d i m e n s i o n s

God is everything we need...

...right when we need it.

God is not everything we want

...right when we want it.


How often do you get your "wants" confusuzzled with your needs?

Well, since I've been sick for almost 2 weeks now and have been physically unable to snowboard, I have decided to give you all a trip through the alphabet... IN SNOWBOARD TERMS! That's right, I have a snowboard trick and or term from A-Z (except U and X... there weren't anything for those. Poor U and X.)

Anyway, you may know some of these, but i tried to pick the most interesting ones. There's about a hundred of them right... here.

Alley-oop: A term used to describe any maneuver in the halfpipe where one rotates 180 or more degrees in the uphill direction; that is, rotating backside on the frontside wall or rotating frontside on the backside wall.

Blindside: A term given to any rotation where the rider has oriented him/herself "blind" to his/her takeoff or landing and must stretch to look over their shoulder. Such a technique usually increases the difficulty.

Corkscrew 540: Sideways backside 540, also called a barrel roll.

Double grab: Basically, doing two separate tricks while in the air. One goes off of a jump, grabs the board one way, then grabs it in another way, then lands.

Eggplant: A one-handed 180 degree invert in which the front hand is planted on the lip of the wall and the rotation is backside.

Fakie: Riding backwards.

Gay twist: Halfpipe fakie to regular 360 spin with a grab.

Half cab: It is the freeriding version of the Caballerial in which one rotates 180 degrees from fakie to forward off of a straight jump.

Indy air: A true "Indy Air" is performed backside with the rear hand grabbing between the bindings on the toe edge while the rear leg is boned. The term "Indy" may also be used to simple describe the location of the grab.

Japan: The front hand grabs the toe edge, the front knee is tucked and the board is pulled up and the back is arched.

Kicker: A name for a jump ramp. Kickers usually have the property of throwing you up into the air rather than giving you distance.

Lien air: The front hand grabs the heel edge and the body leans out over the nose. Essentially a method on the frontside wall. Named after Neil Blender.

Mashed potato: An Alley-oop air on the backside wall of the halfpipe where the front hand grabs the toe edge in the front of the front foot and the back hand grabs the heel edge in front of the front foot behind the back.

Nollie frontflip: Springing off of the nose while going off a jump and leaning forward, allows you to do a frontflip.

Ollie: A method to obtain air by first lifting the front foot then lifting the rear foot as you spring off of the tail.

Phillips 66: An invert where the rider approaches the halfpipe wall riding fakie, plants the rear hand on the lip of the wall while doing a "front flip " and lands on the transition riding forward.

Quarterpipe: A halfpipe with one wall; a banked hit.

Rippey flip: Straight back flipping frontside 360 , with a method grab (Jim Rippey).

Sato flip: Halfpipe trick done by Rob Kingwill (Sato - Japanese for "sugar" ). Kind of like a frontside McTwist. Rider drops in fast, riders up the transition as if doing frontside 540, pops in the air and grabs frontside, then throws head, shoulders, and hips downs

Tail wheelie: To ride solely on the tail of the snowboard with the nose in the air.

Vertical: The vertical top portion of a wall in a halfpipe which allows the snowboarder to fly straight up into the air and not' out of the pipe or into the pipe.

Wetcat: Todd Richard's signature pipe move. An inverted aerial where the rider performs a 540 degree rotational flip. Then, an added flat spinning 360 degree rotation is thrown making the completed rotation of 900 degrees.

YETI: (noun) - Large hairy humanoid creature said to live in the snowy mountains, such as the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada's.

Zonk: Hit the wall...

Aren't you just totally pumped to go snowboarding!?!

When I was much younger, I “ran away” from home several times. I remember one instance quite vividly; I was about 5 or 6 years old and I was angry! For some reason I wanted to show my mother I didn’t have to stick around the place. I could just leave at any moment… and so I did. It was a beautiful, warm day—probably about 70 degrees or so; perfect for such escapades.

This time in particular, I made it a block and a half away (almost to my best friend’s house). It was at this great milestone that I realized I was not receiving the gratification I thought I would. No one was screaming, or crying, or groveling at my feet, begging for my return. After standing in one spot for several minutes, hoping that time would build the tension I desired, I returned home. Wow, that was the most boring trip across the street I can remember!

Anyway, think about what God sees when we run away. I mean, picture billions of your own children running back and forth from party to party.

Well, okay… let me rephrase. Think about two armies; one good, and one bad. You’re supposed to be on the good side, but every day after battle; every Sunday after communion; every morning after a sacred quiet time, you run over to the “bad guys” and you play games with them. You start drinking with them and eating with them. You share battle strategies. You may even gamble your own armor away. After a night of fun, you return to your own camp.

The early dawn is just beginning to rise. On your way to your tent, you see your leader across the encampment, between the rows of mostly empty tents. Only a few loyal soldiers were still around. You catch eyes with your King and all He does is look at you. You begin to feel the guilt and filthiness of what you’ve just done. The food and wine from the night before suddenly turn to ash in your mouth. Everything you once thought satisfying has lost its flavor.

It’s times like this that rouse a fear of what might be done with us. We know Christ died for us and took the wrath that was ours, but what if God did what we deserve. It is these repeated times of betrayal that pose us timid and self-conscious before God. It’s amazing how our attitudes toward Him and affect His reception of us—the prodigal son! The hypocritical and proud will find Him cold and distant, while the penitent and contrite will find Him as He truly is—merciful, generous, and kind.

It’s such a mystery! A.W. Tozer puts it all in perspective…

“The greatness of God rouses fear within us,

but His goodness encourages us not to be afraid of Him.

To fear and not be afraid—that is the paradox of faith.”

I just came across something I wrote in Russia (7/29/06). And so begins my next attempt at blogging...

blood and water flowed down

for sins our shame, the double cure

like an autumn rain upon the ground

your love and mercy made us pure

what response have I to this?

that grace abounds in such a place?

forgive me Lord, for it’s heaven I miss

by taking for granted such immeasurable grace