Mount St. Helens - 9/21/13

I had the privilege of spending the whole day with a very good friend of mine on a striking beginning of fall day in one of the most breathtaking places I have ever been: up at Mount St. Helens. It was a gorgeous day, raining off and on, sure, and the clouds never really let us see the whole mountain, but it was sunny enough during our 6 mile hike along the ridge line, and the colors of the valley below us, so devastated 33 years ago by that eruption, were absolutely stunning.

I wasn't even born when the mountain erupted. My parents both remember where they were. I had thought that maybe 33 years would make it so that we wouldn't be able to see exactly what had happened, or to truly understand the aftermath of such a violent eruption. I was wrong.

 Spirit Lake still bears thousands of trees, floating, after they were put there three decades ago by the landslide that lifted them clean out of the ground at times to dump them unceremoniously into the lake. Apparently, this isn't even very many of them as the log flow covers over a third of the lake.

 

The Mountain itself has vein like rivers running down it from where water has carved away at the mud slides. And the valley itself is hundreds of pockets of wetlands from where the mud wiped away all of the existing river beds and created new lakes, new rivers and new ponds. And there are still hardly any trees. Just bushes, grasses, wildflowers, and moss.

 

It was one of those moments. Where you just look across the landscape and stand in awe of the creator of the universe. Who not only made the mountain to begin with, but knew how and when it would erupt, and then in his majesty, made the aftermath just as dangerously beautiful.

Fall 2013

I love this season. There is something about the air, the colors, the rain, curling up with a mug of hot liquid and a sweatshirt to read your favorite book. I love the way its dark and cozy in the evenings and the windstorms that batter the side of the house. I love the rain in the morning, the sun in the afternoon, and the rain again in the evening. I love the way that the mid-morning sunshine contrasts with the black clouds above, shedding a warm light that illuminates the world with a jewel-tone like glow.

I love the chill in the air. I love the way that when you breath in, it cools your whole body, and leaves you feeling refreshed. I love that I can go on my walks at lunch and not come back drenched in sweat. I love wearing sweaters and turning the heat up at work. I love making a fire and watching the flames flicker and dance against the glass front of the fireplace.

I love the holidays, the chance to spend time with family, and eat really good food. I love the traditions and the little tidbits that make each month special. I love decorating and baking, and carving pumpkins. I love writing my brains out in November and attempting to ignore the rest of the world. I love hot chocolate. I love Carmel Apple Cider. I love this season.

This fall, I have to remember that I love this season. I have to remember to be joyful and content even in this season of my life that seems like it will never end. I have to remember the simple pleasure of a mug of hot chocolate even as I sip it in my parents basement. I have to enjoy the fire for its beauty and warmth even though I have to displace myself upstairs to do so. I have to watch all of the Seahawks games in stereo as my Dad watches upstairs and we watch it downstairs.

Sometimes life can be frustrating and I feel like I have been stuck in this waiting season for a very long time. But it is fall again. And I love this season. And I just have to relax and enjoy these things that I love so much about life, and trust God that he will turn this long stagnant season into the next. And just maybe... it will happen this fall.

Thursdays

I am extremely blessed to have some of the most awesome Thursday nights ever. Thursday nights are worship team practice and for me, it means a chance to spend an evening in fellowship with some of the most amazing Christian people in my life, and spend it worshipping God. There is no better way to spend time. Also, it gives me something to look forward to other than just the coming of the weekend during those sometimes long hours at work. It is no secret that spending time with the creator of the universe and our savior is the best way to live, but it is also rejuvenating and humbling. It is a chance for me to ground out my week, sing my heart out, and play with abandon. There is no audience other than God. And even if I was tone deaf and couldn't play a note, it would be a sweet sound to his ears. Thank you Lord for Thursdays. 

Exercise

Exercise. It's a dreaded word. It's a time of my day that involves sweating a lot more than I think I should for a lot less bodily impact than I want it to have, but it is something that I know I need. Especially when I love the things I love so much. Like bread. And Ice Cream. And Cookies.

But sometimes, exercise can also be exhilarating, and make your whole day better. There is something more than scientific to the feeling you get after working out, or the feeling of sore muscles the next day. The feeling of your body after a few weeks of working out, that feeling of health and wellness that starts to affect your emotions, your outlook and even your lifestyle choices, that is what I can appreciate. I may always struggle to keep working out. I may never make it past my purple five pound weights. But that's what persistence and the three pound weights are for.

Hebrews

I read through the back half of the book of Hebrews today. It was one of those moments where I was so engrossed in the thoughts running through the book that I was actually checking the clock to make sure I had time to finish before heading to work. That doesn't always happen with the Bible. There are so many temptations, so many distractions, and so many genealogies or passages that become so familiar you gloss over them. I don't know how many times I've actually read Hebrews. I know I've heard a number of sermons on the chapter about faith - the faith of the founders of Israel. But how much have I taken in of the argument for Christianity that is taking place in this book?

There is a straight up speech happening here, an attempt not only to persuade people to Christ, but seemingly to persuade a single type of people to Christ. The writer of Hebrews has a heart for the people he was raised with and around, a heart for the people that he is a part of. Sometimes I forget that the mission field is my back door.

Our sermon this Sunday dealt with this as well, the idea that the people we need to be reaching, the vision of our church should be on our streets, not within our walls. We need to be outward focused, not inwardly distracted. Even some of the sermons I have been listening to from Mars Hill have emphasized this lately, and here, sitting in front of me in the book of Hebrews this morning, I was still almost stunned by the verses sitting in front of me. Like it was a new revelation.

I am amazed by the heart of this author. He didn't say, like so many of us do. "Jesus Loves You. That should be enough". Instead he walked with his people through their culture and their inheritance and with great intelligence brought them to the fact that Jesus is the way. Implications of love, of hope for a better tomorrow, for a family in heaven and an inheritance of heaven are throughout, but he didn't dumb it down, or water it down. He told us why we should believe in Christ from the very beginning of the Bible until his present time.

So how do I take his example and take it to my streets. Living Christ's love, and not shying away from hard conversations about how I know that Jesus is Lord, or why I believe that he is the only way to salvation and to everlasting life with him in Heaven. I should love my people, my neighbors, my friends and family enough to tell them the truth, even if it is hard, in an intelligent way, not in cliché words that they will ignore or simply wave away with a "yes, I know".

Thank goodness for the Holy Spirit because I couldn't even come to this on my own. Now I should share this joy, hope, peace, love, and salvation, with those around me. All of those around me.

Picture for Aug 25th 2013 - Tassadar

This is my Tassadar cat. His little mustache face makes him quite possibly the most adorable looking cat ever. But don't tell Fenix, he'll get jealous and throw a temper tantrum. Tassers wasn't quite sure what I was doing with a camera in his face at 10 at night, but he hammed it up anyway. There is only so much a cat can protest attention before he remembers, that is what he lives for.