Sunday, July 29, 2012
I finally went camping. I know, I know, I'm out here in Colorado and I should have gone 10 times by now, but I haven't. I mean, I camped with the group during our first week here, but this was the first time I had slept outside since then and without a tent. We left at 11:30 and drove to Columbine Point to set up camp. I'm not a fan of sleeping on the ground; I'm the kind of person who can only fall asleep if I'm lying comfortably; no airplanes, cars, or trains for me and the ground is the last place I want to sleep. But I was surprised by how comfortable it was, granted I had a sleeping pad but it was sitll the best ground I had ever slept on. It was a perfect night; it wasn't too cold, it wasn't raining, and there were no clouds, nights like those are becoming rare around here. The sky was clear and the stars were beautiful. The sky is such an amazing part of creation that is constantly changing. The sun and the moon are always moving, the sky chages colors, clouds never look the same, rainbows appear, and stars draw pictures. There is something about the sky that is magical. Maybe it's the fact that we cannot reach it; it is a part of creation that we cannot completely know, we are always trying to learn more, to reach it, to understand it; it is the place where God lives. We associate God with heaven and the sky, where all of these amazing thigs happen. Out here, I'm closer to the sun, I'm closer to the moon, I'm closer to the stars, and I'm closer to God. It's a good place to be.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Josh Nelson
“Blessed be Your name, when the sun’s shining down on me, when the world’s all as it should be, Blessed be Your name.” The easiest time to praise the Lord and open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit is when “the world’s all as it should be.” We have no complaints and we love our lives, we thank God for all of our blessings and ask for continued favor. They could make a “Life is Good” shirt with Jesus’ face and it would be a great representation of how we feel. Personally, that is a fair glimpse at my summer. The sun has been shining on me and I feel incredibly blessed for all the fantastic relationships that have been put in my life, the cohesion of the Calvin group, and the amazing growth of our small group. There have been so many things that have happened this summer, both large and small, that I can be so thankful for.
All that being said, we have to remember the next lines of the song, “Blessed be Your name, on the road marked with suffering, though there’s pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name.” For anyone that has ever struggled with anything, we know that it is extremely difficult to turn to God and bless His name for what we are going through. If you are imagining that struggle you have faced, multiply it as many times as you can, and we are much closer to realizing the pain Colorado is overcoming. Towards the beginning of the summer I received several texts from friends and family back home, right outside Boston. Wildfires were all over the national news. We would pray for rain, but were terrified of lightning as it could spark a fire in an instant. We would pray for victims and their families as they struggled with losing everything. We went from making s’mores with guests and seeing the joy in their eyes, to realizing how much pain was caused by one of the same fires on a larger scale. Somehow we still had to find a way to Bless His name. Finally rain came, the smoke covering the mountains cleared, and we could rest much easier.
Then I wake up to a text from my best friend saying, “Colorado getting a little too dangerous for my liking between the fires and now this, you should probably just cruise home today.” Soon after receiving this, one of my supervisors came in to tell me about the shooting in Aurora. My heart sank. I was not there, nor in the area, nor knew anyone involved, but my heart sank even further the more I thought about it. Humanity can produce so much good and it can all be wiped away by an act of evil. Sadness covered the nation, sadness covered the state, and sadness covered Snow Mountain Ranch. “The road marked with suffering” could not have been drawn out any clearer after this. The state was in the midst of recovering and someone so cynical took any hope away. There was not much more room for any pain in the offering and this definitely pushed it over the edge, but we sing Blessed be His name. We know He doesn’t enjoy watching tragedy, especially those involving His children, but we need to turn to Him as our rock, our foundation, and our Father.
Personally, sun has been shining down on me, but I’m running alongside the road marked with suffering trying to cry out, Blessed be Your name. We turn to thank you, cry to you, and praise you Father; through everything we know You are there.
“Blessed be Your name, when the sun’s shining down on me, when the world’s all as it should be, Blessed be Your name.” The easiest time to praise the Lord and open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit is when “the world’s all as it should be.” We have no complaints and we love our lives, we thank God for all of our blessings and ask for continued favor. They could make a “Life is Good” shirt with Jesus’ face and it would be a great representation of how we feel. Personally, that is a fair glimpse at my summer. The sun has been shining on me and I feel incredibly blessed for all the fantastic relationships that have been put in my life, the cohesion of the Calvin group, and the amazing growth of our small group. There have been so many things that have happened this summer, both large and small, that I can be so thankful for.
All that being said, we have to remember the next lines of the song, “Blessed be Your name, on the road marked with suffering, though there’s pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name.” For anyone that has ever struggled with anything, we know that it is extremely difficult to turn to God and bless His name for what we are going through. If you are imagining that struggle you have faced, multiply it as many times as you can, and we are much closer to realizing the pain Colorado is overcoming. Towards the beginning of the summer I received several texts from friends and family back home, right outside Boston. Wildfires were all over the national news. We would pray for rain, but were terrified of lightning as it could spark a fire in an instant. We would pray for victims and their families as they struggled with losing everything. We went from making s’mores with guests and seeing the joy in their eyes, to realizing how much pain was caused by one of the same fires on a larger scale. Somehow we still had to find a way to Bless His name. Finally rain came, the smoke covering the mountains cleared, and we could rest much easier.
Then I wake up to a text from my best friend saying, “Colorado getting a little too dangerous for my liking between the fires and now this, you should probably just cruise home today.” Soon after receiving this, one of my supervisors came in to tell me about the shooting in Aurora. My heart sank. I was not there, nor in the area, nor knew anyone involved, but my heart sank even further the more I thought about it. Humanity can produce so much good and it can all be wiped away by an act of evil. Sadness covered the nation, sadness covered the state, and sadness covered Snow Mountain Ranch. “The road marked with suffering” could not have been drawn out any clearer after this. The state was in the midst of recovering and someone so cynical took any hope away. There was not much more room for any pain in the offering and this definitely pushed it over the edge, but we sing Blessed be His name. We know He doesn’t enjoy watching tragedy, especially those involving His children, but we need to turn to Him as our rock, our foundation, and our Father.
Personally, sun has been shining down on me, but I’m running alongside the road marked with suffering trying to cry out, Blessed be Your name. We turn to thank you, cry to you, and praise you Father; through everything we know You are there.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Our small group meets weekly to discuss life in the mountains and the message of the LCI's weekly speakers. For this week's we asked ourselves how we saw God here.
Allysa Metzner
I have found Snow Mountain Ranch to be a retreat from the impossibilities that are my reality. As a result, I am able to explore the many layers of myself which come with being an individual. It helps to look around and take in the magnificence of his creation, which allows me to imagine that from a different perspective, humanity can be just a flawless. It is a setting in which I can really study my decisions. In doing this, I have found that in my decisions, I can clearly see the presence of God. Sometimes bitter and sometimes ironic, but always a manifestation of his will. Through my decisions God closes doors, doors that may have proven fatal. Yet, through my decisions he has afforded me great possibilities.
Hans Granner
During the Calvin retreat at Chaplain Steve’s house, we were given time to go read and reflect by ourselves, and I decided to read 2 Corinthians. I read the first four chapters, and didn’t find it immediately relevant, but I remember thinking that it might be important later. That night,at Chaplain Steve’s Bible study, a verse about God being too brilliant for Moses to witness directly came up in the course of our conversation, and it was one of the ones I had read that morning! We had a good discussion, and talked about the Spirit working in our lives through coincidences.
Josh Epperly
To be honest, I’m confused about God right now. That, however, is not an appropriate topic for this blog; I’m not a firm believer in spilling out my innards into virtual worlds. But I will say that the few short months I’m able to spend at Snow Mountain Ranch could be invaluable for my spiritual journey. If I allow them to be. Here, I’m hemmed in by these colossal mountains, reminding me with their ageless tongues that I’m finite, reminding me that this God that permeates everything around me is great and unfathomable and magnificent (I’ve always believed in a God, but it’s harder for me to believe in the Christian God). Here, I’m one piece in a community of people with diverse philosophies, worldviews, faiths, cultures, and life stories. At all times I’m one question away from reveling in the richness of human experience. If I cannot find God in these things, then I am truly blind.
Kelly Johnson
Coming out here has definitely been a sigh of relief. This is my quiet place. Away from the hustle and bustle of home, school, drama, and other distractions. I am often reminded of Psalm 23 when it says “He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” That is exactly what happens out here. Restoration. Peace. A place where I can quiet my soul to the utmost so that I can listen to the holy spirit. Through the remaining trees, the breezes, and the prominent peaks that surround this valley, God’s sovereign hand is so evident.
Luke Mc Rae
I try to run the waterfall trail three times a week. I pant and sweat and warn myself that I am about to puke on the way up. But on the way down, I am free to look up as a mountain vista opens before me, punctuated by lodgepole pines. I make it a habit to tell God that he did a good job with this natural miracle. Perhaps that’s an oxymoron: “‘natural’ miracle”. But I like to think those are some of God’s favourite kinds of miracles, even if they only seem like miracles when I am running downhill.
Allysa Metzner
I have found Snow Mountain Ranch to be a retreat from the impossibilities that are my reality. As a result, I am able to explore the many layers of myself which come with being an individual. It helps to look around and take in the magnificence of his creation, which allows me to imagine that from a different perspective, humanity can be just a flawless. It is a setting in which I can really study my decisions. In doing this, I have found that in my decisions, I can clearly see the presence of God. Sometimes bitter and sometimes ironic, but always a manifestation of his will. Through my decisions God closes doors, doors that may have proven fatal. Yet, through my decisions he has afforded me great possibilities.
Hans Granner
During the Calvin retreat at Chaplain Steve’s house, we were given time to go read and reflect by ourselves, and I decided to read 2 Corinthians. I read the first four chapters, and didn’t find it immediately relevant, but I remember thinking that it might be important later. That night,at Chaplain Steve’s Bible study, a verse about God being too brilliant for Moses to witness directly came up in the course of our conversation, and it was one of the ones I had read that morning! We had a good discussion, and talked about the Spirit working in our lives through coincidences.
Josh Epperly
To be honest, I’m confused about God right now. That, however, is not an appropriate topic for this blog; I’m not a firm believer in spilling out my innards into virtual worlds. But I will say that the few short months I’m able to spend at Snow Mountain Ranch could be invaluable for my spiritual journey. If I allow them to be. Here, I’m hemmed in by these colossal mountains, reminding me with their ageless tongues that I’m finite, reminding me that this God that permeates everything around me is great and unfathomable and magnificent (I’ve always believed in a God, but it’s harder for me to believe in the Christian God). Here, I’m one piece in a community of people with diverse philosophies, worldviews, faiths, cultures, and life stories. At all times I’m one question away from reveling in the richness of human experience. If I cannot find God in these things, then I am truly blind.
Kelly Johnson
Coming out here has definitely been a sigh of relief. This is my quiet place. Away from the hustle and bustle of home, school, drama, and other distractions. I am often reminded of Psalm 23 when it says “He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” That is exactly what happens out here. Restoration. Peace. A place where I can quiet my soul to the utmost so that I can listen to the holy spirit. Through the remaining trees, the breezes, and the prominent peaks that surround this valley, God’s sovereign hand is so evident.
Luke Mc Rae
I try to run the waterfall trail three times a week. I pant and sweat and warn myself that I am about to puke on the way up. But on the way down, I am free to look up as a mountain vista opens before me, punctuated by lodgepole pines. I make it a habit to tell God that he did a good job with this natural miracle. Perhaps that’s an oxymoron: “‘natural’ miracle”. But I like to think those are some of God’s favourite kinds of miracles, even if they only seem like miracles when I am running downhill.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Let it Rain
Smoke covers the mountain ranges shielding them from sight. The winds carry in the smoke from the fires in and we are reminded of our desperate need for rain. We need rain.
The other day I was working the zip line in the late evening when we received a light sprinkle. However the sun was shining hard so the rain dried up quickly. But the sun was shining. There was a rainbow just over the mountains.
"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind." Genesis 9:13-15
So I was reminded of this moment during our solo time at our retreat this past week, and I decided to read the story of Noah. Now, with the fires raging around Colorado, reading the story of Noah seemed a little ironic, but I read it regardless.
Now Noah definitely had to put a lot of trust in God, also a lot of hope. Flashback now to Glenn Triezenberg's talk to us on hope. He talked to us about how when we hope, we wait. But this waiting is not passive; it is an active waiting. It is expecting. Well Noah certainly did a lot of waiting: 150 days on the ark until the water even began to recede and then he still had to wait for it all to clear up. He certainly had to trust that God would come through for him.
Noah was also very obedient. He built a huge ark when people must have laughed at him and called him crazy. He sent out the dove three times to search for land. That is the active waiting that Glenn talked about.
So now in this time as we wait for the fires to subside, we are reminded of God's covenant, and we know God is remembering his covenant as well. And as we wait, we are active. We are actively praying and actively being obedient to God's will. We are hoping.
Let it Rain.
-Maria Smilde
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
The other day I was working the zip line in the late evening when we received a light sprinkle. However the sun was shining hard so the rain dried up quickly. But the sun was shining. There was a rainbow just over the mountains.
"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind." Genesis 9:13-15
So I was reminded of this moment during our solo time at our retreat this past week, and I decided to read the story of Noah. Now, with the fires raging around Colorado, reading the story of Noah seemed a little ironic, but I read it regardless.
Now Noah definitely had to put a lot of trust in God, also a lot of hope. Flashback now to Glenn Triezenberg's talk to us on hope. He talked to us about how when we hope, we wait. But this waiting is not passive; it is an active waiting. It is expecting. Well Noah certainly did a lot of waiting: 150 days on the ark until the water even began to recede and then he still had to wait for it all to clear up. He certainly had to trust that God would come through for him.
Noah was also very obedient. He built a huge ark when people must have laughed at him and called him crazy. He sent out the dove three times to search for land. That is the active waiting that Glenn talked about.
So now in this time as we wait for the fires to subside, we are reminded of God's covenant, and we know God is remembering his covenant as well. And as we wait, we are active. We are actively praying and actively being obedient to God's will. We are hoping.
Let it Rain.
-Maria Smilde
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Week 3: Courageous
This week we had the opportunity to hear from Jeff and Julie Yonker talk about courage. To be honest this is a virtue that I felt I lacked a lot coming into the discussion on Monday night so it was a blessing to hear more about courage. Their own personal testimony and story paired along side of the story of Naomi and Ruth really connected with me. After the meeting I was really moved by the passages James 1:2-8 that they had recommended to read on courage and that night I went back and read it again and it brought a sense of comfort. Afterwards I was able to meet one on one with Jeff and Julie and they helped answer my many questions about courage. Overall I felt like I learned a lot about the virtue of courage that I know I needed to strengthen and develop. Also in general I have felt like have learned a lot during my time here at SMR. Before I came out here I was a little worried about my time out here in CO, but I believe God brought me out here for a purpose and now I am truly seeing why God brought me out here. I am looking forward to the next week as we have Glenn Triezenberg come out here to talk about hope and we also have a retreat.
Blessings,
Nate Bell
Blessings,
Nate Bell
Monday, June 18, 2012
This week we are excited to spend time with Julie & Jeff Yonker. We will be focusing on courage and diligence. So, it was only fitting that we start off the week by doing the Zipline here at Snow Mountain Ranch--to test our courage! It was a great evening. We have a courageous group! We also want to thank Tim from SMR for spending a few hours with us up on the perch, keeping us safe and calm and smiling...and thanks to our awesome small group leaders who helped with this event--on the grill, on the ladder, with the ropes and with the gear.
Last week, we had the privilege of spending time with John Britton (JB) and his family. We spent the week talking about creativity--how we can be creative as leaders in our lives, our work, with how we serve others, and in our relationship with God, our Creator. JB and his family also took our group to a famous pizza place here. We are truly grateful for time with JB and his family and for their generosity.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)