12/24/10

been a long time since i've blogged on here. lots of things on my mind. christmas is a very impactful time of year.  this year i spend it alone, lots of people (family & friends) seem real concerned that i'm not with them but i'm ok with it. i don't enjoy all of the buying, the celebrating of things other than jesus' birth, the commercialization. all that aside, that's not the point here. as i have emphasized this before, this blog isn't for others, it is a place for me to document my thoughts and feelings and i allow others to read it if they so choose.

the verse in Romans 7 has been very applicable lately: "i do the things i don't want to do, but the things i want to do those i don't do." more practice, more patience, more mercy, please.

also there is an upside down american flag with these words printed: "my kingdom is not of this world. no one can serve two masters. blessed are the meek. woe to you who are rich. blessed are the poor. love your enemies." these are things i have been trying to engrain and dwell on daily but have been failing. more practice, more patience, more mercy, please.

i was reading through multiple bible stories, analyzing them, trying to understand them better and writing songs from the things i learned or the feelings i gathered from them. one that has really stuck out to me is the story of Elijah on the mount battling against the prophets of baal (doesn't deserve to be capitalized). this piggybacks off of the previous paragraph. basically what is so amazing is how much faith Elijah had to call out to God and how God provided. Elijah was calling out to God to turn their hearts around and to renew with and through fire. nothing has changed from Elijah's time to now, we meaning me, am calling out to God now to turn my heart around and renew me with his fire. baal can be anything: it can be you, the world, money, loved one or a friend, your house, car, a job, or even pride. it is a false god. this is where the piggyback action comes into play. we cannot serve two masters because we will either hate the one and love the other or we will be devoted to one and despise the other. i know i have strayed towards baal frequently. more practice, more patience, more mercy, please.

i love relient k, they have a soft spot in my heart even after i met them and got a sour taste from them personally. all that behind, they know how to write some good things. the songs "silent night" and "i celebrate the day" are played together and really move me. its just amazing how jesus came in baby form, so innocent but with so much purpose and power. i am thankful that he came as a baby so he knows what it is like growing up. it's a tough thing. plus it reminds of how intricate the bible is with the foretelling of jesus' life and how i lack in my daily readings. more practice, more patience, more mercy, please.



i am so thankful to serve a God that cares so much to send himself to save us. i am thankful for a God who is merciful. i am thankful for a God who has given me a wonderful and supportive family. and i am thankful for a God to place encouraging, fun, and loving friends in my path. it's a daily walk for a reason because it's so easy to lose sight of the path. i ask for more practice, more patience, more mercy, oh lord.

attempting the next endeavor

"it is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the worst; if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory or defeat."
- Teddy Roosevelt

3 month hiatus

today is my last day in idaho. sad, i know. after nearly 6 years going to school, starting up wonderful friendships, creating tons of memories, and working at my first real job, i am bidding farewell. i am not sure when i will return but this is a part of growing up. the world is too big to be stuck in one place and there are too many amazing people to meet.

starting may 14th evan and i are heading out on our cross-country bike trip. we are super excited and anxious to see what and who we encounter. we all have hopes and dreams so we can't just stay stagnant and settle down, go out and live your dreams! i cannot stress this enough. don't settle for a career or buying a house or something else if its not what you want to do. its your life, so live it. yeah we may make mistakes or bad choices, but everyone does and we have to learn from them and keep going. it doesn't mean that eventually you don't get a house or start a career, everything comes in time.

i am thankful to have such a great support from friends and family for this bike trip; it means a lot to me to be able to go on this adventure. i will not be the same person after this trip so i am not making anything final for what i do after. i have some ideas of what i would like to do: possibly join the peace corps, work on a documentary film, try and find a job dealing with video. it is up in the air but that is exciting to me.

when i left for college my parents gave me a plaque with Jeremiah 29:11 on it: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" i don't know what my future holds but i am trusting in God to show me His way; He knows my heart and my desires and i am trusting in Him to honor them. 


i cannot thank God enough for the time i have spent here in idaho. i have grown up a ton, figured out who i am, made life long friends, and grown in my relationship with Him. it's been amazing and hard to leave but this isn't goodbye, it's just see ya later.


if you are wondering where i am this summer or why i haven't updated this blog, it's probably because i'm living off of my bike. follow me on our bike journey at Will We Make It Across?

happy easter yall

everywhere we look, it's all crazy, it's all false, it's all a dream, it's alright

spring is among us and it's a great thing. i am super excited for the warmer weather and the beauty that comes with it. sadly this easter doesn't seem any different than other easters but i know one thing is constant and that is that God is love and love is real; He showed His love by sending His son, Jesus, to die for each one of us. i am thankful for this love that i am receiving on a daily basis, even though i do not deserve it. there are many things i do not understand or fathom and one is why God loves us even though we repeatedly sin; i am thankful for this unconditional love and only through His grace will i even come close to overcoming it. "in everywhere we look, in everywhere we look, Allah, Allah, Allah"

i pray that everyday i show God's love to others and i hope to be continually used as a vessel. in the darkness a light shines and that light is God. i hope to shine that light in the dark. enjoy this song by mewithoutYou. it is something that we need to be daily reminded of.




*last note: one of my only real memories that stands out during easter is when my mom would go around the house saying: "He is risen. He is risen indeed." etc. i know she'll be doing the same tomorrow just somewhere else, somewhere a lot cooler than here.

peace & patience please.

kameras

this is an experimental video that my friend, Rob, and I made for an art show that my friend, Chris, put on in his apartment a couple weeks ago. it was a lot of fun to make and this isn't even what we started out to shoot, very awesome to see how the idea transformed into this one organic video. then tonight, started an art show at the brandt center at nnu and the guest artist asked me to show it so it is on show.

the easiest way for me to tell people what the video is about is saying that it is a continuation of the lens. basically we used 2 video cameras to tell one free flowing spontaneous video to give the viewer different perspectives.

a lot of people have enjoyed it and have said some very kind things. i honestly didn't think it would have such a positive impact on people but i am glad that something i have made has inspired and in some cases blew people's minds. here is a link of it down below so check it out.

 

kameras from Alex Hackett on Vimeo.

Hongcouver Olympics 2010

so i decided last monday on my way home from work that i was going to take friday off and go to Vancouver for the Olympics. i have been wanting to do this but it just slipped through the cracks and thought that i wasn't gonna get to go this time BUT luckily evan and andrew came with me too! so we left thursday at 8pm and got into Vancouver around 5 or 6am where we slept in the car in a Costco before we started our day. we strolled around beautiful downtown Vancouver or Hongcouver as Allen our friend through couchsurfing once described his hometown. it was in the 50's, sunny, and seeing the mountains made me miss alaska lots.

so we tried to get tickets to the sweden game but didn't have the money for it so we saw the olympic torch, the olympic rings on the water, graffiti exhibit, other art pieces they have around, listened to some singing groups on the street of some people from various countries, watched many events in pubs/restaurants, and luckily got into a hockey game.

we went with the intent to get $100 tickets and we talked to scalpers and they were selling tickets for $140 a piece, then the ticket booth was selling tickets for $135. so right when we were going to walk away the lady helping us said that a booth opened up and tickets were $50!!!!!!!! amazing! so we got them and sat in great middle seats a little bit up but no one was in front of us. we saw finland vs germany. it was a blowout by finland but still fun to watch a game filled with lots of hockey stars.

we stayed with some people we met through couchsurfing. 2 brothers and a girl from germany, i sadly cannot remember their names but they were super nice. we watched bad canadian movies and just talked till the wee hours for both nights.

then on saturday we strolled through town eating at tim hortons, donars, dennys, just all the classy places you can think of. we watched hockey games, curling, and anything else that was on in various places throughout town with people from all over the world. made some canadian friends and started various USA chants to rile up the canadians.

we had a ton of fun. and am glad we did it. we drove home on sunday. here are some more pics of what we saw. enjoy.

 

reminder

"...I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
- said by Chris McCandless

vlogs from Iceland

Bus Stop - Nate and I waiting for our bus to Selfoss, this is right before we met our good friend Magnus. This was the day after Iceland's national holiday where everyone goes down to the Vestmannaeyjabaer Island and celebrates. Magnus was a great guy and he talked with us for hours and answered all of our questions then showed us around his home town of Hveragerði. This town is also where we met our other great friend, Vilhajalmur Roe, who's parents own the gas station where we ate many pilsurs and he also gave us his bands CD, which i really enjoy so check out his band: Hitakutur

Eyrarbakki - Nate and I eating dinner on the coast. We threw up our tent on the beach reeds. A wonderful old town.



Gysir - Nate and I at Gysir, part of the Golden Circle.



Bus to Akureyri - Nate and I on the bus from Reykjavik to Aukureyri.



Sea Scout - On our bus from Reykjavik to Akureyri this Icelandic hero sat behind me and just cracked us up so this is him at a bus stop.



Bus to Akureyri - Me and flat Stanley vlogging a ways past Akureyri. Nate is in the tent.



Lake Myvatn - Nate and I at Myvatn which is in northern Iceland. We're just chilling. A wonderful lake surrounded by volcanic craters, big and little ones.



Joksularon - Joksularon, Iceland basically ice chunks that fell off the glacier. This glacier takes up a third of the country! It reminds me of what Portage Glacier was like back in the day.



Eating Ice - Nate and I at Joksularon, we wanted to taste the ice so we did!



Skaftafell National Park - Nate and I at the base of the glacier at Skaftafell. We got a ride from Joksularon right off the bat then got dropped off 2 km from the park and it started raining super hard so we took refuge here.



Skaftafell National Park Waterfall - Nate and I hiked up a waterfall at Skaftafell National Park. Looking out from the top.



Hiking a Glacier - Nate and I on top of a glacier at Skaftafell National Park. This is the same glacier as the previous video and the one at Joksularon! It was our first time ever hiking on a glacier, it was amazing!



Waiting on Crater - Nate and I waiting for a cloud to pass over us so we could hike to the top of the crater on Vestmannaeyjabaer Island. Yeah we look very haggard and tired but it was so worth the effort to make it to this island and to the top of the crater. We were close to the top but a large cloud was just hanging around for about an hour so we decided to wait it out.



Top of the Crater - Nate and I on top of the crater on the Vestmannaeyjabaer Island. After an hour waiting, it finally cleared up and we could see the whole island. Truly one of my favorite views of the whole trip.