Being Prepared

Being Prepared

On the second day of our adventure in the Rocky Mountain National Park we decided to drive up to a place called Bear Lake.  Bear Lake is a very popular destination inside the park so we woke up early so we could arrive in time to find a parking place.  As it turned out everyone else going to Bear Lake had the exact same idea.  By the time we arrived there were only three or four parking places left and we felt fortunate to be able to have a place to park the car.

In preparation of our adventure we prepared a simple lunch consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and two 20 ounce bottles of water.  The only thing we had to put our lunch in was a plastic bag from WalMart. As we began our journey I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Bear Lake was just about fifty yards from the parking lot.  This was going to be a piece of cake or at least a PB&J sandwich.  The lake was beautiful.  It was another breath taking sight inside one of the most beautiful places on the planet.  The lake is in the shape of a bear’s paw and thus the name Bear Lake.  The hike around the lake was amazing.  I would take a picture, walk a few yards and stop again to take another picture.  I may have well over a hundred pictures of just the scenery around Bear Lake.

The hike around the lake was fairly easy and very much worth the drive.  Our plan had been to walk around the lake enjoy the morning and eat our lunch by the lake.  That was a wonderful plan, but we over heard a gentleman telling a family about the other destinations to hike to from Bear Lake.  One place was called Alberta Falls and it was “only” a 1 mile hike that was “fairly easy”.   The man said it was one of the most beautiful waterfalls he had ever seen.  We were sold and we were going.  We were not prepared to go, but we went.  With two 20 ounce bottles of water and two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a WalMart bag in our possession we began our trek up the mountain to see Alberta Falls. 

As we started up the trail I began to notice how well prepared everyone else was for hiking up a mountain.  Most of the hikers had hiking shoes, a walking stick or ski poles, a back pack no doubt full of everything you need for a day hiking in the mountains.  I’m sure they had energy snacks, mosquito spray, sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water and most likely a small first aid kit.  Mary and I had a Walmart sack with two sandwiches and two small water bottles.  We were not prepared for the journey ahead, but we pressed on toward the Falls.  The hike was more difficult than we understood it to be and I am convinced that a mile on a mountain trail is not an actual mile.  We would hike up hill for awhile then downhill for awhile.  What a blessing it is to hike downhill. 

When we arrived to Alberta Falls it was well worth the effort.  It was an amazing sight.  I had never seen anything like that before in my life.  We were not prepared for the journey in anyway, but the destination was worth every step and every struggle.  As it turned out, we had just enough water and the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches never tasted better.  We were hooked on hiking.  We would spend the rest of our time looking for places to hike to.  There is nothing like being on the mountain and in nature enjoying all that God has created.

In a lot of ways having a daily walk with Jesus is similar to hiking up a mountain.  You may not think you are  prepared for everything that is ahead of you, but you know that your destination is well worth the effort.  You may look around and see other Christ followers along the path who seem to be better prepared for the journey and you may wonder why you don’t have all the blessings and talents or abilities that others have in their journey of faith.  You may even think that life is just not fair and that you have more difficulties and more struggles in your life than everyone else.  You may wonder why God is making you deal with all of the issues you are facing in your life. 

A long the way you and I will have questions about the journey and we may even have doubts about the path we have taken.  You may have doubts as to if you are prepared for what is ahead of you in your life’s journey.  All I can tell you is this…. Keep walking!  Keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Take one step at a time.  You may not feel as if you are prepared for the journey, but know this, Jesus has already walked the path ahead of you and he will not lead you to a place you are not ready for in your life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  If my wife and I had waiting until we were “ready” to make the hike up the mountain we would have never experienced the blessings of the hike or the destination.

As you go along the way be ready for the blessings that are just up and around the next turn.  What Jesus as in store for you upon your arrival will blow your mind and amaze your spirit.

Love God. Go Love Others.

Drive By

Pre-view:  For the next several weeks I will be writing a series of articles called, “Along the Way”.  These are based on a recent trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado.

Drive By

The trip began with a ride on American Airlines destine for the Denver International Airport.  If you have ever been to Denver International you know that it is located in the middle of nowhere.  As a matter of fact in planning the airport they went to “nowhere” and search for the exact geographical center and amazingly enough they found it and it was there they decided to build a state of the art, cutting edge airport.  It is the only place in Colorado that looks worse than Lubbock, Texas.  Needless to say, we were eager to drive to the mountains.

As we drove into the valley where Estes Park is located we were taken in by the beauty of the surrounding mountains and the town of Estes Park.  We stayed in a cabin just on the out skirts of the town.  If we had stayed in the cabin all week and enjoyed the view from there it would have been a wonderful week.  As nice as the cabin was it was not what we had come to see.  We had come to see the mountains.

On our first day we got in the car and headed to the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  Upon entering the park you have to stop and pay a fee for entering.  The fee is $20 which is good for seven days.  At the time we did not know how many days we would drive into the park, but it seemed like a bargain to me to be able to see the amazing Rocky Mountains.  We decided to drive our car to the top of the pass.  Along the way they have places to park your car so you can get out viewing all the surrounding beauty.  We stopped at every opportunity to look out over the horizon and the valley below to see all that God had created in that place.  As we drove higher the scenic view got more and more magnificent.  The Pine trees and Aspens were just amazing.  I stood in awe of the mountain peaks off in the distance. The view and the altitude literally took my breath away. 

When we got the top of the pass we decided to venture on to the other side of the mountain to a place called Grand Lake.  What a journey!  Every turn and curve revealed another amazing view of the RMNP.  The trees, rocks, streams, and lakes were all magnificent.  It was well worth the $20 for the privilege to enter the park.

On the way back across the pass a thunderstorm rolled in.  I have never experienced thunder and lightning at 10,000 feet.  The thunder really gets your attention. It was as if the voice of God was saying, “Listen to me!” in a very deep, loud voice.  There is nothing like driving in the mountains during a thunderstorm.  To have a bird’s eye view of the lightning is a sight you will always remember. 

As amazing as our drive across the mountain and back was, it was not what we had come to the Rocky Mountain National Park to do.  We had not come to RMNP to simply see the mountain.  We had come to hike on the mountain and be in and among nature and God’s creation.  You see, in order to truly experience the mountain you have to go to the mountain and walk among the trees and walk beside the streams and put your feet in the cold clear Rocky Mountain water.  From the highway you don’t see the flowers and the birds and chipmunks.  From the highway you don’t see the deer and moose and ram.  From the highway you can get a big picture, but it’s not the same as being on the mountain and among the beauty of God’s creation.

Some Christians I know are only experiencing God from a distance.  They attend a church on Sunday morning.  They sing the songs and listen to the prayers and scripture.  They join in the Lord’s Supper with other believers.  When the worship service is over they go home and live their life for a week and then they come back the next Sunday and do it all over again. 

Can I tell you something?  That is not the way God planned for you to experience the Christian life.  He calls you and me to get off the highway and go the mountain so you and I can experience all he has planned and created.  Discipleship is not something you experience off in the distance.  Discipleship requires following the path that Jesus walked so closely that the dust from his sandals falls on your feet.  Jesus walked among the people.  He touched them, held them, cried with them and laughed with them.  He feed them bread and gave them water.  He was the bread of life and living water.  Jesus came to touch and change people’s lives forever.  Following Jesus cannot be done from a distance.

So my friends get out of the car or off the pew and go to the mountain.  God has an amazing adventure in store for you there.  You just don’t know what the blessings will be as you go “Along the Way”.

Drive By

Pre-view:  For the next several weeks I will be writing a series of articles called, “Along the Way”.  These are based on a recent trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado.

Drive By

The trip began with a ride on American Airlines destine for the Denver International Airport.  If you have ever been to Denver International you know that it is located in the middle of nowhere.  As a matter of fact in planning the airport they went to “nowhere” and search for the exact geographical center and amazingly enough they found it and it was there they decided to build a state of the art, cutting edge airport.  It is the only place in Colorado that looks worse than Lubbock, Texas.  Needless to say, we were eager to drive to the mountains.

As we drove into the valley where Estes Park is located we were taken in by the beauty of the surrounding mountains and the town of Estes Park.  We stayed in a cabin just on the out skirts of the town.  If we had stayed in the cabin all week and enjoyed the view from there it would have been a wonderful week.  As nice as the cabin was it was not what we had come to see.  We had come to see the mountains.

On our first day we got in the car and headed to the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  Upon entering the park you have to stop and pay a fee for entering.  The fee is $20 which is good for seven days.  At the time we did not know how many days we would drive into the park, but it seemed like a bargain to me to be able to see the amazing Rocky Mountains.  We decided to drive our car to the top of the pass.  Along the way they have places to park your car so you can get out viewing all the surrounding beauty.  We stopped at every opportunity to look out over the horizon and the valley below to see all that God had created in that place.  As we drove higher the scenic view got more and more magnificent.  The Pine trees and Aspens were just amazing.  I stood in awe of the mountain peaks off in the distance. The view and the altitude literally took my breath away. 

When we got the top of the pass we decided to venture on to the other side of the mountain to a place called Grand Lake.  What a journey!  Every turn and curve revealed another amazing view of the RMNP.  The trees, rocks, streams, and lakes were all magnificent.  It was well worth the $20 for the privilege to enter the park.

On the way back across the pass a thunderstorm rolled in.  I have never experienced thunder and lightning at 10,000 feet.  The thunder really gets your attention. It was as if the voice of God was saying, “Listen to me!” in a very deep, loud voice.  There is nothing like driving in the mountains during a thunderstorm.  To have a bird’s eye view of the lightning is a sight you will always remember. 

As amazing as our drive across the mountain and back was, it was not what we had come to the Rocky Mountain National Park to do.  We had not come to RMNP to simply see the mountain.  We had come to hike on the mountain and be in and among nature and God’s creation.  You see, in order to truly experience the mountain you have to go to the mountain and walk among the trees and walk beside the streams and put your feet in the cold clear Rocky Mountain water.  From the highway you don’t see the flowers and the birds and chipmunks.  From the highway you don’t see the deer and moose and ram.  From the highway you can get a big picture, but it’s not the same as being on the mountain and among the beauty of God’s creation.

Some Christians I know are only experiencing God from a distance.  They attend a church on Sunday morning.  They sing the songs and listen to the prayers and scripture.  They join in the Lord’s Supper with other believers.  When the worship service is over they go home and live their life for a week and then they come back the next Sunday and do it all over again. 

Can I tell you something?  That is not the way God planned for you to experience the Christian life.  He calls you and me to get off the highway and go the mountain so you and I can experience all he has planned and created.  Discipleship is not something you experience off in the distance.  Discipleship requires following the path that Jesus walked so closely that the dust from his sandals falls on your feet.  Jesus walked among the people.  He touched them, held them, cried with them and laughed with them.  He feed them bread and gave them water.  He was the bread of life and living water.  Jesus came to touch and change people’s lives forever.  Following Jesus cannot be done from a distance.

So my friends get out of the car or off the pew and go to the mountain.  God has an amazing adventure in store for you there.  You just don’t know what the blessings will be as you go “Along the Way”.

Graffiti

Earlier this month Mary and I were blessed to spend a week in Estes Park, Colorado and the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We had a wonderful time being in the cool mountain air enjoying all that God created in that place.  At one point we had driven to the top of the pass and we got out of our car to witness all the beauty of the mountains and the valleys below. What a breathtaking site. The majesty of the mountains was so moving.  Mary remarked, “After God created Colorado, he rested”.  I don’t know about that, but I do know he gave it his best effort. 

One day after a long hike in the mountains we went into the town of Estes Park to look around.  Mary of course wanted to spend her time shopping while I on the way hand was more interested in finding a place to eat.  We were both successful in our searches.  Mary found some jewelry that caught her eye.  Actually the jewelry caught her ears and wrist and I have to say I like the way it looks on her.

My search brought about the discovery of an old pizza place.  This long narrow building was packed with hungry tourist so we got in line to order.  After ordering our pizza we found a table by the brick wall which ran the length of the restaurant.  As we sat there waiting on our order I noticed that on each brick people had written their names along with other short messages.  Sometimes you would see a date when two people who loved each other at that time were there.  The wall of bricks had thousands of names written on it.  My guess is that since it’s opening in 1975 people who sat at those tables along the wall signed their name in an attempt to let others know they had at one time eaten pizza in Estes Park.

As I looked at the wall and all the names written on it I came across this phase, “Jesus Is Lord”.  Right in the middle of the wall surrounded by thousands of names, dates and inscriptions someone wrote the only words in history that have significance for eternity.  The names of Bob, Carol, James, Henry, Juli, Beth and so on will soon be forgotten if not already.  None of those names are significant in any way except as a notation that at some point in time a pizza was eaten and someone had a pen.

On the other hand, the name of Jesus and the declaration that he is Lord is highly significant.   

Naida Hearn penned these words: “Jesus, name above all names; Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.  Emmuel, God is with us; blessed Redeemer, Living Word.”

Another song writer, William Gaither and his wife Gloria wrote: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; There’s just something about that name.  Master, Savior, Jesus, Like the fragrance after the rain; Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Let all Heaven and earth proclaim;  Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, But there’s something about that name.”

In the remaining days of our trip as we hiked through the Rocky Mountains and witnessed the majesty of God’s handy work in the trees, streams and lakes the words of that song and the message on that wall took on an even greater meaning.

As you go along way remember, Jesus is Lord!

Love God.  Go Love Others.