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.