As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.Psalm 125:2
In two days we will be leaving the mountains and heading for the plains of Kansas. It has been a wonderfully re-creative time. This is the first time that I have ever had over four weeks straight to be embraced by these majestic peaks and valleys. Thanks to the wonderful people at Grace Mennonite Church who made this possible. But the sabbatical is not yet over! On Thursday through Saturday, September 27-29, we will be attending a conference on Christian Formation in Wichita. It looks like a great conference with inspiring speakers and worship. It also looks like a conference with lots of ideas to bring back to Grace. I’ll report on that next week.
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| Picnic at Maroon Bells |
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| Maroon Bells |
Our son and daughter-in-law, Phil and Mary, stopped by the cabin last week. They were on their way from their seminary experience in Fresno to Tabor Mennonite Church between Newton and Goessel, Kansas where Phil will be lead pastor. On Sunday, September 30, we will have the privilege of attending his installation at Tabor’s morning worship service. While Phil and Mary were here, we drove to one of the most photographed mountain scenes in America: the Maroon Bells near Aspen. It was one of the most beautiful sunny days we have had in the last month. We have been to this stunning sight a number of times before, with a natural lake in the foreground, but never with the Aspen trees in full fall color. Words can’t describe the views and I am not sure a couple of photographs will do justice to the beauty we have experienced.
During these last couple of weeks we have continued our readings and walks together which I shared about in my last blog. We have also been doing some physical work. Since this is a family cabin there is always something that needs doing. We had a basement room taped, mudded and sanded that had been dry walled for many years but never finished. Then we painted the room put down carpet and linoleum and finished it by putting a baseboard around the room. Now it is a nicely finished bedroom and laundry room. We also stripped the stain off the deck and applied a new coat of stain. Yesterday, we had a large pine tree cut that was too close to the house in case of a wild fire. After the professionals finished their cutting we dragged all the branches to the road for a chipper that will come in the next week or so.
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| The Cabin in Alpine, Colorado |
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| Snow on Pikes Peak |
I love to drive in the mountains. I especially like to drive over the high mountain passes and to the peaks of mountains if possible. A couple of weeks ago we drove to the summit of Pikes Peak which is over 14,000 feet. We have driven this road a number of times and always find it a breathtaking experience. This is the first time we have made this drive with the road completely paved to the top. We have also driven to the top of a number of passes over 12,000 feet. A first for us was taking a 4-wheel drive All Terrain Vehicle (a motorcycle with 4 wheels) over the 12,154 foot Tin Cup Pass. This was a narrow, rocky and steep road drivable only with a four wheel drive with fairly high clearance. Along the way we saw four moose; the first time we had ever seen moose in Colorado. We hardly go anywhere without seeing deer but moose are a rare sight.
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| Tin Cup Pass |
So far this has been a wonderful sabbatical. We look forward to further inspiration this coming week-end in Wichita and then putting it all together for further ministry when we return.
Blessings to everyone.
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