Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Award Winning Pastor
You can bet that you may or may not be reading much more from me in the future.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Chelsey One Year Cancer Free!

I have been blessed this year with another wonderful Christmas gift from God. My daughter Chelsey had her one year PET scan done, showing that she is still cancer free. I have been amazed at the support of family and friends throughout Chelsey's bout with cancer, and even now so many people have celebrated with me the most recent test results. So many people have faithfully prayed for her, and God has graciously and lovingly given us the answer to our prayers.
This journey has been insightful in many ways. One thing that I learned was how to trust God during (or in spite of) difficult times. I admit that trusting God is easier when you don't have anything else you can do. With Chelsey's situation, we could take her to the best doctors and medical facilities we could find. They could give her the best treatments available, but when those things were not working, all I could do was plead for God's mercy, and trust him with an answer. Today I thank him for his answer to my prayers and strive to trust him just as much in all areas of my life. God is faithful and trustworthy always, even when it doesn't seem that way to us. I am still learning to completely trust him in the areas that I can control, knowing he can do much more with my life than I can.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Oh yeah . . . I forgot I had a blog
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tahoe Bike Tour
Tim Barthel dropped us (Chris and me) and our bikes off in Placerville at about 9:00am. Our plan was to ride up some back roads to Sly Park Reservoir, then up Mormon Immigrant Trail Road to Silver Fork Pass. We would ride down Silver Fork Pass to a campground to refill water bottles before heading up over Packsaddle Pass and then back down to a truck we had left there the previous night. We anticipated that we would arrive at the truck at about 3:30pm after having ridden about 60 miles with 6,000 to 8,000 ft of climbing. By the way, that is A LOT of climbing!
Day 3
On the final day of our tour we set out from our hotel to circumnavigate Lake Tahoe. Just looking out over the lake, it seemed like a daunting task, but I was assured it wasn't as far as it looked. The weather was perfect for the trip, beautiful sunshine but not too hot. After a quick breakfast we were off to an early start. My legs felt much recovered while climbing up Emerald Bay for the second time in as many days. Then a nice long descent towards a heavily trafficked Tahoe City. A short but refreshing lunch near Incline Village before heading into the Nevada side of the lake. The east side of the lake is beautiful and has a slow climb up to over 7,000 feet. Then a long ride down to where we started. In all we traveled about 72 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing. Got back early enough to jump in the pool before heading home. This was a great trip and I look forward to whatever Chris has planned for next year.
-Thanks Suzi for arranging our accommodations. The hotel was great.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
All Grown Up

Today my oldest child (Ashley, 24) and youngest child (Colton, 19) head to Honduras for a mission trip to the La Providencia Orphanage. I am so proud of the way God has worked in their lives. He has been faithful to them as His children, and to Pamela and me as their parents. I remember when each of them were born. At their first breath (cry) I prayed for them and asked God to guide them throughout their lives. Now I watch my adult children head to South America (without me) to serve God and share His love with children in dire need. I will continue to pray for them, as I have their whole lives, but now I pray with an assurance that even when we are separated by many miles, God will be with them. The care He provides far exceeds anything I could hope to do for them.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Tribe Correction

It turns out that the recently discovered tribe that I blogged about earlier was really a publicity stunt. Here's the 411: "The men in the photo are members of a tribe, but it certainly ain't "lost." In fact, as the photographer, José Carlos Meirelles, recently explained, authorities have known about this particular tribe since 1910. The photographer and the agency that released the pictures wanted to make it seem like they were members of a lost tribe in order to call attention to the dangers the logging industry may have on the group." So basically a made up story to prove a point they think is valid. Truth is, I don't know if their "logging issue" is valid or not, but after this hoax, I am sure I don't care.
It is a good reminder to not fall into the trap of exaggerating situations, or using "might-be-true" stories when we convey the message of Christ. Sometimes the legitimacy of our message will falter with an illegitimate example. The truth of Christ stands on it's own merit. It has stood for 2,000 years without the help of superficial, emotional tricks to get people to see things our way. The Gospel's ability to stand the test of time and honestly influence lives today is one of the convincing evidences that it is TRUE!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Mom's Birthday Ride

Saturday morning my mother and I went on a bike ride to celebrate her 74th birthday! It was a beautiful, sunny day and we started the ride while the coolness of the morning was still in the air. She is a real trooper and has always been so very loving and encouraging of all her children. She knows that I love to ride bikes, and she even keeps tabs on my riding by checking up on my online bike journal. Even though she lives thousands of miles away, every few weeks I receive a phone call or email asking if I am well, because "you haven't been riding lately."

This year she was in town for her birthday, and it was a real delight to me (which I believe was her intention) when she requested that we go for a bike ride together to celebrate her special day. We had a wonderful morning together and I am so grateful that we have this memory to cherish together.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I LOVE YOU!!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
25 and counting!

Today Pamela and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. It is so great to be married to someone who understands the real commitment of marriage. The commitments we made 25 years ago to each other and to God, have been upheld every time we have been angry with each other, or frustrated with life. Because of our willingness to trust God in our marriage, we find ourselves together for a quarter of a century and still in love.
We have both changed A LOT in 25 years. Not just the addition of some grey hair and a few pounds (of course I am referring to myself with that description, not Pamela), but with the addition of children (in our case 3 awesome children), and moving often, changing jobs, etc -life has not been what we expected when we got married. Life, like God is unpredictable, but we know whatever life throws our way it will be best experienced together. It has been a great 25 years; I can't wait to see what is in store for us over the next 25!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A World Away
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Good Friends

Last month I went on a backpacking trip with a dozen guys from my church. We hiked into the Grand Canyon to Havasupai Falls and spent four days camping together. The scenery was amazing, it is a one-of-a-kind convergence of giant canyons, ancient lava flows, flowing rivers, bizarre mineral deposits, with a unique collection of flora and fauna.
Amidst the natural splendor I was moved by the wonder of God's creation. What struck me even more than the creation of this wonderful place, was the creation of the great guys who did trip with me. In particular the way we can see how God lovingly puts elements of His own character into every person. Not that any of us are perfect, only a few moments at our campground would have convinced you that our group was FAR from perfect. Rather, the way God allows imperfect people to bring a sense of friendship, camaraderie, and love into each other's lives. It was great to visit such an unique place with such awesome friends.
