Today was the day to change up the look of my blog. I've gotten kind of tired of the old format.
I saw this one with the lighthouse and thought that it is more fitting since the title of my blog is Learning to Live in the Light.
May the Light of Jesus Christ shine upon you, and bring you peace.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Almost Thanksgiving...
Four days from now we will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday as a nation.
I pray that we as a nation will remember the true meaning and purpose for this day.
To thank God of heaven and earth for the multitude of blessings that He has poured forth upon us as individuals, as communities, states, and as a nation.
God has blessed us abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think...
Yet we, for the most part, take it for granted. We act as though we could somehow deserve the favor God has shown to us; that we, as a nation, are somehow predisposed to receive His wondrous grace and blessing.
We are not.
Without the blood shed for us by Jesus Christ, the Living One, we can never come close to God, the Father.
Forgive us our sin, oh God, as we turn and repent from our truly wicked ways. Forgive us, oh Lord, and heal our sick and broken land. Be gracious to us for Your Name's sake, Lord.
Jesus, we thank You for all that You have done and for the life You have to bestow upon us, if we will only yield to You our hearts and lives.
Father, we ask for Your abundant mercy to be with, and Your covering to be over, the men and women of the armed forces of this country who are overseas serving, that do not have the opportunity to be with their families for this Thanksgiving. Guard their lives and keep them in the safety of Your busom. Dear Lord, thwart every evil plan of the enemy that is desirous to destroy them.
I ask these things of You, oh Mighty God, in the precious name of Jesus Christ the messiah, that You would show forth Your Glory in these dark and perilous times. -- Amen
I pray that we as a nation will remember the true meaning and purpose for this day.
To thank God of heaven and earth for the multitude of blessings that He has poured forth upon us as individuals, as communities, states, and as a nation.
God has blessed us abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think...
Yet we, for the most part, take it for granted. We act as though we could somehow deserve the favor God has shown to us; that we, as a nation, are somehow predisposed to receive His wondrous grace and blessing.
We are not.
Without the blood shed for us by Jesus Christ, the Living One, we can never come close to God, the Father.
Forgive us our sin, oh God, as we turn and repent from our truly wicked ways. Forgive us, oh Lord, and heal our sick and broken land. Be gracious to us for Your Name's sake, Lord.
Jesus, we thank You for all that You have done and for the life You have to bestow upon us, if we will only yield to You our hearts and lives.
Father, we ask for Your abundant mercy to be with, and Your covering to be over, the men and women of the armed forces of this country who are overseas serving, that do not have the opportunity to be with their families for this Thanksgiving. Guard their lives and keep them in the safety of Your busom. Dear Lord, thwart every evil plan of the enemy that is desirous to destroy them.
I ask these things of You, oh Mighty God, in the precious name of Jesus Christ the messiah, that You would show forth Your Glory in these dark and perilous times. -- Amen
Saturday, October 20, 2007
The Last Day of Summer
Today was a gorgeous day here in Colorado Springs.
It might be the last day of summer.
We had a high temperature of about 75 degrees.
We had winds that qualified for gale warnings: 20-30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
It is 7:00pm as of the time I'm writing this and the temperature is still around 65.
Starting later tonight it is supposed to start to snow; the forecast says sometime after midnight. Lows tonight are supposed to be get down into the 20s. BRRR!
So you're probably wondering why I'm giving you the weather update for Colorado Springs. It is because even after living here most of my life, I'm still amazed at how drastically the weather can change in a short amount of time.
I went for a mountain bike ride this morning in shorts and short sleeved shirt; I'll be wearing a ski jacket to church tomorrow.
It is part of what makes living here so unique.
It might be the last day of summer.
We had a high temperature of about 75 degrees.
We had winds that qualified for gale warnings: 20-30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
It is 7:00pm as of the time I'm writing this and the temperature is still around 65.
Starting later tonight it is supposed to start to snow; the forecast says sometime after midnight. Lows tonight are supposed to be get down into the 20s. BRRR!
So you're probably wondering why I'm giving you the weather update for Colorado Springs. It is because even after living here most of my life, I'm still amazed at how drastically the weather can change in a short amount of time.
I went for a mountain bike ride this morning in shorts and short sleeved shirt; I'll be wearing a ski jacket to church tomorrow.
It is part of what makes living here so unique.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The Announcement...
We had a young couple come to our church today. This young couple also came to the picnic we had afterward and at one point stood up, asked for everyone's attention and shared their special news.
Setting the stage: One of these young people is a young man I have known since he was born, nearly 20 years ago. The young lady I have known for about four years. She was one of my son's very good friends in high school and even dated my son for a few months. I love both of these young people and have been praying for them both.
Their announcement is that they are engaged and are planning to wed either this winter or next summer.
I should be blessed for them, and I seek with my heart to bless them, yet deep within me is a lot of concern for them for many reasons. I'll not go into those reasons here, but suffice to say that I shall be praying for them all the more, and even more than that I shall be praying for God's timing for them, and for them to hear God's timing for them.
I know so well that it is easy to be anxious and impatient when we are young and desiring to be with someone that we care about, that we love. We were there once too.
I also know how difficult the road is, and can be, if we are moving forward without vision and especially without God's vision.
Lord God, I trust you with this young couple; with their lives; with their love for one another. You know that they are dear to my heart, and I know that they are even more dear to Yours.
I know Lord Jesus that they both love You and desire for You to be first in their lives. Help them to hear Your voice above all the voices that are speaking to them. I pray, Father, for Godly counsel and wisdom to be spoken to them from those to whom they will listen. I ask, Lord, that their ears won't be closed to the words spoken to them that may not agree with what they think and feel.
Please, dear God glorify Yourself and Your Name, for Your sake and Your testimony in their lives.
--Amen
Setting the stage: One of these young people is a young man I have known since he was born, nearly 20 years ago. The young lady I have known for about four years. She was one of my son's very good friends in high school and even dated my son for a few months. I love both of these young people and have been praying for them both.
Their announcement is that they are engaged and are planning to wed either this winter or next summer.
I should be blessed for them, and I seek with my heart to bless them, yet deep within me is a lot of concern for them for many reasons. I'll not go into those reasons here, but suffice to say that I shall be praying for them all the more, and even more than that I shall be praying for God's timing for them, and for them to hear God's timing for them.
I know so well that it is easy to be anxious and impatient when we are young and desiring to be with someone that we care about, that we love. We were there once too.
I also know how difficult the road is, and can be, if we are moving forward without vision and especially without God's vision.
Lord God, I trust you with this young couple; with their lives; with their love for one another. You know that they are dear to my heart, and I know that they are even more dear to Yours.
I know Lord Jesus that they both love You and desire for You to be first in their lives. Help them to hear Your voice above all the voices that are speaking to them. I pray, Father, for Godly counsel and wisdom to be spoken to them from those to whom they will listen. I ask, Lord, that their ears won't be closed to the words spoken to them that may not agree with what they think and feel.
Please, dear God glorify Yourself and Your Name, for Your sake and Your testimony in their lives.
--Amen
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Hi - It's Me Again
I'm here to make a posting. Shocking! Yes?
I didn't even look to see when my last post was. I know it's been a while.
Summertime has been here and I have not been on my home computer much. I hit it a couple times a week and that's about all it seems that I have time for. Check the email, sit down to pay bills, maybe try to read a blog here and there...
Tonight was pay bills and since I'm still on and Kerry went to pick up our youngest from youth group, I figured I'd do something strange and actually "POST."
I have been wanting to post this family picture we had taken while we were in Jackson, Wyoming (a.k.a. Jackson Hole, Wyoming). It is one of those rare times when we are (were) actually together as a family this year. We had a wonderful family vacation time and I am so grateful to God for allowing us the opportunity to have it. I had wanted to take my family to Yellowstone for many, many years and we were finally able to go, in what may have been the last family vacation for just the five of us.
Daughter number one (our middle child) started college (see last post) a few weeks ago. Though she calls frequently and isn't far away, I know this is the beginning of her independence and she is starting to learn to exercise it.
Our oldest is now in his junior year of college. He is working as a resident assistant (RA) this year and probably won't be home until Christmas and even then it will be right about on Christmas because he has some friends getting married in Texas earlier that week. One of these days some fortunate young lady is going to figure out what a catch he is and to latch on to him and he will be off somewhere else forever thereafter.
As for our youngest, she is always busy. She has a pretty tough class load, so she is often doing homework. She loves doing the school musicals and got a chorus part (extra) in this years production of Hello Dolly. She also has a job that she works on weekends. So we are already getting used to not seeing her around.
My wife has started a new job, putting her freelance days behind her for now. By working from home she was lacking for socialization (it's important for kids to be able to socialize, it helps them be well adjusted). I think she is enjoying the new job, but sometimes it is difficult to be certain. She did receive some encouraging news that one of her submissions going to be published in "Chicken Soup for the Empty Nester's Soul." Pretty cool! As our youngest stated, "Now you can be published like me!" Which for clarification, youngest had a poem of hers about the "Heroes of 9/11" published a few years back.
As for me these days... I go to work, try to get out and ride my bicycle at lunch, go back to work, go home, sleep, and then repeat that cycle. The most excitement is, as my wife says, playing connect the dots with the latest scratches and scrapes accumulated from the days bike ride. It's not quite that bad really, but sometimes it seems she is right.
That's all for tonight.
May God richly bless you and lead you in His wonderful paths of life.
I didn't even look to see when my last post was. I know it's been a while.
Summertime has been here and I have not been on my home computer much. I hit it a couple times a week and that's about all it seems that I have time for. Check the email, sit down to pay bills, maybe try to read a blog here and there...
Tonight was pay bills and since I'm still on and Kerry went to pick up our youngest from youth group, I figured I'd do something strange and actually "POST."
I have been wanting to post this family picture we had taken while we were in Jackson, Wyoming (a.k.a. Jackson Hole, Wyoming). It is one of those rare times when we are (were) actually together as a family this year. We had a wonderful family vacation time and I am so grateful to God for allowing us the opportunity to have it. I had wanted to take my family to Yellowstone for many, many years and we were finally able to go, in what may have been the last family vacation for just the five of us.
Daughter number one (our middle child) started college (see last post) a few weeks ago. Though she calls frequently and isn't far away, I know this is the beginning of her independence and she is starting to learn to exercise it.
Our oldest is now in his junior year of college. He is working as a resident assistant (RA) this year and probably won't be home until Christmas and even then it will be right about on Christmas because he has some friends getting married in Texas earlier that week. One of these days some fortunate young lady is going to figure out what a catch he is and to latch on to him and he will be off somewhere else forever thereafter.
As for our youngest, she is always busy. She has a pretty tough class load, so she is often doing homework. She loves doing the school musicals and got a chorus part (extra) in this years production of Hello Dolly. She also has a job that she works on weekends. So we are already getting used to not seeing her around.
My wife has started a new job, putting her freelance days behind her for now. By working from home she was lacking for socialization (it's important for kids to be able to socialize, it helps them be well adjusted). I think she is enjoying the new job, but sometimes it is difficult to be certain. She did receive some encouraging news that one of her submissions going to be published in "Chicken Soup for the Empty Nester's Soul." Pretty cool! As our youngest stated, "Now you can be published like me!" Which for clarification, youngest had a poem of hers about the "Heroes of 9/11" published a few years back.
As for me these days... I go to work, try to get out and ride my bicycle at lunch, go back to work, go home, sleep, and then repeat that cycle. The most excitement is, as my wife says, playing connect the dots with the latest scratches and scrapes accumulated from the days bike ride. It's not quite that bad really, but sometimes it seems she is right.
That's all for tonight.
May God richly bless you and lead you in His wonderful paths of life.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Changin' Times
Our lives changed today.
Not in a bad way.
It is a good way really.
But change they did.
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.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
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.
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.
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