We recently returned from a trip that was full and satisfying. However, it was not a vacation. Let me elaborate just a little. I believe the goal of a vacation is to provide a change of pace and, usually, location, that gives a person (or family): 1. Decompression; 2. Joy (include fun here); 3. Rest; and 4. A Reset. There are certainly other ways to think about a vacation, and other values or goals that one could discuss related to a vacation, but this will do. A trip, on the other hand, is a broader term. A vacation is often a trip, but a trip isn’t always a vacation. This last trip was full ..read more

A few days ago we were awakened early (for us – about 6:00am) by an unexpected noise. A woodpecker was trying to find bugs to eat by trying to poke a hole in our gutter. It took the bird too long to figure out that it was making no progress, much to my annoyance. But finally, it gave up and moved to more woody targets.  Later in the morning (after I had fallen asleep again and then woke up to my planned alarm) it struck me that the woodpecker at our gutter provided a metaphor for one of the challenges in the Christian life. It is a real possibility that we may spend time trying to derive ..read more

We have a small water feature in our front yard. It has needed some repair for a couple of years, so a few weeks ago, my son and I disassembled the rocks to reset the pond and rebuild the waterfall (There’s an illustration of needing a solid foundation in here, but that’s for another day). As we were emptying the pond, we suddenly saw movement in the water. I was surprised, it was too big to be an insect and we have never put fish in this pond. As we carefully finished emptying the pond, we found two salamanders. But these were special salamanders, they are called neotenic salamanders. Among s ..read more

Did you know that Porsche made a tractor? I didn’t. Truthfully, I never thought about it. That is, until a guy in Germany posted a picture of one on a website dedicated to Star Wars collecting. Yes, you read that right, the site is not dedicated to tractors in any way, but this acquaintance from Germany happened on a tractor show while biking home from work and thought it would be fun to post the 1963 Porsche tractor picture. I’m not a tractor aficionado (though my dad was), but it was interesting to see. One week later, while visiting family in Boise, we went to the West Idaho State Fair and ..read more

I like spiders. Not in a “I want a tarantula as a pet” kind of way. But in a “I see the value of spiders and they are astounding little creatures that don’t freak me out” kind of way. We’ve raised our kids with this sentiment, so in our house when we encounter a spider, the goal is to successfully relocate the little arachnid to some more suitable outdoor location. Not everyone feels or responds this way to spiders. So…when I was walking down a hallway in our church and saw (for the fourth time) a rather large “giant house spider” just resting there, I decided I had to remove the creature bef ..read more

  Truth and the Purring of a Cat – 1/12/2022 We have a cat; her name is Joy, and it turns out that she is aptly named. She purrs…a lot. We’ve taken to calling her our therapy cat and her communication pattern as “purr therapy.” Just the other day, my wife commented that maybe we should see Joy as an example of our walk with God. I was really interested in her comment because I had been reflecting on exactly the same thing for a few weeks actually.  Let me explain, Joy has a pattern every morning and evening. While I am still under the covers but starting to stir (or as soon as I get ..read more

Great Basin National Park, located in north-eastern Nevada, is not one of the better known of our 63 national parks. We visited it this summer on the way between Los Angeles and Boise, ID (not a direct route, by the way). The route to the park from L.A. took us through the eastern part of Nevada, which, if you’ve not been there, is pretty sparse. Along the drive both Joanie and I got alerts on our phone. It was a flash flood warning, which was a little disturbing to me. But worse yet was the admonition to stay off the road! I’m from Washington. We have floods. But…they are rivers overflowing ..read more

I’ve only been to the store twice in 6 weeks. As I was driving by the Fred Meyer I often pass on my way to work, I realized that I haven’t been in the store since the Washington “Stay at Home” order went into effect. That’s highly unusual. Prior to COVID-19, I would stop at Fred Meyer at least once a week, just because it was convenient to run in and grab something I had forgotten on my last trip. The wilderness can be very disruptive because it unveils what we take for granted (for better or for worse). These can be things as simple as stopping to pick up something at the grocery store to muc ..read more

Please, No Tests - 9/2/2020   I hate tests. I always have. I’m a pretty good student, but I’ll take a paper over an exam any day. Tests make me anxious because I never feel like I’ve studied enough (to be fair, sometimes I haven’t). I also don’t like the prospect of failing (maybe you can resonate with that?).   As I’ve been reflecting on “being in the wilderness” I’ve been reminded that, in the Bible, wilderness experiences usually involve testing. The Israelites were tested in the wilderness. They failed! But God was faithful anyway. Jesus was tested in the wilderness. He was faith ..read more

One theme around this unique season, living under the “stay home” order has been that of uncertainty. While there are a variety of emotional responses to our circumstances, including fear, anxiety, excitement, resignation, frustration and impatience, all share in common the reality of the uncertainty of our situation. What will happen next? Will there be a boomerang? Will there be a recession? Every way we look at the challenge of COVID-19 is met with a substantial question mark.   Last week I commented that I felt this was a wilderness moment for us. One of the realities of the wildernes ..read more