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.

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

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.

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
Your God reigns!
--Isaiah 52:7

Welcome to Calvin's Leadership Challenge Institute at Snow Mountain Ranch!