WORLDS ARE FORMING

And to think I considered stopping!

        

Friends, worlds will continue to form.  (For at least another two months.)  Let's do this.

Friendship!

Apparently, summer in Jersey will force you to shake the face.  LOVE it.  Glad for the shout-out.  Its been on there for awhile, but I wanted its memory to be retained here.  Thanks for it, friends.  Excited to see you in just over a month.  (P.S. Hott.)

               Visco                                     Francey                                Sanders

Sermon #2.

Next Sunday, 07 August 2005. You know what that means...Josh wrapped up in the sermon.  Pray for me, please!

Lunching with R.E. Lauro.

Time with Reno. TWICE in one week.  I am a lucky man.  The guy and I are pretty dang different (in many ways) but we have some deep similarities (in at least a few ways).  We ate at Spiderhouse.  Texas decided to offer one of its infamous HUGE thunder and lightning storms as we sat outside.  We moved from under the tree, to under a covered deck outside as the storm blew through.  Beautiful.  I shuddered and shuttered, and Reno laughed at me.  (See more pictures in the July album.)  Good times.  He moves to Scotland in a month, I move back to Princeton in a month.  Wow.  Changes.  (Notice anything cool about this picture?)

The Greencards at Austin's Shady Grove. Free.

New favorite band.  The Greencards.  Ever heard of them?  I'd heard about them from friends before, and had heard them on the radio, but had never seen them live.  Earlier this week, while driving home late at night, their version of Patty Griffin's "What You Are" put me in a bit of a trance.  Truly beautiful.

          

Like Nickel Creek, but not.  Like eastmountainsouth, but not.  Like Alison Krauss, but not.  They are unique.  Band is from all over the place.  Very Austin, very passionate, put on a great show.  Check them out.  Thanks, Shady Grove, for another free concert.

Elisabeth.

My niece Elisabeth is FOUR years old today!  I can hardly believe it.  (She was born just four days before I moved to Austin in 2001.)

Things I love about Elisabeth...

:: She's a very good big sister to her brother, Chase.

:: She's a great storyteller, colorer, and singer!

:: She's very fun, and when she plays, she plays! 

:: She is great to be with and to talk with on the phone!

:: She's beautiful!

I know you are looking at this, Elisabeth!  I love you and am glad that God made you!

Love, Uncle Josh

Will he find faith?

I read Luke 18.1-8 this morning.  As I am in the midst of a hectic schedule and have varying concerns on my heart and mind, Jesus sometimes becomes the last one I go to.

This morning, as Luke was recounting a parable of Jesus', these words in 18.8 flew out at me:

"...when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

I don't just want faith to be found at "the end" when Jesus comes. I desire for faith to be alive in me each day while Jesus lives within me.  It is there, that pesky faith, for sure, I just need to remember it and live it sometimes.

Seriously. A great day. Thanks for it.

After a particularly LONG day, it was especially sweet to spend the evening with a fun group of friends.  Got to celebrate with Elizabeth, Reno, Tanya, Becca, Jon, Travis, Kara, Becky, Rosanne, Greg, and Carolyn.  A fun mix of friends, for sure.  Hadn't seen Reno in awhile, so it was a pleasure.  I love that guy.  He and Carolyn got into some good discussion about niceties and social norms.  I enjoy hearing that guy talk.  He has a great blog.  Check it.

We met at my house and made the trek out to The Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX, about a half hour outside of Austin.  We feasted on Family Style BBQ, where they just keep it coming.  Arguably the best BBQ in  the Austin area.  Seriously, so good.  Brisket, Sausage, Pork, Fresh Bread, Potatoes, Cole Slaw, great sauce, etc.  A bounteous feast!  It is a dry county, so we brought our own beverages: Greg brought some amazing home-brew (he's from Seattle, he's cool like that), Colorado Bulldogs, Shiner, and sweet tea were also had.

About the cake. Now, I am grateful for it, and it was delicious (chocolate/chocolate).  BUT.  It was a little warm...the many candles began to warm the frosting.  Look how it lights my face.  Flash?  Who needs it!  AND, just look at Reno! I think he was trying to blow my candles out before I got to.  (Maybe he was singing Happy Birthday...hmm, probably not, though.)  27 candles + 1 to grow on.  That makes for some serious heat!

It really was a great night! Thanks, friends!  Wish many of you all, from coast-to-coast, could have been here!  Also, to all of you who made phone calls and sent emails and said hi on here, thanks...you don't know how much it meant.  Had to recharge my phone midday because of all the calls I got.  (SO popular.)  Special props: Sanders called and sung me the short birthday song.  My parents called and serenaded me, as did my niece Elisabeth and nephew Chase.  So fun.  Bring it, 27.

North Shore.

This movie is one of my favorite 80's movies EVER. 

I was first introduced to it while at Whitworth, with my buddy Fish.  He was passionate about this movie...had sound-clips on his computer...would quote it frequently...loved it.  The other day a friend and I needed a completely cheesy movie break, and I knew EXACTLY what we needed to watch.  So quotable.  "I can tell you're lame by the way you wear your shorts!"  "You're so haole (white) you don't even know you're haole!"

So, what's your favorite 80's movie?

Different ways to say my age: Twenty-seven. 27. Seven and twenty. Old. (Maybe you don't think that's old, but you're just lying to yourself.)

So...today, I am officially in my late twenties.  July 26, 1978.  Dark and stormy night (really)...Ron and Jan Cleveland welcomed an utterly handsome chunk of a child into the world...Joshua Scott Cleveland.

Just a few favorite birthday memories:

1982: Bellevue, WA.  Got a whole bunch of baseball garb, cool hat, cool big fat plastic bat, and a great cake.  I have the picture of it still.  Nice bowl cut, longer light brown hair (like the guys from Eight is Enough).  Not sure why this one sticks out to me.

1989: Bellevue, WA.  I was enthralled with Batman...you know, the Michael Keaton era.  SO.  Momma Cleveland made me a Batman t-shirt, with splatter puffy paint, and my name in the center of the Batman Logo.  Also had a Batman birthday cake (black and yellow frosting...yikes).  I believe we went to the movie on my birthday and got some swimming in.  Growing up, I spent most of the summer in the water, so many birthdays were spent in the pool.  Batman.  Still love him.

1996: Malibu, Canada.  Spent my 18th birthday at Malibu, a Young Life camp in Canada.  Couldn't have asked for a better trip, learning about Jesus and hanging out with friends.  My first birthday away from home, but so worth it.  If you haven't been to Malibu, get there...now.

1999: Rockaway Beach, OR.  Perhaps my most random birthday gift.  My friend Brett Hilary bought me a large animal for my birthday.  His name was Troy the Manatee.  (OK, so she bought my sponsorship of Troy.  I had a picture and everything.  Good old Troy the odd Florida-dwelling creature.  Thanks, friend.)

2000: Rockaway Beach, OR.  While working at Twin Rocks, my parents surprised me with a visit.  It was hilarious for several reasons.  One: I had surprised my mom for her birthday only a few days before, showing up at Anthony's in Seattle, a beautiful restaurant on the Puget Sound.  I had planned that surprise with my boss for months.  Little did I know, my parents had planned their surprise with my boss as well.  That put my boss in a tough spot because she couldn't tell either party about the situation.  Usually they didn't give us time off, and visitors were limited, so I was SUPER grateful for how she allowed both surprises to happen.  Two: The day they showed up, I had worked all morning, then after lunch, I worked in the office for about an hour.  My boss comes and tells me that I can have the afternoon off.  Weird.  SO, I headed back to my room and proceeded to jump in bed for a nap (because naps are very important).  About ten minutes into said nap, I heard a rap at my door, my co-worker told me that they needed me in the office.  Weird...and annoying.  Naps...they are important.  I went, of course, and found my parents standing behind my desk smiling, with a cake in hand.  I WAS SO SURPRISED.  My aunt and uncle came to the coast, we had a nice bonfire on the beach, toured the coast, and ate cake with my Summer Staff friends.  Loved it.  Great memories.

2003: Lake City, CO.  Backpacking trip with high school students from Austin.  I share my birthday with an amazing high school student, and we CELEBRATED.  We all slept underneath the stars, then when the sun rose, we celebrated and fell back asleep.  One of our other groups was peaking the mountain that day, and we could hear them SCREAM "Happy Birthday" to us from atop the mountain.  AMAZING.  It was our "rest day", too, and we had Christmas in July.  I got some great gifts, but particularly, one of my students arranged huge rocks into the shape of the number 42.  Sweet birthday.

Dinner out tonight with a big group of friends at the Salt Lick (aka Best BBQ Ever).  Pictures to come!

To all of you that have loved me over the years, thank you, you've helped to make me who I am.  I am grateful to God for you.  May the year to come be full of God's grace...that's my prayer.