This Week's Prayer Requests . . .

As we begin Block Two of the Sabbatical Journey, here are some requests . . .
1. Quick adjustments to time changes, etc.
2. Deep connection and encouragement with our missionaries to Slovakia - Steve & Jo Kilbry and family
3. A sense of rhythm to this time as individuals and as a couple
4. Continued understanding of Psalm 23 . . .
5. Travel to Bosnia on July 1

BLOCK ONE SUMMARY

Well, I have now completed block one of the Sabbatical Journey - designed to be a time of decompression – finding a different rhythm than my typical pace. To accomplish this I traveled West to hang out – alone for the first 15 days and then to be joined by my partner in life – Gwen. Here are some stats and thoughts on Block One:
I Visited:

• 7 states
• 7 National Parks
• 3 National Monuments
• 2 State Parks and 2 Canyons
• I drove just over 5,000 miles
• I hiked over 80 miles

I Managed to

• Unwind (all days but 2 . . .)
• Rest - (most nights 6-8 hours as compared to 4-6 normal)
• Keep things pretty simple – going with the flow
• Spend 15 days alone (though I caught myself talking to myself from day 11 until Gwen arrived)
• Find myself amazed over and over again by God, His creation, a larger perspective – I found myself thinking – to myself at first and later out loud – Wow, God! This is amazing!
• Share in communion everyday – these were meaningful times alone and later with Gwen

The Time with Gwen

• Was a great reunion
• A great celebration of our marriage love and partnership
• Was filled with incredible “shared experiences” in God’s creation
• Had a good rhythm – we have learned the hard way to balance activity and rest; time together and time alone (a wonderful fireplace in a Glacier Park Lodge assisted this greatly)
  

I Took Time to Read

The Testament by John Grisham – one of his legal novels but with a strong eternity matters message
Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels – our staff is studying this in preparation for the year ahead – it is a great study in listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to share with those not yet connected to Christ
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen – (Thanks Jerry for the book!). A phenomenal study of the three characters of the story of Luke 15. Nouwen writes about our hearts. I came away with a greater desire to be like the Father in the story and to deepen disciplines of trust and gratitude
A Resilient Life by Gordon MacDonald – it’s all about the need to finish strong. The biggest impacts for me related to:

• Caring for the past – On his encouragement, I wrote down Key People, Major Ideas, and Critical Events which impacted me in 5-year increments of my life. This was both encouraging and deeply painful – in a good sort of way. More processing from this ahead
• The need for a “Happy Few” in our lives – he identifies these individuals as the dozen or so who will deeply grieve at our funeral. Lots more there to process as well
• The need for focus and disciplines of life – I especially connected with the need for four growing disciplines in my life – Grace, Gratitude, Generosity, and Humility (doing really well on the last one!). Way too obviously there is room for growth in each of these areas

BEST OF ALL – One Amazing Passage
I spent time each day reading, memorizing, and meditating on Psalm 23:1-3.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I will not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Names sake.

It’s too soon and significant to share a lot from this passage yet – my heart is almost too tender with these words from my Shepherd.

Final Pictures

We are within 24 hours of boarding the plane in Salt Lake City and bringing closure to the first of four time blocks of the Sabbatical Journey. Gwen & I did a simple debrief which I will share later.
Here are some final pictures from our time in Glacier . . .

The bull moose that crossed our creek right after our lunch on the rocks . . . only 25 feet away!

Lake McDonald - near our lodge - breathtaking every morning

At the culmination of our hike - Iceberg Lake - still frozen and beautiful in it's mystique.

Gwen at the same spot - she has the same mystique!

We spotted a family of 10 mountain goats way up on the rocky cliffs.

On the final day in the park an additional 13 miles of the Going to the Sun Road opened enabling us to get way up into the glacier areas.

We shared great times of learning and growing and loving in the midst of our 10 days together. Soon to be back to the Midwest and that all important stop in Indianapolis to see Evee (and Julie and Jamie & Clint)!

More Prayer Requests

Below are a couple of prayer requests for next week:

• Final Europe travel details (we fly out on June 25 and back on July 26)
• God-led times of sharing with our missionaries - Steve & Jo Kilbry (Slovakia), The Nettleton's, Majors, and Regina Freeman (Bosnia), and Kent & Cheri Picksley (Croatia).

Thanks so much!

Great Sights

Gwen is here!

We had a great time in Salt Lake City! I had asked for a simple upgrade and ended up getting moved to the Executive Level Floor (with lots of perks) for cheaper than most of the places here! Went to Church on Saturday night at a "Lobby" type service - good time in the Word.

Monday, we took off for Jackson, WY (my family founded this community back in the early 1800's). Went on a drive into the Teton's and saw this Grizzly and cub! They crossed in front of us on the road - 10 feet away!

The mountains were amazing!

On Monday, we travelled on to Yellowstone and the Geyser's and Elk.

We also met Jacob and CJ - two teens who gave us the low down on the park and the geysers and where to go and what to do. They were obvious Christ followers and really cool reminders of why we have great hope as this world goes on.

Today, we move into Glacier National Park where there is still a lot of snow! Hoping to slow the pace a bit - to hike, to reflect, to connect with God and each other.

Resilience

I like the word.

I became more familiar with the word when listening to a dialogue between Gordon MacDonald and Bill Hybels. Gordon identified - In the great race of life, there are some Christ-followers who stand out from all the rest. I call them the resilent ones. The further they run, the stronger they get. They seem to possess these spiritual qualities:

• They are committed to finishing strong
• They run inspired by a big-picture view of life
• They run free of the weight of the past
• They run confidently, trained to go the distance
• They run in the company of the "happy few"

I listened to this dialogue several months back, soon after the Sabbatical had been approved but uniquely as I struggled with whether it was really a good idea or the right timing or . . . Listening to this sealed the deal for me that it was right and it was now. Since then, I picked up Gordon's book entitled, A Resilent Life, specifically to bring with me on this journey. I read much of it over the weekend - it's making a deep impact.

One of the tasks he suggests is taking a sabbatical (even if you can't get away like me, he suggests slowing down your life to evaluate) and doing a self-study. He offers the idea of evaluating your life in 5-year increments (0-5, 6-10, etc.) around 3 Important Factors:

• Key People who have influenced me - for good or ill
• Critical Events that have changed me - happy or sad, and
• Major Ideas that guided me - noble or ignoble
  

I started that experience last Saturday . . . I was amazed at the people, events and ideas I remembered - and the impact they have made on me . . . some negatively and many more positively.

I came away with a profound sense of the Hope that comes from God's Grace - the reality of the grace I have experienced and the need for more grace for the journey of the past in preparing for the journey of the future.

Thanks for your prayers regarding this as I spend time alone in this part of the Sabbatical journey.

GWEN IS COMING!

Today, Saturday, June 9, Gwen joins me for 10 more days of the first block.



We will be heading from Salt Lake City toward Glacier National Park in Montana.



I can't WAIT!

Prayer Requests

From time to time I will be dropping in prayer requests. So many of you have let me know that you are praying every day! That means more than you could ever know.

Here are a few requests for the next week or so

• The discovery of God's leading and a rhythm for this journey - for each day and for the whole
• A deep sense of joy in God's presence
• Personal renewal - beyond what I can comprehend
• Deep marital oneness and sharing - (Gwen joins me this Saturday!)
• On yeah, and all of the travel and safety issues

Thanks so much!

Pictures . . .

I've visited several places so far . . . here are a few pictures

Window Rock - home of the Navajo Nation Headquarters

Canyon De Chelley

Church Rock - which I climbed to the crest of - in a pathway I made up as I went along which would have freaked Gwen!

A natural arch in El Malpais National Monument park - I got better, closer pictures later because I found a trailed marked, LOSED, that took me right up into the arch area . . . (the sign may have been missing a letter . . .)

700 year old ruins of the forerunners of the Zuni and Pueblo Indians. These areas were used for 100+ years of the 700 that these Native Americans lived in this particular area.

Top of El Morro National Monument - one of my favorites and a place I spent a long morning on top of - again it seemed to be off the trail but sure was a great place to read, sun, and journal.

Moments With Ted & Evie . . .

So I'm staying in New Mexico in a cottage like home called a "Hogan" which is a native Navajo home. The couple that are providing it to me (thanks to "Donquest") are a couple named Ted & Evie. Ted is a Navajo who taught school for a number of years and now in his post-school days is pastoring a CRC church. Evie is a nurse from Wheaton who graduated from Nursing School in Grand Rapids and they met here in her (& his) first year serving at Rehoboth, a CRC mission.

Ted & Evie took me to a beautiful spot last week called Canyon De Chelley. It is an incredibly intimate canyon experience (unlike the Grand Canyon) in NE Arizona.

We took our time seeing everything - unlike most of the others visiting who merely hurried to each spot, took pictures and raced on to the next overview. Ted laughed as he watched them and shared a favorite dialogue people have after the experience - "What did we see there?" "I don't know, we'll have to wait and look at the pictures when we get home."

Basically, the joke is that we rush the sights, snap some pictures but never really experience the sight or any moments.

At one point, Ted & Evie were just leaning on a wall with their eyes closed. I had been looking around when Ted invited me to join them. He said, I (we) like to pause and experience the wind. He continued - It reminds me of John 3 - "we don't know where the wind comes from or where it is going, but we feel it." Or Elijah when he asked for God to show Himself - "He wasn't in the earthquake or the fire but in the gentle breeze . . ."

They invited me to join them. Frankly, I hadn't even noticed the breeze. We all paused, and in the quietness and the gentleness, we experienced His presence. Several persons came and went observing the sights, but we experienced the Creator of the sights and the One who chooses to draw near - if we pause.

The insights are easy to draw . . . leaving that up to you and HIM.