On Top of the World!

Im not sure words can describe the experiences I have been blessed with over the past few weeks. Even if they could, Im sure the available words would be inadequate. So here are some pictures... Take a minute to take in the greatness of our God and His creation:

Grand Canyon, Arizona






Zion National Park, Utah








The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night the pour forth knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. -- Psalm 19:1-3

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. --Psalm 95:3-5

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. By his power he churned up the sea.... By his breath the skies become fair.... And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! How then can we understand the thunder of his power? -- Job 26:7-9, 11-14

Over the past few years, I have been privileged to see many parts of God's creation that most people never get to experience. And it is all extremely beautiful and glorious! However, I dont think I have ever fully understood the power and might of the God we serve like I did when I reached the peak of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park last week with 10 wonderful friends. This is the thought that kept running through my head... "Here we are surrounded by massive rocks, bigger than any Ive ever seen before. Not only are we surrounded by them, we are ON TOP of one of these huge things... 1800 feet from the bottom! These rocks are gigantic! We say that God is our "solid rock", but can we ever really fathom exactly what that means? As unshakeable and unmoveable as these rocks seem, we serve a God who is so much more unshakeable and unmoveable than these rocks will ever be! And when, one day, these rocks may come tumbling down, our God will still remain, and He promises us that He is our solid rock to stand on in the midst of whatever trials or storms may come our way. What an awesome and mighty God we are given the privilege of serving!" Being able to stand on top of that rock and worship and pray with friends was one experience that will not be forgotten.

Now... on to a few rather interesting details of this little trip. (These are the details you dont tell your parents until after its over and you are safe once again!) Our hike up Angel's Landing began as a fun little hike over pretty easy terrain. We stopped about every 2 minutes to take another picture or just to rest and enjoy one another's company. That was the first 2.5 miles. The last half mile to the peak is another story. Let's just say that this hike is called Angel's Landing for a reason. People die on this trail fairly often, the most recent two deaths being in August and November (and no, I didnt know this before I started up it!) There are many caution signs along the path, but Im pretty sure no quantity of caution signs could have prepared for the intensity of the hike I was about to get myself into. The last half mile of this hike consisted of a very steep, and VERY narrow trail. In fact, Im pretty sure this part trail qualified as scrambling and not hiking. Oh yeah... did I mention that the trail was NARROW?!? Most of the way, you had a chain on one side of the path to hold on to in case you started to slip, but in essence you were gonna be dead meat if you took one wrong step. Perhaps this wasnt the smartest thing I have ever done, but I will be the first to tell you that I wouldnt trade my "mountain-top" experience for anything in the world now that I have done it. I will also be the first to tell you that I feel no need to EVER do it again!


One of many caution signs along the path... (If you go to YouTube and search "Angel's Landing" there are tons of videos that take you on a virtual hike to the top with a crazy person who thought it was a good idea to get the scramble to the top on tape!)

Its hard to believe we only have three weeks of class left. I cant wait to see, though, what the next three weeks will bring. More than that, I am excited to see how God is going to use me when I return home. This semester has been an experience like no other! I feel refreshed and re-charged after three extremely intense semesters in education program at ASU and although it wont always be fun, I am excited to return to the front lines of a kingdom-sized battle between the Truth of God and the lies of the world! Exciting stuff!

One last word... if you know any college aged students, they NEED to spend a semester at FLI and Id love to be able to get in touch with them and encourage them to pursue this awesome opportunity.

Here's the painting I have just recently completed... next time I consider writing small words in the background of painting, remind me what a pain it was (click to make it bigger!) :)


Grace and Peace... :)

Soli Deo Gloria!

As the weeks go by, life just seems to get busier and busier. It is completely unbelievable to think that my time here in Colorado Springs is halfway over. And it is still unbelievable to me that I have been blessed with the opportunity to be able to look out at Pike's Peak every day and to learn from some of the most intelligent and God-centered people I have ever met.

I cant remember if I have talked about this or not, but there is SO much more to the FLI experience than simply going to class each day. The sense of community that we have been able to build here is simply astounding to me. This is not only true among the students here, but the staff, as well. In fact, some of the best times that I have had have been when I have, on a whim, gone over to my professor's homes to have supper, watch movies, or play Settlers of Catan. I cant even begin to explain how refreshing it is to experience this type of community. Although this idea of community should still be active among all Christians, it isn't. How much easier would it be for us to reach out to our lost neigbors with the overwhelming love of Christ if we could first learn to live in community with our fellow Christians?

As sad as it is, many folks dont even truly know who they go to church with anymore, including myself. Sure, we wave and say hi as we pass in the hallway, but isnt there so much more that? When is the last time that we took time out of our busy schedule to stop and have a real conversation with someone? To see how they were really doing and to ask how we could pray for them? When was the last time that we sat and talked with a friend about how they saw God at work in their life? When is the last time that we invited someone over to our home for a time of fellowship and having a meal or coffee together? Have we forgotten how to be a neighbor to our fellow Christian brothers and sisters? Furthermore, how can we be a neighbor to those who dont know Christ, if we cant even be a neighbor to those with whom we have the common bond of Christ?

Most recently in my Family, Church, and Society class, we have been talking about God's design for the social sphere of COMMUNITY. In this study, we focused specifically on the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.25-37. Dr Tackett made the suggestion that since the subtitles we see in the Bible are put there by man, that we re-name this parable to be "The Parable of the Neighbor". As we looked at the story, I found how appropriate this title really is, as the verses that precede this parable begin with Jesus commanding us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Then this parable is told in response to the man who tests Jesus asking Him, "And who is my neighbor?" So then, when you examine this story, your two main characters are the needy and the neighbor. From there we were able to really examine God's design for community, and how being a neighbor and living in community with our neighbors really gets at the heart of how God designed this institution to be lived out. Those of you who know me well know how passionate I can be about this topic. There is so much more I could tell you, both from my own prior experiences as well as things we have talked about here, but I'll leave it there for now and give you something to think on. :)

Over the past two weeks, I have gotten the really awesome opportunity of being involved in some tapings of the FOTF daily radio broadcasts with Dr. Juli Slattery and John Fuller. Although I dont know that they will air the part of the show that I actually participated in, I got to be in the studio. So that was a super cool experience! The first show I particpated in was on Eating Disorders. I have not yet been able to find out when it will air. The second show I participated in was on parenting, and featured John Rosemond, who is from NC. That show, which is a 2 part series will air on March 22nd and 23rd.

As I have been sitting here typing this, the thought keeps popping in mind of how grateful I am that God has given me the oppotunity to be here, and also to be able to share with each of you through my blog. I know that some people think that I am here being brain-washed by some extreme right-winged Christian organization. However, just the opposite is true. Rather then being "brain-washed" I feel that, in a way, my brain has been freed. I am learning to think, to use my brain, and to ask questions, instead of just taking anyone at their word! Believe me, I have disagreed with my professor's more than just a time or two in the past 8 weeks. In my time here, I have been challenged more than ever to really examine what I believe and why I believe it. Most importantly, I have been learning to actually use the brain and intellectual abilities God has given me to examine His word, draw near to Him, and then come to my own conclusions about God and how I feel Him calling me to live out my life. I would encourage you to do the same. I have been discovering that living a more Christlike life means learning about the very nature of Christ Himself, and we can look all throughout the scriptures and see God revealing Himself to us through His words and actions. And for that, as we say at FLI, SOLI DEO GLORIA! To God Alone be the Glory!

In closing, I want to leave you with this quote I wrote down during Dr. Tackett's class last week: "We must always go back to the face of God, to His very nature. We must gaze upon His face. ALL truth emanates from Him, our ultimate source of TRUTH."

Til next time... Grace and Peace!