Go West!

So after six days Up North with the whole Pool Party, a faction split off to head west. The splinter group consisted of Megan, Eli and Jim, while the two girls stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa, and a nearby Aunt Dawn. After nearly 5000 miles of road-rage free (okay, mostly free) driving, we're home to tell the tale. Enjoy!

Here we are at 11,000 feet, getting ready to cross over into Yellowstone National Park. I love being in shorts standing in snow. What a surreal joy. As we drove the winding road up to this pass, Eli kept saying, at every new height, "These are the highest mountains I've ever seen. This is the highest I've ever been, right, dad?" He loved it.



This is how we cooked. That really is my hand. It isn't photoshopped in. I really did successfully cook over an open flame for four nights in a row. Without killing us or setting anything on fire (other than the s'mores, which Eli kept wanting to set on fire). It was great. Our friends gave us some organic meat packed right at the ranch. You can gain a new delight in and appreciation for your food in a setting like this.


Eli climbing the big glacial deposit rocks that were scattered like giant play things all over the site where our mountain cabin was. Yes, that is a tree that Eli is holding on to there. I'm standing on a nearby rock. We're probably like 10 feet off the ground. Once I had scaled most of the rocks with Eli to ensure he knew what he was doing, we let him roam on his own. He did great and had what I'm thinking must have been a time of his life experience. He'd be outside for hours on end, climbing endlessly, interrupted only by his desire for me to come out and join him!

Along the back edge of the mountain's cabin property was a little beat-down barbed wire fence that had obviously been stopped on numerous times since last we were there. On the other side was National Forest land, open for exploring. Which is just what we did. Between two big rocks Eli laid out some big sticks to make a bridge, "across the crevasse." I then held his hand and helped him cross it. On the second time around I took his picture at the same time. The smile in this picture is one of the most authentic I've ever seen him smile. It nearly brings tears to my eyes to look at it again.



Megan, in what she affectionately called her "Idaho Heaven Nest." This is where Megan spent much of her time while the boys went out exploring. It is also where Megan and I slept - on this screened in front porch that looked out on the forest and valley below. Amazing. My head was on the pillow near Megan's armpit, with my feet off camera, making an L. The nights got a little nippy. The last night we awoke to the sounds of coyote and/or wolves. We all agree they were probably wolves, including Tri and Nancy. Apparently they bayed every hour, though I only heard them around 5am.

Our friends Tri and Nancy have named their cabin, "Menuchah." (Isaiah 32:18) It means "divine dwelling places" or "resting places," which is exactly what it is.

Our recent trip Up North

Recently the whole Pool party went Up North for the first six days. This is a photo documentary of some of our doings ... Enjoy!

Esther, in all her beauty. I believe this is her wondering what the big deal is about Tahquamenon Falls, and why we won't let her out of the stroller to run around. Esther has recently determined, at 2 and a half, that is finally time to become a two year old! Esther had a great time Up North. For the whole trip she only had one hearing aid (because of some technical difficulties with the other, and having too much wax in her ear to get a good fitting mold). But you wouldn't know it - her speech is coming along so well. What a gem Esther is!




Elijah at Tahquamenon Falls. If you know Eli, you know he loves falls. The water level was so much higher this year, because of all the rain we've had in Michigan. That made the Upper Falls that much more spectacular (no dry spots), but it was a big disappointment when it came to the Lower Falls. The increased water meant that the river at the Lower Falls was too high and the current too strong for us to wade in and enjoy the falls up close and personal. I'm half-way inclined to think my mom put in a personal prayer request with Odin, to send rain, because she was not a big fan of our escapades at the Lower Falls last year (though she herself has walked across the rim of the Upper Falls!).
This is Eden, sporting her new sunglasses. They sort of make her look bug-like. One of the great things about being Up North was that there was plenty of room for Eden to run wherever her heart desired. Except that she had no fear and would often seek to run right into the lake! Oh, and Up North, Eden renewed her claim to fame as The Bobcat. She hardly slept two hours at a time for two-thirds of the time and instead became Bobcat.


Eli at Lake Michigan, in the part we call Sturgeon Bay. I don't know if that's any kind of official name. But that's what I've grown up calling it my whole life. It is about 15 minutes from our cabin and it is a mandatory visit every Up North trip. This is like a little taste of heaven for Eli, because there is water and plenty of rocks for building little "waterfalls" and also sand dunes to climb.



Eden enjoying a break on the Daddy bench, along the shores of sunny Carp Lake - aka Paradise Lake. Lots of politics in that, I think. And as they say, all politics are local, so I'm not too tuned into the finer nuances, other than that perhaps Carp Lake (which sounds a little like something else) might not always make for the most attractive vacation spot. Paradise Lake, on the other hand ... you get the picture. There aren't even any carp in the lake. Anyway, that's me relaxing at my uncle's cabin. What a nice time.

Another Side of Jesus

So the other day, as part of my praying of the Divine Hours, I was reading Luke 8:22-25.

This is a pretty well-known story, where Jesus calms the storm. The story speaks of Jesus' power - his ability to speak to wind and waves and they obey. The story speaks of the breaking in of God's Kingdom and kingdom warfare. Jesus is on his way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee where he will encounter the man demonized by the demonic Legion. In a last ditch effort to prevent this encounter, the powers of darkness stir up a storm to stop Jesus, but Jesus is the Stronger Man and the Kingdom of God breaks through.

In between getting in the boat and telling the wind and waves to be still, Jesus is sleeping. Much is made of this. Most of the time we hear about Jesus' trust in God. That Jesus isn't afraid of the storms of life, unlike his seasoned fishing buddies, but is able to sleep right through them. Certainly this is true; Jesus perfectly trusts God. Yet Jesus falls asleep before the wind and waves come. I think the slumbering speaks to another side of Jesus ... his humanity. He gets in the boat and he's tired. The rhythmic motion of the wind and waves work to put him fast asleep.

I can understand this. Recently I was out late doing some ministry. As the longer-than-expected car ride dragged on, I got very tired. I really wanted to engage with my friends in the car, but I was sleepy. It was an effort to keep my eyes open. To not drift off. Oh ... drifting off would be so nice ... Anyway, I can understand Jesus. And it is encouraging to me that Jesus understands me. I have limitations. Jesus had them, so mine must be okay. And that's encouraging.

Motorcycle Diary

A couple of friends have been talking recently about how exciting it would be to have a Sidecar Motorcycle. Like Miguel driving and Guy in the sidecar. How cool would that be?!
But who sees sidecars anymore? Well, I did. On my trip out to Idaho and back I saw two different sidecar motorcycles. So here's hoping that there's a future for Miguel and Guy after all!

My Favorite Thing This Week

is from the side of the Millville(R) Fruity Rice cereal box from Aldi.

"Good Morning! Millville(R) Fruity Rice is loaded with the great tasting nutrition of rice ... one of the world's oldest known grains. ... Fruity Rice is the beginning of a nutritious & wholesome breakfast. When choices from the other basic food groups like milk, juice, toast and butter are added, your meal is complete and balanced."

I should add that, basically, Fruity Rice is the same thing as Fruity Pebbles.

I love this. First, it is refreshingly friendly. Plus, you've got the value of rice, one of the world's oldest grains. Then, so long as you add foods like butter, from other groups, you've got a complete breakfast. Good stuff!

Biggby Coffee

So every now and then I hang out at the Biggby Coffee in Royal Oak, on Woodward, to work. Especially when I need to catch up on a bunch of email, or sometimes on Monday to blog. Anyway, every time I've been here, and I mean every time, there has been this guy in the corner on the phone, laptop open, talking loud. He's running some business from his phone and computer and phone at Biggby's. I get it, but it still feels a little weird. What do you think?

Oh, and yes, I'm back from vacation, and have lots of stuff to comment on from there, once I'm more settled in with work and life.