Archive for June, 2006

Bear Lake Trail

Published
by
Mike
on June 4, 2006
in travel
. 21 Comments

Home. Hurrah!

But this morning wasn’t bad. There are so many places that would be in the running for my tag of “most-beautiful-spot-in-the-48-states.” Vermont in the fall; the Grand Canyon; Yosemite — just for starters.

But my favorite spot is the Rocky Mountain National Park. Early this morning I hiked the Bear Lake Trail up to Emerald Lake.

I remember hiking up that trail with my parents when I was a teen. Then the four of us did it the summer after Megan died. And the five of us returned to the Bear Lake trail last summer. I could do it once a week and not get bored!

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Reminder to the “young men” of Highland that I’d like to meet with them at 6:15 the next two Tuesdays (6th and 13th). Guys in their 30s. Or a bit younger. Or a little older.

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Thanks to the wonderful folks at the Arvada Church of Christ for hosting the Zoe conference. They were so gracious!

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My favorite ads on television can be viewed here.
There are six of them — all short and clever.

Mile High Zoe

Published
by
Mike
on June 3, 2006
in General
. 12 Comments

We’re in Denver for our third and last “In Christ Alone” conference (earlier in Nashville and Fresno).

It’s just so gorgeous here. There are actually people who can look out their windows and see the Rockies — Long’s Peak, no less. There is incredible hiking and cycling everywhere! But (I keep telling myself) it’s possible that the people who live here don’t have as keen an anticipation of heaven. They live in a piece of it already!

We’ve missed Brandon the last couple months as he’s taken a sabbatical, but Peter Wilson and Randy Gill have done a great job of leading the team.

Life in Lubbock

Published
by
Mike
on June 1, 2006
in Church
. 30 Comments

After a few hours in Lubbock yesterday, I returned to this quote I’ve been staring at for a couple weeks. It’s from songwriter Butch Hancock:

“Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you’re going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love.”

And that’s not just Lubbock, of course.

We need to be very careful about the messages we’re sending out with our words and our lives.

One other quote for today. These insightful words are from Doug Foster in Seeking a Lasting City: The Church’s Journey in the Story of God (from ACU’s “Heart of the Restoration” series).

“God expects us to be traveling, not sedentary, always journeying and never permitting ourselves the smug sense that we have found our place in the world.

“Simply put, continuing the journey toward the lasting city isn’t easy. As we’ve seen, New Testament Christians relied on elements like Scripture, worship, leadership, holy living, and the Holy Spirit, all working in combination to ensure their faithfulness to God’s purpose for this church. Emphasized in different combinations from congregation to congregation, these elements provided healthy diversity, as well as continuity, for the growing church. Churches must allow themselves the freedom in Christ to combine these elements in ways that make the most sense for their time, place, and circumstance. Such congregations aren’t denying the authority of the first-century church to serve as our model; on the contrary, their approach aligns perfectly with the principles (if not the specific practices) that governed the early church. This kind of diversity ought to provide the opportunity for Christians to experience the richness and legitimacy of diversity in the church, grasping parts of the story we might otherwise ignore.”

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There are tragic words — and yet, remarkably, words of faith — at lauravanryn.blogspot.com.