Share the Season :Come home, Avoiding the Dream Stealer’s

Everyone wants to come home for the holidays. Within all of us an internal unrest exists telling us  something is not right concerning  our lives. Rich, poor, settled or wandering, there is a longing for some “thing” to make our lives right. People who have had terrible family experiences, yearn for what they feel they have missed. Nothing may be more difficult than seeing what looks like the ideal and being denied. Bad parenting, disasters, death and abuse can leave terrible scars on a life, keeping some from experiencing what love and acceptance feel like. Having great family experiences is wonderful, and the funny thing is that even the mundane, predictable problems of a family, grow to be appreciated as “home”, and will be missed as “family time” when separated by miles or time. The real question: where is home? Is home a place?, people? or a destination? ,What about the journey from home and back again? Some wander from home to never return, others make a new home and never look back.(really)? And a handful dream of a home they have never ever seen, or as pioneer’s set out looking for a better home!  The bottom line? We all seem to be on a journey of some kind to find home. The place we just belong! I guess in the end home is a place of expectation, safety, security and acceptance. Expectation that it will be just what we want it to be. Safe, secure and where the critic doesn’t exist, at least not the type that is not followed by a hug, with your best interest at heart, because family ultimately just loves you! Unfortunately there are those among us who feel misled, lied to, deceived and just plain used by others. For them home and all of it’s dreams are the very things they seem bent on removing from others. I call these people the “Dream Stealer’s.” By disrupting or revealing the “truth” to those who need to be enlightened as to their position. They readily engage in “getting real”, reducing every moment to only what they can touch, feel or see. They safely hide themselves inside the protection of education, science and rational thought, once they have discovered through their various disciplines what is “really” happening, they will inform you of your errors and try to make you feel just the way they do! They are no better than the evangelical religious zealots they try to debunk with their rational explanations of the world. Through Pursuit of facts which they feel are equivalent to truth, they forget the true position of the their ultimate reality. What is that reality: by their own rational view of life(that they are mere blobs of organic material that are mere accidents of amino acid interactions) they can have no real understanding of the cosmos or even why they draw breath! I have listened to people who so believe this that they have absolute contempt for any point of view that has not been passed through the halls of science! Rational thought requires a frame of reference dependent on one’s own experience and evidence, making rational thought completely subjective at best! This class of  “Dream Stealer’s”, while well meaning, are destructive as well. A second class of “Dream Stealer’s” is much worse, they are the kind that take others dreams and aspirations, and try to dash their pursuit of them for the achievement of their own! They, through action, speech and invention distort and deny what a person knows is going well only to confuse them, obfuscating facts to create an atmosphere of mistrust.And yet a third class of “Dream Stealer’’ are those who have given up, nothing in life will get better, so don’t bother achieving, striving or believing in anything, nothing good ever happens. Who can blame them? Life is hard, then you die! But what is life without hopes, dreams and desires, it is nothing! Jesus, The Christ, which Christmas is all about, is not the promise of bicycles, gift giving or taking care of the needy! Christmas is the story of the Creator of the universe leaving his home to show us all the way back to it and this is the reason we all seek home, we know we are not really there, and imitate it with our desire to have a safe place, with family and friends, a warm fire, with the eternally warm presence of people. Give of yourself this year! Beware of those who try to steal the dream of going home, beware of those who try to stymie your pursuits with their truth, love those who have given up, you will find out what Christmas really is! Christmas was made for Christians, Christ was sent here for all, so we invite all to celebrate with us but please remember we collectively do not esteem the gifts we give, they are only a refection of the Gift we have received, the promise of being “Home for the Holidays”, no matter how irrational it may seem to anyone, it is the hope we cling to. All are invited to come home for the Holidays! Hope to see you there some time!  Have a Merry Christmas!

Share the Season: Discovering peace # 2, "Lord have patience with me"

Am I a patient person? What is my stress out level? What does Christmas really mean to me? These were my first thoughts for this post, but that was interrupted by the breaking news of the day, people losing life right before the Holy Days, yeah that is what Holidays really means, New Year's is not a Holiday. The loss of life at the Edison Facility in Irwindale Ca. today, talks a lot about patience, peace and what is really wrong with this time of year. We won't ever really know the whole story as it was only in the mind of the shooter what happened within his mind that apparently drove this man for revenge, these things are always triggered by anger, which is the complete loss of patience, peace and desperation that will now bring the type of sadness to the victimized families and friends, that he and his family felt. It will also damage the peace of those who were not hurt, as security will be replaced by the jumping when a door slams or nervous sweat that will come in the middle of the night as the stress crops up. What I mean about "what is really wrong about this time of year?" It is supposed to be a time of Joyous celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, about sharing the Joy of the Messiah's birth, the peace that God declared between Man and God by taking on his creations form and living with us! It has become a time of stress, not just to those shopper's looking for bargains, but to those who can't share with family, can't give gifts, can't even be sure they will eat. It has become a time when you want everyone to be happy, whether they have a reason to be happy or not!  The picture of happy holidays in most of our culture is one that talks mostly of how much your family will love you, how your children's eyes will sparkle when they get that special whatever they get under the tree! People sit in parking lots, blocking traffic just to get a parking space! The desperate attempts of Society as a whole and the Christian community is to try and alleviate the suffering of those who feel left out by trying to make sure that they have all the things they are enjoying too, that does not work, it makes the people doing the giving feel better, but it only tends to reinforce the feeling of loss, of inadequacy in the hopelessness they are experiencing! We can't fix this despair without really helping, don't bring that family a meal, and a few Chinese toys from Walmart, don't look at your friend who just got laid off and sigh with relief that it did not happen to you, don't expect them to cheer up, things could be worse! Who needs friends like that! Instead pray "Lord have patience with me, teach me how to really love, like you did, how to really care, forgive me when I am not compassionate, and open my life in love to those around me who hurt, maybe I can stop the needless loss of life by understanding the real meaning of Christmas and bring others to know you and extend your arms of love even to my brothers who may think they have lost their way with you, this is my Christmas prayer to you Lord Jesus." 


We need patience, patience which by definition means to withhold our self in the face of adversity, frustration and impossible situations. Patience when we don't understand the reasons that things go so wrong, when people act in their own interest. I have had people tell me that I am patient, and am slow to anger. That is the difference between the outward appearance and my own internal knowledge of my real condition! What I have quietly put up with has more to do with fear than long suffering. Indeed I get very upset by politics, injustice, prejudice, traffic and individuals who only seek to promote themselves at the expensive of others!
It is the patience of God that bears with us to salvation. It is finding patience that will bring us peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Peace is the Hebrew word Shalom, it means so much more than just the cessation of hostility between Man and God. Shalom means wholeness, completeness, as an action it means totality of restoration to the original owner! Lord Jesus come quickly, In the meantime, in my patient waiting, bring me your Shalom! Thank You for restoring my relationship to you, when I could not!. Pray for the families, of those lost and wounded in the violence of those who have lost hope, become desperate and angry and hurt others! Help us to be kind all the time to all people!

Reliving a moment in time,

Horseshoe Meadow

Reliving a moment in time, it is time for a stroll down memory lane, or in this case, an early morning start to a long day of walking. Sometimes our walks started early in the morning, at our home, gear stowed, bag packed and ready to go, the anticipation of a new adventure, keeping you hovering on the edge of sleep, but not this day, it was different. We are high in the Eastern Sierra Nevada's, hovering between 9 and 10 thousand feet, it is September and the temperature is in the high 30's, with the crisp dryness that is only present in this slice of California's giant range of 14,000 foot granite slabs that guard the central valley of California from the great eastern desert's of Nevada and Utah. This is the same area I spent my magical summers of youth in, those vacation's which forever made me love these mountains and the mystery they contain. You slowly wake, at first hearing nothing, then the twitching of blades of grass against your tent, then the scurry of some insect running along the edge of your tent, and you just roll over to see if sleeping on the ground has left the imprint of a stiff leg or cramped foot. It is time to start the walk, and that means your gear starts getting put away and then a breakfast and you will be off into the trek of the day! The trip had been planned for several weeks but had almost been canceled due to permitting problems, it seems the most direct route for our intended high point on the summit of Mt. Langley up to the Cottonwood lakes was booked out for the Labor Day weekend, but the trail up from the trail head out over Cottonwood pass was available, the trip was longer but more scenic!

 My intent at this point should be for you to understand something about these posts, they are informational about hikes, but the intent is not to give you a blow by blow, and 

"How we did it" view, it is to convey the reason I trek anywhere, it is the connections with nature, friends and life, so just in case you want to get a blow by blow of the whole trip, it's not here! But the camaraderie around the meals, the fun of figuring out just how and what you eat, the moments when you feel the cool mountain breeze on your face as your breath starts to get shallower and shallower as you labor up the trail. Then as you catch your breath and rest and look back to see a vista, that just takes your breath all over again! It is the glimpse down into a stream and seeing the tadpoles and water spiders as they dance across the surface of water. This is the essence of outdoor adventure. If my friends read this I hope they remember the grit of the trail under their feet and the incredible light feeling when you drop your pack! 

The hike out of the trail head is easy and gradual and my friend's Clark and Michelle new exactly what we were about to do for the first part, as we had used this exact same trail as a warm up for last year's Whitney adventure, starting out at 10,000 feet and climbing part way up the pass had given us a good hike at elevation to prepare us for that summit and we were eager to head out! But the trip out had a few surprises that we had missed last year? When you slow down, change your perspective, you see new things, and as the trail wound it's way up and around Horseshoe meadow we discovered just off the trail a rancher's high mountain cabin. This of course meant we had to explore!

We were just like kids trying to imagine what the people were up to who had used this and how long ago it was that had been since those shadowy people who had obviously been living in this area had abandoned the project that would keep them up here! But we needed to sling our pack's back on and continue up the trail to our first goal the top of Cottonwood Pass! The other surprise was just how much harder it was to climb the same trail we had been ascending before, but with just a lunch in our lighter day packs and not our full compliment of gear and food for a three day trip! But climb we did and topped the pass in just a few hours from our start at the trail head!

Clark and Michelle reach the pass!

I love the trail markers in the wilderness, they point off in directions like fingers from an adventure in OZ! Especially when the elements have had time to move them around a bit, having a map, a real picture of your general direction and a compass are not a good idea, but essential when heading on these trails, these are well traveled trails, and they all look good, until you have headed the wrong way for a couple of miles!

Now it is off to our first stop,  Chicken Springs lake and a well deserved trail lunch on the shore of a High Sierra Lake! You can see that it is  the trip and not the peak that is the Incentive for a trip to be fun!

Hope you are getting a little bit of the feel for what Hiking and Backpacking are about! Give me some time and I will take you on a lot of adventures!

Going Pro at the blog!

A Blog is an interesting thing, I have been viewing different blogs, to get a feel for how they are to be done and the styles and types are varied and numerous, since I don't really like the status feeds of Facebook and the ten seconds of fame for a witty post, or the momentary burst of anger, or the fact that something really profound is said and then lost down the feed like garbage in a disposer. But the fact that this actually is getting me back into the discipline of writing and can be rewarding, informative and lucrative is driving me to an inescapable conclusion, I will be a regular poster to this blog, and at least a couple more, yeah, I can think of other subjects to do the blogging thing. So look forward to more posts, and different subjects for fun and profit.

Building business's

Supporting Technology

Hiking with friends!

Yep, that's the plan! Haven't got names for them yet, but they will be coming!

Share the Season- Discovering peace #1

Peace and Anxiety do not go together, they can't exist in the same place and yet when we are anxious we should turn to peace but how do we discover peace and cling to it in the middle of turmoil? Rediscovering Christmas Peace was the topic of Jeff Vines sermon Sunday and spoke directly to me. In this time of high anxiety for me and my family it is hard to grasp peace, the season has become one of stress all by itself, let alone without the added stress of employment, finance, turmoil and self involved examination of one's self! 
Here is a bit of Christmas peace, Luke 2:14  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!", it is not as you might expect that I took comfort from the part about peace, but the phrase "with whom he is pleased!". Yes, with sin in the world, with it seeming that God is really mad at us, wants us to tow the line or be destroyed, that is not the case at all, he is pleased with us and is in the process of bringing as many as will come to peace and fellowship, not destruction! Isaiah 43:1 "But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name ; you are Mine!". In Luke just as he was announcing the birth of Jesus he told the shepherds in the field, "Do not be afraid", for as Jeff pointed out, most of the time when people see such a display of God's glory, they expect judgement, we seem to be fearful all the time! Christians love Christmas, it is the day we designate in the year to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and we don't really care at this point if the exact date is not right, it is not about evergreen trees, or presents, it is about the birth of God's message of Love, Peace, Fellowship, his Olive branch, the making of Peace with mankind that he wants to exist between Him and Us. God taking on flesh and blood to identify, redeem and be able to touch us and know our fears, hopes, dreams! Anxiety draws our attentions in many directions, it keeps us in the perpetual state of not knowing what to choose, fearing the unknown. Shed anxiety by trusting in the peace of knowing who you believe in and what you believe in. Here are three keys for discovering Christmas Peace.

1. I will remind myself that I belong  to God!
2. I will remind myself that my response to anxiety reveals who I really am and what I really believe.
3. I will remind myself that that God is always with me.

I am not the brilliant one, those points are straight from Jeff Vines message! But this part is from me, the message I get here is Relax, God is with me, I belong to Him, and when I am not checking in with him and letting him be in charge, I get anxious! Whatever I am going through, by my own stupid efforts or the malfeasance of the government or the fool in the car ahead of me, God is using it to make me better, it works so much easier if I just relax and let the maker shape me! When he finds the hard parts in me, they have to be broken up, or reshaped, to take the dust and granite and mud that I am and turn it into the masterpiece that he desires!

Remember the seasons of your life, be glad for what has happened, give thanks for the bad things that have not happened, love those around you, never use anyone for your own purposes but seek the higher good of everyone you meet. Remember when you are on the side of a mountain, or skipping down a slope, you are not alone! Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas Season!

Too tired to post!

I have something to say, really I do, but I am just too tired! It will be something deep and profound, but it will be tomorrow! It is too important to do it wrong, so I will do it tomorrow! It will be about what is most important, but the problem is I will just ramble...if I do it know, so I will quit and get some sleep, awesome day!
MOP
Yeah my blogger tag, what do you think!
God Bless

Whimsical Friday

This is a lighthearted post that touches something I love, yes, it is true, Cats! But cat loving can put you at odds with the world, and don't get me wrong, I am not a dog or chinchilla or fish hater and all pets have their merits and demerits but they all do one thing, they become companions, helpers and friends! Whoops, that is three! We can become deeply attached to them, and it really makes no sense at all, but find me a pet hater, well this person is...I feel sorry for them! Now I can't value a pet above a human, nor deify them, that is wrong. But here is something of a mystery to me, it seems to me a bit odd, but science claims to explain a great many mysteries, why the PBS Nova series has been claiming to explain the way the cosmos works! Yet it can't come to really explain exactly how a cat purrs, Yes, I had heard this but a really very short search of the Internet and some really prestigious research work has come to at least three explanations as to how a cat purr is created. We are unraveling the human genome, we purport to explain the universe, and yet no one has conquered this small mystery or why it is that cat's that roar don't purr, hmmpff. Thank you Lord for confounding the wisdom of the wise and giving us the happiness that comes when we hear a cat's contented purring. Remember this, no one has had the police called because of a cat purr...some interesting Cat facts are linked here. And for Diesel truck fanatics, check out the link to find what the cat has in common with your beloved engine! That is all for a Friday. Thanks for reading, and for checking out the Ads, they are helping with the rent!

We have a mystery!