8/12/15
2/9/13
12/24/12
Light & Life
From what I have read, the world has been a dark place for a long, long time. Beginning with stubborn rebellion, we continue to wrecklessly spiral out of control. Men, women, children, even infants have been slaughtered throughout the ages. There is nothing we can do to "fix" our descent into the dark abyss. There is no cure in trying harder, doing better or just being good. Our essence is terminally wicked and desperately sick. Prognosis negative. We are dead.
But... What if a small light of hope was placed into this dark world and eventually into our dark hearts? Could this be the cure for the sickness that has plagued us for generations?
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved!!!
Merry Christmas
But... What if a small light of hope was placed into this dark world and eventually into our dark hearts? Could this be the cure for the sickness that has plagued us for generations?
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved!!!
Merry Christmas
8/24/12
Under the influence...
History repeats itself. This phrase has been floating around my head this week. Last weekend, I watched the mini series Hatfield's & McCoy's. I really liked it while it was terribly disturbing at the same time.
As I was drawn in, the hate was almost unimaginable. Watching the cold blooded murders take place with hardly a second thought seemed barbaric and foreign, although the knee jerk reaction to seek vengeance at the first sign of being wronged is not something that is foreign to me. That is understandably human. I think the most disturbing part was the way the main characters quoted scripture from the bible. These guys obviously knew the correct words to say, but apparently it never made it past their shoulders. This is very dangerous and this is the thing that gave me a shudder.
Merely knowing what the bible says means nothing without God regenerating the heart. We see this in Jesus' interaction with religious people in the bible. His strongest words of correction (and condemnation) were pointed at the religious elite of the day; those who think their acceptance by God is based on their ability to seemingly keep the rules. This mentality leads to massive self righteousness and without revelation from God, goes undetected by the person under its influence. Unfortunately we are all guilty of this. I continually find myself realizing this is the lens through which I see the world.
Oh, the part about history repeating itself? I'm not quite ready to open that can. Yet.
Matthew 23:28- "So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
8/27/12
Addendum-
After thinking about this for a few days, I probably should just keep my thoughts to myself. I am so good at finding everyone else's issues in hindsight. Such a fool I still am....
As I was drawn in, the hate was almost unimaginable. Watching the cold blooded murders take place with hardly a second thought seemed barbaric and foreign, although the knee jerk reaction to seek vengeance at the first sign of being wronged is not something that is foreign to me. That is understandably human. I think the most disturbing part was the way the main characters quoted scripture from the bible. These guys obviously knew the correct words to say, but apparently it never made it past their shoulders. This is very dangerous and this is the thing that gave me a shudder.
Merely knowing what the bible says means nothing without God regenerating the heart. We see this in Jesus' interaction with religious people in the bible. His strongest words of correction (and condemnation) were pointed at the religious elite of the day; those who think their acceptance by God is based on their ability to seemingly keep the rules. This mentality leads to massive self righteousness and without revelation from God, goes undetected by the person under its influence. Unfortunately we are all guilty of this. I continually find myself realizing this is the lens through which I see the world.
Oh, the part about history repeating itself? I'm not quite ready to open that can. Yet.
Matthew 23:28- "So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
8/27/12
Addendum-
After thinking about this for a few days, I probably should just keep my thoughts to myself. I am so good at finding everyone else's issues in hindsight. Such a fool I still am....
8/17/12
Life... after death
8/17/12
Twenty 2 years ago, about this time of day (6 pm), I watched my dad pass into eternity. It wasn't unexpected. Just a little quicker than we had originally been told. About two years earlier, he had been diagnosed with malignant brain cancer. Surgery had been done and poison had been administered, but the rogue cells in his brain just wouldn't relent. He was going to die (as we all are).
I was nineteen at the time. An incredibly self absorbed, narcissistic youth. All I wanted was to escape. And I tried. There was no place in my brain that could process the thought. I had no idea about death (or life). I just wanted my desires to be met and to keep that pesky death thing far away.
It's an indescribable thing to lose someone as close as a parent. My dad really was my hero. Watching the last bit of life leave his body, lips turning blue, pulse slowly fading... I wanted someone to do something, but nothing could be done. Superman & kryptonite. It's true everything becomes blurry and you just go numb. For years. You become accustomed to the numb. Even when life tries to jolt you out of it, you find ways to maintain the vacuum. Oh well...
I guess I'm ok. Life goes on after death. Bills must be paid, lawns must be mowed... Of course I wish I could've had more time with him. I wish he could have met my wife and kids. I think he would have liked them. I wish I'd had more time for deep conversations about death (and life). I remember at his funeral the guy who spoke said he had asked my dad about his salvation. My dad supposedly told him he had taken care of it. I didn't have a clue about that at the time either. I wrongly thought it was about all the good stuff I did weighed against the bad stuff. What a fool I used to be... but after all these years I'm afraid I'm still that self absorbed, narcissistic youth.
"And still He seeks the fellowship of His people and will send them both joy and sorrow to detach their hands from the things of this world and attach them to Himself"- JI Packer
Twenty 2 years ago, about this time of day (6 pm), I watched my dad pass into eternity. It wasn't unexpected. Just a little quicker than we had originally been told. About two years earlier, he had been diagnosed with malignant brain cancer. Surgery had been done and poison had been administered, but the rogue cells in his brain just wouldn't relent. He was going to die (as we all are).
I was nineteen at the time. An incredibly self absorbed, narcissistic youth. All I wanted was to escape. And I tried. There was no place in my brain that could process the thought. I had no idea about death (or life). I just wanted my desires to be met and to keep that pesky death thing far away.
It's an indescribable thing to lose someone as close as a parent. My dad really was my hero. Watching the last bit of life leave his body, lips turning blue, pulse slowly fading... I wanted someone to do something, but nothing could be done. Superman & kryptonite. It's true everything becomes blurry and you just go numb. For years. You become accustomed to the numb. Even when life tries to jolt you out of it, you find ways to maintain the vacuum. Oh well...
I guess I'm ok. Life goes on after death. Bills must be paid, lawns must be mowed... Of course I wish I could've had more time with him. I wish he could have met my wife and kids. I think he would have liked them. I wish I'd had more time for deep conversations about death (and life). I remember at his funeral the guy who spoke said he had asked my dad about his salvation. My dad supposedly told him he had taken care of it. I didn't have a clue about that at the time either. I wrongly thought it was about all the good stuff I did weighed against the bad stuff. What a fool I used to be... but after all these years I'm afraid I'm still that self absorbed, narcissistic youth.
"And still He seeks the fellowship of His people and will send them both joy and sorrow to detach their hands from the things of this world and attach them to Himself"- JI Packer
4/24/11
Down
There's a 400 ft long bridge there somewhere.(click picture to enlarge)
Sleeping fitfully is putting it mildly. I kept waking up about every hour or so. By the time the alarm went off, I had already been awake for a few minutes. We took our time getting around just trying not to overlook anything. I ate an extremely large breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns and coffee. I had a subconscious fear that I would not have enough food I guess. We made our way to the rangers office and got a quick update on trail conditions. The lady there informed us we would need a ratsack to store our food and trash in. There are ammo boxes in the corridor campgrounds but not at the other ones. After a brief discussion, we decided this was a wise decision. Which meant another 30 minute delay. Not that we were in a hurry, just getting anxious about getting on the trail. When we returned to catch the shuttle, I was a bit confused so we missed the first one to come by. After another 20 minute delay, we finally were on our way. But of course we still had to change shuttles again and wait some more... It was almost 11:00 am by the time we headed down the trail. The top part of the South Kaibab Trail is definitely a sight to behold. Steep switchbacks and narrow passages make for quite the adrenaline rush. Also, the trail is shared with the mule trains that travel to the bottom so careful attention to your steps is a good idea. On this day, there were trail repair crews working every so often. Day hikers are also much more concentrated near the top. Firm footing is necessary to counteract the blustery gusts of wind that come out of nowhere. Arriving at Cedar Ridge, we took advantage of the solar toilet there. Nothing fancy (at least what is visible anyway) just adequate. The trail continues on to O’Neill Butte. We took a lunch break on the eastern slope and got our first up-close glimpse of what would become our arch nemesis of the trip. The dreaded Kaibab Squirrel. They seem to be curiously cute at first. Sniffing, standing, begging... vile creatures. My backpack (did I mention it was a rental?) would become an innocent victim of one of these evil little monsters the very next morning. The rest of this afternoon would be spent attempting to make it to the river. It would appear so deceptively close and still be so far away. Switchback after switchback. It was quite a relief to finally step into the tunnel that leads to the black bridge which is 80 feet above the water. There were still a few more minutes to Bright Angel Campground. It was just a little past 6:00 pm as we found a spot along Bright Angel Creek. Very pleasant way to wrap up a long but fulfilling day.
4/16/11
Carbs
As we sat in the restaurant at the Bright Angel Lodge, I was trying to shovel in a pile of spaghetti and meatballs. I remember hearing about how marathon runners "carbo load" the night before a race. I assumed it would help me as well. It was well after dark when we made our way back to our second floor room at the Maswik Lodge. Nothing fancy. Just a couple of beds, a bathroom and two oscillating fans. Since Kenny and I had rented our backpacks, we didn't have the luxury of packing at home. Being new to the whole backpacking scene, I've yet to figure out how to efficiently and orderly pack all that I think I need. Most of the evening was spent packing and unpacking, putting the pack on, adjusting straps, removing things deemed unnecessary, and repeating the process. We were concerned about carrying too much weight and it seemed like anything we took out failed to lighten the load. I think it was close to midnight (2am cdt) when we finally got to bed. We had been awake almost two days and it was starting to show. I checked the weather forecast (once again) and tried to get some sleep.Morning was quickly approaching. 
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)