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... :)