Award Winning Pastor

I am so pleased to receive such a prestigious honor. I must admit, It comes natural to me, but still to receive this award means the world to me. It required dedication and commitment, and I mustn't forget the little people, you (the faithful blog reader) played your part. It is with moderate humility that I accept the award for "Worst Blogger in The World." Thank you all for your support and encouragement as I struggled toward this accomplish.

You can bet that you may or may not be reading much more from me in the future.

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.

Oh yeah . . . I forgot I had a blog

My daughter sent me an email yesterday telling me I needed to keep my Blog updated. I have been very remiss in my blogging responsibilities (although I think only a few people will ever read this!) Today being Election Day, it seems appropriate to write something political. This morning I was reading about the many Christians being persecuted around the world for their faith. It made me think about the many Christians in our country who feel that their vote should be used to "keep America Christian." I have a different view, probably based on the fact that I think America's Christianity is not true biblical Christianity, but rather a social religion that attempts to uphold a moral tradition. While I have no objections to morality, as a biblical Christian, I realize that morality is not going to get anyone into heaven. I wish there was some way to transfer all of our political passion into evangelistic fervor! Today I am praying, not for the the judeo-christian ethic, but for an America that will best allow for the Kingdom of God to be proclaimed, both within our borders and around the world.

Tahoe Bike Tour

I spent 3 days last week riding my bike in the area around Lake Tahoe, CA. Special thanks to Chris Markus for planning the trip! What a beautiful area and a great place to ride. Here is a short summary of a great bike trip:

Day 1
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!

Everything went according to plan for the first section. It was a beautiful day and we stopped for a leisurely lunch at a diner/gas station before beginning the long, difficult climb up Mormon Immigrant Trail (MIT). We happened to hit the diner on a "Taco Tuesday" and the lady working the counter was not very pleased when we requested food that was not tacos! Things got a little more interesting after lunch as we neared the top of MIT. It was getting warmer and we were using up our water supply when Chris looked at me and said, "We got a problem!" It seems Chris had dropped his wallet (full of cash) back at a previous stop. We had stopped to see a memorial on the side of the road for some Motorcyclists who lost their lives in a traffic accident some years prior. With the oxygen level low and fatigue beginning to set in, I could not remember how far back that stop was. I suggested going on to the truck and driving back for it, but Chris was concerned (rightly so) that many people stop at that spot to visit the memorial. So DOWN we headed, knowing that every foot we dropped was a foot we would have to climb back up shortly. After riding down 5 MILES and 1,500 FEET, we came to the memorial and Chris' wallet sat silently by the side of the road with his family's picture facing up waiting for his return. We grabbed the wallet, turned uphill and started rationing our water. By the time we reached the top of MIT and the turn off down Silver Fork Pass we had both been out of water for some time. We headed down to the campground to fill our stomachs and refill our water bottles.

The climb up Packsaddle Pass was challenging, but the secluded beauty of this road was amazing. After riding a road bike for a while you get used to traffic and noise. This small little road was cut deep into the mountain and had no traffic and no noise. The views at the top of Pyramid Peak and the valley below were breathtaking. We made it to the truck at 7:30 (a full 4 hours later than expected) after riding 70 miles and climbing 9,850 FEET!

Day 2

After the previous day's adventures we decided to have a recovery day. So we rode from our hotel to DL Bliss campground where my friends (The Barthel Family) were camping. We rode through South Lake Tahoe and around Emerald Bay for the visit. It was an "easy" day of only 40 miles and a couple thousand feet of climbing. We also had the afternoon to relax, so we were able to enjoy the hotel's pool, have a nice dinner, and get our bikes ready for the next day's ride around the lake.

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.

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.

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!

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!!

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!

A World Away

I just got back from visiting World Vision's African AIDS Experience. It is a great way to be exposed to the crisis in Africa. It does a good job of putting names and faces to MANY people dying from AIDS, and the MANY children who are left homeless and starving. This horrible situation in the world can provide us Christians with an opportunity to share the love of God with people in desperate need. We often struggle with how to put our faith into action at work, school, or with friends, but here is a concrete, practical thing that you can do, THAT WILL REALLY CHANGE A PERSON'S LIFE FOR THE BETTER! Visit the exhibit (in person or online), PRAY for God to move with compassion during this crisis (remember that this physical crisis may result in a spiritual awakening), give $ for a special project or to support a child or 2 monthly!

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.