John Southwood and I led 6 people on a month-long mission trip to Penasco, a small town close to Taos. Two of us rode bikes, four rode in the van. The many abandoned old homes along the Arizona roadside grabbed my attention. Made of stone or blocks or wood. Many with missing roofs, all deserted. People built them, lived in them, worked to scrape out a life in the blazing desert, only to leave them. So why did they take off?
Read MoreLove is a Feeling--Really?
“Love is a feeling you feel when you feel you’ve never felt that feeling before.” I first heard that from marriage counselor and author, Norm Wright. And while slightly over the top, it does reflect our society, doesn’t it? We go by feelings, by our gut. That’s why the pic above means so much. The morning in Idaho started off pretty chilly, and we geared up for cold weather, including insulated pants. Insulated pants that you can only remove with great difficulty and flexibility, particularly if you keep your boots on. But…
Read MoreMisery--A Choice?
In early October around a Sunday mid-afternoon, the F150 pulled into a Rock Creek campground. Gear quickly shifted from the truck to the site, I used a flex hose to connect the propane tank to my camp stove, and headed down to the stream for some solo fishing. Not another fisherman in sight, and the trout bit eagerly. A great beginning, and I cleaned the two keepers.
Time now for dinner, so I got the tamales and chili ready to heat, but the stove showed no flames. At all. But the lantern at the top of the post worked, so I knew the tank was giving out gas. I…
Read MoreDon't Sweat the Small Stuff?
Decades back, I learned to not sweat the small stuff. Some problems and irritations just aren’t worth getting stressed over—they merely upset us and nothing changes for the good. At times we should be a duck—let the small stuff roll off our backs like water off a duck’s back. But a stay in Sedona Arizona, I learned to sometimes sweat the small stuff.
Leaving the enchanting Chapel of the Holy Cross, a cactus in bloom joyfully stood in front of the red rock towers and hills. So, I took a pic, intrigued with the intersection of colors and delicacy and mass. Before driving away…
Read MoreDare to be Yourself
To walk among the giant redwoods feels sacred: Shafts of sunlight shift slowly as they take their place in this natural cathedral. Despite their beauty and height, redwood trees cannot make all the food they need. They need the help of mushrooms, lichens, and other organisms to supply them the remainder of the food they need. Did you know that over 200 kinds of organisms help them thrive?
Today’s photo shows a rare, albino redwood in northern California. Albino trees have no chlorophyll. Thus, they cannot make any food for themselves. How did it come to be, and how does it live?…
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I Am Young
The older I get, the more I look back over my life. Wise decisions, foolish ones, abrupt ones, planned ones. Am I content with it? Will God be? Much of life I’ve taken it as it comes—should I have been more intentional? How can these ponderings inform the time I have left?
A few months back, some random song came on the radio, no clue as to the singer nor title, but one line struck me and I wrote this, just for fun.
I am young
my soul is free….
Read MoreIt Ain't Over Till...
The biblical word for patience literally means long-suffering. Guess that accurately describes my life as fan of the Los Angeles/Anaheim/California/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I’ve lived and died with them. This tease climaxed on May 18, showing both greatness and ineptitude. Their game with the Athletics (not sure where they call home now) followed a six-game losing streak in all. They earned the worst won/loss record in all of major league baseball. Yes, I cry.
A’s pitcher J.T. Ginn allowed no hits the first 8 innings. Said his manager…
Read MoreLatched Up
A few years ago, I fired up my Mustang convertible and headed up the CA coast on Hwy 1, the classic route through Big Sur, to teach at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, and hang with some witty writers. Truly, one of the most jaw dropping roads I’ve been on, John and I had the top down with jackets on to fully experience the clean and salty ocean air and to best see the hills and mountains and redwoods and ocean cliffs.
An awesome road, but my amazement came from seeing about two dozen Mustang convertibles. A rental agency in Carmel, I guess. And no better way to enjoy that stretch than a convertible—unless…
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