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Made It.

In case you haven’t heard…I made it back to Michigan. Was much easier flying for 6 hrs or so back across the country instead of driving for 5 days. Still waiting for all my stuff to make it here though…odd being here without everything I own. My cubes should arrive tomorrow and my car on Friday…definitely will feel more permanent once they arrive.

Been great getting caught up with family…though a tough road lies ahead of us as my grandfather is beginning to walk down what looks to be a long road of Alzheimers/dementia. It’s a cruel disease and is much harder when the person is in absolute denial about having it. I appreciate your prayers and any insight you might have with the disease.

Plan on visiting NorthRidge this weekend. Definitely excited to jump back into community there.

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Posted by godsidekurt on August 30, 2011 in Uncategorized

Tags: memories, michigan

Big Move – Details Getting Nailed Down

20 Jul

Well if you have been following my blog or twitter than you know that coming up the end of next month I am moving back across the country to Michigan. With Austin’s wedding behind me now the focus has been to get the details ironed out on when and how I’m moving. Originally I had been thinking driving a truck myself and towing my car would be the cheapest way…but with some negotiating I’m going with Upack which is the company that moved me out here back in 04.’ The difference this time is that instead of renting part of a trailer, I am using one of their cubes which is similar to a POD you have likely seen before. The plan now is to load it up and ship my stuff across the country, ship or sell my car and fly back to Michigan. I definitely like the idea of sitting on an airplane for 5hrs vs. driving alone for 4 days. Should I sell my car? That’s a tough choice as its in great shape and I will need a similar car on the other end…but it costs $ to ship it and Im not sure its worth it.

I will be starting a blog and twitter series soon on the stuff I’m going to miss in Portland…and also be keeping you informed of stuff to pray on or possibly help with. (i.e. finding a job in Michigan!) I would love to connect with as many people as possible before the move, let me know if you would like to do something.

I will need some help on both ends of this move…loading up the cube here in Portland and unloading in Michigan. I am still working on the details, but it looks like it will be loading here on Wednesday August 24th and somewhere around the 31st or Sept 1st will need help unloading…depending on their transit time. So stay tuned for more info if you are up for helping, I will probably make a Facebook event for both ends.

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Posted by godsidekurt on July 20, 2011 in Uncategorized

Tags: bigmove, michigan, moving, oregon

Weekend in Michigan

29 Apr

Now just hours away, this weekend will feel like an appetizer to my eventual move home later this year. I’m flying out tonight on a REDEYE flight to Detroit, I get in at 6am EST. Can’t remember the last time I flew over night somewhere, hoping to sleep the whole trip. I will spend all of the day on Saturday with my family…seeing how much my nieces have grown since Christmas and checking in on gramps. Then Sunday I will drive up early to Lansing for a day full of interviews and experiencing services at a church I’ve applied for their Student Ministry Director position. I appreciate your prayers for God’s guidance and favor.

I will be tweeting throughout the weekend so if you are interested you can follow along on the left or via your own twitter account. (great time to sign-up if you haven’t already)

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Posted by godsidekurt on April 29, 2011 in Uncategorized

Tags: michigan, weekend

Back to Michigan

25 Apr

After several months of prayer and seeking wisdom from trusted friends & mentors I’ve decided to move back to Michigan.

I share this news with an even mix of sadness and excitement. I bet for some of you this news comes as no surprise since people have been asking if I have been considering the move since I left my job at Sunset Pres. nearly a year ago. Honestly I hadn’t until about 5 months ago.

So why would I move back to Michigan? There are two main reasons that rise to the top. First I increasingly had the feeling that my time in Oregon is done. It’s kind of like near the end of a movie you haven’t seen before, you begin to sense it’s coming to an end. It hasn’t been one thing that brought this feeling about but rather a number of them. Many significant relationships have either come to an end or have changed considerably. Things that were once easy have now seem like a struggle. When I moved out here 7 years ago I sensed it would be for a season and probably not forever.

Secondly my family in Michigan needs me. My grandfather went into assisted living this past November and the smallness of my family has made it pretty hard on my mom, sister & grandmother. I look forward to being able to offer more than just my words to help ease the pressure on the fam.

When will I be moving? That is still to be determined…could be as soon as next month or as late as Sept/Oct. Obviously a move cross country is not something you want to rush. Before I move I hope to find money to move with, a place to live and a job. My apartment lease runs till November…so that would be the latest I would likely stay. I have been talking with churches back in Michigan since Christmas break and am actually heading to Lansingthis weekend for an interview for a Student Ministry position.

So there it is. Feels good to “go public” with it as I don’t like holding stuff like this back.

To my Michigan friends & family…looking forward to reconnecting with you and starting my next chapter with you. That being said, 7 years is a long time and I don’t have any unrealistic expectations of sliding right back in where we left off. Though Oregon has been where I lived most recently Michigan has always been “home.”

To my Oregon friends…it pains me to share this news with you and I hope that I stay connected with many of you once I move. There will no doubt be yearly visits back to Oregon and I would love to have you visit me if time & money allow. I haven’t left yet so let’s make the most of our time! There’s alot I would like to do before I head back east.

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Posted by godsidekurt on April 25, 2011 in Uncategorized

Tags: family, memories, michigan, moving

Imported From Detroit

07 Feb

It was awesome to see this during the Superbowl…restored some hope that Detroit really is going to comeback thanks to so many of it’s people standing up for her these days.

Loved these lines the most:

…its the hottest fires that make the hardest steel.

When it comes to luxury it’s as much about where it’s from as who it’s for.

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Posted by godsidekurt on February 7, 2011 in Uncategorized

Tags: comeback, detroit, michigan, pride

Home for the Holidays

20 Dec

This is a first…I’m writing this blog from 30K ft above Oregon/Idaho on board the first of my two leg journey back to Michigan. Who would’ve dreamed WiFi on airplanes when it came out?

This is my 7th year heading back east for Christmas since moving to Portland in 2004. As I was sharing with a friend who drove me to the airport this morning, traveling back and forth between Michigan & Oregon is like traveling through a tunnel. On one side is a life I lived for 24yrs; where I was born, grew-up and have the most memories. On the other are my most recent memories, relationships and career path…the past 7 years of my life. In a very real way my heart exists in two physical places. I look forward to these trips home for sure but it doesn’t come with a little heartache as I re-enter the side of the tunnel which I havent visited in over a year or stayed for more than a week in 7. I’m probably getting a little deep here, but as usual I share my thoughts here with little edit and a desire to share with you authentically.

It’s going to be a unique Christmas this year as our little family has been under a good deal of pressure and is in need of hope springing up in the midst of it. I’m excited to see everyone and am going to do my very best to love and serve my family for the next 10 days. Given that as my focus, I doubt I will be blogging much but definitely will be sharing via Twitter and uploading pics to Facebook.

Though it’s been said many times, many ways…Merry Christmas.

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Posted by godsidekurt on December 20, 2010 in Uncategorized

Tags: christmas, family, holidays, michigan

Michigan 3 / Goodbye

09 Aug

Sitting in my grandpas living room on the eve of our last day in Michigan. It’s really been a great week…got to do everything we planned and it all went well. My only regret is not seeing a number of friends and family that I would have if I had more time. (I hate feeling Ive let people down by not connecting with them while home)

Yesterday we spent downtown Detroit…Kristi, Jordan and myself took Austin on the grand tour of The Motor City. Starting with a lunch at Hard Rock & tour of the hood, we did the loop on the infamous People Mover mass transit system. While on the mover we got off at the RenCen (AKA GM Headquarters) and checked stuff out inside. After that we finished the loop and headed to the Heidelberg Project. We then went to the 5:15p service at NorthRidge (my home church). It was fun to be back and show Austin around. Later we had dinner at Chilis since we have been in withdrawals not having one close to us in Portland. We ended the night crossing the border into Canada for some fun at Caesars Windsor Casino. As usual I lost all my money and was reminded why I dont usually go to casinos. The ride home across the border was pretty eventful as we found out that our birth certificates were no longer acceptable forms of identification to enter the US. After getting a good 25 minute lecture from a border patrol agent and scaring us with a $540 fine…he let us in.

This morning we visited the student ministry where I got my start in ministry over 10 years ago…RustProof of the middle school ministry at NRC. It was awesome reconnecting with a number of leaders and students that are still around after I left in 2004. For lunch I took Austin to an Asian Buffet that I thought was pretty good, he wasnt as impressed as I had hoped. We then met with Josh the middle school at NRC to catch up and talk ministry. It was encouraging to hear about some of the stuff he’s facing and changes he recently made. We had dinner at Outback with mom & my dear friend Catherine. Austin and I then headed to downtown Plymouth to enjoy some Dairy King ice cream as we strolled around the streets on a a humid summer night. We were happy to experience a pretty good storm move in while we were there…something I had hoped he would get to experience while in town. Before heading home I stopped by my grandmas to help her setup her new digital TV tuner box. Always good to be around grandma, shes the type of person that just being around lowers my blood pressure and betters your mood.

Tomorrow we will spend most of the day with family …saying goodbye once again to my beloved family. As usual my heart is in two places…I hate leaving the relationships I have here and yet am excited to get back to Portland to see the people I miss there. So all for now from Michigan…heading to bed one last time at my grandpas place. Goodbye & Goodnight.

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Posted by godsidekurt on August 9, 2009 in Uncategorized

Tags: michigan, vacation

Michigan 2

07 Aug

Cedar Point was soooo awesome! Seriously had such a perfect day. Here’s what made it such a great day;

The weather…80 and sunny the whole day.
Riding 15 amazing thrill rides…
Not very long lines for peak season…I was surprised at how many rides we got in (an hour was the longest when you didn’t include the extra time we waited for the front seat)
Sitting front seat on the Maverick, Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster.
Taking someone who had NEVER been there
Going with someone who was level with me when it came to no fear and lots of energy (we were at the park for 12 1/2 hours…mostly on our feet)
Riding MaxAir (pictured below)…such a sick feeling on this one

Leaving my Pre in the car, putting my keys in a locker…this freed me up to roam the park without worry of loosing something valuable or breaking my phone…not to mention kept me fully present, not texting the whole day.
Paying $30 for food…yeah right this was the worst part of the day.
Riding the Top Thrill Dragster for the first time…oh my Lord! That was freaking awesome…120miles per hour? Straight up and straight down 420ft? Below is a video some guy took from the front seat (fast forward about till 1:20 ) …doesn’t come close to what it felt like.

Today we slept in, had lunch at White Castle, visited my moms (the house I lived in for 24yrs), stopped by my middle & high school, played discgolf with an old friend Brian and had dinner at my favorite mexican joint El Nibble Nook. Now were chilling at Starbucks…tomorrow we’re heading for a day downtown Detroit & church!

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Posted by godsidekurt on August 7, 2009 in Uncategorized

Tags: michigan, vacation

Michigan

05 Aug

Had a great first day in Michigan. We got up around 11am (remember Detroit is 3 hours later than Portland) and ventured out to grab lunch and run some errands. While out I showed Austin around Westland…my hometown. In the afternoon we met up with grandma, mom and grandpa to head over to downtown Plymouth to relax in the park by the fountain. Than we had a nice steak at Logans and headed to my sisters to spend time with her and my nieces. Since the weather was nice we hungout mostly in the backyard and walked to get an ice cream. We then came back and watched Wipeout on TV (I had never seen it) and talked.

Tomorrow were heading to the one and only Cedar Point! It’s exciting cause I haven’t been there in like 6 years and Austin has never been. Enjoy some pics below from today;

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I always liked these words on this headstone…pretty neat how I shot it with shadows on it?

CIMG0068

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Posted by godsidekurt on August 5, 2009 in Uncategorized

Tags: michigan, vacation

Christmas

25 Dec

As usual its been great to be home for Christmas. I wanted to give you a window to some of it…so here’s the first of hopeful a couple of posts with pictures.