by Greg | Mar 3, 2011 | Blog Posts
It seems like a distant memory now, even though it was less than two weeks ago. On top of a mountain with my family, we were doing something Amy and I never dreamed of doing when we were our children’s ages: snowmobiling. We were in Breckenridge, Colorado and along with a small group of other vacationers we were snowmobiling along the backside of the Rocky Mountains. The temperature hovered in the teens but the sunshine was full and we were all having the time of our lives; each one of us commandeering our own snowmobile. These are powerful machines that are something like riding a four-wheeler and a jet ski combined. By the end of the afternoon my face was purple with cold, my beard was layered in frost and my grin was frozen in place. One of the great things to be enjoyed while snowmobiling is seeing parts of the mountains not accessible to skiers. There were winding trails and beatific vistas. The best view occurred near the top of one mountain. Due to the risk of avalanches we could not go to the very top, but we went as high as possible – 12,500 feet. We were above the tree line and in a simple way felt as though we were on top of the world. Soon, too soon, our time was up and it was time to not only take our snowmobiles back down the mountain, but take ourselves back home. Life has its highs and lows; this we know all too well. For a time in my life I worked feverishly to create and then...
by Greg | Feb 2, 2011 | Blog Posts
Which do you think is easier to believe? To believe in what you do not have or to believe in what is hoped for? We know what we do not have and it is usually in the category of never enough. It is quite another thing to believe in something that is only a hope. We have two great stories in the Bible: one in the Hebrew Scriptures of the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel and the other of the hungry crowd pressing in on Jesus. Both stories involve hunger and both stories involve feeding and both stories deal with a stronger belief in what they do not have instead of what is hoped for. Israel had been led out into the wilderness to escape their Egyptian captors. They came to believe, however, that they were led out to starve. “The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” (Numbers 11:4-6) They came to despise God’s provision of manna, also called “bread of heaven,” and all they saw was their scarcity, what they did not have. Now glance ahead through the centuries and through your books in the Bible to this story in John. In fact this particular story is told in all four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke as well...
by Greg | Jan 10, 2011 | Blog Posts
Living in Georgia all of my life, I have had very few snow days, so nearly every one of them is memorable. I can easily recall one winter ice storm when I was a little boy that took down power lines and waited along with befuddled dairy cows needing badly to be milked for Georgia Power to restore our electricity. Even now, where school is a fading distant memory, there is a bit of hopeful anticipation to see if our school will be cancelled. Throughout Sunday we tracked on television and on the internet the progress of the cold front that was promising to bring us snow, ice and sleet from the heavens. Some, especially those that work outside, saw this as an ominous foreboding. Others, especially students, saw this as a gift from the Creator. I saw this as a nice diversion. Getting up at my usual hour Monday morning I soon found out that there would be no hospital visits, Rotary Club, or a staff meeting on my agenda. I could not even see our road. Instead, it would be lots of hot coffee, intervals outside with the family, and working by way of the laptop for most of the day. Wet, mushy, thick and cold – snow day! What is so special about a fresh snowfall that even the most cynical among us cannot refuse? Is it the wonderful blanket of silence that morning snow leaves or those mysterious tracks left behind by some bird, rabbit or squirrel cutting across the yard and into the woods? Have you ever watched a sunset surrounded by snowfall? Breathtaking....
by Greg | Jan 5, 2011 | Blog Posts
How do you begin a journey? Do you have to have all the details worked out before making that first step or do you just tromp ahead and let the surprises be the point? Amy is a planner and loves to make (and strictly abide by) lists. I, on the other hand, tend to just plunge ahead, impulsive and at times foolish. Last week Amy and I “tromped” into the New Year by making a small journey of sorts. My beloved and I hiked five miles through nearly a foot of snow near the Amicalola Falls in North Georgia and then spent a cozy night at the Len Foote Hike Inn. You can only access this inn by hiking in and hiking out. Perhaps the term “inn” is a bit generous. It is rustic, bare-bones, and no-frills. They do provide a hot meal at night and one more in the morning before sending us back out into the snow to hike back down the mountain. It was a lovely way to close out the year and prepare for the start of a new year. In this particular jaunt, Amy depended on me for the details since I do most of the hiking and backpacking. Wanting to make a good impression, I worked a bit harder on some of the details and she, likewise, trusted me with some of the surprises. Fortunately our surprises were mostly positive and even when things were less pleasant than planned (like frigid temperatures in our bunk room) we made plans to adjust (I brought a winter sleeping bag that was warm and toasty). In...
by Greg | Dec 22, 2010 | Blog Posts
This Sunday, December 26, instead of our live broadcast of the worship service, we will broadcast the music special “A Festival of Carols” performed by our Church Choir and Orchestra. This was a special evening of music and worship on December 12th, now available to those who will otherwise be unable to attend worship this Sunday. The broadcast will be at 11 AM on WRDW, this...
by Greg | Dec 21, 2010 | Blog Posts
For years I have attempted to convince my sons that “they” wanted a telescope for Christmas. Year after year, however, no telescope would be on their list for Santa. Finally they took the hint and about four years ago they gave me a telescope for Christmas. I admit that I do not use it that often – it is a bit cumbersome to carry and delicate to set up – but when I do I am not disappointed at what I see, even when it is at two o’clock in the morning. Two o’clock in the morning is a time on my clock that I almost never see. It is too “late” for me to stay up and too “early” for me to start the day. Yet on Tuesday, at 2 AM Amy and I were awake and shivering in the front yard peering through my telescope. Yes, we were one of those eccentrics who actually got up to watch the lunar eclipse. This, as you have no doubt read by now, was not just any lunar eclipse. According to NASA this was the first time a total lunar eclipse occurred on the winter solstice since 1638. As a result, the moon appeared “very high in the night sky, as the solstice marks the time when Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun.” This will not happen again until 2094, and by then I will be 128 and my eyes will in all likelihood be too weak to view the eclipse! The eclipsed moon reflected the earth’s own reflection of the sun rising and setting all over...
Recent Comments