Labor Day weekend is this weekend. The last chance for people to "get away" before the crush and rush of Fall begins. Judging by the recent weather, it seems as though summer left us early. I'm still holding out for a nice fall.
I believe a restful and refreshing weekend will usually include attending a church service. Although some prefer to "get away", drawing close to God and His people can be the most rejuvinating experience of all.
Why do you attend church anyway? Here are a few great reasons to attend:
1. To be encouraged and renewed. If Labor Day is seen by most people as a holiday to rest from one’s labors, then let this be a weekend to experience the encouragement and renewal that takes place by gathering with God’s people. “Whoever is thirsty, let him come!” Rev. 22:17
2. To experience God and to worship Him. We believe that God is uniquely present when the Church gathers. We worship a God who is alive and actively involved in our lives. We fulfill our created purpose when we worship Him.
3. To be taught and instructed. God’s word is a practical source of wisdom that we need as we face the daily challenges that life brings.
4. To encourage others and to serve. Your presence, gifts and skills can all be used to encourage and bless others.
There are other lesser reasons to attend services (free coffee, good music, entertainment, for the kids, socializing, make my spouse happy, etc.), but these are some of the main reasons I keep coming back.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
First Adventure Race
Tonight I will be competing in my first "Adventure Race". It is part of a summer series and this race is at 7 p.m. at Dash Point State Park in Federal Way. I will be randomly placed on a team and will use it as a learning experience. I'll let you know how it goes.
BEAST stands for Barebones Evening Adventure Sprint Tournament, a series of very short adventure races held on weeknights in the greater Seattle area. The events involve mountain biking, running, and map reading, and they're barebones, meaning the emphasis is on providing a quality course without a lot of the frills.
Here are the RESULTS. I was on Lotto Team 4 and we finished 2nd overall. I was real happy with our effort as a 4 person team.
http://www.beastrace.com/2008-BEAST-5-results-ss.htm
BEAST stands for Barebones Evening Adventure Sprint Tournament, a series of very short adventure races held on weeknights in the greater Seattle area. The events involve mountain biking, running, and map reading, and they're barebones, meaning the emphasis is on providing a quality course without a lot of the frills.
Here are the RESULTS. I was on Lotto Team 4 and we finished 2nd overall. I was real happy with our effort as a 4 person team.
http://www.beastrace.com/2008-BEAST-5-results-ss.htm
Friday, August 22, 2008
Jason Gray shares his struggle with finding strength.
Jason will be at Eastside on the weekend of September 6-7. I'm really looking forward to it. Hope you can be here as well. For times and directions visit www.eastsidechurch.org.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tennessee Wedding
Saturday: I am in Tennessee for my friend Colin Blair's wedding. While here I have been able to do some trail running on the Appalatian Trail and have explored some of the highest peaks in the Appalatian Mountains. Today is the wedding day and this morning we went to Poga Falls for some sight seeing. Some locals showed us just how fun this waterfall could be. We all ended up taking the plunge (including the groom). I've never been off a waterslide like this one before...yes, this is me in the photo.
Sunday morning: Now I'm on my way to the airport -- back to Seattle and to Senior High Camp tomorrow. Heidi and I are both doing workshops. I'll have plenty of time to review my notes on the long flight home. I'm at a coffee shop in Boone N.C. for a quick stop before going to Charlotte.
Here is a report on the trail run:
A friend’s wedding took me east for a few days this week. The ceremony was located at Sugar Hollow Retreat, in Tennessee, only a few miles from the Appalatian Trail. I’ve never been on the trail before so I looked forward to this new experience.
After flying into Charlotte I drove through Blowing Rock and Boone on my way to Carver’s Gap where the famous trail crosses the road at 5512 feet. I had seen this area featured in some articles and was eager to explore these grassy “bald” peaks.
Day One
I began getting my bearings by taking the trail south from Carvers Gap over Roan Mtn (6285 ft.) on my way to Little Rock Knob. This section of the trail was steep, rocky, and rarely offered views due to the dense tree cover. The better hiking is to the north of Carvers Gap, something I was saving for the next day. I didn’t see a single person on the trail to the south. Some notable sights included an immense rhododendron garden, numerous butterflies that filled the sunny meadows as well as some ruins of an old fireplace and the Cloudland Hotel.
I did this as an “out and back” trail run and then drove eight miles to Roan State Park where I camped for the night.
Day Two.
I arrived at Carvers Gap at 6:30 a.m. with the intent of trail running north for 2 hours. I figured I would see how far I could get. If you hike 5 miles north, you will go over five summits all over 5000 feet between Carvers Gap and ending with Hump Mtn.
I began climbing immediately and after going through some trees I arrived on the balds where I was rewarded to a great sunrise from Round Bald.
Shortly thereafter I passed by a pen full of Appalatian Goats. Their shepherd was tent camping close by. After snapping a couple photos I continued north another half mile where I located a geocache before the trail began a long descent.
During my run I passed two tents that were quiet – everyone was still asleep. I also saw over a half dozen white tail deer.
I emerged on top of Little Hump after two hours of running. Although I had hoped to make it to Hump Mtn., I knew that I had a long ways to go back and I turned around.
On the way back I stopped by the barn (Overmountain Shelter) which was still occupied by some sleeping hikers.
Time passed by quickly and more easily than I had feared and I was back at my car after exactly four hours.
After flying into Charlotte I drove through Blowing Rock and Boone on my way to Carver’s Gap where the famous trail crosses the road at 5512 feet. I had seen this area featured in some articles and was eager to explore these grassy “bald” peaks.
Day One
I began getting my bearings by taking the trail south from Carvers Gap over Roan Mtn (6285 ft.) on my way to Little Rock Knob. This section of the trail was steep, rocky, and rarely offered views due to the dense tree cover. The better hiking is to the north of Carvers Gap, something I was saving for the next day. I didn’t see a single person on the trail to the south. Some notable sights included an immense rhododendron garden, numerous butterflies that filled the sunny meadows as well as some ruins of an old fireplace and the Cloudland Hotel.
I did this as an “out and back” trail run and then drove eight miles to Roan State Park where I camped for the night.
Day Two.
I arrived at Carvers Gap at 6:30 a.m. with the intent of trail running north for 2 hours. I figured I would see how far I could get. If you hike 5 miles north, you will go over five summits all over 5000 feet between Carvers Gap and ending with Hump Mtn.
I began climbing immediately and after going through some trees I arrived on the balds where I was rewarded to a great sunrise from Round Bald.
Shortly thereafter I passed by a pen full of Appalatian Goats. Their shepherd was tent camping close by. After snapping a couple photos I continued north another half mile where I located a geocache before the trail began a long descent.
During my run I passed two tents that were quiet – everyone was still asleep. I also saw over a half dozen white tail deer.
I emerged on top of Little Hump after two hours of running. Although I had hoped to make it to Hump Mtn., I knew that I had a long ways to go back and I turned around.
On the way back I stopped by the barn (Overmountain Shelter) which was still occupied by some sleeping hikers.
Time passed by quickly and more easily than I had feared and I was back at my car after exactly four hours.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Trico Mountain and Robin Lakes
Here are some pictures from the past two days during which I took John and Woody on a hike/scramble up to Robin Lakes and then to the summit of Trico Mountain. The weather was great and we spotted several mountain goats on our second day. By the time we made it out of there we were tired but thank-ful for a "perfect trip". Shaun met us up there at 8 p.m. on our first night and was with us for the rest of the trip.
For all the photos, look HERE.
Lessons from TJ
Be content...The poverty of Mexico is stark, but so is their wealth. Their wealth is evident in their rich faith, joy and quality of relationships that one sees.
Worship and seek God with all your heart...The churches we visited were more expressive than most of us were comfortable with or used to. It was helpful to be pushed out of our comfort zones and to discover a new freedom to be expressive in prayer and worship.
You will face trials for the Gospel sake...getting robbed, being "uncomfortable" and inconvenienced may be a more common experience for much of the world, but for many American's it is a "big deal". If we play it safe all the time, we will never discover the lessons that come experiencing basic challenges of cold showers, bug bites, unfamiliar food, HOT weather, physical fatigue, crazy drivers, etc. This puts things a little more in perspecitve.
You can make a difference...One week of outreach gave a church a new roof for 25 years, left about ten churches encouraged, and gave a VBS to 150 kids while introducing many to Christ.
Assume friendship with people. Going on a team with people you don't know could be a challenge. We often don't have time to "win people's trust" or to "earn their respect". So from the first day we assumed a love for one another and some basics that are part of our shared faith and purpose. This allowed us to "get busy" with the important things and also quickly bond as a team.
Worship and seek God with all your heart...The churches we visited were more expressive than most of us were comfortable with or used to. It was helpful to be pushed out of our comfort zones and to discover a new freedom to be expressive in prayer and worship.
You will face trials for the Gospel sake...getting robbed, being "uncomfortable" and inconvenienced may be a more common experience for much of the world, but for many American's it is a "big deal". If we play it safe all the time, we will never discover the lessons that come experiencing basic challenges of cold showers, bug bites, unfamiliar food, HOT weather, physical fatigue, crazy drivers, etc. This puts things a little more in perspecitve.
You can make a difference...One week of outreach gave a church a new roof for 25 years, left about ten churches encouraged, and gave a VBS to 150 kids while introducing many to Christ.
Assume friendship with people. Going on a team with people you don't know could be a challenge. We often don't have time to "win people's trust" or to "earn their respect". So from the first day we assumed a love for one another and some basics that are part of our shared faith and purpose. This allowed us to "get busy" with the important things and also quickly bond as a team.
Owl Sightings
Throughout my life of hiking and trail running, I have only caught fleeting glimpses of owls in the darkness of the early morning or at night. At least until one month ago.
On July 4th I was going for a walk with Levi and Cameron Forras near Spring Lake (near Renton) when we heard an indescribably noise coming from the woods to our right. I joked that it was "bigfoot". A few seconds later we heard it again, but this time it was on our left. Moments later I looked up and saw a Great Horned own perched in a tree on our left. Then, looking to our right we spotted another one. Behind us was a third owl. I told them to watch their heads since owls have been known to attack. One of the owls swept out of the tree showing how "big" they really are. We gingerly walked through them and made our way to the top of a hill. On the way back down we spotted one of the owls once more. When we told our guests who live at Spring Lake, they said they had never seen owls there before. We went back to try to spot them again but they were gone.
Today while running at St. Edwards Park I spotted a Barred Owl perched right next to the trail about 10 feet up in a tree. As I approached him it was clear that he didn't want to move. I had no way of going around so I watched him for about 5 minutes. Eventually a hiker approached from the other direction. As he came close the owl flew straight at me. I instinctively shielded my head as he swept past me.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Home From TJ
Photos are HERE
We are home now, having had a great mission trip to TJ. I will be posting photos and links from the team members. In summary, it was a dynamic group with 100% commitment from our leaders and team members. They were united, bonded quickly and served whole-heartedly. The VBS grew to include approx 150 kids. We ministered in about a dozen different Foursquare churches. The dramas, testimonies, music and messages were done really well...Each team member now has a story to tell and the churches that we visited were greatly encouraged.
The only glich as the van, but that's not a big deal. We are pursuing insurance claims to try to restore what was lost. Thanks for your prayers. Our family had a great time and are home healthy, safe, and with a large group of new friends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)