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.

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.