Changin' Times

Our lives changed today.
Not in a bad way.
It is a good way really.
But change they did.

It wasn't easy; but it wasn't as hard as the last time.
Maybe having experienced it once already helped this time.

We helped move our second child into a dorm room at college.

The first time was with our son two years ago. It was hard because he was the first to leave the nest; and it was hard because the school he went to was about 800 miles away. We knew that seeing him after that would be for short periods of time with many months in between. That's how it has been.

This time was similar, but different. Our oldest daughter (our second child) is attending a university here in town. She could have lived at home, but (with some help from her mother) decided it was important to "experience" typical college life. So today we helped her move up to the campus and into her dorm room. In the helping her move in, this day was similar to helping move our son into his dorm. Carrying belongings up to the room, helping set up computer, finding a couple things that would be helpful and making a run to the store to pick them up, and attempting to minimally help her get things set up - but attempting to let her decide what to put where... and trying to keep her mama from "helping" too much. All a very familiar scenario.

It was/is different this time because, even though we drove away and left our girl someplace that isn't home, she is close to home. The college is about half-way between home and my work and is a mere 15-20 minutes away. This papa knows that a phone call can arrange lunch with her anytime. Having her come to the house for dinner, if she want to, is easy. Seeing her on weekends is not out of the question. These things make it a lot easier!

I know that we will miss her being around. Having those daily talks about how the day has been, what was interesting about it, etcetera. But it is good for her to be stepping out into having her own life - apart from us; even though not easy for us.
I know God will give us all the grace to walk through this with His perfect peace.

That's about all I can write about it for now.

Maybe next time I'll share a bit about how she has tried, and succeeded in, making her papa cry by emailing country song lyrics to him about somebody needing to spread their wings and leave home...

Grace and peace to all.

Wow! What A Ride!

Wow! What a ride!

That could be said about life because it truly is an awesome ride that we get to spend on this planet. God is so good!

It can also be said about the ride I took today on my mountain bike with some co-workers. We traveled to a much heralded location (a couple hours from home) to take an epic mountain bike ride (31 miles) and enjoy some of the magnificent scenery that we are blessed with here in Colorado.

The ride is the Continental Divide Trail from the Summit of Monarch Pass, it is also called the Monarch Crest ride. The average elevation of the trail is right around 11,900 feet above sea level; some places it gets higher and some places it goes lower but it is pretty high in elevation for riding a bike.
It was beautiful and spectacular, and a great time. This is NOT a trip for the faint of heart, nor for those without above average bike handling skills. Riding across high Rocky Mountain terrain - which includes slopes, rocks, roots, streams, mud puddles, and more... not to leave out some incredibly steep uphills and downhills - on a mountain bike requires some decent fitness and a heart for adventure.

We had a few mishaps, though none serious. I took a tumble early on and bent my front rim, which made for a tough start, but with some work got it ridable. A couple others in our group got flat tires, which were quickly repaired and we continued on. One had some problems with his dérailleur, but not enough to keep him from going on.

If I can get some pictures from the event, I'll post them in another post.

Blessings to all.

Out of Touch

Life is funny sometimes. There are seasons in life where one can be so busy that you barely feel like you can keep your head above water and there are times when everything is pretty relaxed and easy going. The latter has not been seen in this neighborhood in a while. Seems to have disappeared with the demise of Mr. Rogers.
For the last several weeks I've been working quite a bit and when I have been home I have NOT really felt like looking at a computer any more. Did I mention that I am a computer programmer? It isn't a good thing when somebody who makes a living working on a computer, doesn't want to look at a computer!
So for those of you out there that occasionally visit my blog, I know it has been pretty dry the last several weeks. Sorry! Life happens.
Tonights post isn't going to be much, but at least I'm putting something out. I just wish it might have more substance that it does. That would require thinking and I'm not sure how much of that I can really do at the moment.
I'll be trying to catch up with your blogs as well.

So in the infamous words of Tigger - TTFN

Rocky Mountain National Park

As my wife Kerry posted on her blog, we enjoyed a wonderful time in the outdoors. Here are a few of the 200+ pictures I took. I brought the resolution way down for the sake of uploading and viewing.

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In case you didn't know, you can click on the pictures for a larger view.
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The picture on the left is one that I just thought was really cool. I love streams and the depth that they reveal as it winds its way back into the woods behind.

This picture on the right is of Morraine Lake. It is a very picturesque setting. The water is only about five to six feet deep across much of it, but looking at it from different angles reveals that there are definitely some much deeper spots.
And the water is VERY COLD, it is fed by melting snow, some of which can be seen on the high peaks in the background.

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The shot below shows a small pondlike area a little below the Morraine Lake.
Trout could be seen swimming around in it.

Too bad I didn't bring a fishing pole. ;)

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Another photo of the same area from a different angle with different light.
The white in the upper right (back in the trees) is snow. The snow is melting and dripping down the rocks into the pool.
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I couldn't resist this shot on the left with the leaning tree and the reflections captured on the water. It is one of my favorites.

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The photo on the right shows the dark storm clouds that form quickly over the Colorado mountains.
Severe thunderstorms can occur quickly and the lightning at these high altitudes is extremely dangerous. Shortly after this picture was taken my wife and I found shelter in a cave to wait out the storm. It rained for about 45 minutes and we witnessed a terrific display of lightning flashing all around us.

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One of the many elk that roam the park. While they look like deer, and are related, they are much, much larger.

This big fellow on the left was nice enough to smile for the camera. At least that is the way it turned out looking like.

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Bugling Bull?
Not this time.
This big bull let out a big yawn...
All the laying around in the sun, munching on grass and letting people take pictures gets tiring.

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It is always a special treat for an amateur photographer like myself to be fortunate enough to catch moments like these.

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A Classic Shot

If I Only Knew...

How many times, I wonder, have I said, "If I only knew then what I know now, I would have done things so differently."

I just caught myself thinking it again about something. Not anything really important, but just that thought crossed my mind.

I've thought it a couple different times lately with regard to the mountain bike I bought. If I only knew a year ago that I would have gotten into it like I have, I would have purchased a higher end bicycle... one with rear suspension and higher quality shifters, derailleurs, and brakes. But as my friend at the bike store reminded me, there wasn't any way to know. Not that the bicycle I bought was not a good one, it is just that there are things I've learned since that would have affected the decision I made at the time.

I know I have thought it many times over the past couple years regarding some really stupid choices I was making a few years ago; thoughts about quitting on God, my marriage, my kids, and my church. I got burned out on the boring doldrums of day-to-day life. I was looking to see what my life was about. Had I done anything worthwhile? Was I a success or was I a failure? I was trying to find my worth in the world. The events of September 11, 2001 kind of kicked it off. All of a sudden everything that I thought had been secure, wasn't feeling so secure any more. I thought I might be able to find my self-worth somewhere else, maybe with someone else. --- Lot's of nonsense really. Thankfully God kept me and showed me very clearly how foolishly I was thinking and acting. Thankfully He also restored all that I had considered throwing away. I have since seen through eyes of His Spirit how much would have been, not just lost, but destroyed. So now, with 20-20 hindsight, I look back and can say "If I only knew then what I know now, I sure would have done it differently."

Of course God knows and I have to remind myself of that.

So now I am trying to be attentive to those times when I am apt to utter the phrase, or even to think it, that I am to take every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ Jesus and demolish every lofty thought and speculation that would raise itself up against God...

Thankfully, every time I consider "If I only knew...", it just means I've learned something important and I need to be mindful of the lessons that God teaches me through the life He has given me to live. I'm pretty sure He meant for me to live it in fullness. After all Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has a plan for our lives that include a future and a hope.
-- This is something that I'm glad I already know!

Lights to the Soul

There have been a lot of painful experiences going on in lives around us. I understand that pain is part of this life, and that we can't avoid it.
* A friend of ours, a financial officer for a worldwide ministry, had one of the employees that worked for him brutally murdered in the parking lot of their workplace yesterday morning. She was a single Christian woman with two daughters and was caring for her mother.
* Another friend of ours has a friend with breast cancer. (Also a Christian.) The lady had major surgery this past Monday. She is now recovering and awaiting pathology reports. She will have to start chemotherapy in a couple months.
* Another friend of ours knows a lady who lost her 10 month old baby.
* A lady my wife has worked with lost a son this past week. (Also a Christian.) Not sure from what or how old he was.
* We know several Christians with physical afflictions of some sort or another and with varying degrees of pain; some are pretty extreme. Some have had knee surgeries, some ankle surgeries...

Jesus did not promise us that this life would be free from all pain just because we chose to follow Him. Rather, He told us that we would encounter pain and difficulties; then we are to count it all joy. That we are to persevere through these trials. That is no small order.

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I saw a picture of a friend the other day and was reminded of something I've read in scripture: That the eyes are the lamp (or light) to the soul.
The person in the picture is a Christian and it was a wonderful picture of that person. But behind the smile, the eyes reveal years of hurt and pain. I had to stop and pray for this one, and it has been heavy on my heart since.

Father God, You know the plans You have for us and Your Word says that Your plans are for good, not for evil. We live in a sinful, fallen world and we are affected day after day by those around us; some believers, some not. Only Your mercy and grace extended to us allows us to carry on and still have hope. We cannot hope in ourselves nor can we hope in even those close to us whom we love and care about. We can only place our hope in You, the Sovereign King of all Creation. Lord I pray for these around us that are enduring such difficulties and pain and I humbly ask that You would send Your ministering angels to them and Your Holy Spirit to comfort them in their hours of distress. Thank You precious Lord Jesus for interceding for each of these and for us before our Father in heaven in the perfect way that only You can do. I love You Lord and I continue to place my trust in You especially in the midst of these times in which I am not able to understand or comprehend Your purpose and plan.
I would also ask for my friend in the picture, that You will heal the scars of the deepest hurts and pains of heart that this person bears. I know that Your will and desire to do so and You will accomplish it in Your perfect time.
Amen.

Overdue Update

My last post was about mountain biking and I mentioned that I would add a post after racing... and no it didn't actually take me this long to recover, things have just been busy.
The picture in the previous post was NOT me. The picture on the right IS me (and a longtime friend of ours on the right), waiting, and waiting, and waiting... for the race to begin. I was hoping to finish in about an hour and my time was 1:06:41, so I was pretty pleased. I had fun and I learned from the experience. Now I'm thinking about trying another race next month that will be longer and have more climbing and more descending.

My wonderful wife and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary last Friday and we took a little trip up to Estes Park, CO (a town NE of Boulder) and then and stayed in a nice little bed and breakfast called Mountain Shadows B&B. I got a cabin for us called 'Sweethearts Forever'. Pretty romantic. We had a wonderful couple days and spent time talking and laughing and remembering what life is like as a couple rather than as a couple parents. Thursday afternoon we shopped all the little shops in Estes Park. Friday we went for about a six mile hike to a lake in Rocky Mountain National Park (see also link2 and link3). We had a rain storm blow over so we found refuge in a cave under a big boulder with a retired couple from Durango, CO. So we just sat tight and visited with them until the storm blew past. What a kick! After we got back to the car we took a drive up to the top of the world; well at least it seems like the top of the world. The road is named Trail Ridge Road and it winds along for several miles along the tops of a couple high mountains well above timber line (no trees grow there) and the views are spectacular.
Down the west side of the park we saw large bachelor groups of bull elk. See the animals behind my wife in the picture. Too cool!
And finally, a little further along, we had the awesome treat of viewing a cow moose with her calf... from a distance of course. Thank goodness for telephoto lenses! Mama moose looks like she endured a hard winter carrying baby. God knows what she needs and we're praying she will regain her strength.

So, summertime is upon us and we are busy having fun and enjoying the creation God has blessed us with.

Peace to you all in Christ Jesus our Lord!