High on a Mountain

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One of the benefits of living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest is the opportunity to be a short drive to the rugged ocean or to the majestic Cascade mountains.  Since I was a young boy, I have enjoyed playing in the snow on Mount Hood, near Portland.  Now, as an adult, I still try to get up to the mountain  once a year to go snowboarding.

 

As you probably have heard on the National news — 3 mountain climbers recently went missing on the 11,000 ft. mountain and were  the object of a massive search.  Numerous volunteers scoured the mountain whenever the weather would permit, over a 9 day period.  

 

A black hawk helicopter, 2 drones, and other hi-tech equipment were called in to aid in the search. The families of the men came to Oregon to assist in the search effort. They prayed for the search and rescue teams who were  in constant danger of avalanches, steep icy terrain and weather that at times produced 100 mph winds and white-out conditions.

 

Today the search finally ended in disappointment. One of the climbers was found dead Monday in a snow cave near the summit. The other two are still lost and assumed to also be deceased. They may have been buried by an avalanche or fallen into a crevass attempting to climb down the treacherous mountain.

 

Kelly James,  Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke – all experienced climbers, loved mountain climbing and loved God. After praying for the men and their families each day – it was sad and difficult hearing the news. The good news is that because they trusted Christ as their saviour, they will one day be reunited with family members who also believe.

 

Please join me in praying for those who have had to return home alone, without their loved ones and who must begin the process of healing. May God comfort them with His presence and the re-affirmation of the promises He has given us.

 

‘Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you … that where I am, you may be also.’ (John 14:1-3)

 

‘Truly, truly I say to you — He who hears My words and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death, into life.’ (John 5:24)

 

Keep looking Up!

 

A Divine Appointment

My wife and I have really been enjoying watching God answer our prayers regarding opportunities to be used by Him.  This afternoon, after a great time worshipping and learning at our local Church — we went to a mall to do some shopping and then stopped for an early dinner.  The food was great, the atmosphere relaxing and since we had skipped breakfast and lunch — we were very happy to eat something.

 

Just as the waitress handed me the bill, my wife asked her if her mother’s name was "—–".  It was! My wife had thought that she looked familiar and had seen her come in with her mother earlier in the year to pick up some items at the place where my wife works. The waitress had lost her sister and her grand-father in a tragic auto accident a while back and as you would expect — the loss was devastating to the family.

 

For the next 10 minutes or so, I listened quietly as my lovely wife and this young woman talked through the situation and the continuing impact in her life and that of her mother. It was one of those moments where you sensed the presence of God and knew that it was a Divine appointment where He sent my wife to bring encouragement and hope to a hurting person, in His name.

 

We both spent this evening talking about this and other opportunities the Lord has given us over the years and the honor of being part of His wonderful plan.

 

It also reminded me once again why I love my wife as much today and when we were first married many years ago. She is a woman of compassion and sensitivity for others and that is a trait that I rank near the top of the list.

 

As we start a new week — let me encourage you to ask the Lord  to give you a renewed sensitivity to the needs of others you come into contact with and for Him to allow you to make a difference in their lives by listening, by giving, by touching and by sharing the greatest news in the Universe — Forgiveness and Grace — water of life for the thirsty — the Gift of God through His Son Jesus.

 

Keep Looking Up!

Anonymous People

As I was looking through some of my pictures this week, I realized that I had captured the portraits of several people that I know nothing about, but because of where they were standing at the moment are now a permanent part of our family history. It would be great to know more about them — who they are, what they are like and their life story. That is not likely to ever happen though.

 

There is the picture of my daughter and son in-law getting ready to go snowboarding on Mt. Hood. The man standing in the background looks very familiar.  Maybe a past classmate or maybe a fellow traveler on a flight — not sure, but I have the sense that I should know him.

 

 Then there is the picture of my wife, my daughter and little Kendyl at the county fair. The man in the background with the nice smile is a stranger, but he seemed to enjoy watching us take the pictures. I’d love to talk with him – I have the sense that he is a nice man and has a happy marriage. How can you  tell from a picture?  You can’t really, but it’s a good guess based on his face and smile.

 

 While traveling in Germany a few years ago, I stopped in a small Bavarian city to buy a sweatshirt before heading up the mountain and saw a beautiful florist shop with a lot of flowers out front. I decided to take a picture of all the colors and it wasn’t until later that I noticed I had inadvertently included the posterior of a lady bending over, smelling the flowers.  She would be happy knowing that her face wasn’t included so she that she remains anonymous.

 

 

I’m sure that I have made it into a lot of pictures taken by others as well.  They probably wonder who that man is — but it will have to remain a mystery.

 

The only one who sees me every moment — who knows me intimately — who loves me completely — is the Lord Jesus. I’m not anonymous to Him and neither are you. That is such an overwhelming thought — the God who created the universe and everything in it — knows us and cares for us. He desires a personal relationship with each of us. When He returns from Heaven to take his children home — He won’t be looking for perfect people. He will be looking for those, who have responded to His invitation by faith — the invitation to walk in a daily personal relationship with Him and to have their sins all washed away.

 

On that day – I will be especially glad that I am not anonymous and will hear Him call my name.

 

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States — but everyday is Thanksgiving for those who around the world who have been touched by His love, mercy and grace.

 

Let me encourage you today to take a few minutes and tell Him what you are thankful for. It will change your day as you recount your many blessings.

 

Keep looking up!

 

 

The Surprise

 

Last Thursday morning at 4am, my wife dropped me off at the light rail station so that I could get to the airport for a 7:30 flight to San Diego. I had decided to make the trip to help my oldest son with some projects around the  house and also to attend my daughter’s 30th birthday party on Saturday.

 

My son knew that I was coming and I had also carefully made arrangements with my son in-law, since I was planning to stay at their house. My daughter however, didn’t have a clue that I was coming.

 

After arriving in San Diego, I spent the rest of the day working with my son and in the evening drove to a laundromat in Pacific Beach,  where my daughter was finishing up some laundry. She was folding some clothes while talking to my wife — her mother — on the cell phone — when I walked in the building. She freaked out when she saw it was me — she was so surprised and excited!

 

I spent the next two days installing gutters, repairing a screen door and installing a drainage system in my son’s yard.  As usual, we had to make about 4 trips to the store for parts and never did make it out in the boat, but it was great getting the work done.  I was thankful to be able to help but was exhausted after 3 days working in the sun all day.

 

Last night was my daughters birthday party and we were joined with about 40 of her friends from church, former co-workers from her previous job and other friends at El Torito, for dinner, cake and overall celebration.  I loved hearing everyone say what a wonderful woman she is. Of course, I already knew that– but a Dad is always proud to hear it from others.

 

Today, we went to the early service at her church and heard a message on Ephesians 5:19-20. The overflow of walking in the Spirit will have us singing hymns, spiritual songs and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.  It will also overflow in an attitude of gratitude – thankfulness for all that God is and does on our behalf.  Good reminder to let Him have every part of our lives.

 

My son in-law  Jacob, is part of the church worship team (he plays drums, and electric guitar), so he left at 7am and didn’t come back home until about 1pm.  Today – after lunch, we rode bikes along Mission Bay and this evening walked along the ocean boardwalk/pier.

 

As you can see — I took about 70 photos. Since I’m not home yet – I posted them unedited. Typically, I auto-correct brightness and do some cropping to enhance the picture, but that will have to wait until later in the week when I’m home.

 

Tomorrow – everyone is back at work and I’m headed to Starbucks for coffee in the morning, then spending the day at the beach relaxing before I have to fly home Tuesday afternoon.

 

It’s been rewarding to be able to help my son and to bring my daughter such joy with the big surprise. I think that is what fathers live for– using our gifts to meet the needs of our family and others in need.

 

I know that our Heavenly Father loves to help us  and to surprise us as well. ‘Eyes haven’t seen and ears haven’t heard the wonderful things that God has in store for us in Christ Jesus.’  Right now, we see through a glass darkly — but one day – we will be face to face with our Lord and we will also be excited.

 

He is the giver of all good gifts and I’m thankful today and can’t wait for the future.

 

Blessings from beautiful San Diego —-

 

Keep looking Up!

 

 

 

 

The Promise of a New Life

Last Friday night, around 9pm — someone from the church we attend called to say that they needed help. They were organizing a crew for the next morning to do some painting. We are getting ready to move into a new building very soon and there is a lot of work to do. The church has been meeting in a school the past couple of years, but with two Sunday services full, it was necessary to move to a larger facility. Instead of buying a building, the leadership decided to just lease a large warehouse in a business park and completely remodel the building.

 

Sandy and I had signed up a couple of months ago to help out where ever needed when the time came and Saturday was the time.  Sandy stayed home with Kendyl and I had the privilege of helping  spray paint a number of interior rooms (it’s a lot easier than painting by hand!)  It also allowed me to meet a couple of young men that I hadn’t met before, which was an added bonus. 

 

We got a lot of painting done and on the way out of the building — inside the large foyer — I found a Banded Wooly Bear caterpillar moving frantically, trying to avoid getting squished by the sheetrocker’s lift machines or the worker’s carrying 5 gallon buckets of paint. I gave him a temporary home in an empty plastic water container and decided he was coming to live at our house for awhile. I knew that Kendyl would enjoy seeing him. 

 

One of the fun things she likes to do is to have me tell her about how a caterpillar walks along (walking my fingers up her arm) and then becomes a butterfly and fly’s away. (We skip the caccon and all of the waiting. Two year old’s can’t handle that!) It always makes her smile and she  wants to repeat it over and over.

 

Anyway – the caterpillar — ‘Fuzzy’, now lives with us. He ate an entire plant leaf — the one in the picture — in about 2 hours. He must have been hungry from a day of travel.  Before his dinner though, He crawled on my Bible and read 1 Corinthians — smart caterpillar. 

 

Tonight I looked up the info on this type of caterpillar and they are found all over North America, but not anywhere else. They eventually turn into a Tiger Moth.  If I can keep him alive over the winter, Kendyl can see the whole process. We’ll have to see if I’m up for it.  Sandy thinks it’s pretty funny that our only family pet is a caterpillar!

 

You have to admit though, that the caterpillar is such a wonderful illustration of  the Christian in this life. Although we are temporarily earthbound and must face the limitations of this physical body for awhile — when we came to know Christ and were ‘born again’ — God gave us His divine nature — we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise  — even though outwardly, we look the same.

 

Now we look forward to the promise of a brand new body in the life to come — one that is not limited to the physical, the temporal, the corrupt — but that can ‘fly’ into eternity unencumbered.

 

Our new body won’t look like our current body anymore than a caterpillar looks like a butterfly, but it will be us and we will be known – both to the Lord and our loved ones who are with us.

 

Somedays it gets very tiring being a caterpillar – don’t you think?  It is a long way to walk and there are many obstacles. Just remember that the promise of a new life holds true and the seed is already in those of us who have believed.  Trust Him — It will be worth the wait.

 

"For this perishable must put on the imperishable and this mortal must  put on immortality. … thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"  1 Corinthians 15:53;57

 

Keep looking up!

 

 

Like I’d Like

If I were like I’d like to be

I’d be so strong that all could see

The muscles bulging out on me;

If I were like I’d like to be.

 

If I were like I’d like to be

I’d be so smart that Einstein, he

Would ask advice from only me;

If I were like I’d like to be.

 

If I were like I’d like to be

I’d be so rich that sea to sea

No one would have as much as me;

If I were like I’d like to be.

 

But actually, when I reflect,

Some selfishness I do detect;

And that won’t do, for God has said

I’d better start to use my head.

 

The day is near, the night is past,

And life is speeding by so fast;

Just seek for God’s Priority

And He will make the change in me.

 

I’ll be the way I’d like to be,

When Jesus’ radiant face I see;

Worshipping on bended knee,

I’ll be the way I’d like to be.

 

R. Howarth (1982)

The Faithful One

Just like the waves that never stop

Their journey to the shore

My blessed Savior’s faithfulness

Keeps coming evermore.

 

Though often times I fail to see

His purpose or His plan

My trust to Him I fully give

To Him alone I can

 

For long ago He died for me

And then rose from the dead

Ascending to the Father’s side

Exactly as He said

 

Now I must say that times have come

When I have gone astray

And though I knew the thing to do

I turned the other way

 

But every time, the path of life

He helped my eyes to see

Lord, thank You that You don’t forget

An erring child like me

 

R.Howarth (1982)