lean on Me and watching the slide show everyone started cleaning up and reassemblying the auditorium.
Elaine approached me and said this:
"People ask me all the time why I don't move down to be with my brother and I always answer them with...I can't leave my church, it's my family"
I am happy to report I feel the same. My church is my family. I love them so much. We experience so much together. I love my dad, mom, brothers & sisters, but there is something about that bond of Christ that surpasses all.
Thank you Elaine, thank you.

Friday, December 12, 2008

I know Neil Young

I feel like I know Neil Young. I think he is an amazing songwriter and he is playing @ the original Spectrum tonite with another fine band, Wilco. I have known about this show for months and have been trying to get an ebay deal for a tix for a while. I have not been able to get one. I could still buy one in the 70+ range, it's just a lot of money and I don't know why I won't pull the trigger, but I won't.

When I play the guitar I like to try and play a lot of his songs....very introspective. I like Neil. His music strikes a chord with the working man who likes to have a good time and he has crossed so many genres of music in his career.

I thought it was odd that when I went out of my hotel room into the lobbied Starbucks to get my joe, Down By the River was playing....really freaked me out. Full moon tonite too. Man, maybe I will spring for a tix....

Who knows....

Thursday, December 11, 2008

endings



listening to people wondering what truth is, but only hearing what it is they want to hear.


talking to people about the truth while they hear the lies.......trying to find a crack, a sliver of a crack to let the truth explode into them like a crack of thunder in the night sky with lightening lighting up all there is to see like Christ does...as long as your eyes are open to see.

Monday, December 08, 2008

what the day may bring

I took the day off which means I answered a few phone calls for work and kind of spent some time with the most beautiful as well as going to my guitar lesson and answering/composing a few well needed emails.

E N C O U R A G E M E N T

Yes, we have a purpose to spread the life-saving message of Chirst and we also have a responsibility to encourage one another, build each other up.

We are always judging, taking issue with others.

Why aren't we just building others up?

So I went to my guitar lesson with a professional rock star...no kidding on that one and came to several conclusions.
1. I do want an electric and I want an American made Telecaster used is more then fine.
2. Giving encouragment to someone and then seeing what effect that encouragement has can be MIND BLOWING!
3. people can't see the forest through the trees.

I have a LOT on my mind right now...all really good stuff....just hard to make sense of it to you, but let it be known-----readers far and wide and I know there are quite a few of you.

I love you all and am thankful for your faith.

Praise be to God!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

love and the triple mocha


A triple café mocha cappuccino once every three days can add up to $400 a year.
It all adds up to hundreds, and even thousands, of dollars each year.

This giant redwood tree survived hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years by simply using basic things that God has provided. Sunlight, water and soil.
This tree has never, ever purchased a triple cafe mocha cappuccino or even my favorite the carmel macchiattio. God gives you and the tree what you need to survive.
What is it that you need to live on this earth.....maybe a bit more then the tree, some clothes to keep you warm?
When you see other trees as magnificent as this opps I mean, when you see other people as beautiful as God, since He made them in His image....reachout to them.
I don't think the tree ever needed love, but I do, and He loves me and I love you, all of you.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

GOOD vs. evil

Isn't it the classic? Good & evil?

All things seem to always come down to those two things.


I just completed a book...Dangerous Beauty and I highly recommend it. It was given to me for it's compelling ability to paint a picture of the beauty of Africa and that it did.


But it also touched me like few books have.


life always boils down to others
and it was once again proven

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

setting and achieving goals


one of my favorite quotes is:

Create the vision
Articulate the vision
Passionately own the vision
and
Relentlessly drive it to completion

the vision is:

one thousand campers
see it


close your eyes and see what it looks like


Saturday, November 22, 2008

sad

i am unusually sad. as my son says, "no worries" . My sadness will eventually turn to gladness, but today...right now: I AM SAD.

I do know why I am sad...it has to do with family; how do I explain what I don't want to explain on a blog? Pretty simple actually--I don't, don't explain.

Time is to short to be dealing with this, but it is part of living.
All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. Proverbs 21


Listening to:
Hurt by Johnny Cash
Tired of Being Sorry by Ringside
Father & Daughter by Paul Simon
and one line from the song Detlef Schrempf by Band of Horses-
...and watch how you treat every living soul...

Friday, November 21, 2008

is life to short?

or is it to long?

the unknown is what frightens me.

it scares me

and yet i know

i know why it scares me

Thursday, November 06, 2008

the last hours

the ONLY thing I can think of whenever I walked past these flowers was...

the splendor of the King

click on the pic and look closely.....a hummingbird a fluttering

I can't remember her name, but she and her new husband (they were from France) had started pedaling in Alaska and made it to Santa Barbara on this November day and their final destination....Argentina in 2010 ( the biker, not the walker)


this is for Chet



climb the mountain
be it big
be it small
take the challenges
that present themselves
and you will never be bored
promise





Pics from Mon

Ben lives @ Big Sur and works the parking lot in the middle of nowhere. He pays 50.00 a month to live in a dorm and work in a state park. He reads, draws and talks to people.
Ben had suggested a trail to the coast to see "purple sand" and the beach. He said we would have to get our feet wet.

Our feet got wet & muddy....the mud was amazing spa treatment like mud and it was free!
I hiked the entire hike barefoot and when we told Ben what I had done he called me a savage.



Look close or click on the pic to to see the fox. I thought it was a grey fox....Ben said they don't have grey foxes....only red, so it was a red fox.

After this hike we took a 2nd hike to see more wintering monarchs. We had a really, really hard time finding them, but we did. Deep in a Eucalyptus tree grove. Standing in a small clearing and having like 20 butterflies flittering about you is like pure fantasy.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

what happened on Sunday

It will be hard to recount the entire day, but here goes....The town of Pacific Grove, CA has a site where Monarchs winter....it is an amazing site to see thousands and thousands of butterflies in one spot. It is an experience much like a fantasy.
CLOSE-UP!

this is a harbor seal in Pacific Grove---we also saw Elephant Seals


The Mission in Carmel
so....we went to see the butterflies and then went o church in Pacific Grovc then we drove to Carmel and had lunch which was spectacular after which we found a cheese store and purchased some local cheeses. then we went to Padres State Park and watched a spectacular sunset and saw waves crash against the rocks and send spray 10, 20, 30 feet in the air. It was God performing fireworks ( I lost all of these pics)
then we went back to Monterey and stayed @ the Blue Lagoon for 39.00
zzzzZZZZZZZ.....
Then Monday came....it was a long day
BIG SUR



Sunday, November 02, 2008

what its all about

This is where we stayed Fri in HMB (Half Moon Bay). It was nice, with a shared bath, but we had no one to share with. We have been getting some sweet deals since it is off season. Last nite (Sat) we paid 49.00 in Monterey. We only have two nites left of exploring. Tues nite in LA has been booked for a long time.
This is Sheila in her store Tokenz in HMB. This is what it's all about---people and love. Her store gave off a positive light and yet it had many points of reference to god(s). We talked....she is a wonderful good person. In the end we all left more faithful to God.

It has been raining for days and it has been overcast since we got here. Our pics have not had great light. This was during the pouring rain somewhere north of Monterey....I cannot begin to describe the POWER of the ocean. Except to say it was made by Him who is all powerful.

Santa Cruz
THE HOOK
where surfing began
One thing I have noticed about Cali...each area is proudly it's own
santa cruz has a serious ambiance
Great pizza @ Pleasure Pizza on E. Cliff Drive
Great COFFEE-- Fins on Ca. 1
Ever in Monterey? Kristen recomends The Blue Lagoon Inn which was BOOKED SOLID and we found Padre Oaks---possibly the best bargain of the trip!
Sunday 11/2
Church
Carmel Mission
Butterfly Groves
BIG SUR




Saturday, November 01, 2008

let's go!

Alcatraz from Pier 39
Mar driving the cable car....they let me ring the bell..

Making the difference by encouraging and loving people has it's rewards.

B & W; Fuji Fine Pix Z
Pier 39
Photographer Margaret Perazzelli

it's raining today....
overcast and windy and it is the first day below San Francisco.
We stayed in a lovely little town of Half Moon Bay last nite albeit a bit of a posh little town
We are ready to hit the coast after being in SF for a full day.
Missions & Monarchs lay ahead
A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Lord God, may Mar and I gain wisdom in our travels and knowledge in our day.

Halloween

Union Square. LOVE is all powerful, isn't it?

Sign in the Mission area of San Fran

No matter what, no matter who----don't judge. Just love.
How else will they come to know Him?




in the city

The tugboat Hercules, retired and docked in San Francisco Bay...and it was built where....Camden, NJ, five minutes from my house?
TIMES CHANGE--people don't Coit Tower, a Frisco landmark,and this is the view from it.

One of the major highlights of the day were the murals at Coit Tower.
The murals captured mankinds quest.
That quest will be talked about on the next post.
We heard that it was like Jim's Steaks, but just Chinese food....we were told there would be a line out the door. Well it was excellent.....nothing fancy just really good Chinese food....and of course God had spared us the lines.






Friday, October 31, 2008

Nor Cal Coast

NOR CAL is a state of mind----trust me on this one. MENDOCINO, ever heard of it? WOW is this town amazing. Hippies unite. I don't know who works. Pot smoking was rampant and this was during the day. Moody's Organic coffee shop supplied me with the best coffee I've had....almost ever. Seriously. Flower Power---Peace & love & power to the people!
From the 60's in Mendocino we traveled to Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. No it is not Napa or Sonoma County. Wine is a big deal out here and it's like a cult of people.....people following, Following what I do not know, but following nonetheless.

Ok...these roads are THE most challenging roads I have ever driven and these photos don't even come close to telling the story. One blink or shift of the wheel and you tumble way down. See the edge of the road? See Tate looking down the edge of the road?


Guess what?
Tate is still here!It was late when we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge (6 bucks) into San Fran. We had just booked a bargain rate for a room on priceline which got blown way out of proportion when we paid the 45 dollar fee for 24 hour parking.
But, I had not yet had dinner when my incredible wife made me the following-
sliced apple, sliced avocado, peanut butter crackers, cheese w/crackers.
Tomorrow we do the city thing---ride trolley cars, visit our store on the pier, visit Chinatown and do some shopping for Christmas.
See you later!
Love,
Tate
oh......btw---here is a golden nugget-Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,




Thursday, October 30, 2008

Coastal 1

So far we have driven from Portland, Or. to Fort Bragg, Ca. We have been driving US 101 and when we got to the end of Avenue of the Giants we took the beginning of Coastal 1 and started the drive. The 1st 30 miles of this have proven to be some of the most challenging driving I have ever done. It was also as quiet as could be...a beautiful wooded road of the likes I have never seen.
We are on 1 here and finally nearing the coast....people live very rustically out here.

We have made it to the coast on 1. This road is amazing....the scenery, when you can see it....drop dead amazing.

wish you were here....



Wed

THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!! We watched the game in the Northern Coast Brewing Co. in Fort Bragg, Ca last nite....YES!!!!!!!!
This is Eel River and our road followed this road for dozens of miles. This short walk was taken off the Avenue of the Giants- R E D W O O D S . When you are driving down the road the trees engulf you in darkness. It is an amazing place. I cannot put into words the site of these trees. So we stopped and hiked out to this dry river bed where off in the distance was a tent with four fellow Jeresyians camping along what was left of the river. The river bed was massive as are the trees.
....and lo' and behold! I caught this little guy in the river. He was no bigger then a pencil eraser.

The obligatory drive-thru tree. 4 bucks gets you through. It was a tight fit for the car....very, very tight!

In the 50's Fort Bragg, Ca a working mans town was dumping all of their trash at the end of Elm St. into the ocean. All of the glass trash has now been turned into sea glass and there were dozens of people out collecting.


Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Gd'-bye Oregon, HELLO California!

Shannon works @ the Sea Basket, bayside in Charleston, OR. She is a serious; pro-union Democrat and she is a major, major awesome person. We talked for quite a bit. No, I did not order the oyster omelet, but I am wishing I had.
This is Ron the Mormon from Erie PA who has long ago transplanted to Brandon OR area. Ron has a lifelong contract with the Muir Woods to carve Myrtlewood hummingbirds for them. As fast as he carves them they will buy them. Ron is also seen here with his creation the SLOBSTER, a jackalope if you will, of the Southern Coast of Oregon. Ron is a man who knows his scripture and is inspiring to those he meets.

Self-taken in the Redwood Forest. It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to build my own tripod!

Mar on the unknown, unnamed beach in Cali. We wet our toes and it was sooooo cold!

crashing wave @ said beach
this is what we came for