rainbow

today i put in for the reservations for my big trip. i had to get kathleen to email me her middle name, but once that was done i turned it all in. september...it'll be here so soon! i can't wait. i'm so glad she's doing this trip with me.

today was beautiful. it was sunny and stormy and it amazed me. driving home from work i could see the sky was just ripe for a rainbow. when it did appear it was right over me.

there was a period of four or five months that every time i saw a rainbow i happened to be praying, right then, for my friend pete. it started to get weird. now whenever i see one it makes me think i should pray for him and some of the other grunts-for-Jesus with whom he works in the beautiful world of 24-7. it got me thinking of him and my friend shawn while i was on my walk tonight. there were some awesome views of the hills and woods just beyond happy valley, where i live. they both would've had their cameras out. i don't have a camera...unless you count my phone.

pete and shawn are some of my favorite humans. kathleen is another. i love the way each of them sees the world. kathleen has this crazy sense of humor that gets the joke in every part of life...even the stuff that isn't funny. but somehow she also sees the deepest and grittiest of life and isn't afraid of it. she's one of the most courageous and tender-hearted people i've ever met. we've been through alot together, including five years at the dhop, a road trip from here to northern mexico and two road trips in the uk. she challenges me, inspires me and makes me laugh. she's one of the greatest examples of a Godly servant i've ever known, and i'm honored and humbled to be her friend. she's a true friend and i see Jesus in her every time i'm with her.

shawn has always impressed me. he's really smart and a great musician, and has no idea how cool he is. it always makes me happy to see him, and i love it when he's thought about something and is ready to talk about it. i have great admiration for the way he sifts through all the parts of something. i don't generally see the big picture. i get tunnel vision about the stupidest detail. he seems to be able to logic through the whole thing while i'm back there saying, "why is this thread purple? would it look better if it were yellow?" i'd like to be more like him sometimes, because with all that brilliance there's a deeply compassionate heart...one of the most compassionate i know.

peter i don't see so much, as he lives about 5,000 miles away. there are two things that stand out most to me about him. one is the way he sees the world. if you spend any time with him you realize that he sees the art in everything. i love that whenever i get a chance to hang out with him i end up being effected by that. how many people do you know that can accidentally get you to see the beauty they see in life and nature by just being themselves. it's pretty cool. the other thing that i greatly admire is his see-it-do-it way of life. it comes back to me being lost in one detail and he's one that could organize an army, and sometimes does. he sees what matters and he does what must be done to bring it about, even at great personal sacrifice. what a world it would be if we could all do that.

i'm blessed to have such friends, and love the beautiful way God reminds me to pray for them.