The Road Not Wanted

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In high school I had an English teacher that introduced me to the poetry of Robert Frost. I was not interested in poetry at the time but felt an immediate draw to his work, particularly his “The Road Not Taken” poem. As an idealistic teen (is there any other kind?) this image of going my own way and not being fettered by the hang-ups and expectations of the world around me appealed to me on every level. In many ways this poem felt like an anthem. I would “take the road less traveled by” as I moved forward in life and that would “make all the difference.” Continue reading

What’s Next?

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I am at a bit of a loss. I am unsure where to go next with this blog. Our trip to Africa is over and now we are back to our regular everyday life. Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for my regular everyday life, it is just not filled with things I necessarily want to write about. While in Kenya no matter where I looked, my eyes took in something I wanted to capture and express. What am I looking at today? A lot of laundry that needs to find its way to the washing machine. Continue reading

What is your mental image of God?

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A. W. Tozer once wrote “What comes into the mind when we think of God is the most important thing about us. We tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move toward our mental image of God.” You may or may not agree with this being the most important thing (C.S. Lewis voiced strong dissent) but either way, what we believe about God plays a major role in how we experience him, especially when it comes to our sin. Continue reading

Maasai Mara

Africa

My heart will always belong to the forest. There is something soul stirring to me about walking among the trunks of large hardwood trees under sunlight filtered by a green canopy. However, I occasionally leave pieces of my heart in other terrain. It happened when I hiked the Rockies. It happened again these past few days as I toured the savannah. Continue reading

Jet Lag

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I am bodily here in Kenya but my personality and thinking self got lost somewhere on the plane ride over. While this trip has been astounding, traveling to a place with a seven hours time difference has been the most disorienting experience in my life. I don’t know what day it is, I am exhausted when the sun is high in the sky and wide awake when it is pitch black out. As we drive around (btw…the roads out here are a blog post in themselves) it is a constant fight to stay awake. Continue reading

God said “all things,” didn’t he?

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Have you ever had a bad experiences ruin a trip? It is amazing how a well-placed engine repair or illness can seem to ruin an entire experience. The trips I have taken where trouble raised its ugly head have, too often, colored my perception of all subsequent events. I have had vacations where I have been exposed to some amazing sights, but the tire that blew out on the drive there left me too grouchy to enjoy them. I have had vacations with wonderful opportunities to enjoy my family but not getting my way on some trivial issue has left me too angry to engage with them. Continue reading