Saturday June 2nd, 10 am, I pop out of my bed thinking ‘oh no, Cathy comes in today, at LAX, in one hour!’ so I scurried around and somehow made it there only 10 minutes late (usually about a 1.5 hour drive).  Then we booked it down to Carlsbad (about 1.5 – 2 hours) for Rachel’s surprise shower.  We ended up arriving at the same time as her.  We were exhausted afterwards and just rested that evening.  San Diego was the packed day with a trip to Balboa Park, surfing at San Onofre, driving through the gaslamp district, visiting the seals in La Jolla, snorkeling in La Jolla Cove, and having dinner in Old Town!  San Onofre was surprisingly rough that morning but Cathy was a real good sport and got up once!  That wasn’t the only time we were at the beach of course.  We went to Coronda Del Mar for a the Sr. Luau, and once just to lay out in the sun.  At the Luau we saw more seals and had our fill of campfire food. 

Curt and Joy were baptised in the ocean that evening as well.  

 Dave knows smores. 

Earlier that week we drove around Back Bay and saw…get this…A MOUNTAIN LION.  I’m not kidding, at first I thought it was a coyote but it was way way too fat for that, and when it saw our car it “cat jumped” into the bushes.  There are people using that trail all the time for biking, running, taking field trips, just hope no one gets mawled! 

Temp Work

Today I received my first job through the temp agency Office Team.  I’m working at Reza Investment Group and all I do is sit at this desk, pick up the phone, and transfer to voicemail.  It sounds simple, but apparently I am awful at answering phones because I keep tripping over my words trying to sound like I know what I’m talking about.  Ok only 7  more hours to go.  I am very grateful for the work though, things were getting pretty tight there for awhile. 

This week I am preparing to go to Summit, the first Edge Corps training in Colorado Springs.  I’m really looking forward to it but have had some very hard spiritual struggles the past two weeks.  One night, after a particularly distressing nightmare, I noticed Joni was still up so I went to her to calm down some.  As I was telling her all the things that have been going on, she helped me see the strong probability that I was being spiritually attacked – especially because its right before Summit.  Since then I’ve felt bombarded with doubts and discouraging thoughts.  I’ve been spending many hours just trying to liven my hope and win the battle for my mind against lies.  Fortunately God has provided abundant time for me to spend with Him.  Still, I am experiencing an opposition I never had before.  Cathy, a friend from Maryland, has been here visiting during this time.  Over coffee one day I told her what was going on and she assured me it is very real.  No more than 10 minutes later a man walked up to us and asked “What is the most read fiction book in the world?” then answered “The Bible”.  Cathy was quick to respond and the guy changed the topic, but the encounter was a first for me and made me realize I am not prepared for it.  I believe in the unseen evil of the world because I believe the Bible which speaks clearly of its existence.  But just like I also believe the Grand Canyon is huge, I won’t know that fully till I see it.  And its the same with the deceptive ways of Satan, I never really thought I would experience the things other people said were real.  But deceptive is truly the best description.  The most deceptive works I’ve felt I can see so far are the way my emotions and weaknesses are played with.  Last weekend I became absolutely livid over small small things.  My emotions have been completely disproportionate to situations – something we’re all guilty of sometimes, making it difficult to see the work of spiritual oppositions.  I have felts periods of release and are blessed with very supporting roommates and friends.  Even so, I know I need to keep ready, particularly at this time.  One of the key verses that has sustained me is Ephesians 6:11-18.  Thank-you for your prayers also.