Dear Trailhead family,  The party was lively. People milled around, laughter rippled across the lawn, and the band played a familiar tune.  One couple began to dance, and a few more joined in, grinning at the silliness of it all. The song ended and the impromptu dancers bowed as those around them applauded.  The lights strung up overhead twinkled in the dusk, and the guests flowed between the drink table and the tables laden with food before finding a seat next to friends or strangers to enjoy the meal.  The food was simple but delicious, the kind of food you know withou ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.” Jesus began his story.  The Teacher had begun on the shore, but the people kept coming, and soon the water was lapping at Jesus’ ankles and soaking the hem of his cloak. Jesus took another step into the water as the people at the back of the throng pushed forward to hear, and those closest to Jesus had no option but to press towards the storyteller.  “This will not work,” a disciple said to his companion as he motioned for help to pull a small boat towards Jesus through the shallows. “Our Master will be swim ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  The day was hot and dry.  Joshua was hot and dry as he peered out from under his hood at the unforgiving land surrounding him. Rock, sand, and cliffs peered back at him.  This was brutal land, land that burned you and froze you, often in the same day.  Land that seemed intent to kill. But land that also supported life, if you were careful.   It was not uncommon for Joshua, in his wanderings, to come across the carcass of a small animal that had succumbed to the harsh environment. The death could have come from thirst or starvation, or a m ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  I may have a slightly weird sense of humor.  (You do as well, and we all know it, so you might as well embrace it).   I like to think our humor is as unique as our fingerprints. One of my favorite things to learn about someone is what makes them laugh. Not politely laugh, not saying “That’s funny,” but uncontrollably laugh.  To laugh in a way that you are helpless to stop, where tears stream down your face and you cannot catch your breath, is one of the purest moments of living. You feel like you could pass out and you never feel more alive.  ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  Years ago, in the DINK period of Cassie and my life (Dual Income, No Kids), we had the opportunity to travel to Europe.   It was… stressful.  The history was fascinating, the architecture and natural beauty were spectacular.  But everything was complicated and different.  Mind you, I am not complaining. I’d go back in a heartbeat.  We wandered through Venice, ate dinner next to a canal, rode a highspeed train across Italy, toured the Vatican, walked near the Acropolis, toured Greek Islands.   And we learned firsthand what it me ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  I never knew Eileen West to be young in the classical sense.  Eileen was my Sunday school teacher for several years in the late 80’s.  I was young, maybe 5 or 6 years old, and Eileen was a grandmother and a grandmotherly type. Eileen taught our rambunctious group the stories of the Bible using her storytelling gift and a flannel graph. She never had help in the classroom that I recall and never seemed to need it (although she may have begged to differ).  If that old church building were still standing, and I were able to revisit it, I am sure I’d ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  Anna was a widow.  We don’t know many of the details but Anna had met her future husband as a young girl and by all accounts, their marriage had been everything she and her husband had hoped it would be. Except that it lasted only seven years before he died.  And that we have no mention of children being born from this union.  It was Anna and her husband, and then it was just Anna.  Anna was young when her husband passed away, but she never remarried.  We don’t know why. Maybe Anna never met another man who could compare to her husband, o ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  I just met Joseph. He is 74 years old and on his way to see the cardiologist.  Joseph has more than a passing resemblance to how I imagine Abraham or Moses. Or any of the Old Testament prophets for that matter; short, stocky, bursting with energy, an impressive beard.  I could tell he wanted to talk.  I had work to do and I hid behind my work as long as I could. But then Joseph asked me a question and we were off.  His opening remark was about my gloves and he wondered if they were warm. I said that they were. I commented on his coffee. How a ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  Eons ago when I was about to turn thirty, I decided I wanted to climb a Colorado fourteener for my birthday.  Colorado is blessed with more than 50 mountain peaks reaching over 14,000 feet above sea level and a few of those mountains are accessible to people who lack technical climbing skills. People like me.    Since I had never climbed anything so formidable, I did a lot of research. Armed with blogs and books and maps, Cassie and I traveled to Colorado, fueled up on pizza the night before our climb, got up insanely early, and drove to the trailhe ..read more

Dear Trailhead family,  Christmas is almost here.  Maybe you are excited.  Maybe you are not.  Maybe it doesn't feel like Christmas should be almost here because someone or something is missing from this season.   Regardless, Christmas comes. Or, a better way to say it is, Christ arrives right on time.  The story of humanity is that we have not fully shown up to the moment—any moment. Maybe it was a simple command in a good garden not to eat from a certain tree or maybe it was a solemn covenant made between the Almighty and his people, but the consistent ..read more