Heart Soul and Might

Our family prayer times are some of the funnest and most fulfilling times we have as a family. And just before our meals, our prayer can get pretty interesting. We’ve adopted a pretty familiar prayer that we sing - you may be familiar with it. It goes like this:

God our Father, God our Father
Once again, once again
We bow our heads and thank you, bow our heads and thank you
Amen, Amen.
Thank you, Jesus!

It’s the “Thank you, Jesus!” that usually shocks people around us at restaurants, because every one of us throw our hands up in the air and with much vim and vigor, shout those words… Sometimes I wonder about our ritual because a red-headed three year old can have some serious volume on that part.

Well, every now and then, we spontaneously break out into at least a 3-part harmony - sometimes its 5-part harmony - as we sing our prayer. And, I have to admit that I’m usually the one to start it, often choosing either the tenor part, or even getting up into my falsetto alto range. At that point, any reverence in our prayer-song goes out the window, and we all break into our wide-ranging operatic vibratos. Sometimes, I must admit that I’m a little convicted that I’m the one influencing our three boys to be irreverent during our family pre-meal prayer. But it’s so fun watching the faces of Josiah (our 5 yr old) and Jonathan (our red-headed 3 yr old) as they express themselves to the Lord. (or at least to each other!)

Well, in the last few weeks, Jonathan has gotten a kick out of watching me try to hit either the really high notes, or the really low notes (that I never actually get to) and he imitates my face. His face is so contorted I’d actually like to think I don’t really look like that, but he’s looking right at me when he does it, so he’s probably right on.

And following our “Thank you, Jesus!” he turns to me with eyes full of anticipation, and asks, “Daddy, did I look like you?” I can’t help but get a kick out of his enthusiasm, and he’ll only be happy with ONE answer. So of course I say “Jon-Jon, you looked JUST like me! You looked just like your daddy!” And then, satisfied that he accomplished his goal, he rips into his food…

But, it got me thinking. My little boy wants to look just like his daddy. He wants to try to sound like his daddy. He looks up to me, and tries to imitate me - even in something as silly as our operatic family prayer… And he’s teaching me a lesson when he asks me this… Because this is the question I need to be asking MY Father. My heavenly Father. “Daddy, do I look like You? Do I sound like You? Do I act like You? When people look at me, can they tell that I’m YOUR child?”

I love the lessons I learn from my kids. And, I don’t think I’m going to stop our 5-part harmony prayer anytime soon - because I have to admit: now I actually look forward to hearing that question from my son. And I have to believe our Father likes hearing that kind of question from us, too.

Long ago, I gave up on the traditional “New Years Resolutions” since it was usually the third week in January that I gave up on my New Years Resolutions. So, a few years ago I started doing something different: I began asking the Lord in December what word He’d want me to focus on in the following year. This would be a word that would focus my thoughts, shape my goals and give me something to think about during the entire year. No longer did I have a set number of pounds to lose or a fixed number of times per week I would work out - these always led to failure. My word for the year would give me something to meditate on, to think about, to live by - it would bring me to certain books to read, messages to listen to, websites to check out… No failure. Only victory!

This word always inevitably comes from something that is already a theme in my life in some way - but maybe something I want to challenge myself with over the course of the next year. In 2004, I knew I needed to get beyond my self-focus, so my word was “others”. In 2005, He actually gave me three words: purity, humility and dependence. In 2006, it was church history.

A few weeks ago when I began to think about my “word for 2008″, I was thinking about my boys. I thought about the fact that they get jazzed at just about everything they see, no matter how common or simple. Jonathan still looks up at the moon sometimes and says “Daddy! The moon, the moon!” Unfortunately, I’ve looked at the moon so many times I hardly see it anymore and have gotten bored with it. It just blends in to the night sky now. I’ve forgotten that it’s an amazing orb 240,000 miles away from earth whose lunar pull actually affects ocean tides here on the earth! And it struck me that somewhere between the age of five and me, humans tend to lose the childlike wonder and awe that my boys have. Many people trudge along just trying to get through life, unaware of the incredible things in, around and above us that can inspire that same childlike wonder. I don’t want to be one of those people.

A few years ago, I read my favorite book of all time The Pleasures of God by John Piper, and he introduced me to a fascinating man - his mentor, Clyde Kilby. Kilby lived every day by his “Eleven Resolutions for Staying Alive to God’s Glory.” His seventh resolution said this:

I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their “divine, magical, terrifying, and ecstatic” existence.

I love where these resolutions take me. They make me open my eyes and my heart - and they take me to the glory of God - to His mystery and wonder. I too seldom live according to these resolutions that I adopted as my own a few years ago, and I know God wants me to recapture His glory by opening my eyes to His wonder. The wonder of all that He has made, the wonder of how He’s redeemed me, the wonder of the relationships He’s blessed me with…

So, it is with great expectation that I live 2008 with my word for the year: Wonder.

I looked up “wonder” on dictionary.com and here’s what it says:

One that arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration; a marvel:

I look forward to seeing what God brings my way that will arouse awe, astonishment and surprise - as I open my eyes to the wonder of all that He is and all that He has made - staying alive to His glory. And I invite you as well, to keep your eyes and ears open to experience the wonder God has in store for you.

This weekend I was honored to be invited to speak at a SAM Retreat (Songwriters, Artists and Musicians) at Deer Run Retreat Center (pictured here) in Franklin, TN. Sponsored by Indieheaven.com, there were the maximum 40 artists - many of them indie artists who are members of Indieheaven.com. Deer Run is a beautiful facility, managed by Rick and Angel Bowles who are really developing this place into a premier camp and retreat facility.

After an amazing dinner last night, I gave a talk entitled “Aren’t We All Worshippers?” - where I unpacked passionately staying alive to God’s glory. What a great audience to speak to since everyone there was at the very least a passionate musician and most are passionate about their calling to exalt the glory of God through their music. A LOT of talent was packed in that room! I focused on keeping our ears and eyes open to the glory of God in all that He has made, having a BIG view of who God is. If we see God as the great, transcendent and awesome God that He is, it can’t help but spill out of us in our life-response of worship and influence others to see God in this way as well. I shared a couple of Clyde Kilby’s resolutions for staying alive to God’s glory…

Following a short time of Q&A, Rick introduced Shaun Groves who spoke on songwriting…although definitely not the stereotypical songwriting talk. Most recognize Groves as a great songwriter… but Shaun is a GREAT speaker… and obviously well-read and studied, especially in God’s word. He talked about having the perspective of being “Kingdom People” in our songwriting. Understanding that God, through Christ, has ushered in the Kingdom of God and its our job to lift this good news in our music. Shaun did a masterful job expositing from the beatitudes in Matthew 6. I won’t attempt to expound on it, but he said he’s writing a book on it, so I’d recommend getting his book when it comes out!

Following the song critique session, we had a great time listening to Brent Lamb in concert. He’s a hilarious guy and had us laughing a lot of the time… but he’s also a great songwriter and has penned good ole’ CCM favorites of the past like Steven Curtis Chapman’s “My Turn Now”, Harvest’s “Army of the Lord”, Steve Green’s “Household of Faith” and others. He also had a bunch of success as the lead singer of Grammy Award-winning Shenandoah a few years back. Brent did a kind of career highlight revue of many of his songs and concluded with what he called his legacy - “The Booger Song.” We were rolling on the ground. Here are the lyrics.

Technorati Tags: Deer Run Retreat Center, Indieheaven.com, Shaun Groves, Brent Lamb, Shenandoah, worship, songwriting, artists, music, God

A few months back, I wrote an article called “The Size of God” (click here) and as I’m updating my research for an upcoming retreat talk I’m giving, I found that we have new astronomical information to work from! This doesn’t change the size of God (smile) but it does affect the accuracy of my illustration model in attempting to get our minds around the size of God. If you read the article, you’ll know what I’m talking about…

I was referring to 1994 research that the Saggitarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy was the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way at 80,000 light years (LY) away. However (and I should have checked more closely before writing “The Size of God”!), I’ve now found that in 2003, astronomers discovered the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is actually only 42,000 LY away from the Milky Way. Here’s a picture of this beautiful new discovery! The Canis Major is the ribbon of red mingled within the blue that is the Milky Way. The cool thing about this galaxy is that the Milky Way has actually been stealing stars from Canis Major over the years. In fact, the Milky Way has gained around 1% of its current mass by stealing stars from Canis Major!

It seems that streams of stars pulled out of the cannibalised Canis Major galaxy not only contribute to the outer reaches of the Milky Way’s disk, but may also pass close to the Sun.

Astronomers currently believe that large galaxies like the Milky Way grew to their present majestic proportions by consuming their smaller galactic neighbours. These cannibalised galaxies add stars to the vast haloes around large galaxies. However, until now, they did not appreciate that even the disks of galaxies can grow in this fashion. Computer simulations show that the Milky Way has been taking stars from the Canis Major dwarf and adding them to its own disk - and will continue to do so.

information taken from the following University of Strasbourg website: http://astro.u-strasbg.fr/images_ri/canm-e.html

I relay this info simply because I’m amazed by God’s handiwork. The more I find out about the universe, the deeper I worship the Creator of it. And to think about the fact that in just the last three years, we were finally able to see the galaxy that is CLOSEST to ours makes my mind spin at how many other wonders there are out in the universe that we can’t or never will see!!

This galaxy is able to be seen only because of new infra-red technology (the Two-Micron All Sky Survey or “2MASS”), which has allowed astronomers to look beyond the clouds of dust in the disk of the Milky Way. Just think about what else is out there that we have yet to see…

Technorati Tags: galaxy, Canis Major, 2MASS, God’s handiwork, Milky Way, worship, universe

Today I came across this beautiful and reverent lyric penned by Thomas Aquinas:

Devoutly I Adore Thee

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.

Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed:
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than Truth’s own word there is no truer token.

God only on the Cross lay hid from view;
But here lies hid at once the Manhood too;
And I, in both professing my belief,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.

Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be:
Make me believe Thee ever more and more;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.

O thou Memorial of our Lord’s own dying!
O Bread that living art and vivifying!
Make ever Thou my soul on Thee to live;
Ever a taste of Heavenly sweetness give.

O loving Pelican! O Jesu, Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood;
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Is ransom for a world’s entire guilt.

Jesu! Whom for the present veil’d I see,
What I so thirst for, O vouchsafe to me:
That I may see Thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, translated by E. Caswall

We’re having our third boy in a couple months, but the pregnancy and development process will never cease to amaze me. We’re at 22 weeks now and counting… Our little guy now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound. His skin will continue to appear wrinkled until he gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his head and body is now visible. His lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath his gum line! His eyes are now developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and his pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

It’s unbelievable to me that our little buddy probably looks close to this picture on the right.

Psalm 139:13-16

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.

In this mp3 from the 2004 Reformission Conference, John Piper exhorts believers to glorify God by being satisfied in God. We learn in this audio, that by uprooting the sin that leads to false worldly satisfaction, and turning to the truth of the Lord, we will find the only real satisfaction in this life. As we love God with all our being he will be most satisfied in us because we seek the ultimate satisfaction in him. Loving God includes his attributes, that in contrast, open theism tries to ignore. Whatever undermines the truth and glory of God will undermine our joy in this life. Undermining the truth will also undermine all areas of life and ministry. Open theism distorts God’s truth and is a cancer in the evangelical world today. The practicalities in life and interpretation of scripture are a very slippery slope. The charge is to be aware of open theism and confront it.

Click here to download the audio track…

HT: Resurgence 

I’ve been a part of a fantasy football league with the same group of 10 guys in Wisconsin for the past 14 years and count it one of the highlights of my year to get together with them for our annual “draft.” Since I moved to Tennessee eight years ago, most years I take part in the draft via phone, Instant Messenger and email. But this year, I took the plunge and drove the 650 miles to Watertown, Wisconsin on Friday for the draft on Saturday and drove 650 miles back on Sunday. But, oh, was the drive worth it!

If you’re wondering what on earth Fantasy Football is, here is the wikipedia definition:

Fantasy Football is a game played by Football fans where one assembles a team of real life NFL players and then accumulates points based on their statistical performance on the field. Leagues can be arranged where the winner is the team with the most total points at the end of the season or by a head to head format (which mirrors the actual NFL) where teams play against each other each week and at the end of the year the team with the best win-loss records wins the league.

So every year, the ten of us get together - most in person with one or two on Instant Messenger - and draft our players for the league - with no shortage of verbal barbs poking fun at seemingly bad picks. And no shortage of emotion when one’s targeted player gets picked by someone else! It can get pretty lively to say the least.

What makes this league so fun is not just the football. I love football and this is a fun way to stay engaged in what’s going on in the NFL. But this league is full of guys I’ve known for many years - I’ve known Matt Anderson for 25 years, Bill Stranberg for over 20 and Jeff Helstad for over 20… Making this trip, albeit a short one, was priceless just to see the friends I don’t get to see much anymore. All the guys in this league are friends at one level or another and we usually combine golf with the draft - as we did Saturday morning with a best-ball scramble tournament. My dad was able to join us - he anchored our winning team!

Pictured above on Bill’s deck for the official draft, left to right, is: myself (a.k.a. “Otis”), Matt “Greeko” Maletis, Ted “T-Dog” Schiess, Bill “Cletus” Stranberg (in red shirt and white hat), Jeff “D.A.” Helstad, Matt “Rufus” Anderson, Dan Muleski (Bill and Matt’s father-in-law, sitting in for absent Gery Woelfel), Tom “Pickles” Polzin and Mark Maletis. Matt and Mark’s brother Mike was sitting out of camera range. Notice how serious the mood seems. This is serious business! Everyone is prepared with draft lists, “cheatsheets” and fantasy football guides…and I had my laptop for up the minute advice.

Pictured here to the right are the golfers: Matt, Dan, Bill, Mike, Tom, Matt, Ted, Brian and George (my dad). For the record, the winning team is the four on the right. (smile)

Well, I have to admit, I’m pretty pumped about the team I drafted this year - I was fortunate enough to draw great numbers for the draft order. Although I learned a long time ago that good pre-season feelings don’t always translate into good football season results! So, I’ve prayed, asking the Lord to really bless my efforts and look after my team, keeping my top players free from injury and helping me to beat the rest of the guys in my league.

Ok. Of course that’s pretty ridiculous. I don’t think God is as concerned about my team as I am… But, I was thinking… What if God was in my fantasy football league? What would His team look like? I mean… He is omniscient and omnipotent. Being all-knowing and all-powerful, wouldn’t God draft the perfect fantasy football team? The following are some of my thoughts regarding how God would approach this year’s draft if He would have been on Bill’s deck in Watertown, WI this past Saturday…

My first thought was that obviously God would have drafted Brett Favre at quarterback, Ahman Green at running back, Donald Driver at wide receiver and Bubba Franks at tight end. “Why?” you ask? Isn’t it obvious? They’re all starting for the Green Bay Packers, America’s team! Well, that was my first thought. But my immediate second thought was that my beloved Packers aren’t expected to compete for anything more than last place, so I would lean against God drafting any of the Pack in this year’s draft.

So, aside from the ultimate fantasy team being made up of Green Bay Packers, this is who I think God would have drafted this year:

Quarterback

Player rankings are pretty subjective, but are based on past performance, potential, offensive weapons, team strength, etc. Most ranking systems list Peyton Manning (Colts) at #1 with Tom Brady (Patriots), Carson Palmer (Bengals) and Matt Hasselbeck (Seahawks) as top tier quarterbacks. (I took Hasselbeck) However, I think God would look beyond the cheatsheets and rankings and look at intangibles like character and personal testimony and take Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals. Kurt has aguably the best wide receiver tandem in the league in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and with the addition of running back Edgerrin James, the Cardinals offense looks to have a great year. With the NFL’s all-time record for passing accuracy (65.7%), two NFL MVP awards and this great cast of offensive talent, I think God would want Kurt and his influence on the field calling the shots. If he stays injury-free, he’s going to put up big numbers.

Running Back

Fantasy players know that this year, there are only three running backs that really matter - and they are almost universally ranked 1-2-3 in this order: Larry Johnson (Chiefs), Shaun Alexander (Seahawks) and LaDainian Tomlinson (Chargers). In our draft, they went in the same order and I was fortunate to get Tomlinson, who I believe is going to have another stellar year. But, I’m almost positive God would draft Shaun Alexander for some of the same reasons as Warner. From a talent and production perspective, Alexander had a breakout year in 2005 as the NFL’s leading rusher with 1,880 yards and setting a single season record for rushing touchdowns with 28. He was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and won 2 ESPY Awards for Best Record Breaking Performance and Best NFL Player. Shaun is also an outspoken Christian and revealed at July’s ESPY Awards that he remained a virgin until he got married at age 24. Clearly a leader and role model, Shaun would be someone God would want on His team - not just for his unquestionable offensive production, but for His character and ability to lead younger players.

I was hoping God would do something miraculous with Priest Holmes, who until he got injured last year, was unquestionably the top running back in the NFL. I think God appreciates his first name - since Jesus IS our high priest (Hebrews 4:14-15), and those of us who are Christians are all priests (I Peter 2:5,9). But equally as important, Priest Holmes was one of my running backs in another “keeper league” I’m in, and I would think God might choose to miraculously heal Priest’s spinal cord issues resulting from a 2005 concussion. If God, our Great Physician and Healer, chooses not to heal Priest, my keeper league season is in severe jeopardy!

Wide Receiver

At wide receiver, it might actually be easier to confirm who God would certainly stay away from… Both
Terrell Owens and Randy Moss are top-tier wide receivers, but both unquestionably lack depth of character and neither would be a role model in the huddle, locker room or community. However, it’s obvious that historically God has taken men who would seem to be totally UN-qualified and helped them turn their lives around and make a difference in the world. Jonah, the disciple Peter and the apostle Paul certainly come to mind. God is so full of grace that I bet He might even give T.O. a chance. (of course He would!) I’m definitely a walking, breathing example of someone who has been shown a LOT of grace by God considering all of the ways I’ve fallen short and the many mistakes I’ve made. But, thank God that 2 Corinthians 12:9 is real: God’s grace is sufficient for all of us. It should give all of us hope knowing that no matter what we’ve done or how bad we’ve been, we’re never too bad for God’s grace and forgiveness in our lives. Even T.O. and Moss qualify for God’s grace. Not only that, but they are the type of guy that God goes after and pursues. Each of us have the opportunity to respond to God’s grace. Yes, I think God might even draft Owens and Moss, but He’d need good insurance, so He’d also most definitely draft…

Yes, Donald Driver of the Green Bay Packers. First, simply put… He’s a Packer. Second, he’s the Packer’s top offensive weapon and why wouldn’t God want the top offensive weapon on America’s Team running deep routes to the endzone on HIS team? It makes perfect sense. Then, you add into the equation that Driver is one of my three keepers in my keeper league, and I really need him to perform this year. I need to see Donald doing the Lambeau Leap following Favre-thrown touchdown bombs on a regular basis and God knows it.

Tight End

There really is only one tight end to consider. And this tight end is often drafted ahead of the most productive receivers because he’s that good. Yes, I believe God indeed would draft Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers. Never mind that he is by far the most productive and most prolific scorer among tight ends in the league, averaging over 1,000 receiving over the last two seasons and amassing 23 touchdowns over the same period of time. He is sure to put up big numbers for God’s team.

But, he’s also a former power forward with the Golden Flashes of Kent State University, my dad’s alma mater. I think God would appreciate that.

I also think God appreciates his last name - because it’s one of the names of Christ. In John 10:9, Jesus says “I AM the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” In Christ’s role as the gate and gatekeeper, we all have a way to find eternal life in Him if we simply place our faith in what He did on the cross for our sins.

Yet another stellar quality of Antonio Gates is his humility - and clearly, God desires humility from all of those on his team! According to wikipedia, when compared to former leading tight end Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs, Gates said:”Tony Gonzalez is still the best tight end in the league; I still have to learn quite a bit.” God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (I Peter 5:5)

Plus, if God drafts Gates, he’s sure to have a great year, which helps me in my keeper league, since Gates is my only solid “keeper” from 2005!

Kicker

I don’t think God would feel the need to even draft a kicker for his fantasy team. Following touchdowns, His offense would probably be perfect in two-point conversions, so they wouldn’t need anyone to kick extra points. And I can’t see God’s team failing to make the endzone on each drive they make it to the red zone, so they wouldn’t need a field goal kicker. As far as kickoffs, just about anyone off God’s bench would be able to kick the ball downfield deep enough for His stellar special teams unit to cover the ball carrier. No need for a kicker!

Conclusion

I understand that God most likely wouldn’t join a fantasy football draft here on earth. This was a fun exercise in satirical humor, so please take it as it was intended. (And because God is perfect, it would probably be hard for him to have any humans on his team and be happy anyway, so He’d most likely choose the angel Gabriel as His quarterback and start his own cellestial league…) But there actually IS a message in this. A message of hope. Life. Forgiveness. Freedom from guilt and shame. One simple act - put your faith in Christ who died a horrific death on a cross, paid the penalty we all deserve because of our sin and was raised from the dead so we could have the hope of eternal life. If anyone has a question on how to actually make this a reality in your life, write a comment and give me your email address or phone number. I’d love to walk through this process with you.

My dad flew into Denver on Wednesday morning (August 2) and we headed up into Estes Park to check out the mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park. What an incredible place! We ate lunch at a little diner in downtown Estes, and then headed up onto Trail Ridge Road. Here we are at just about the highest place in the Park with beautiful mountains surrounding… 12,005 feet…

Dad came prepared with Milwaukee Brewers hats knowing the Brewers were in Denver to play the Colorado Rockies that night… We got great seats from a ticket scalper outside Coors Field and here we are enjoying foot-long hotdogs during the rain delay prior to the start of the game. Baseball has always been a big part of our relationship… What a blast to get to a game with my dad!

Did I say climbing Mt. Princeton on Monday morning was the hardest thing I’ve ever done? Well, skydiving in Boulder on Thursday morning is definitely the CRAZIEST thing I’ve ever done - but also just about the most exciting, too. Jumping out of a plane next to the Rocky Mountains is terrifyingly outrageously awesome! Here’s a pic of my landing after a one minute free-fall and five-minute parachute descent. Dad was next. He especially had fun with the spirals on the descent. This was a tandem ride with Rob, the pro, guiding our descent down to the landing zone at the Boulder Reservoir. WOW!

Jumping out of an airplane at 16,500 feet was enough action for the rest of the day, so we made the 3 hour trek back to the Friesema’s ranch (Mountain Meadow Ranch) in Lake George. We had to rest up for our big day on the river the next day…

So, how do you find “action” after skydiving in the Rocky Mountains, you might ask? You raft the Royal Gorge section of the Arkansas River with 22-year river veteran Doug Valentine as your guide! The Royal Gorge section of the Arkansas is widely considered the most challenging (and hence, most FUN) whitewater rafting in the country. (many class III and IV+ rapids!) I rafted it 10 years ago with my good buddy Mitch Eliason, and knew my dad and I had to tackle it as well. Here we are doing a “backpaddle” in the WallSlammer rapid. What an incredible blast! This trip required previous class III experience and since dad had canoed Wisconsin’s Crystal River a few times, they let him on the raft. (smile) I’m front/right. Dad is second from the left, just in front of our guide and crazy-man Doug.

After skydiving and rafting the Royal Gorge, there’s only one thing left to do with one day left on the trip: climb another 14er!

Saturday morning, Dad and I made a quick omelette at 6am, packed our backpacks and headed for Mount Sherman (elevation 14,036 feet). This morning was windier and colder than any other day I remembered that week, so we bundled up. Here’s a look at the summit from the trailhead near where we parked. It’s nothing like Mt. Princeton, but I came to realize that for someone who is used to living near sea-level, there is no such thing as an “easy 14er”!

This was a nice hike. Dad’s training regimen unfortunately didn’t get his lungs acclamated to the elevation and he had to turn back before we got to the summit. At his encouragement, I pressed on toward the summit. Passed a few abandoned 19th century mines along the way…

After a two-hour hike, made it to the summit. Again, a gorgeous view of God’s beautiful and awe-inspiring creation. Like the Princeton climb, I found myself quoting Psalm 90:1-2 and giving praise to my almighty Creator. WOW! Here I am at the Mt. Sherman summit. It was a pretty emotional experience having climbed to the top of this beautiful mountain, knowing that this was basically the end of my sabbatical. What a fitting conclusion to a month of celebrating the greatness of the glory of God!

I couldn’t figure out how to rotate the picture but you get the idea…

Did I say how awesome it is to spend 4 days in Colorado with my Dad? This was a true bonding experience and a trip of a lifetime. Thanks, Dad, for your commitment to our relationship and for allowing me to take us on a number of life-threatening adventures. We’ll always cherish these fond memories… (our Mt. Sherman mine explorations will always be a highlight!)

I posted my sabbatical summary a couple days ago, but here are some pics and thoughts as well…

I was so thankful for the home Heidi found in Garfield, AR where we spent the first three weeks. Such a beautiful view of the Beaver Lake valley - we could see for miles and miles… As you can see, we had to install rabbit fencing to the deck railing so Jon-Jon wouldn’t fall through and down into the valley!

Here are the three boys (R-L, Josiah, Jonathan and Brian) eating at The Lodge down the street with the beautiful Beaver Lake as a backdrop. Heidi was taking the picture. The Lodge had excellent food, although the A/C left something to be desired. They had free wireless internet, so any blog posting I was doing during our stay there was done from their lobby. Thanks to the Lodge for the wireless use!

When I arrived in Colorado, I knew I wanted to climb a “14er” (one of Colorado’s 54 peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation) - but I also knew my lungs would be in trouble at that altitude. So, I decided to do a little acclamation to get ready for the climb. I researched a beautiful place near Mount Yale (I originally intended to climb Yale) called Lake Hartenstein at an elevation of about 11,500 feet. WOW. What a beautiful place.

Once I parked at the Yale trailhead, it was about a two hour hike - I needed to stop a few times along the way to catch my breath even at that altitude… But the hike was well worth it. What a gorgeous spot! God is so attentive to detail in His beautiful creation… Complete with a mountain stream feeding into the lake, the surrounding pines providing a stunning backdrop - and I saw at least one big trout so I’m sure there were more! That’s Mount Yales peak hiding behind the tall trees on the right side. I never did try to get up Mt. Yale. That’s another story…

The next morning, after researching and deciding on climbing Mt. Antero… I saw the turnoff to Mt. Princeton (elev. 14,197), and remembering that Jonathan Edwards was one of Princeton University’s first presidents in the 1780’s, I turned right instead of left and decided to climb Princeton! Here’s a pic I took through the windshield on my drive toward Princeton. Although, at the time I took this picture, I think I was still intending on climbing Antero. Little did I know what kind of adventure awaited…

Here’s where I parked… at some radio towers up at about 10,800 feet. This is kind of an interesting picture because I thought the peak was to the left of the radio tower… Actually, the peak is the seemingly shorter peak to the right of the tower off in the distance… much higher! I found out later I could have parked quite a bit closer to the trailhead… But the morning hike up to the trailhead was beautiful!

Once I made it around “Tigger Peak” (the shorter summit I originally thought WAS the summit!), I got a view of my goal: the true summit of Mount Princeton. Two thoughts: 1) WOW. and 2) How on earth am I going to get THERE?!?

Here I am at the summit!! I skipped past the two hours between pictures where I thought I would never make it… Thanks to my friends Kim and Kristin (who I met as they were passing me on the way to the top), I made it. They made sure of it. I couldn’t have done this without their encouragement! Thank you Kim and Kristin (mother and daughter) - and thanks also for the two bottles of water on the way back!

Words can’t express how beautiful it is from the top of a mountain like Princeton. WOW, God. (that’s what I wrote in the summit log-book) Here’s a view of Mount Antero (I would be near the top of Antero the next morning) from the peak of Princeton! God is glorious. God is glorious. God is glorious!!

I got ambitious again this morning. I was going to take a breather today, but woke up really early and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I thought I’d make the most of my time and climb Mount Antero (elevation 14,269). Left Lake George at 5:30am, got to the base of the mountain (after about an hour drive) at around 6:45am and began the drive up to the trailhead. I have never been on a road like this before in my life! Obviously, I haven’t done a ton of mountain climbing… For all you officianados out there, I’m sure this road was typical. But it was one lane, of course… and so full of huge rocks and boulders - it took me an hour and a half to drive up to where I parked! Plus, the switch backs near the top are crazy. You can only take this road with a 4WD (I have a 4WD Chevy Trailblazer). I hope Hertz doesn’t check underneath when I return it!

As I was driving up the road at somewhere around 10,500 feet, I passed a parked pickup truck with two guys getting ready for the climb. I said “hi” and asked them if the road continues further. They said they thought so, but they wanted to hike it. I thought to myself “those guys are more ambitious than me… I’m going to drive as far as I can…”

I got to where the road seemed to end, thinking I had made a wrong turn, but I ran into someone in a jeep and he pointed out that the road didn’t end - the switchbacks started! I looked up and saw switchbacks all the way up the side of the mountain. I thought - I must be crazy for doing this, but many people I talked to said a 4WD vehicle can drive very far up the switchbacks. I started making the ascent, stopping a couple times to assess whether my Trailblazer would make the next section…

I drove up as far as I needed to and parked on one of the switchbacks. And I kid you not… The two guys I ran into earlier hiking at 10,500 were just behind me coming up the last of the switchbacks. As I huffed along with what was left in my oxygen-depleted lungs, they finally caught up with me. I told them they had my undying respect for hiking up as far as they did. They actually hiked what I drove, and caught up with me! They’re from Breckenridge of course…so they live with no oxygen…

This time I came prepared with extra H20! Although, it turned out I didn’t need it. Honestly, I was only intending to scope out the terrain for a climb later in the week. My dad is flying out tomorrow for a little “father/son bonding” and I was hoping to climb Mount Antero with him on Saturday. But the higher I got, the higher I kept going.

The views at that elevation are amazing! I had a great look at Mount Princeton, the peak I summitted yesterday. Looking at that peak, I couldn’t believe I did that just yesterday. God’s creation certainly is astounding. From Mount Antero, I had a view of I’m guessing 15 or 20 summits. I had a very worshipful experience standing in awe of all that God has made.

At about 13,800 feet, there is a steady and challenging uphill climb to the summit. I was debating the ascent as I rested on a rock to catch my breath. The two pickup truck guys were already halfway to the summit. There were a lot of dark clouds nearby and some of them seemed like they were coming toward Mt. Antero. And just as I was thinking about trying the summit, one of the clouds actually moved over and covered the summit and covered the guys. I decided I wanted to actually live to meet our unborn child, so I immediately turned around and made a quick descent back down toward the car. In this picture, the dip just to the right of the highest peak is where I stopped.

The road is as crazy going down as it is going up. I was SO glad to get down to pavement! I’ll feel more comfortable with my dad along side me next time… (IF we try it…)

Well, I did more research and determined that Mount Yale (14,196) was a little too aggressive for my first “14er”… Some of my research happened to be a guy at the Mount Yale trailhead following my Lake Hartenstein hike who said, “Man, that last mile and a half is brutal!” To be honest, I really didn’t want to try anything “brutal” for my first time. So, I decided on Mount Antero (14,269) based on a number of conversations with people recommending first climbs. It’s very doable, and partly because you can drive up and park about 11,000 feet making the trek even easier…

So, why, you ask yourself, do I have a picture of Mount Princeton (14,197) in this post? Because i got inspired, that’s why. Driving to the Mount Antero trailhead, I saw a sign for Mount Princeton, and remembered reading in one of my many books and publications on the subject that Mount Princeton is a fairly easy climb. AND… I’m currently in the middle of my Jonathan Edwards biography as part of my sabbatical reading list, and knowing that Jonathan Edwards is a past president of this famed institution, it all made perfect sense! So, I pulled to the side of the road, did more reading on Princeton to make sure I wasn’t doing something stupid, and upon seeing that this peak is indeed very doable, I changed course. In honor of Jonathan Edwards, on to Mount Princeton!

I haven’t been able to upload the pictures from my camera yet, so this picture from a 14ers website will have to do for now. I will summarize by saying that this was without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but for sure one of the most exhilarating and rewarding. I arrived at the base of Mount Princeton at around 7am and made the way up the very precarious one-lane road having read that there were a few parking places somewhere up the mountain. I do have to say, that drive made me pretty nervous. There was no place to pull over if there was an oncoming car. That would have made for an interesting situation about 10,000 feet. I’m glad I didn’t have to figure that out!

I found a parking spot, thank goodness, near some radio towers that had some room, got my pack ready, and was hiking by about 8am. At about 10:30am, I was exhausted, nursing a blister on my left heal, and really discouraged because it seemed like the summit was still miles away! I was praying for strength to make it, and did I mention that I foolishly attempted this climb alone?! Well, God has mysterious ways of answering prayers. A mother-daughter team - who were moving quite fast, I might add - caught up with me. We started talking, and upon finding out they had already done six 14ers, I knew I was in good company. I was right. Kim and Kristin Sievers were my lifesavers! There were so many times over the next two hours that I didn’t think I could go on. My lungs were definitely not prepared for 14,000 foot oxygen. And combining the lack of oxygen with a lot of vertical climbing, I was in trouble. But, Kim and Kristen slowed down and were determined to help me get to the summit. I kept telling them to go on ahead, but they kept waiting for me as I stopped to catch my breath.

At 11:15, I felt like giving up, but knew I had to make the last few hundred feet despite what my body was telling me.

At 11:30, I really felt like giving up. But Kim wouldn’t let me. Kristen had gone ahead of us and was almost to the summit. I thought to myself… “We’re this close. I need to pick up this lifeless body from the rocks and get my feet moving.”

At 11:50am, we hit the summit. I can’t tell you how I felt. I was dead physically, but emotionally overwhelmed at having made it. There was some weather coming in, and it didn’t look good, so we had to get moving back down fast. Lightning can be a real risk above the tree-line with no protection from the elements. I signed the log-book that’s at the summit for those who make the peak… took a few pictures… gave as much praise to God as my delirious mind could muster at that moment… and started heading back down.

Oh… and yes… I ran out of water about 10 minutes after the summit. That’s a big no-no on a mountain like this. Dehydration is a big problem. I had 3 liters with me, which I thought would be plenty, but I thought wrong! Unbelievably, Kim and Kristen had both packed more water than they needed just in case… They each gave me a bottle for the trek back. HUGE answer to prayer. Meeting up with them was not a coincidence. God must have wanted me to make it back down the mountain! Kim and Kristen, if you are reading this… know that you were an answer to prayer in a big way. Thank you for your selfless and giving spirit. Yes, I do believe in angels!

We hit the bottom at 2pm, and I was glad…no, elated…no, ecstatic… that we were on a road. We’d made it!

As I was on this mountain today, I was reminded of how incredible God is, and what a master artist He is. The landscapes, vistas, and views were breathtaking and incredible. The Lord brought to my mind a number of times Psalm 90:1-2:

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
From everlasting to everlasting You are God.

I repeated those words over and over. What an awesome and majestic God we worship. He is eternal. He is transcendent. And, though I am unfaithful and faithless at times, He is always faithful. I get a real sense of God’s bigness in the mountains. I am so thankful for this time today at the top of one of His most beautiful creations, Mount Princeton.

Pictures and more commentary to come soon…

Back in January when I knew I was going to be able to take a sabbatical this summer, I just sensed that the Lord wanted me to get to the mountains at some point. I really connect with God in the midst of His creation, and especially sense His power and majesty in the mountains. Here I am! I flew into Denver last night, and am staying in a quaint cabin in Lake George, CO on land owned some very gracious hosts, the Friesema’s. I’ve known Ray and Hazel from Calvary Memorial Church in Racine, WI for 30 years - it was so good to see them when I arrived. (Hazel sang with my mom in the choir as I was growing up). They even had milk, bread, butter and jam in the fridge when I arrived! They have a home (a converted dance hall from 1890!) on their 110 acre ranch, and I’m staying in the guest cabin. Lake George is about 60 miles west of Colorado Springs.

This morning, I headed out to “have church” in the mountains. After some research, I decided that I’d like to eventually tackle Mount Yale - one of Colorado’s 54 “14ers” - peaks over 14,000 feet. Yale is 14,196. It’s part of the Collegiate Mountain Range, near Lake George and while I feel ambitious, Yale is considered one of the easier climbs for a first-timer. While I’ve been running a lot to train for this, I knew my lungs wouldn’t be used to the elevation, so this morning I set out to “acclamate” and get my lungs ready for Mount Yale - a trek I hope to take on Monday.

I stopped off for some advice in Buena Vista at a hiking store called “Trailhead” and got some great pointers from Evelyn, the owner. She got me stocked up with all the right stuff to pack into my brand new REI backpack. She told me about Lake Hartenstein, a beautiful and fairly easy hike to about 11,495 feet on the same trail as Mount Yale. Perfect!

The trailhead for Mount Yale is Denny Creek at about 9,900 feet. After parking there, I headed up the trail. About 1.5 miles in, the trail comes to a Y - to the right is Mount Yale, to the left is Lake Hartenstein. I went left…

Wow! What a great hike. I took my time and made it to the Lake in about 2 hours. For a glacial lake, it’s faily large and just below the tree-line. A beautiful vista with 5 or 6 peaks in the background surrounding the lake. I hiked about half-way around the lake before I ran out of trail and decided not to get too ambitious or wet. Got some great pictures.

It was a sweet experience with the Lord. He reminded me of His faithfulness and patience. What a wonderful privilege to be here. I’m so thankful for this opportunity to be alone with God in the middle of His beautful handiwork. What an amazing artist! Yes… it’s good to be alone to connect with God in this way. But I sure do miss Heidi and the boys…

Heidi and I are at JH Ranch in California for husband and wife camp week… in the middle of the gorgeous Salmon Mountains in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. WOW. In the midst of God’s amazing creation, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors:

“The message of creation is this: there is a great God of glory and power and generosity behind all this awesome universe; you belong to Him; He is patient with you in sustaining your rebellious life; turn and bank your hope on Him and delight yourself in Him, not His handiwork. Day pours forth speech of that message to all that will listen in the day, speaking with blindingly bright sun and blue sky and clouds and untold shapes and colors of all things visible. Night pours forth the “knowledge” of the same message to all who will listen at night, speaking with great dark voids and summer moons and countless stars and strange sounds and cool breezes and northern lights. Day and night are saying one thing: God is glorious! God is glorious! God is glorious!”

“This is the most basic reason that God delights in His creation. In creation he sees the reflection of His own glory.”

John Piper, The Pleasures of God, p. 87.

“You are great, Lord, and greatly to be praised. Great is your power, and of your wisdom there is no end. And man, who is part of what you have created, desires to praise you. Yes, even though he carries his mortality wherever he goes, as the proof of his sin and the testimony of your justice, man desires to praise you. For you have stirred up his heart so that he takes pleasure in praising you. You have created us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

— Augustine of Hippo (354-430). THE HARPERCOLLINS BOOK OF PRAYERS, comp. by Robert van de Weyer (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993), p. 43. As collected in BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH: PRAYERS AND REFLECTIONS THAT CELEBRATE AN INTIMATE GOD, compiled and edited by Ken Gire (New York: HarperCollins, 1997), p. 72.

HT: WQOTW, Chip Stam, Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org  www.sbts.edu/icw