"The Passion" (Feb '04)

haven't seen the movie yet... but have been very moved by many things already. First, the fact that Mel Gibson has made himself a "disciple" of the single most powerful historical event. The disciples were called to lay everything down and "Follow Me...". Mr. Gibson says that since he took on this project that He has daily spent time in prayer and meditation, attending mass every day. Talk about "Following... "! What an example of a disciple! AND, he's spreading the Word as well! Before millions and millions of people! Not many people get that opportunity! And to note that all of Christ's disciples were as imperfect as you or I... each of them had their weaknesses, their flaws, their sins... they were liars, they stole, they cheated, they gossiped... yet, they were perfect for what Christ had in mind!

Secondly, working in a very conservative firm affords me the joy of seeing people who wouldn't normally be talking about religion at work doing just that! Talking about religion (and even their own personal beliefs) at work! Today, an associate (being of a middle eastern religion) asked me "Why did they crucify Him?" (OK - You know that excitement?! The one that welled up inside me... you know it!) What an opportunity - and a challenge! I explained a bit about His birth being prophesied - for the purpose of being crucified. But my associate wasn't happy with that. She wanted to know which law He broke that they would want to punish Him. I went on to explain the following...

Some of the history... first of all, the Chief Priests and Pharisees (loose definition in today's terms: legal analysts, also known as hypocrites) were scared to death of Jesus and the view society was getting of Him.

"If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation" (John 11:48). Why were they scared? Simple... Jesus was a threat to them... He threatened their way of life. After many conflicts over many years, the Sanhedrin (loose definition in today's terms: tribunal council) had managed to maintain a delicate balance with the Romans. The Romans just barely allowed the Jews to worship according to their tradition. But it wouldn't take much, the Sanhedrin reasoned, to upset that balance. They were deathly afraid that the Romans would see a mass "Jesus movement" as a threat to Caesar and in response would destroy the Jewish way of life.

Judas knew of the Sanhedrin's concern... and for 30 shillings he agreed to quietly tell them where to find Christ so they could arrest Him ... therefore "putting Him on trial". (First note: at that time, 30 shillings may have been worth about a year's wages. Second note: I'd also like to point out that shortly after Christ's resurrection, Judas returned the shillings... )

I explained Pilate's response to the masses that he found no fault in Him... but that he was so scared of his own life that he couldn't imagine what the people would do to him if he released Jesus instead of Barrabas. At this point, my associate told me she was getting the chills. Still amazed at this opportunity, I just kept talking. She asked about the robbers being hung at the same time. "What did they have to do with Jesus?" And so it continued...

I share all of this to encourage and challenge each of you to be prepared... be prepared to not only share the facts and the truth from the Word... but to share your story too. Beyond what the Bible says... what does your HEART say? What evidence do you personally have that Christ is who He says He is? Why are you a 21st century disciple? WHY do you believe that He was sent to this earth to die for our sins... and to be raised again? You WILL be questioned... you WILL be put on the spot... you MAY even be treated differently as a "Christian". Be prepared! This moment in time was planned out by God before you were even born!

What an awakening moment... to stand up for something you believe in. To be stuck in a moment of time where you have to answer for your life... and then to think none of us, not one, have lived our lives free of imperfection. ALL OF US have done something to fall short of God's glory... ALL of us have failed someone, something, at some point in history. And that's why Christ wants us on His side... isn't that exactly why He was put on that cross?!

I'm sure you'll all hear from me AFTER I've seen "The Passion..." as well... so, stay tuned...

Lori J. Tisdale (formerly Haraldsen)

news on the Lori Haraldsen front... (Oct '03)

Actually, I am now Mrs. Lori Tisdale!!!

Here's the quick run down of how it all happened... but first I want to tell you that I found my perfect accomplice! For the last few months Lee and I have been planning a surprise... we eloped on 9/29/03... and painstakingly kept it a secret until this last Saturday night (10/11/03). What torture it was for me to not exclaim with giddyness that I'd gone off and gotten hitched!

Details... When my best friend Stephanie called me a few months ago and asked what I wanted for my 30th birthday... I told her I just wanted to have my friends all around me (one piece of the puzzle put together). It was our intention to fully surprise everyone. I filled in the family
when I was on vacation with them last week up in Oregon. And our friends we surprised at the birthday party Stephanie put so much effort into! (Thanks girly - you're the bomb!)

Anyhow, we moved forward with our secret wedding plans... we found the rings, made our reservations for hotel and wedding chapel (don't worry - we didn't do the drive thru wedding in a convertible and there was no Elvis involved!), and attempted not to lie to family and friends too much along the way. Oh, was it hard to keep all of this excitement to ourselves all this long! And please forgive me for having to tell some little fibs along the way ... it was all in love...

The night of the birthday party rolled around and we had it all set. We surprised everyone when we were all gathered in the living room... and I apologized for being such a horrible friend over the past few weeks (you know - distracted, telling "lies", etc). And told them that I felt bad for having to keep secrets from them. And slowly stated that Lee and I wanted them all to know how happy we were that they could join us for the evening because we had a special announcement! We had become husband and wife... SURPRISE!

After the disbelief wore off and the tissues were passed around we moved forward with something very special that we wanted to share with our friends - our public commitment to each other. We asked our friend Eddie to be our unofficial Officiator for the evening. He walked us through reading our vows to each other and exchanging our rings together. It was a perfect night... it really was. We couldn't have asked for anything more... except for maybe a slightly bigger house so that we could've invited everyone in our world to join us for this happy
occasion.

Anyhow... YAY!!!!!

This has all been so much fun to plan and share with everyone! But most importantly I'm so glad we finally found each other and were ready to commit to forever at the same time. Love to you all.... thanks for celebrating this fun time with us!

Lori and Lee Tisdale

Turning 30! (Sep '03)

Events of the past twelve months in my life... events of my last year in the "twenty-something" range...

(By the way, this wasn't written for the intent of reminding everyone about my upcoming 30th birthday ... it was written out of my own personal reflections about life at this stage of my life. However, I do expect you to celebrate with me this milestone... we're as young as we feel... aren't we?!)

I've fallen in love - My photography business has been more active than ever before - I've travelled to different cities and states - My parents moved to Oregon - My grandparents moved to Oregon - My brother married Jody (the best thing that has ever happened to him) and he moved to Dallas - My best friend moved to Seattle - My roommate and great friend bought her own place and moved out - (Which makes me wonder, am I that tough to live with?!) - A few friends have unexpectedly lost their lives - Some have brought new little bundles of joy into the world - Some of the students from my youth staff days have gotten married and had children - Some of my photos have been published - Just like everyone else I've had to deal with the fears of our country being in a war w/ Iraq - I've refinanced my house 3 times - I've been intrigued by something every day - I've fought and lost to the weed attack in my backyard - But I have been successful in growing lavendar, wysteria, tomatoes and kept a lime tree alive back there - I've proven that I have somewhat of a green thumb (I'm still learning that you must water often) - I've tried to figure out why the state of California is having a recall and then who is the best candidate for my vote - I've met new people - And have had to say goodbye to old friends due to changes in life - My boyfriend and I have gone on spur of the moment road trips - We have laughed a lot together - We have both learned to trust again - I have grown - I have regressed - God has been by my side each day - I wear more dresses now - I've rejoiced with friends and their successes in life - I've reached out to others and been reached out to as well - I've found a new favorite mexican restaurant - I've put over 40,000 miles on my car - I've relaxed by the side of the pool - I've stressed myself out over renovations at my house - I've chipped away at the long list of movies I missed while they were in the theater - Strangers have flirted with me - I've gone to concerts - I've gone dancing - I've karaoked - I've made contact with old friends - I entertain regularly in my home - My boyfriend buys me flowers - I've made changes in my life - I've stood up for the things I need and taken care of myself more than in the past - I've been antsy from time to time - I've learned to relax more - but mostly I've learned to be even more content!

I've learned that in life there will be failures and successes. Take the failures, the hurts, the pains - and work through them. Learn from them. Ask yourself "What can I take away from this?" and then move on. Take the successes and the joys and the celebrations and enjoy them with the people in your life that matter the most. Create successes and go for it if there's something you want to do. What would it hurt to try and be successful?

I've learned that it is possible to completely trust someone with the private details of your life. I've learned that each day can be really fun and full of surprises if you don't attempt to control it as much. But most of all... I've learned that enjoying where you are in life is more fulfilling than the pursuit of happiness.

The Significance of Solitude

A road trip recently took up one of my weekends. This was a road trip for me, myself and I. I knew that I needed some time to think, drive, sing, cry, think some more, laugh, talk to myself, talk to God, cry some more, think some more, and continue driving. (PLUS, it didn’t hurt that I had a new car to drive and new music to keep my ears busy!)

And that’s exactly what happened. Friday after work I hopped in the already packed and full of gas car and hit the highway. I had my film and camera, loads of music, just enough clothes and my pillow. By the time I got out of San Diego County I was already giddy! Look at me! I’m taking my road trip finally!

Blarin’ my music, boppin’ my head to the grooves and singin’ right along… what could be better? I’m in my new car (which still has the new car smell), driving along the Pacific coast, watching the sunset, smiling at the people next to me (and they have absolutely NO CLUE why I’m so happy at this moment in time!). Come to think of it – I don’t either. All I'm certain of is that I can’t remember the last time I was this giddy … and all by myself!

Then it really hits me… I’m by myself. I’m taking a road trip up the coast of California toward the final destination of Santa Cruz… and I’m by myself. And I’m ok with it! How long has it been since I’ve been ok with being that alone for this length of time? What brought me to this point? Haven’t I always needed time by myself? Am I constantly surrounding myself with other people just to avoid solitude? I now have many questions to ponder as I’m driving.

And what I came to understand about myself is that I love my time alone… but I also long for those much cherished times with friends and family. And those times with others don’t have to be filled with monumental, special occasions… just hanging out is the best! Just having someone to share the moment with… no matter what moment happens to come along. At the same time, my time alone is cherished… but I think it might fit into a different category somehow. I love my time alone, and am very content at keeping myself entertained, and am even comfortable with it. How lucky am I?!

So at this time of the year, when everyone is thinking about Valentine’s Day (some cursing the day it all started due to the commercializing of the day itself)… I am content to know that I don’t need flowers or jewelry or cards or chocolates to lift my spirits. I know who I am. And I buy myself flowers!

Have I just stumbled across something I haven’t yet learned? Or is this significance of solitude something I’d already grasped at some point in my lifetime? Have I come across a new epiphany in my life? Or did I already know this? Whatever it is… it feels good and I’m happy about it. I’m truly comfortable in my own skin…

18 Hours in D.C.

Just to add to your collection of weird, what-was-she-thinking "Lori stories"... here goes nothing.

One week ago Monday (7/16), I flew out of San Diego to meet Loren in Dallas, TX. He got off of work at 7 pm that night and had off for the rest of the week. So, at the last minute (3 days beforehand) we decided to take advantage of some of my vacation time and his days off. We stayed in a cheapy hotel in Dallas (which luckily had a Denny's about a mile away that we walked to in the Dallas heat) and flew out on Tuesday morning to start our journey to Washington D.C. We landed in D.C. around noon, found the Metro (which took us to our REALLY NICE hotel in Bethesda, MD - yeah, we decided to go all out. We were even on the top floor of the hotel), and then found our way back into the center of D.C.

We then proceeded to walk up and down what I hear is actually considered only a small portion of The Mall. For both of us, this was our first time in D.C. - and we knew we wouldn't be able to see everything in this short amount of time - but we did know what we wanted to make sure and see: The Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Monument, the Reflecting Pool where King presented his "dream" speech, parts of the Smithsonian, and whatever else we could fit in. Keep in mind, the temperature was about 80 degrees. The humidity level? About 100% - or at least it felt like it. (OK, so I've been accused of exaggerating every now and then - but it was stinking hot!)

We also saw portions of the National Air and Space Museum. And even flew over the Pentagon on the way out of town on Wednesday morning (which, I'm convinced is the best way to see the Pentagon building). No, we didn't see the White House, but I did happen to catch a few glances toward the Capitol Building. So - it was a short trip - but we saw exactly what we wanted to see.

The thing I took away from the trip was this: a renewed sense of pride for my country and the people who have fought for our freedom and the freedom of those in countries we've stepped up to help. (I also took away the lesson of - pack even less next time!)

While we were walking up and down the Mall we passed people of all nationalities and colors and backgrounds and speaking all sorts of languages - but one thing we had in common, we were all proud to be free! Even though we all had many differences in culture and experience - we shared one tiny spot of common ground - OUR FREEDOM! Even though we have some problems in this country, we are still free! And what an amazing gift that is for all of us!

Come Away With Me...