May Update

We so enjoyed a trip to the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell, Zion, Bryce, Calico Ghost Town, and Sequoia together.  Here are some memories.

At first we had long car rides, and we stayed in Barstow the first night with lots of wind.  

The Grand Canyon was so amazing!  What a huge and creative Creator we have, who made such vast landscapes.  The weather was turbulent, which made for a more beautiful landscape.  Carl took this shot.

 It was super convenient to take the shuttle from our spot at Mather Campground.  Our favorite was when the announcement for different points and stops stated, "This is...the Abyss."

 Yaki Point

 Chill time

 It snowed 3 inches on the 2nd morning there!!!  The campground emptied quickly!

 The elk were fine in the snow

 The views on my morning jog were stupendous!!!!

The elk were wondering why I was running...

 Maggie and I hike the South Kaibab Trail down past Ooh Aah Point amidst snow, rain, hail, sleet, sun...beautiful!  I asked the ranger about a good 4-6 hour hike, and she suggested this one.  We were a bit surprised when we reached Ooh Aah Point...in about 45 minutes :)

 Ooh Aah Point

Father son evening jog.

 On the road again, my birthday morning.

 Last look at the Grand Canyon

 Lower Antelope Canyon

 We couldn't take enough photos...everywhere we looked, so amazing!

Happy Birthday to me!

 Horseshoe Bend

 Yummy birthday dinner at Big John's BBQ in Pace.

 The view from our trailer of Lake Powell.  What a beautiful, warm place to stay after the snow...  Wahweap Campground.

 We rented a motor boat and spent the day exploring Lake Powell, south end.

 Perfect picnic spot and private beach in Warm Springs Bay

We all enjoyed swimming, and then drying off in the sun.

 We enjoyed exploring Navajo Canyon, with steep walls and bigger waves and wind.

 Fun town and good coffee (finally) in Kanab, Utah.

Road trip kiss

 Welcome to Zion

We got to drive through a 1.1 mile tunnel and see all this!

My beautiful, rainy morning jog along the Virgin River, over 4 bridges...so many wildflowers!

View from the shuttle of the Patriarchs.

 Weeping Rock

 Emerald Pool Trail

 I was all alone on a hike to Angel's Landing...since the others had colds :(. I started off with an umbrella, but left it behind and enjoyed a gorgeous, peaceful hike.  Waterfalls flowed off the cliffs on the way up, but were already gone on the way down.  The trail is tricky at the top, with narrow corridors and chains to hang on to.

Top of Angel's Landing

 This tree was at the top!!!

 Angel's Landing Trail down, next to a creek, waterfall in the distance, birds chirping, beautiful blue sky...but raining at the Watchman campground in the distance.

 I came upon a special heart.  These hiking boots have really seen a lot!

One more look at the river

 Bryce Canyon

Snow on the rim

This little guy lives at Rainbow Point...what a view!

Trey couldn't keep his eyes open anymore :) when someone kept taking our photo for us at Inspiration Point...so funny!

 The colors in the rocks were amazing!

Can you spot Lily below?

 Queens Garden Trail with lots of hoodoos.

 I found these at the campground--Ruby's.  A great place to stay.

 We drove from Utah, through Arizona, and Nevada, to CA!

Best coffee for miles!!!!!

 Calico Ghost Town

 The Maggie Mine

 Trey pointed out this sign...so true.

God puts flowers even in the most desolate places

 On to Sequoia--but don't try to enter at the South entrance going to Watchman Campground with a trailer!!!  We ended up at Sequoia Resort near the Kings Canyon entrance, a great place to stay with lots of wildflowers...

 ...a beautiful jogging road...

 and a lake with a rowboat!

 General Sherman is a huge tree!

 Trey roasted a marshmallow for Lily.  Our trailer is below.

 These are the kittens we hope to adopt.

Facetiming with Maggie and Julia, who are serving at Victory Bible Camp.

 Off to work...allergies and all...with a buddy alongside.

Moving...plants and trees we've saved

 Starting to plant

And move

 Our first night.

...more planting.

Found a ladybug!

Floristry class final

Mendocino Art Workshop--I got to jog along the coast and see the most amazing flowers.  Then I participated in a watercolor workshop on representational expressive portraiture.  So great!  And a great cafe--Good Life Cafe.  Delicious!

 I stayed at this house on the cliff.  What a view!!!

 Yummy lunch with berry scone, chia pudding, and a decaf latte with Thanksgiving Coffee.

Back to work!

 Some of my work

 Father Daughter Dance

 Grace Christian Academy Prom

Violin recital

Spring Concert

Thoughts this April 2019

I almost drowned 16 years ago.  Carl, little Hanna, little Maggie, and I had walked up to the beach in New Jersey on a hot summer evening, and I went for a swim while they played in the sand.  I love swimming in open water, had been a lifeguard, swim instructor, and still swim a mile and half twice a week now.  So I feel fairly competent in water.  But this particular evening, a sand bar had formed.  The waves were way above my head.  Getting out past the break was not terribly difficult, but when I was done swimming, I could not get back in.  The waves kept coming, kept breaking on me, I couldn’t stand, I was tired, I couldn’t get in.  Huge wave after wave.  They kept coming. 

I was thinking of this feeling of perpetual exhaustion and constant waves while swimming this morning, because that’s what our life is like right now.  People comment, “You guys just can’t catch a break!” when they hear about the exhausting and continual process of trying to rebuild a house to live in after the fire destroyed our neighborhood.  This is how it is.  The painters didn’t finish the job, and months later the house is still partially painted.  There was a mixup in the flooring, lots of delay, and a month later a corner of flooring is still missing.  A lamp was hung upside down, or the wrong direction, and the one is still not hung because rods are missing.  The drawers all had 2 knobs on them for months, until they finally got pulls.  The water meter isn’t hooked up, because someone came and said it hadn’t been done right, but they weren’t looking at ours, they were looking at our neighbor’s, who haven’t even done anything yet.  The road is torn up and we drive through 8 huge dips and around debris to get to the house.  We’ve had multiple flat tires.  Some days we can’t get there at all and need to walk a few blocks to get to the house.  There is no dirt anymore after our lot was scraped, only clay.  It’s hardening into cement.  The trees that we planted a couple weeks ago were planted without mixing in the clay because when the holes were dug, the piles of clay were removed and we didn’t have extra and didn’t know differently.  We also have no water to water the trees, and can’t plant anything else yet.  There is cement poured to support a telephone pole where our mailbox used to be out front.  We don’t know when we’ll have water, or flooring, or lamps, or inspections, a mailbox, or be able to do anything about anything or even move.  We have felt like this whole process has been like hearing good news, but then immediately “never mind, it’s not going to happen and it’s actually a lot worse than that.”  All of this amidst carrying on a “normal” life with schooling, appointments, activities…has been pretty tough.  It’s a perpetual state of chaos.  The constant mental stain is definitely wearing on us…hence the drowning analogy.

I get that it is a total drag for those who have not lost their homes to hear these accounts. I’m sure. And I do not want to come across as negative and grumbling.  But if you’ve read this far, thank you!  Thank you for caring to hear, and thank you for praying for us.  In these months I have had to consider on so many occasions what do I actually believe about life here on earth?  And what am I really living for?

We’ve been waiting.  Someone reminded me that we often need to wait during life.  God has people wait a great deal in the Bible (Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Job, Israel…).  I was reading in Deuteronomy 29:5 how God led the Israelites “forty years in the wilderness.”  That’s a long wait for a place to settle.  And what does this waiting accomplish in these instances?  Well, there is always a demonstration of God’s character, His ability, His sufficiency, His unsearchable and beyond-my-vision plan.  The Israelites found out that “Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet.”  Step by step, God provided. I have found that I absolutely believe He is who He says He is in His word, the Bible.  He is able.  He is sufficient.  No matter what. 

We are all wandering, aren’t we?  We are all waiting.  This life is so transient.  We want hope, and peace, and security.  I personally want it right now.  Comfort too.  My feelings are often not in line with my faith.  But our Creator is after our hearts.  He grants eternal hope, peace, security, and comfort in Him.   As our home fellowship group has been reading in 1 Peter, I can live a changed life in spite of my present suffering knowing what Christ has suffered and looking to His glorious return.  My salvation is secure and valuable, my inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4).  Anchored souls…anchored to God in Christ.  

I keep coming back to these truths upon which my faith is secure.  Life here on earth is hard.  It just is and will be.  Scripture acknowledges it repeatedly (Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 4-5, 1 Peter 1).  But Hebrews 6:18-19 promises that “we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.”  I am fleeing to Him for refuge.  I have strong encouragement to hold fast to hope.  The hope is not separated from God but ushers me into the inner holy place.  

I get to live this life, wander, and yes…even wait, because God is good.  Every disappointment, frustration, anxiety, each tear, horrible situation, joy, surprise, and fear…He knows about them all with His inscrutable wisdom that I will never fathom.  I know everyone has their stuff, and there are many going through incredibly hard things. He promises that He will never, ever let anything separate us from the deepest love imaginable which He lavishes on us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is what I’m living for.  With every breath I am given.  Diving under every wave coming my way, whether in the ocean or in this strange journey.  Waiting for now, but sure to make it.  Secure and safe for all eternity.