He is Risen!

This morning, we went to the Easter sunrise service at church and sat with Teena and Mark. It was a beautiful but cold morning.

As people trickled in at dusk, we enjoyed visiting with our friends and warming up. I was so glad I brought my hat and gloves. However, the seats were wet from the morning dew. It was okay, my jeans soaked it up pretty good. In case you're wondering, yes, I took care of Nancy's seat too.

One of the hymns we sang was Jesus Paid it All. Here are the words for your enjoyment. May you enjoy them eternally because of His work.

I hear the savior say

Thy strength indeed is small

Child of weakness watch and pray

Find in Me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Lord now indeed I find

They power and Thine alone

Can change the leper's spots

And melt the heart of stone

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete

Jesus died my soul to save

My lips shall still repeat

I also got this photo of the moon before we left. It reminded me of the words of the hymn Morning Has Broken, popularized by Cat Stevens;

Morning has broken, like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning

Praise for the springing fresh from the Word

Sweet the rain's new fall, as sunlit from heaven

Like the first dewfall, on the first grass

Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden

Spring in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning

Born of the one light, Eden saw play

Praise with elation, praise every morning

God's recreation of the new day

How cold is it in Denver?

Vacation

Vacations end too soon. The problem with vacations is that they make you feel good enough to go back to work - and poor enough to have to! For those of you who are younger, here is the blueprint for the best vacation. Buy a new station wagon, put the kids in the back and take a cruise!

Actually, now that we're a little older, we're asking permission to take the grand kids with us somewhere! How things change!

Just a few weeks ago, I went on a hike wearing snowshoes! Now I'm watching out for cactus and rattlesnakes. Springtime in the desert is really nice, beautiful and warm. it was great to be in warm weather with our good friends Craig and Kathy.

East to West, Casting Crowns lyrics

Here I am Lord, and I'm drowning in Your sea of forgetfulness

The chains of yesterday surround me

I yearn for peace and rest

I don't want to end up where You found me

And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight

I know you've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west

And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned

But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can you show me just how far the east is from the west

'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin

Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in

Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know you've washed me white, turned my darkness into light

I need your peace to get me through, to get me through this night

I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your Word reveals

I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west

I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

One scarred hand to the other

From one scarred hand to the other

Spring Training

Last week we enjoyed watching the Rockies get in some Spring training in their new field in Scottsdale. Drew Pomeranz pictured below, pitched well until someone got a hit off him. Then, it looked to me like the next batter had it easy and Drew was afraid to put it over the plate. He did okay though and then the bull pen let the game get out of hand.

Dinger was at the game (the Rocks mascot) and waved to Nancy. He had no interest in me. You'll notice that we had pretty good seats in the shade!  All day! It was 90 degrees and we were happy to be where we were. Last year our team was in the cellar so long it was damp. Who needs a humidor at Coors field?

Craig wore his D-Backs shirt defiantly. Craig was a math major in College, so I explained to him that our team was so poor the players didn't have numbers. They had fractions. Then he began cheering for the Rockies. He asked me later, "If diamonds are a girl's best friend, why does my wife get sore when I go to a ballgame?"

Hiking in the McDowell Mountains

We were in Phoenix this week and went for a hike with Kathy and Craig up to the McDowell Mountains. Below is a photo of the dreaded Cholla cactus, also known as a jumping cactus. You just walk near it an pieces break off and fly into your soft, tender, skin. It shows no mercy.

It's been wet recently in Arizona, so the desert was full of color, flowers and green grass. I personally am not too good with a lawn. I put in new grass, and four sprinklers died! Out here though mother nature is in charge. It will be green for three or four weeks and then Pow! Brown the rest of the year.

We hiked about 4 or 5 miles up in the mountains and enjoyed the great outdoors. Out here though, you have to be careful not to lean on any of the trees. More on this Phoenix trip later. We had a great time and I'll have a few fun stories for you.

Shoeing above the tunnel

Today, we went snow shoeing near the Moffat Tunnel with Mark and Teena. If you walked through this tunnel and weren't run over by a train, you'd come out at Winter Park about 4 miles the other side of a mountain range. Yesterday, we had about 10 inches or so of snow, or the equivalent of 10 inches. It was pretty warm and much of it melted when it hit the ground. We drive up here and hiked up one of the trails and had a nice lunch.

Our high point on the hike was 10,052 feet above sea level. We went up 1,266 feet over two miles of hiking. Since it was sunny and the weather was really nice, other than gusty winds once in a while, we had a great time and enjoyed the beauty of the earth, in Colorado.

As you can plainly see, we're all squinting in the bright sunlight. As my camera took this photo it told me, "blink detected!" So, I took the photo again and got the same result. I figure if the camera can tell if they're blinking, then you can tell if they're squinting.

Daughters

Today, I was reflecting on my daughter. What a sweetheart. Young sons are awkward and just evoke pity. But daughters are really wonderful, warm, and sweet. Until they're teenagers. As a teenager I think she really wanted to run away from home. But I know what happened. She would get as far as the door, then the phone would ring!

My daughter grew up mostly in Memphis. After she graduated from High School, she decided to go to the University of Memphis. I remember someone from church asking me what she was taking in college. "Everything I've got!"  The good news is, she studied hard and made excellent grades.  She was a model student in every way.

And then she started looking at boys. Her mother would say "Don't play with boys. They're too rough."
"But Mother, I think I found a smooth one!"

And she sure did. Then, a few years later he said to her "Darling, I'd like to marry you."

"Have you seen my father?"

"Lots of times, but I still want to marry you!"

Bones, hikes, and luck

A couple hours after this photo was taken, Nancy broke her ankle. For those of you who asked about her, she is now about 99% healed. When we got home I decided to put a horseshoe over her closet door for good luck. I came back later and it fell on me!  Hmm... makes you think.

Our hiking group has been good luck. Pictured below, we've had some great trips together and enjoyed much of Colorado. I'm looking for more good trips like this one, only without the broken bones!

Oh, Sacred Head...

O Sacred Head, now wounded,

with grief and shame weighed down,

now scornfully surrounded

with thorns, thine only crown:

how pale thou art with anguish,

with sore abuse and scorn!

How does that visage languish

which once was bright as morn!

What thou, my Lord, has suffered

was all for sinners' gain

mine, mine was the transgression,

but thine the deadly pain.

Lo, here I fall, my savior!

'Tis I deserve thy place;

look on me with thy favor,

vouchsafe to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow

to thank thee, dearest friend,

for this thy dying sorrow,

thy pity without end?

O make me thine forever;

and should I fainting be,

Lord, let me never, never

outlive my love for thee.