Favorite Paintings

Just looking around the internet and got reintroduced to some of my favorite paintings. Let me share them with you..in order of preference. Yeah, they're all from the same guy. He's awesome.

The Cross ("Kneeling at the Cross of Jesus Christ") by Ron DiCianni
This one is amazing.....it hurts to look at. I know the question that pops in your mind is why look at something that hurts. And that's entirely a rational question since we as humans naturally shy away from pain on any level, which is maybe why I like this so much. This is the pain I need to remember--the fact that not only did Jesus die for sin, he died for me and my crap. I essentially had a part in nailing him to the cross. He's there on that cross in this picture b/c of me. I need to remember that b/c sometimes it's so easy to do one of two things: 1) tumble into a slight depression every time I think of the times I've strayed away from the God who loves me b/c I want to do that which pleases me and I don't want to hear anything about why I shouldn't. 2) Do those things I want to no matter the consequence. I need to remember how big the consequence is and was.

The Sinner ("Jesus Christ forgives woman caught in adultery") by Ron DiCianni
The struggle between who I am and who I want to be. That's what this painting is to me.

Never Alone ("Child protected by God") by Ron DiCianni
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

In the Beginning ("God creating man Genesis 1:1") by Ron DiCianni
Such a beautiful vision on the beginning, an event no one witnessed yet everyone ponders at one time or another.

In the Wilderness ("Jesus Christ tempted in wilderness") by Ron DiCianni
What did Jesus do when he struggled, when everything around him seemed dark? He sat in the presence of his Father. Alone with God.

Daughter of the King ("Painting showing Husband and Wife as God intended marriage") by Ron DiCianni
I just like this one.

Safely Home ("Jesus Christ Heaven embracing missionary martyr in Heaven") by Ron DiCianni | Tapestry Productions | Christian Framed Art & Christian Art Prints
At one point, all pain inflicted by humans for belief will be over and we will rest in the arms of our Savior and friend.....without pain. Someday....

Volleyball

Woo Hoo! Three Rivers Christian Volleyball is FANTASTIC!! And yes, I am that excited. Currently, I have a 2-sih foot tall trophy sitting on my desk. Just hanging out. That trophy would be the District IV Championship Trophy! That's right. We beat King's Way Christian in the title game for the #1 seed into state. Before that we had a 1st round district home game versus Wishkah Valley. The girls just came out and flat dominated that game. It was loud. It was fun. Saturday, we had #1 seed Lake Quinault...the #1 from the North. We came out and played well....right up until we dropped the 3rd game. I have no idea what happened other than we just didn't play. I have no idea why the girls do this. It drives me absolutely crazy. Wish I could figure out how to fix it. haha.

We've had a great year. And we're not done yet. On to State! On to State!!! First round v. Klickitat. Bonus points for whomever can find me some stats on them....hometown newspaper?


Best moments of the district tournament (non-athletic moments):
1. Catherine showing the touchdown symbol in between points. Why? B/c a girl on the other side of the net started crying. Yeah, I know. Still...very funny. The way she did it was classic. Wish I had it on video.
2. I've coached Lane for 3 years now. She realized this the other day along with the fact that she doesn't know all that much about me. So, she googled me. Came across a blog I did in college. She was soooo embarrassed that she admitted to googling me it was hilarious.
3. OH I know there was more....too tired. Dang. More coming...

The Applebees Saga Continues

So here we are my friends. Another night at Applebees with the girls. First off, let me say how thankful I am for my group of friends and our regular Applebee meetings. Sidenote: maybe Applebees should pay for all this advertising they are getting on this blog. Huh...

Anyway, the night began with me walking in late and on the phone. I had a player in complete breakdown mode--the night before the district championships. Fantastic. I was on the phone with her, trying in some way to calm her down. I walk into Applebees saying that she should talk to my best friend b/c their personalities are a lot alike - meaning more the emotional type than I am. Kim ends up calling her and 10 minutes later, the world is right again. I was on the phone for no less than 20 minutes. I called one other player and that phone call took less than 10 minutes and all things were worked out so I don't feel like a complete failure. haha. Just kidding. It continually cracks me up how unique we all are yet how similar some of our personalities are. Furthermore, the way some personalities just work well together and how some just don't, well that is amusing, my friends.

Once we got past that drama, our conversations were not really that exciting at all. Seriously, nothing to write about for about an hour of the whole night. We are just that boring. Wooooo!!!

However, before you are all completely disappointed, Kim managed to salvage my blogging night by mentioning in passing that she doesn't like chocolate. Erin just about lost it! "I'm sorry. This is unacceptable. I don't know how to process this." Verbatim. The rest of the night basically consisted of this conversation, something about Kim's look and practice for basketball and ended with Kim just about being responsible for putting Erin completely over the edge by saying she doesn't like watermelon either. Erin is "deeply disturbed" and probably will need some sort of counseling. Maybe a night with nothing but chocolate. I'm sure the friendship will survive, though deep down who knows if Kim can ever really be trusted, due to the fact that they are in on some tag-team conspiracy for my upcoming birthday. I keep getting small updates on how it's coming along. Which brings me to my final point: It is illegal to give status updates on how a surprise is coming along. It kinda ruins the whole thing...instead of anticipating the surprise, you start to just want to get it over. Well, the gloating doesn't help either.

Amazingly Sad

It's not often that I get my feelings hurt. I mean really, it takes a lot and you'll have to be going for that goal. I'm not saying this to brag or anything. However, I was in a meeting last night that got me to that point. A bunch of coaches sitting around and instead of being able to fully celebrate accomplishment and the pleasure of competing against each other, it turned into just short of a ugly brawl. Accusations flew, people got mad and even worse, most just stayed quiet while all this happened because they were too chicken to step in. Phone calls and e-mails after the fact help a bit but step into the moment and say something instead of letting false accusations fly around the table. Instead, you let someone's integrity be questioned in the center of colleagues. But don't worry, you didn't stick your neck out so you didn't get burned or anything.

Sorry for the cynicism and biting sarcasm. I know my character is clean and you can question my integrity all you want b/c nothing you say will stick (statement directed towards a certain group of people only...not to probably anyone reading this). I have confidence in that. I guess it's nice to know the reverse isn't true. That's good knowledge to have.