It is probably a mistake to try to explain a poem but having read the second verse of this one I think my perspective while writing it might help to show why these thoughts follow from one another. The sister on one side of me prayed for our awareness of His glorious grace which Jesus shone upon us. The brother on the other side of me had just read a verse about our need to diligently pursue righteousness. The immediate thought in my heart was that I could do neither without the guidance and empowering of His Spirit and the need to “be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11) Faith rest is simply saying and clinging to God because ‘on You I depend’.
Father of Light on You I depend Show me Your way my life to defend When I am restless and given to fear Give me Your peace and by me be near On me Your Son shone glorious grace Eternally comforting embrace Pursue righteousness fervently You’ve said Careful to enter Your rest, be led Given at times to much confusion Resisting the world’s fond delusion You give me truth and direction instead That I might know You, be Spirit-ledPosts Tagged ‘Sustaining’
On You I Depend
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on December 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »
When And His I
Posted in General, Poem, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining, tagged Poems, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining on November 3, 2011| 1 Comment »
What do you do on a less than profitable day?
You search for the hidden, more lasting and substantial, intended profit for the day.
When all goes awry And my spirit wants to fly His calling on my life I must recall amidst the strife When there is stress And my spirit feels duress His goodness every day I want to graciously display When hard things come And my spirit would succomb His strength is my stay I need each step of the way When joy comes to me And my spirit knows it’s free His all sufficient grace I am keeping before my faceThoughts of Heaven
Posted in General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Song, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, God's Word, Songs, Sustaining on August 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »
…or “Heavenly Thoughts” (or at least I desire so) or “Random Musings on the Life and the Afterlife” (which is more likely).
A number of different positive and negative details have brought me to thinking more than a few thoughts about heaven lately. Beauty in nature, sermon comments, Scriptures I’ve read, and various quotes I’ve come across have been among the positive inputs, while governments’ foolishness, review of my purposefulness, and personal back pain have been pointed reminders that this is not my home.
One of my least liked sayings is quite common to high school and college students: “These are the best years of your life.” When I hear some evidently less than content adult say this to a young person I want to explain to them how their words are an invitation to suicide for some segment of the young people they are saying it to. If it doesn’t get any better than this with the yelling parents, the sneering peers, the self-accusing mindset, and the “you can never be good enough” and “indulge yourself” advertising, why continue living? In some ways the saying is of course legitimate and Solomon agrees: “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them….The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.'” (Ecclesisastes 11:9-12:1,13-14) So he is advising that you put away vexation while you are young and healthy and enjoy life. But how do you do that with all of the accusing elements I mentioned before these verses? You acknowledge your Creator by enjoying life and following impulses according to what pleases Him and in consideration of the fact that you will be brought to account hearafter concerning all that you do.
If all there is, as the Naturalist and Post-modernist say, is this life then the quote my 3rd son found the other day is indeed apropos for all time: “The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist fears this is true.” (Branch Cabell in “The Silver Stallion”). It is a bit humorous until you think about it a second time. If “it doesn’t get any better than this” and “If the dead are not raised [no heaven], let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (I Corinthians 15:32) So the optimist and pessimist and Naturalist and Post-modernist are claiming there is no heaven but they don’t really believe it. Under stress they call out for God and wish for heaven. And if they were correct it would render false this claim, “He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) And I affirm the truth of the Word of God and say “let God be found true, though every man be found a liar…” (Romans 3:4). But if man cannot find the work of God in the beginning, creation, or the end, heaven or hell, why even discuss these things? Modern man agrees with this statement and refuses to discuss anything that is not either from empirical evidence or personal feeling. But this is the very point of the statement that man can not discover God’s works from around him or within him but from God’s revelation only: “‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit…But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised…For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (I Corinthians 2: 9-10, 14,16) These things not having entered the heart of man include the glories of heaven. The Spirit of God and the mind of Christ are one and the same, the discernment to understand and affirm the Word of God, the Bible. So by God’s revealed Word we understand that, as the song says, “Heaven is a wonderful place; filled with glory and grace; I want to see my Savior’s face; for heaven is a wonderful place.” That is indeed what makes heaven such a draw to His saints, not gold streets or reunions with loved ones or even lack of pain, but seeing His face. As Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. (Matthew 5:8)
Someone might say at this point, “All this talk of heaven when there is so much to do on earth” or “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” But to be truly heavenly minded, that is aligned with the thoughts of God, will most certainly propel one to be of the most earthly good. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (I John 3:2-3) Seeing God is our motivation for being pure in heart. The pure in heart will be at peace with God and at peace within themselves both of which cannot help but make them inclined toward pursuing peace in all their interactions with others. We cannot be pure of our own accord but “He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” (I John 3:5-6) So we pursue holiness to please Him and to confirm and affirm our relationship with Him in anticipation of our sight of Him; this brings good to us and the world around us as we minister God’s goodness to the world. So denying the motivation and need for considering heaven not only lessens the holiness of the believer it lessens the value to all mankind. And Francis Bacon takes this up in another way, “They that deny a God destroy man’s nobility; for certainly man is of kin to the beasts in his body, and, if he be not kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature.” (“Essays”) Not only the help to man is denied him by not focusing on God (and by extension seeing His face one day), but also the very value of man as made in God’s image and one for whom Christ died to save, so that he becomes nothing more than “a base and ignoble creature.”
We are in fact commanded to focus upward. “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Whien Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4) The whole rest of chapter 3 and on to 4:6 Paul promotes consequences of this focus being holy living within oneself, toward others and toward God. When He is revealed; we also will be revealed with Him. As the hymn says,”When by the gift of His infinite grace, I am accorded in heaven a place, just to be there and to look on His face will through the ages be glory for me. O that will be glory for me, glory for me, glory for me. When by His grace I shall look on His face, that will be glory, be glory for me.”
In the description of heaven in Revelation 21 and 22 I again select verses especially focussed on His beauty and desirability to us. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’…I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life…There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 21: 3-5,22-27; 22:3-5) Why is there no pain and crying? He makes all things new. Why is there no night and no need of lighting? He lights them. What will we do there? We will enjoy Him and serve Him. Whose your Daddy then? “They shall be His people.”
But we are not home, yet, and so we look forward as it says in the Jeremy Camp song,
“I know the journey seems so long
You feel you’re walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone
Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting
But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering
There will be a day with no more tears
No more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place
Will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always”
We can say in the most desperate of times with Job, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another.” (Job 19:25-27)
How should we live until we leave? “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) “Let love of the brethern continue.” (Hebrews 13:1) “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” (Revelation 22:17) “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thessalonians 4:17-18) ” I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy4:7-8)
The God of heaven and His presence are worth dwelling on and living by in the light of His Word.
His Sovereign Hand
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on June 9, 2011| 1 Comment »
Spurred on by an intense discussion last evening I flowed over with these thoughts I hope will glorify the Gracious Sovereign of all existence.
You extend Your Sovereign hand
To choose those who will be Yours
Blessing and cursing each land
By where sounds salvation’s cures
It is You choosing troubles
Each good gift comes from above
All that You do enables
Fits your plan just like a glove
But how can it be this way?
Are you not both good and just?
That You would choose some to pay
While some hear Your name and trust?
It must be that He alone
Controls and chooses each thing
Or He is not God alone
All who choose are deciding
For this is a world of fear
If each one controls his fate
Each one is to god a peer
No one sufficiently great
Scripture reveals not this god
Created in man’s own form
To fairness we must him prod
To his weakness we can warm
The truth of Himself revealed
The exalted One is He
His benevolent rule sealed
His choice through grace makes us free
Nesting
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Photo, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Outdoors, Photos, Sustaining on April 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Have you heard the buzz? A bald eagle pair and three freshly hatched eaglets 80 feet above the ground in Decorah, Iowa are being videoed for the whole world to see 24/7 by webcam, color by day and IR by night. It’s cute and a bit gross (raptor feeding habits are a bit coarse). But most of all it’s wonderful to see God’s creatures in a way we really never did before. Check it out at http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles Like all of God’s creatures bald eagles give glory to Him. God illustrates this in various ways in His Word. His wisdom and power in creating and sustaining His creatures is a common theme: “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, stretching his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the cliff he dwells and lodges, upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.” (Job 39:26-28) Even with our increased understanding of these creatures over what Job had we can neither make the eagle nor sustain him. But another theme common to Scripture is that of God’s care for His people in all times as similar to and above that of His care for His lesser creatures: “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. The LORD alone guided him…” (Deuteronomy 32:11-12a).
Though not on so grand a scale, my students bought and installed a bluebird nesting box with camera and cord in conduit so that we can watch what is going on inside the nesting box. It is beginning to get interesting. We have all learned much about nesting, territorial, and brooding habits of the Eastern Bluebird. As a result of God’s power and wisdom in creating and sustaining the world and its creatures it all belongs to Him and depends on Him: “I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains.” (Psalm 50:11-12)
“The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising you.” Psalm 84:3-4 The birds find and reside where they are supposed to be and so should we- in God’s presence, praising Him who is worthy by reason of His greatness and goodness as Creator, Sustainer, Lord, King, Savior, and all that is superlative and lifted up.
(The middle of this video is a bit tedious but as the popular saying now goes, “wait for it, wait for it.”)
When………Every
Posted in God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on February 3, 2011| 4 Comments »
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (James 1:2-3)
Reckon, consider, count! It is so, therefore, calculate assuming it is so. It will cause a conversion in your heart through testing and an endurance in your walk before God.
When the unexpected jolts your day Every interaction your nerves fray Responsibility overwhelms Look up and prayWhen fears of failure on you descend Every impulse is yourself defend Anxiety all thoughts penetrate On God depend
When short cuts and schemes call out and say Everyone does it come on and play Temptation so relentlessly flirts Christ is the way
When hard to hear for accusers’ din Every skeptic’s word makes your head spin Satan with ferocity attacks The Lord will win
When joy breaks out in conflict and mess Every problem brings peace nonetheless Difficulty turns to means of good Jesus did bless
Focus and Cling
Posted in God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on January 25, 2011| 2 Comments »
I just had the following encouraging thoughts a few moments ago when reading and commenting on a friend’s quotation of a poem (http://pennedpebbles.wordpress.com/ “Admire Whom?” (poem: CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED translated by Joseph Morris ))
I had a day of victory after a day of defeat yesterday, and why? Because of nothing other than focus and clinging. And that is what this poem is about- the way of life, the way of witness, the way of victory, the way of death, and the way of eternity- focus on Him and clinging to His enabling power.
When I cannot see Him plainBecause of thunder, storm, and rain
I must focus on His glorious face
Cling to His unchanging grace
To rise above the white-capped wave
That He enables me to brave
Looking for Better
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged Poems, Sustaining on December 7, 2010| 3 Comments »
A prayer more than a poem really, but the heart fixed on Jesus
finds reality in it.
Looking for better, a longing within, God is the answer, the place to begin. Oh, to be like Him, to gaze on His face, Full joy and longing, to live by that grace. But how the flesh pulls, it tugs on my heart, Promises good times, it looks like it’s smart. But, oh, it deceives, it robs you of joy, Go ahead do it, no harm is the ploy. The Spirit is strong, depend on His voice, Listen, it’s quiet, His way the right choice. Overcome the flesh, world, and the devil, Peace and rest are found, vanquishing evil. God’s Word is a sword, the truth in my hand, It cuts to my sin, can heal all this land. When with ears to hear, my cup is filled up, The lost see Jesus, God is lifted up.
The Word Before Your Face
Posted in General, God's Word, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God's Word, Poems, Sustaining on September 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »
I was encouraging my healthcare provider and Christian brother who turned and encouraged me even more by several comments he made. The one that struck me most was him holding his palm before his face and saying, “If we keep the Word before our face it keeps changing us.” We listen rather than work because our sanctification is by grace through faith as surely as our initial salvation experience.
Keeping the Word before your face Concept and meaning ever trace Continual changes in you Please God and better run the race Setting your mind on things above The things of God you learn to love Cleansing your heart so it is true Undivided heart like a dove Eternity within the heart Begun in Christ and not depart When I’ve sinned and turned away too By His Spirit I may restart Learn to live life by faith alone No schemes and planning on your own By His Word guided by each clue To heed the Spirit’s call be prone When in danger for Him you call Secure in Him never can fall Peace with God is ever in view Assurance of heaven’s bright hall The Word before your face again Best deterrent to prevent sin Knowing that all to God is due Forgiveness, glory, life you’re in
Pain and Pleasure
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on June 5, 2010| 2 Comments »
I seem to be in an extended season of difficulty. This time around I wondered what I could have done to cause the problem. How had I strained my ankle? Rain and responsibility had kept me from doing much activity for several days before the swelling and pain. It turns out that it was not structural at all but rather inflamation. It is yet another time to reflect on God’s goodness and man’s condition.
Pain and pleasure juxtapose First grow thorns and then the rose Why these two rise side by side One we cherish one derideMust it be that we suppose Foulness comes with the sweet dose Neither so before the Fall Nor in heaven eternal
Better does it good disclose More thankful now more repose By suffering our wants end God does good superintend
Now I enjoy more the rose Beauty of its top stem pose Thorns diminish all one day In His presence I will stay
May I have a Word with you?
Posted in General, Poem, Random thoughts, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining, tagged Random thoughts, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining on January 23, 2010| 2 Comments »
One of the ways that God has given us to communicate with people is through words. Body language and acts of kindness, hatred, or neglect are other ways. Not only kind, encouraging words, but constructive criticism words and instructive and insightful words that build someone up and demonstrate concern are helpful. As the Proverbs say, “Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad,” (12:25) and “A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word,” (15:23) and “Faithful are the wounds of a friend,” (27:6) and “Heed instruction and be wise,” (8:33) and “the tongue of the wise brings healing,” (12:18), and “he who forsakes reproof goes astray,” (10:17) and many more good words.
But I have observed that though the eargate be open and the volume be sufficient and distractions be few, many good words are not heard. In fact, the emotional baggage and relationship histories can shut a mind down to where it not only refuses to accept good words, rejecting them or twisting them to have some nefarious meaning or intentions, but such a mind can deny before witnesses that the words were ever spoken. Though this is an amazement to me, I have both observed it and commited this crime of unkindness to the speaker. So, I am resolved to hear better and attribute intentions as purer to words that are of benefit to me while understanding that discouraging or untrue words may well come from a speaker who does not fully understand the source of their own intentions. To this end I have composed a poem:
What is the need for a stern word From loved ones, colleagues, or stranger A cautionary note not absurd When it rescues one from dangerWhat is the use of a taught word Is it something you need to know Keep you from running with the herd Help your mind continually grow
What is the goal of a wise word Of discernment that penetrates So that on your life you may gird Tools for living, such worthy traits
What is the help of a kind word With regular sincerity Just like a beautiful song bird A seasonal sound rarity
Painful Teacher
Posted in General, Poem, Strength, Sustaining, Why?!, tagged Poems, Strength, Sustaining, Why?! on October 15, 2009| 2 Comments »
Pain is a teacher unlike the rest
Mastery through continual test
Speaks loud and clear the nerves to molest
Difficult friend and unwelcomed guest
Told to rejoice through various trials How so when all comfort it defiles Raises high fears deep emotions riles Makes a few steps seem as many miles
The answer comes through what is induced Frivolous pursuits greatly reduced Priorities from limits deduced Perseverance and faith both loosed
Back to school prayer
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining on August 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Father, we look forward to a good school year, but we won’t have one without Your active presence. We acknowledge Your goodness, and request that Your hand of protection be upon us. We ask that You teach us truth so that we may communicate it to students and adults. And all of this we ask for the glory and in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Blessing the Name by Remembering the Benefits (Psalm 103)
Posted in General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, God's Word, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining on August 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Psalm 103 begins with both a call for the hearer to worship and summary of what the psalmist desires to communicate to himself and those listening to him. David is alerting his own soul to bless God’s name and His benefits. But names of God seem to be absent and even the word “name” only appears once in the psalm, so how is His name blessed? Consider, how do we know the greatness of God’s name? We know the greatness of it by what He has done. All works He has done are benefits to those who trust Him, and the greatness of His name is revealed through these benefits. Add the admonitions of verses 11,13, and 17 to fear Him and we see the summary teaching and application of the Psalm: Bless His name, remember His benefits, and fear Him. This application is not merely a spiritual ‘icing on the cake’, it is the means of survival amidst spiritual battle. David knew the value of it. In First Samuel 30:3-6 we observe a desperate situation for David and his men. Having just returned from following the Philistines, they find their hometown, Ziklag, burned down, their wives and children kidnapped to become slaves, and most of their possessions stolen. The men have wept over their families until they have no strength and are discussing stoning David because of the loss. The Scripture records David’s reaction: “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” (v.6). Now your plight and mine probably are not presently so severe. The danger is to ignore the need for strengthening ourselves in the Lord. We are thus rendered weaker for the lesser battles and ill-fit for the greater battles. And so David urged his innermost being to bless the Lord and not forget His benefits. May we practice the psalmist’s discipline and experience God’s joy.
A Long Simmering Tale of Past Adventure Half-Sought
Posted in General, Outdoors, Random thoughts, Sustaining, tagged Outdoors, Random thoughts, Sustaining on May 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »
During D’s Christmas break, he, P, and I went to the Linville Gorge here in our county . Well, I had a bushwhacking in mind, knowing the gorge much better than in previous years. We went atop the ridge, down a narrow cut between 300 foot cliffs, waded the river without mishap, went upstream, waded the river with some small clothes wetting, and started up the ridge. The uphill was so strenuous that the clothes wetting and near-freezing temperatures were no problem. Then began the adventure. With the shortened hours of winter pushing us, we tried to find a trail I had never been on, though marked on the map. We didn’t find it so we started up the side of the ridge, a very steep talus field. From the bottom we could see that it would not be hard to avoid confronting a large cliff in this section so we pushed on confidently. About halfway up we encountered the remains of a forest fire from about 5 years ago. No, it’s not what you expect. The downed pine trunks were thick and thicker still were the 4 year old saplings, about wrist thickness diameter, a foot to foot and a half apart and 6 to 8 feet tall. The going got extremely difficult, steep upslope, flexible but stiff trunks to push through, and intertwined trunks in varying degrees of rot at waist or chest deep. The way back was not an option with dark, potential wetting, and significant distance further to go. The way forward seemed unassailable. I knew we simply had to make the ridge and trail by dark, though it was obvious there was a goodly hike from there to the truck in the dark. The guys quieted down to the labor ahead with only occasional exclamations of amazement at how laden with traps the way forward had become. We reached the ridge as the last orange glow of sunset faded. After a quick rest we began a long, quick-paced hike out, but the adventure was far from over. Soon I had to don my head lamp, in recent years a necessary part of any hike, day or overnight. We surged forward, but had to rest soon after the exertions of the entangled climb. We got up and went on, noticing that we had a curious view of an adjoining valley we did not expect. Yes, it was dark and so far moonless, but the lights in the valleys were as jewel-like as the stars. The ridge ran over to the left and the trail began to descend. I began to have misgivings out loud but continued on. D stopped us and explained why this could not be the way. We turned, emotionally fatigued by the setback. At the point we had stopped to rest we discovered the trail had taken a 180 degree switchback. The trail we had started down, after inspection was the other end of the one we sought to find at the bottom of the gorge. We rushed on through open forest across the top of the ridge, up and down. After traversing a deep gap we were to come on top of a wide-backed, straight and level ridge before a steep drop to the truck, perhaps a mile and a half left. Soon after we reached the top of the ridge we came upon our most mentally trying difficulty. A more recent forest fire had totally decimated the landscape (we have suffered extended, several year drought which only in the last month did the NWS say was over). There are scatter boulders, but otherwise large areas were ashen and very moon-scape in the starlight. Nothing appeared alive and no remains of plant material was more than knee high. The soil was almost entirely eroded into ash flows with 100+ yard lengths having no evidence of trail. Then brush would obscure what indention in rock and gravel suggested the remains of trail. There is a 300 foot cliff on the right and a long slope that extends for miles through National Forest on the left. The way is forward. I would have the guys stand at the last perceived semblance of trail while I searched the scorched landscape for evidence of the way forward. When I found what seemed to be the way I would call them forward. After a 1/2 mile or so intermittent areas of unburned forest would arise with definite trail and even blazes on trees, only to be followed by burned out moonscape again. The temperature was dropping into the mid-twenties and the wind gusted hard in the bare places. I was thankful for the cool heads of my guys and the seemingly strong headlamp. Finally we came to the small, tree lined bog that marks the 3/4 point of the ridge. From here on the forest was thick until we came back to our full circle and the way down where the older fire had ruined the now slowly returning south exposure pine forest. To say we were exhausted seems trivial but we were also thankful. P managed to get a cell phone call out (rare on this ridge) to say we were safe and don’t send out the rescue squad. P has not been hiking since, nor has D but he has lacked opportunity. I was very thankful for God’s watchcare over our adventure and my unwise choices. It was an adventure to write home about and probably to give the old man a hard time over in future years. Did I learn anything? That depends on who you ask.
Eyes on Things Above
Posted in General, Poem, Sustaining, tagged Add new tag, Poems, Sustaining on October 5, 2008| 1 Comment »
Eyes on Things Above is a poem I commend to you if you are losing your focus on what your purpose and endpoint are. We need Him every day to give us joy, purpose, direction, and enabling power to follow. Click on the poem title to see it.
Perseverance
Posted in General, God's Word, Strength, Sustaining, tagged God's Word, Strength, Sustaining on September 28, 2008| Leave a Comment »
I did a Bible study with the youth group at my church on Perseverance. They did the majority of the study in groups of 3 to 5 using a whiteboard, markers, and a Bible. Through presentation, interaction, and follow-up questions we concluded that perseverance is good and neccessary and that we need to dwell more on the promises of God like heaven and His presence to succeed at it. If you like you can use my notes to share it with someone else or yourself by clicking on countering-the-excesses-of-affluence
Casting Cares
Posted in Beauty, General, Photo, Remembering, Sustaining, Why?!, tagged Photos, Remembering, Sustaining on August 16, 2008| 2 Comments »
Eagle Cliffs
I guess I wanted to blog while I was away. Hikers, particularly “through hikers” (also called “end to enders”), journal their experiences and keep in contact with other hikers by writing in spiral bound notebooks left in each shelter, most usually in a ziplock bag. I went backpacking 3 days and 2 nights in the Smoky Mountains National Park with 3 of my children and 2 of their friends. I had so much on my mind that my children commented on my exceptional quietness. A small amount of it came out at lunch time on the second day. My daughter laughed at the thought of me wanting to (as an afterthought) and being able to digitally copy it. You can read my thoughts by clicking on smokys-08-trail-journal-entry
Pecks Corner Shelter
I decided not take tents which meant we had to stay in shelters. This of course saved weight for us all and gave the young people the new experience of staying in a shelter. The first one, Laurel Gap Shelter still had the old design, dark with a chain link fence over the open side to keep out bears.
The Year of the Fir Cone
But Peck’s has the skylight and expanded front with picnic table and vulnerability to wildlife. Life is a balancing act.
I was once told that Balsam Firs only cone once every 7 years. I do see them rarely. I have a picture of me picking a cone from the top of a tree 14 years ago. The cones have a certain mystery to them since they come infrequently and the cones disentegrate (You’ve picked up pine, hemlock, and perhaps spruce cones but not whole fir cones unless it was a thrown green one.) My daughter commented that since she would be 21 years old this year she was born in the year of the fir cone. Time is marked in assundry ways.
Good memories and other reasons for THANKFULNESS 2007
Posted in General, Random thoughts, Sustaining, tagged Random thoughts, Sustaining on January 1, 2008| 1 Comment »
Following are reasons and memories that cause me to be thankful and give praise to God for 2007 (in no other order than how they entered my mind)
good health, growth in my relationships with Beth and Laura and Ben, moving to my teaching position at the brand new Patton High, backpacking with Laura, family trip and Physics workshop in Williamsburg, strength to run and climb, climbing trip in August, spiritual growth and baptisms of Sam and Phil, National Board Certification, articles in the News Herald, opportunities to witness to students, building a deck with Sam, Dan, and Laura, Daniel’s Regional 5K race, Sam and Phil’s indoor and outdoor soccer, sharing in the men’s gathering and the weekend at Brad’s mountain home, Laura’s homecoming for the summer, Beth’s work at PCC, weekend at Ben’s, weekend at the Highley cabin, walks on the Greenway and about town
God is good all the time. His lovingkindness endures forever. May the name of the Lord be praised in all things and in my life from now on and forever. Amen.
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