Running On Faith

I am glad to have a little bit of time to reflect and write about some of the things we have been seeing on this amazing journey out west. We have not had much down time and we have not always had access to Wifi. We have, however, enjoyed some amazing hikes, viewed some beautiful scenery, and enjoyed being together as a family.

The above picture is from Zion National Park. We were there almost a week ago.  We enjoyed several days there and then went to Bryce Canyon for two days and then on to Salt Lake City for two days. We leave SLT today for Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

So much of our scenery has been amazing rock formations.  I think the kids are tired of seeing “rocks.” But each place has been different and unique – from the deep cavernous holes of the Grand Canyon, to the sheer cliff walls of Zion, to the amazing Hoodoos of Bryce…they are all unique and beautiful.

We have learned a lot about these formations and three constants seem to apply – time, pressure, and water. These three factors have worked together to carve out some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. The above picture is from our walk through The Narrows of Zion. The Virgin River ( one of the tributaries of the Colorado River) has, over time, carved out the canyons of sandstone at Zion. The sandstone rock itself is the result of pressure being applied over time to enormous dunes of sand formed millions and millions of years ago. The formations are beautiful and they have taken time. They are still a work in progress.

On our final evening in Zion, my daughter and I hiked to Observation Point – an 8 mile round trip. It was spectacular. You could see so much of the park. As we walked the switchbacks and made our way up the mountain I thought about how each of us is like one of those mountains, canyons, or rock formations. As a person of faith, I believe that God shapes our lives over time. The pressures of life, the challenges, certainly have an impact, and over time, the living waters and the wind of the Spirit smooths out the rough places. The more we cooperate in that process, I think the easier we will have it. Either way, we are in process and are becoming. God is at work in us as a beautiful and precious part of God’s good creation.

Thanks be to God. Continue reading “Time, Pressure, and Water”

I am runner. On September 29, I plan to run a 50-miler (a 5-mile loop in Davidson, NC x 10) to celebrate turning 50 in August. I also want to raise awareness and funds, with a goal of $50,000, to help end human trafficking.
Lily Pad Haven, a Charlotte based ministry, will be the beneficiary of these funds. They care for survivors of human trafficking through housing, counseling, and education. They also raise awareness about this issue in our communities. We will honor their work with a donation at a closing celebration on September 29 at 6:00 p.m. on the Town Green.
To raise $50,000, my friends and I are soliciting corporate sponsorships (example: 10 “Loop Sponsors” at $1000 or more), as well as many individual contributions. Let’s bring this issue out of the shadows. We must notice it, address it, and work to end it in the light of day.
To make a donation, you may mail a check made out to “Lily Pad Haven” with “50 for Freedom” in the memo line. The address is Lily Pad Haven; 5009 Beatties Ford Road; Suite 107-356; Charlotte, NC 28216.
You may also give online through PayPal

Join me. For our children. For the world. For all of God’s people.
Learn more at http://lilypad-haven.org/

Here we are in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.  It is so beautiful.  When the prophet Isaiah wrote about how “the trees of the field will clap their hands” I am sure he was writing about Aspen trees.  When the wind blows through the leaves it looks like hands clapping!  And why shouldn’t they?  What a gorgeous view of creation they have each day.  I am so grateful to be here.

My running has continued as I prepare for the “50 for Freedom” 50 mile run on September 29th.  But the training is more difficult at higher altitudes.  We are a little above 7100 feet here in Pagosa Springs.  Still, I think it will benefit me when I return to the lower elevations.

Prior to our arrival in Colorado we enjoyed a one night stay at Ute Lake State Park in Utah.  It was a lovely little park near Logan, Utah.  We saw dear, jack rabbit, regular bunny rabbits, horned toads, and someone said they saw a rattle snake…but I didn’t tell the kids that until after we left.  I also didn’t tell them that there was internet service. We are, after all, trying to spend a little time unplugged and screen free!

Here are a few pics of some of the animals we have seen.

It has been a week since we pulled out of our driveway.  The time has been pretty busy…not a lot of down time.  I have been waking up early most days and we have driven many miles.  But we have seen some amazing things…beautiful scenery, sunrises, and sunsets.

We have enjoyed one another (most of the time), have seen some old friends along the way, and have met some interesting new people.  It has been a blessing to have this time away and I am grateful that you are going along with us.

I hope you will have your own moments of “hand clapping” as you take in the beauty and the wonder of God’s rich and amazing creation this summer.  It is as close as your own breath and your own heart beat!  Breath in. Breath out. Give thanks.

Soli Deo Gloria!

After a wonderful start to our journey at a family reunion in north Georgia, we drove to Milton, GA to enjoy a short but good visit with old friends and then on to Huntsville, Alabama on Sunday, July 1st.  We stayed at Monte Sano State Park.  It is a beautiful park and the temps were a good 10 degrees cooler on the mountaintop. We later learned that Monte Sano (Mount of Health) was a place that had been built by the Civilian Conservation Corps  and had been the location of an observatory for many scientists that would later work with NASA to establish the Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

We enjoyed a day touring displays of rocket ships – watching kids from Space Camp run to and fro – learning about the Saturn V rocket and the race to the moon that occurred in the 1960s.  We watched a very well produced IMAX movie called Beautiful Planet which reminded us all of how precious this earthly home is and how important it is for us to care for creation.  I was also reminded how wonderful it is that so many countries can work together on the International Space Station.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could cooperate like that on projects on our own planet?

After the NASA center we traveled to Memphis, TN.  I will save that post for tomorrow.  I wish everyone a Happy Independence Day.

We have been packing the camper all day!  Tomorrow we head out on the grand adventure!  A month in a mini-van and a pop-up camper with two adults and three teenage girls traveling around our beautiful country will certainly produce lots of memories.

The day hasn’t gone exactly as we expected…but does it ever?  You just have to persevere and roll with it!  Hopefully that is what we will do for the next month.

I was running yesterday morning.  It was overcast and even threatened to rain but never did. At one point the clouds cleared ever so slightly and allowed a ray of light to shine through.  You know what it looks like – a beam of light coming down from the heavens – like an angel is coming down or like something very special is about to happen in the place where that light beam is hitting the ground.  In all the gloomy, cloudy, sky, just that tiny clearing allowed enough light to get through to change the scene, change my perspective, and change my focus.

That is the choice we have each and every day…to reflect a little bit of light and love through the smallest of openings so that we might bring a little more hope, possibility, and promise into the world and into the lives of those around us.  I say reflect because I don’t think we are the source of that.  God is.  And the more in tune we are with God’s purposes in the world, I think, the better we are able to reflect God’s light and love.

I hope that on this Sabbatical Journey I will be able to connect in a deeper way with the one who created us in love and calls us to journey in faith through this gift of a life.  I am so excited…I hope I can sleep tonight!  Here we go!

 

I don’t know what things are like around your neck of the woods but there are a lot of bunnies around where we live.  They seem to be much more numerous this year.  When I am running by them in the morning they don’t even jump away – they just keep right on munching their clover or grass or whatever tasty weed they have discovered.

One of my favorite stories is about a bunny – specifically “Barrington Bunny.”  The story can be found in the book The Way of the Wolf by Martin Bell.  I was thinking about this story on my run this morning.  Barrington has some things to teach us in our world today.

Sure, Barrington Bunny is a sad story, but Barrington reminds us of two very important things. 1) We are all related.  Barrington learns that all the animals in the forest are members of his family. He treats them as family regardless of whether they look like him or even welcome him.  Barrington also realizes that he has something to give.  And while that gift ultimately costs him his own life, he saves another in the process and helps reunite them with their family.

We as people, have become so suspicious of one another.  I worry about my children growing up in a land where people want everyone else to look just like they do, think like they do, or behave like they do.  Sure, we appreciate a common set of values – and one of those can be understanding.  When we don’t seek to understand then we are likely to deny people basic human rights.  To deny someone thier rights just because they look differently than me is wrong, short sighted, and destructive.  What if we really did live by the Golden Rule?

I was given a great gift as a teenager by having the opportunity to live in another culture.  I lived in Uruguay, South American for a year during high school.  I grew to appreciate another culture and another way of “doing” life.  There is such rich diversity in our world and it is what makes humanity amazing.  I believe it shows the wonder and the brilliance of the Creator.  We need to celebrate that and support each other in achieving our best rather than pushing others away or pushing others down.  Giving ourselves for the sake of others and acknowledging our connectedness promotes life, community, and a future full of possibilities.  Yes, it may cost us something, but what we gain is far more important.

All that from a bunch of bunnies!

 

As I was heading out on my run this morning I ran through a work zone.  The man who was directing traffic with his “STOP/SLOW” sign looked at me as I ran by and yelled with great intentionality – “Keep Your Eyes Open!”  He was, of course, warning me about the construction and the possible oncoming traffic.  I did keep my eyes open and got safely through.  And then I began to think about what it means to “Keep My Eyes Open” in the world around me.

 

I am reading a book with a group of men called Mending the Divide.  The book focuses on peacemaking and talks about four practices that the authors suggest help us become “everyday peacemakers. The first of the four practices is “See.”  What we are invited to do is to pay attention to the world around us…to notice those places where there is need, heartache, struggle, brokenness, etc.  To acknowledge it honestly and not to make excuses about it or pretend it doesn’t exist.  Sometimes that is hard for us.  Sometimes we would rather “turn a blind eye.”  “Ignorance is bliss,”  we might think to ourselves.  But it isn’t faithful.

Jesus spent much of his time giving sight to the blind.  He both restored the physical sight of many and gave spiritual sight – the ability to see the world with new eyes.  These new eyes have compassion, honesty, concern, and a desire for the love and justice of God.  Do we see with those kind of eyes.

I am training for an ultra-marathon – a 50 mile run scheduled for September 29th in Davidson, NC.  The run has a name: “50 for Freedom.”  I am running 50 miles and raising awareness about Human Trafficking.  We don’t want to acknowledge that Human Trafficking exists in our world, much less in our own back yard.  But if we allow ourselves to truly SEE – if we keep our eyes open – then we cannot help but admit that modern day slavery exists and it impacts millions and millions of people all around the world.  So – Keep Your Eyes Open – and pay attention to opportunities to learn more about this issue (or any other issue) and what we can do to help reduce the number of boys and girls/men and women that are taken advantage of each and every day.

Soli Deo Gloria!

It has been a dream of mine for some time to write a blog.  As I prepare to begin a 3-month sabbatical leave from my work as a pastor, I think it is a perfect time to finally put this out there.  So what is this blog about?

I am a person of faith and I am a runner, among other things.  Whenever I am out running I find myself contemplating matters of faith, spirituality, and life.  This is a place where I can share my reflections, ask questions, seek solutions, and invite others into the conversation.

So – here we go.  I hope you won’t mind reading what I have to share.