Sven the Baker

End of Watch Review

2013-02-20T23:46:00.002-08:00

I recommend End of Watch. It's not for everyone - lot's of cussing and very violent.

But it is a funny and gritty take on the work that cops do in the neighborhoods near where I live in LA. In the film Jake G and Michael P play cops in the Newton Division - which is just East of my neighborhood. Here's a pdf map. I get my hair cut in that neighborhood and some good friends used to live there. I also bike through it pretty regularly.

The movie made me want to be much more respectful and honoring to the men and women in blue who risk a lot to keep us safe.

Bike lanes on Grand

2013-02-20T23:40:00.001-08:00

Just found out about the bike lanes that they put in on Grand Ave south of downtown - sooooo smooooooth! I looked it up and Downtown News said they put them last fall.

This makes the idea of biking to and from work so much, with half of it on freshly paved, separated bike lanes!

Also, a shout out to Lion's Bike Shop - some of the nicest people you will meet. They are fixing my bike tonight.

Encouraged

2013-01-30T23:35:00.001-08:00

Started off this week feeling overwhelmed - the mill at the bakery broke down which meant working at the bakery each night this week to get it up and going. No downtime after work. Also had some other worries and a list of to-dos that was way too long.

I felt uneasy and not at peace so I started calling out to God yesterday. He met me with a few good words:

1. Soldier
I had been getting frustrated with myself and with the fact that I wasn't getting any time to relax. Then it hit me: do I think I deserve down time? Could I be thinking about this wrong?
As I thought about it, I wondered to myself how I would handle the unexpected differently if I considered myself a soldier, not just a guy who works and has devised a nice schedule. I had felt that I needed to have a perfectly organized schedule to feel at peace. I don't think that is true. I want to live the life of a soldier. I don't deserve lots of down time and I should expect hardship and unexpected difficulties. I do want to plan in down time to recover and refocus and have fun, but when trials come, I want to take them on like a Navy SEAL and see it as part of the job description. And when I lean into God during these difficulties...that's peace.

Resting in the grass (photo from flickr)

2. Surrender
Have been overwhelmed thinking about my future. Read a newsletter from a friend who spoke of how their life changed with a simple decision to surrender. I feel relieved and restful just thinking about that word.

Surrender.

It means not feeling as much pressure to figure out my future and realizing that the greatest step I can make is to surrender it to Him!

brotherhood! flickr photo

3. Brotherhood
I have lately felt really supported by a few of my friends. With a few of them, our relationships have been strained in the past because I judged them and the way I acted towards them was dependent on how well they followed through, showed up on time etc. God has begun to take this judgement from me in a big way and instead allow me to show up with joy about who they are and to show up with a reckless abandon about how I come across. I desire to follow the Spirit's leading personally and trust the Spirit to lead them!
This shift has really helped my relationships grow.
And it is a beautiful thing to be excited about someone else. How deadening ungrace is!
Thank God for His grace!

I really want you to have a helicopter

2012-12-29T09:40:00.001-08:00

Monday 12/24/12

"I got a Chic-Fil-A coupon!" Justin told me excitedly as he walked into the family room at my parent's home in Florida. "Ben gave me a Chic-Fil-A coupon for being in his movie!" I responded, sharing my six-year old brother's excitement for the coupon because I'm also a big Chic Fil A fan.

Justin continued to tell me about his assets, about his TCBY (a frozen yogurt place) gift certificate and his money. I asked him if he was rich - he said he wasn't. I asked him how much money he had. He said "$35 dollars." We added up his assets: $5 coupon to TCBY, $4 gift certificate to Chic-Fil-A and $35 dollars cash.

"$44 dollars, Justin. You're a rich man!"

"No, I'm not" he responded.

He told me that he wanted to go to Chic-Fil-A and TCBY with me and we would split a sandwich and frozen yogurt. I said it sounded good.

Tuesday 12/25/12

I woke up Christmas morning and walked into the family room after everyone had already gone through their stockings and sat down on the couch next to my stocking. As I started to go through it, Justin ran up and said excitedly "I got a Coldstone Ice Cream coupon! We're going to go to Chic-Fil-A and Coldstones, not TCBY, cause I like Coldstones better. OK?" I said that that sounded great! I also mentioned that with the addition of this $10 gift certificate, his net worth had risen to $54. He nodded confidently.

Justin got some sweet gifts that day, but the one that ruled them all was a nimble remote control helicopter. Throughout the rest of the day, he would say "I just really want to fly my helicopter!" and we would go outside and fly his helicopter, practicing landing it, often crashing it. During meals he gave me updates about the battery status of the helicopter: "I charged it for 4 hours! After lunch can we fly it outside?"

Justin had given me, for my birthday, a wooden key holder picture frame with three pictures of himself posed in ridiculous positions and a wooden letter holder - both of which he stained himself. It was a very thoughtful gift!

After dinner Justin came and sat by me at the dinner table and showed me his makeshift wallet with his gift cards and his cash. He said "You can use any of this if you want!"

I just said thanks and smiled at the cute gesture.

Wednesday 12/26/12

About an hour before I left to head back to LA, I sat at the kitchen counter with Justin. He said wistfully, "I wish you could have a helicopter too."

I nodded to agree with his sentiment but said "It's alright, I can fly yours when I come back to visit!"

He said in a sad tone "but it's a long time until you visit"

I nodded - he was right.

"I want to buy you a helicopter" he said to me.

I told him thanks but I could just fly his with him when i visit.

He said "maybe I'll send my helicopter with you to California and I'll buy another one"

I tried to reiterate my previous idea, but he responded "I really want you have a helicopter."

He was fully concentrated on figuring out a way to make this happen.

"Does California use the same money?"

I told him that California did indeed use the same currency as Florida. He was glad to hear that and said "Maybe I can just send the money with you and you can buy the helicopter in California."

I told him that I really appreciated it, but that maybe he should save his money for what he wants to buy next, maybe a camera for the helicopter. He told me that he didn't want a camera and said again "I really want you to have a helicopter."

I thanked him and then told him bye as I went for a last stroll around the neighborhood with Mom and Dad. When I got back to the house, all the kids were in the van ready to go. I went up and pressed my nose against the glass of the van, hoping to make Justin and the kids in the back seat laugh. Through the tinted glass I saw Justin wave an envelope at me. I started to walk past the van to go gather my bags and Dave jumped out of the car. He ran up to me and gave me an envelope and said "it's from Justin, it's for a helicopter." I opened the envelope, and inside was a ten dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill. By this time, Justin had jumped out of the van and run up to me. "It's money so that you can buy a helicopter in California" he said excitedly. I didn't know what to say. He had just given me 6/7 of his cash assets. He was so excited at the thought that I would now be able to have a helicopter in California.

I said told him "thank you for the helicopter!"

He looked at me and said "I didn't give you a helicopter! I gave you money so you can buy a helicopter in California."

I told him thanks for the money to buy the helicopter.

**

I feel so loved by my brother Justin as I think about how much he wanted me to have a helicopter. Justin put thirty of his thirty-five dollars into an envelope that said "From Justin To Stephen For helicopter" so that his older brother could also have the joy Justin had when he flew the helicopter he got for Christmas!

Is it possible that God loves us even more than this?

Thinking about the future

2012-12-19T01:42:00.000-08:00

Where does God have me professionally as I move forward?

It's easy as I walk around downtown to see the suits and think "I gotta find a way to earn good money, move up the ladder."

Then I think about that which is eternal - God, His Word, and the souls of men. And that there there are plenty of corporate ladder-climbers in our world. What my heart desires is to know God, follow His heart and share His hope with those who haven't heard it or found it for themselves!

Genesis 15:1
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

God is my great reward!

Today on the bus, there was a guy who was mumbling gibberish and clanking around some Goodwill bags. I could tell immediately that he had something going on mentally.

He got up from his seat and came and sat down next to me. At first I didn't like that, but then I thought "this guy probably is rejected by just about everyone - it's cool that I get to sit next to him. maybe I can be one who doesn't reject him and share some love that way." Soon after the guy sat down I felt God's Spirit prompt me to ask him "do you know the love of God?"

Being a bit hesitant to ask that question cause of the others on the bus, I instead said "how you doing?"

He spat "Don't ask" and then continued mumbling gibberish.

I immediately thought - "why didn't you say what God prompted you to say?"

So then I asked him and he looked immediately at me and said "God?"

I said "Yeah, do you know the love of God?"

He seemed to slow down and brighten up. He turned forward and continued to mumble, then looked at me and asked me if I went to church, to "that presbyterian church?"

I told him no, but that I do go to church.

We continued on in the way for about 10 minutes: he would ask me a questions like:

"do you sell watches on Broadway?" "no" "oh, ok....[mumbling]"

"you a barber?" "nope, I'm a baker" "oh, ok ...[mumbling]"

"you fly helicopters??" "nope"

"You like maseratis? there, look, there's one over there..." "I actually just like bikes"

After about 10 minutes of this, he got up and went back to his original seat.

Every few minutes, he'd lean his head back and ask me another question.

I really enjoyed meeting Nelson.

I think God prepared my heart to meet him after reading about Adam Lanza. In the articles, his former classmates said he was a loner. I wondered as I read these articles how I would have acted toward Adam in school. Maybe I would have initiated conversation and he would have said "don't want to talk." and i would have said - "alright" and thought to myself "nothing more i can do - he doesn't want to talk"

But i'm not sure that people always are being honest when they say or act like they don't want to talk. Sometimes it seems like people need to be pursued, just enough to be convinced that they are worth it. Being an introvert, i can relate to this - I prefer to be alone but when someone pursues me, i feel valued and significant. I'm not saying pursue in an obnoxious way, but be persistent enough to get past that guarded exterior.

Maybe it means continuing to be a friend and invite someone to do stuff even when they have turned you down a few times. There's a process going on there - and your invitations might be helping that person to start to believe that people want to spend time with them.

My heart goes out to those who are mentally ill and don't have a loving support system. Especially to those on the street.

I really badly want them to know how God thinks about them and that He loves them and thinks they are wonderful. I wanted Nelson on the bus to know that!

God loves Nelson so much that he wants to spend eternity with him. God loves me that much!

I do not know where God has me professionally in the next few years, but it seems that my profession in many ways will just be a context and a backdrop to continue following Him and trusting Him to heal the broken hearted and set the captives free. I hope that it will be a place where my giftings will be used to His glory and cause many to praise Him!

In His name,

Stephen

Genesis 18

2012-10-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

¹⁴Is anything too hard for the Lord?

"When Thou dost favour any action, it runs, it flies. All things concur to give it a perfection."
- Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur, p 26

Amy Carmichael

I'm trusting God in faith that He will lead and guide and provide for the bakery!

Quiet Strength - Focus - inspired by Tony Dungy

2012-10-06T10:17:00.001-07:00

Went to sleep after work at 7pm last night. Exhausted from the week. Woke at around 11:30pm, ate some eggs and toast (for dinner?) and finished reading Tony Dungy's book "Quiet Strength."

All I can say is that I am walking away from that book feeling blessed/refreshed/encouraged to read about the singleminded focus and heart on a man who lives for God.

Fall

2012-10-01T23:00:00.002-07:00

I'm really hoping that I get to breath crisp air and feel the freshness of fall!

This song makes me think of fall. and walking in a field. Funny how once you are in a skyscraper, all you want is to be in a field.

Probably my favorite memory of fall as a kid was being at O'Leno State Park in Florida.

Oh how I miss it!

People of Promise

2012-09-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

^{Genesis 15:5}He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring^[d] be.”

⁶Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

I've been feeling very much in need of God's direction in a few areas of my life - our small group and our bakery in particular.

Greg talked today at church about being a people of Promise!

Maybe that's what I need more than direction - promises that proclaim the truth of what God is doing!

I will continue to call out for wisdom and lift my voice for understanding, but I want to really spend time asking Him for His promises to me.

God is so good.

- Stephen

p.s. this picture is of Joshua Tree at night (taken off a random google search). Standing in cool brisk air in Joshua Tree under a starry sky has to be one of the most refreshing and amazing things in life. I still remember sitting under the stars when I went to JTree back in 2004 with Greg and Milan.

Watch this video and think about Christmas...

2009-12-09T00:26:00.000-08:00

I saw this Oscar-nominated short called "Most" a year ago (I think my friend Jessica showed it to me) and it was an extremely powerful reminder of the sacrifice that allows me to be alive to God.

Parks Boost Economy

2009-08-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this article in the Gotham Gazette about the effect parks can have on local economies.
Above is a photo of the High Line Park in NYC...built on an old elevated freight railway.

As the article points out, the establishment of the park is just the beginning...the cost of upkeep is often the harder part of the job.

After I read an article like this, I always try to ask myself what already exists here that might be a counterpart to that which is in the article...
Have you been to the Hoover Rec Center? I have walked through it, but I don't think I have really enjoyed the park that is just a short walk from my house.
If the Hoover Rec Center doesn't currently play a role in my life, what changes would make it more relevant?

-Sven

Mapping the Neighborhoods of LA

2009-08-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here are two really fascinating sites that utilize GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to map parts of Los Angeles:

LA Times

Healthy City
You can search a zip code for various types of services (food banks, preschools, job assistance centers) as well as finding out demographic information for a city or zip.

New Post

2009-04-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this post for three (3) reasons:

1. Because I can and there is minimal impact (positive or negative;)
2. Because I think you should listen to the song 'Signs' by BlocParty (in the '5 Fresh Songs' box on the left)
3. Because this blog has been pretty mundane/unused. If you want to read something slightly more interesting, head over to bicyclebread.org!

quote from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Your friend Mr. Lincoln had his Taylors and Paines. So did every other man whoever tried to lift his thought up off the ground. Odds against 'em didn't stop those men. They were fools that way. All the good that ever came into this world came from fools with faith like that.

new favorite place

2008-11-18T20:58:00.000-08:00

The Silverlake Reservoir has a lot going against: a tall, barb-wired fence encircling it, traces of bromate and a never-ending city project to build a running path around it. Nevertheless, it has become one of my favorite places to get some solitude in Los Angeles. There is something calming about staring out onto the blue waters.
I've been taking Tuesday mornings to be with God and I often try to get over to Silverlake. The key for me has been to leave my ipod and phone at home. just a Bible and a journal and nalgene. that's the life.

Rising

2008-10-20T00:06:00.000-07:00

I've had quite a time figuring out yeast...first I killed it, then I overproofed it and let it go a bit too crazy...
As a result, I am freshly intrigued by all the parables in the Bible about yeast.
Thanks to some prayer and some handy advice from my mother (Queen of Wheat Bread) I got some good results tonight!

The slightly crunchy, golden brown crust is key.

Richard and me finished off one loaf right away...he is one of my official taste-testers.

Bread time!

2008-10-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

I started baking at the church today and thought I would share some of the results;)

I am very excited to finally have an edible bread! It helps to have the right type of wheat. I finally got a co-op in Santa Monica that would order the Hard White Wheat...the fun part was taking public transit with a 50lb bag of wheat.

How Quaint Was My City

2008-05-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

I was wikiing Hollywood and came across some old pictures they have posted. Can you imagine Hollywood as an agricultural area? (picture from 1885)

How Hollywood & Highland has changed... (picture from 1907)

Leaving College + Frost poem

2008-05-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Finals have ended and now I simply await the day of graduation. My grandparents and parents arrive tomorrow and I can't wait to share with them the city and community I've lived in for the past 4 years.
I'm excited they are coming.
I'm also wondering if I will soon be hit with the realization that college is over. It is underwhelming seeing everything come to a close. Retrospectively I try to add up my experiences and see if they all fit into a nice, cohesive picture. There are too many pieces;) I don't like thinking about regrets, but my mind seems to search for them at times like this. I can push them off by remembering that I'll soon be in Europe, soon be in the Rockies, and soon be on a new adventure.
I am about to leave one stage of life and enter a new one. There is so much unknown in the leaving.

Check out this poem by Robert Frost: Directive

I recently read a passage by Robert Greenleaf (author: Servant Leadership) where he responds to Frost's words:
To be on the journey one must have an attitude toward loss and being lost, a view of oneself in which powerful symbols like burned, dissolved, broken off – however painful their impact is seen to be - do not appear as senseless or destructive. Rather the losses they suggest are seen as opening the way for new creative acts, for receiving of priceless gifts. Loss, every loss the mind of man can conceive of, creates a vacuum into which will come (if allowed) something new and fresh and beautiful, something unforeseen – and the greatest of these is love.

What will come into this vacuum after graduation?
Hopefully "something new and fresh and beautiful, something unforeseen"

Song for your enjoyment: Damien Jurado- Denton, TX listen
p.s. Picture taken downtown LA, Golden Gopher

Coldplay's new single

2008-04-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

Coldplay has released their newest single off their upcoming record, Viva La Vida. Check out Violet Hill here.
While I ponder the song (I really like it during its first 12 listens;), I thought I would list my favorite Coldplay songs of all time:

1. See You Soon - a beautiful acoustic guitar track off the Parachutes bonus cd. "
2. The Scientist - "Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry you dont know how lovely you are." The music video is beautiful and brings tears.
3. Sparks - Heard this for the first time at Greg and Julie's wedding back in August of 2005.
4. What If - I love the chorus. "How can you know it if you don't even try?"
5. Clocks and Yellow (Tie)- Clocks was the first Coldplay song I ever heard. It brings back many memories from a summer I spent working in Colorado at the YMCA of the Rockies. Yellow is just an amazing song.

Mobility in LA according to Wired

2008-04-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

Check out this post on a Wired Blog: Los Angeles' Future in Mobility: Many Goals But Many Obstacles He talks about the future of the Rapid network and rail.
Here's MTA's dreamy site: Imagine. It has links to the MTA's 2008 Draft Long Range Transportation Plan.

The Beauty of the Woonerf

2008-04-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Times has a great article by Jeff Byles called Taking Back the Streets in which he talks about new options available to urban planners as they look to design livable streets called

The Woonerf, originally created by our Dutch friends, is essentially an "outdoor living room" with the street and sidewalk at the same height level and the absence of traffic lights and signs. Very people-centric;)

The article talks about play streets and bike boulevards, but the coolest idea that it mentions has to be Lanescapes. This is the meshing of the culture and context of the area with the street that runs through it. Two examples that Byles mentions: "At Columbus Circle, for example, two lanes of Broadway could be devoted to Jazz at Lincoln Center, with bebop bands spilling into the street. At Times Square, portions of the streets could accommodate legions of out-of-work actors reliving the movie “Fame.” Another that I particularly like: "In Hunts Point in the Bronx, for example, where storm-water runoff pollutes the Bronx River, the lanes could be wetlands."

The beauty of this article is how closely it echoes the words of the prophets:

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there." - Zechariah 8:4-5

This verse has really sparked my imagination as I look forward to continuing to live in Los Angeles. Billions are being spent on lofts and entertainment downtown, but the needs of the working classes and families are being ignored. There's the opportunity. Can you imagine a Los Angeles with streets full of music and families?

Philippe's Birthday, Broadway Revitalization

2008-04-06T01:52:00.000-07:00

Two items of note in Los Angeles:
Philippe the Original is a cultural icon of a restaurant next to Union Station. Renowned for their French dip sandwiches, the historical spot is serves 2-3 thousand customers each day. Check it out if you are in the area, especially now that they have turned 100!

Interesting old LA Times' story on Broadway revitalization from January: L.A. to announce Broadway makeover

Worship

2008-04-03T09:36:00.001-07:00

Last night at our small group meeting we dove into the topic of worship. This quote by former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple really intrigues my mind:

"Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God.
It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness,
nourishment of mind by His truth,
purifying of imagination by His beauty,
opening of the heart to His love,
and submission of will to His purpose.
All this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of
all expressions of which we are capable."
--William Temple

What does it mean to open our heart to God's love? His grace is the central ingredient to this...

"When we know that he alone is God, we fall before him in awe.
When we know that he alone is perfect, we fall before him in shame.
But when we know that he, the Holy One, so desires our fellowship that he ave his only Son to make it possible, we fall before him in gratitude and praise and sing the wonder of his holiness and the glory of his amazing grace" --Darrell Johnson in Discipleship Essentials

As I am caught up in thinking on His Holiness (separateness and purity), I am reminded of how incredible it is that His Spirit indwells us. We are so frail, so weak yet the Almighty extends His grace in order to not just be in relationship with us, but to be in us.

Tim Keller on his new book:The Reason for God

2008-03-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

Tim Keller's words are really thought-provoking as he dives into the topic of the existence of the divine with an audience of Google engineers. I especially like the part about the blind men and the elephant- I've wondered about that argument a great deal. He also reference's Annie Dillard and her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which I hope to read in the near future.
thanks to The Shepherd's Scrapbook.

Why is it so hard to blog? + 2 cool websites

2008-03-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

After some pondering, I have realized that I am hesitant to post on my blog after an absence because I feel that I have to put up a finished product. Or that I have to be ready to blog regularly (which seems to take a certain amount of discipline and/or time).
So I have decided to overcome my fear of posting by writing the paragraph above and by posting the link below, all with great reflexivity.

green LA girl recently posted a link to Walk Score, a site that rates the walkability of your neighborhood. My neighborhood got a decent 71 rating.

I have starting a myspace for my music. It's called Sven Goes to LA. Check it out and see what you think!