A Conversation with Jesus

On Wednesday I took the day as a retreat day, just me and Jesus. In seminary, I found that a good way to do that was to go off into the woods alone with my Bible, my journal, and a pen. I made my way to Alley Park, just south of Lancaster, for some time alone with God.

As I was walking up a hill (as an aside, when there is a trail called "Vulture's Roost" I will always take it), I imagined what it would be like if Jesus was walking along with me (in the flesh). Of course, in my imagination, he was wearing sandals and a robe.

Pretty silly, eh?

Anyway, I wondered, "What would Jesus say right now if He were walking with me?"

The answer was clear. "Slow down!"

Now, this was a silly answer, and it made me laugh. It made me laugh because I could just imagine Him hiking up that white robe (that he wore for His senior picture, you know, the one with the blue sash) and hurrying up the hill with me. I laughed it off, especially because I was on my way up the Vulture's Roost trail, which while not vertical, was sort of a strenuous hike, and I wasn't going very fast at all.

"Slow down! Wait up!"

So I did what any rational person would do in this situation: I made a deal with The LORD. Yeah, that always works out well. How's about this, Jesus? You're the Creator (yeah, with God). So if you really want me to slow down, how's about making me a rock to sit on?

I laughed about the (oh so clever) response I'd come up with... until, about 10 steps on, I found a rock dead in the middle of the path. Not only was this rock flush with the ground, but it was wet. Very wet. With water puddled on it.

"Well, all you asked for was a rock. That, my friend, is a rock!" was his response (between laughs).

So, as clever as I am, I (after a good laugh), told Jesus, "If you can make a flat rock like that for me, you can certainly make a good one for me to sit on. What I'm looking for is something a little taller, and, while you're at it, find some sandstone to make a dry one. And it might as well be out of the wind."

"I mean, after all, you're the LORD."

I got a laugh at my cleverness... until I came around a bend and saw this:

Yes, that is the very rock. And I sat on it and hung out with Jesus for the next hour or so. It was dry. It was big enough to be extremely comfortable to sit on. It was out of the wind. A perfect rock.

What did I take from my conversation with Jesus?

I need to remember to slow down. No matter what else is going on, I have to take the time to sit on a rock that Jesus provides for me. Not slowing down reinforces the lie that I am indispensible. I'm not.

But it also reminded me to be specific in my prayers. If I want a big, dry rock out of the wind, then don't just ask for 'a rock' but tell Him what I really want (He knows anyway).

Vacation: Hiking at Rock House

After naps on Friday, we decided to go to Rock House for a little light hiking. I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves (after writing, what, three blog entries this evening, I'm pretty much all out of words).

We've got a couple of little boys who love to hike!

Vacation: Hiking!

Last week we took a vacation to the Hocking Hills (as you probably already knew if you read my last post about the Indian Run). We arrived rather late in the evening on Thursday, so there isn't much to report about that. But on Friday we went hiking. It was a lot of fun. Enjoy some pictures of our adventures!

There's nothing like going out hiking on a cool (yeah, low 50s still seems cool - let's revisit that in January) morning (reminder here: I love mornings) to remind one of God's majesty in creation.



Though I usually like people photos, I thought the beam of sunlight streaming through the canopy of trees was photo-worthy and a great way to test out the new camera.

We found walking sticks (no, not the insect kind, one of which I found on the screen of the cottage in Michigan this morning, but the dead branch kind). This is also the Ohio State vs. Michigan ("this wouldn't be wrong without sports" photo).

Of course, Andrew needed a walking stick, too, and I managed to get a picture in which he is not swinging the stick wildly. Yeah, I mostly made sure his sticks were pretty small for a reason.

Andrew in a hollow log.

Jonathan on the other end of the hollow log.

We all love hiking together. I hope you like the photos.

Vacation 9, in which we go for another Hike

On the last morning of our vacation (not counting travel days), Tara and I got up early and headed back to Zion. This time our destination was the Observation Point Trail.

Despite the posted warnings and the announcement that this trail was not for those with a fear of height, there was nothing scary at all on the trail. At the observation point itself, you could potentially be afraid, but nobody forces anyone to go by the edge.

The trail was beautiful and the scenery was awesome. This was a long-ish hike (we took a side trek up to the Weeping Rock that added an extra mile to the 8), but it wasn't really all that strenuous of a hike. It probably helped that we were hiking on a relatively cool day; it would have been pretty tough had it been 100 degrees! But anyway, the view was breathtaking.

We got a lot of different scenery, from the wide open expanse overlooking the entire park to narrow canyons. We saw burned trees (lightning strikes are apparently pretty common up on top), and we saw flowers. We saw all sorts of different colors and textures in the rock.

It's hard to describe what it's like to hike in a place like Zion. It serves as a reminder to me just how creative God is... though Ohio in the Spring is pretty with all the green and the flowers, there's nothing like mountains or canyons here. The beauty of Zion is why it's so popular. I can't imagine going during the busy season; (even as an extrovert) I like to enjoy nature in (somewhat) solitude. I remember meeting a young man in the Smoky Mountains who brought a poetry book to read in the backcountry; I thought it was a little much, because to me, the backcountry itself is poetry that is more beautiful than the written word can capture.

And with that, we left Utah for Las Vegas, from whence we flew to Chicago (but not before M-I-L "broke even" on a slot machine in the airport and not before our sunscreen got confiscated as we (unknowingly) tried to "smuggle" it past security in the bottom of my carry-on). Then, after a night blessed by loud notifications that F-I-L's blackberry had received incoming e-mails... at 2:30 am, we returned home.

Vacation part 8b, in which we're still hiking

It wasn't long until we reached the end of the trail and the famed Double Arch Alcove. It was absolutely worth the hike. It was an absolute beautiful setting.

Here we are, dwarfed by the Double Arch.

You might wonder why the bottom of the picture looks so bright. No, it wasn't because of a bad camera or the wrong shutter speed or anything. What we never counted on as we were hiking up was the fact that there was still snow up there! As you might have been able to guess from our attire, it was warm out - warm enough that we didn't expect to encounter the white stuff! We were much more careful about creek crossings there, as that water was cold! Jonathan and I did decide to have a little snowball fight. The snow reminded me of when I was a kid and my siblings and I made a bunch of snowballs and but them in a bread wrapper in the freezer and brought them out on the hottest day of the summer. It was worth it just to think about what the neighbors thought: those crazy kids, having a snowball fight in the summer... The unfortunate thing was that the snow was in no way fluffy after all that time in the freezer. Nor was this snow.


Then it was time to head back. As we hiked Jonathan talked non-stop. He kept a running commentary the whole hike. We were alternately a train, police officers, pirates, alley cats (he's a big fan of the movie The Aristocats) or some combination thereof.



As we hiked, Jonathan (naturally) got tired. We would then feed him some trail mix or peanut butter crackers; it was absolutely amazing how quickly he would derive energy from these snacks. One minute he'd be groaning that he couldn't walk another step, and the next moment he would be running down the trail. We motivated him for quite some time by pretending to be police officers chasing a robber. Just when we were ready to "catch" the "robber" someone would put on their siren and spook the robber who would then "run on ahead." The boy has a very active imagination, let me tell you!

On the return trip, we decided to count how many times we crossed the stream. We counted 60 times. Which means that we crossed it (there and back) approximately 120 times each.

Once we reached the trailhead, we headed back for St. George, looking out for somewhere to eat. We asked Jonathan what he wanted to eat; he wanted a waffle. So we found an IHOP and pulled in, only to find that on Sundays, kids eat free! WooHOO!

Then the cook made too much French Toast, so I got an extra piece or two. Oooh, that hurts; you're twisting my arm... (actually all our leftovers became the boys' lunch the following day).

So Jonathan successfully hiked all 5 miles, crossed the stream (no, not in the Ghostbusters sense) some 120 times, climbed on rocks, climbed under trees, waded, threw snowballs, saw two log cabins, and had a great time with his parents!

Vacation part 8, in Which the Boy Goes Hiking

Sunday afternoon is usually perfect for a nap... except this time I had not led the service and I wasn't feeling particularly wiped out (ah, the wonders of being on vacation), and there was still a lot of Zion to be hiked...

One place I wanted to visit was Kolob Canyon, the northwest part of Zion (outside the main park). Tara found a good sounding hike and she, Jonathan, and I headed out for a hike. We chose to hike the Taylor Creek Trail (the referenced site has a good description of the trail). It is a 5 mile roundtrip, but we figured that we could turn around any time and if we needed to, we could take turns carrying Jonathan.

The trail followed along Taylor Creek, and it soon became evident that creek crossings would be the order of the day. We were glad to be wearing Keens. (Aw, shucks, Blogger will only let me upload 5 pics per post. I'll post more with some creek-crossing pictures). Jonathan loved it! Did I mention how convenient it was that he had his own Camelbak hydration pack? Not only did he get to be a "real hiker" but he got to carry his own water as well.

He also loved climbing on (and over) the rocks.

One highlight for me was that we would get to see some old log cabins built by frontiersmen. Turns out we completely missed the first one on the way up, but we found the second one.

We were getting rather tired and figured that this would be a good place to turn around, so we stopped and ate some food. But then another hiker came by from up the trail, telling us that we were only 10-15 minutes from the end of the trail. We figured we could handle that.

Vacation part 3, in which we do not go canyoneering.





On Thursday morning, we were scheduled to take a canyoneering trip with Zion Rock and Mountain Guides. Unfortunately we forgot/didn't know that there was a time difference between Las Vegas and Zion, so we got there late and nobody was there. We were upset about that, because we didn't figure that there would be any refund (or at least that we'd lose a sizeable deposit).





Since we were already there, we decided to make the best of things and do some hiking. We picked the Angels' Landing trail, which is "not for anyone who is afraid of heights." Oops.




We had to do some serious switchbacks (called Walter's Wiggles). This trail, though steep, wasn't all that strenuous. It was a nice hike until we hit Scouts Landing.

Then, however, came the scary part. OK, it wasn't scary for Tara at all, but it was for me. As my knees grew weak and my head began to spin, I chickened out and went back to Scout's Landing. Soon Tara came back, telling me that it was another 1/2 mile to Angel's Landing. I tried going farther, but it just wasn't going to happen.
Perhaps you can see the sheer cliffs and drop-offs in the next picture. It made me light headed just looking at them.
So we headed back down.

Incidentally, when we got back to the Zion Rock and Mountain Guides store, we found that there had been a communication breakdown; they had told us to be there at 6:30 am, but they didn't expect us until 8. Because it was an honest mistake, they told us they would refund our entire cost or take us at another time. They were completely cool about it.

Vacation, part 2, in which we go hiking!



In this telling, I skipped our landing and initial drive through Lost Wages, err, Las Vegas, the drive to St. George, and the rental car to get to the important stuff. When we arrived in St. George, we couldn't get into our rented condo. The info all seemed good, but the combination wouldn't work on the door. So we found a phone and called the rental guy, who said, "Oh, didn't you get the e-mail? That condo wasn't available this week, so we moved you."



Turns out the move was an upgrade from a basement (2 br, 1 bath) condo to a 2nd floor (2 br, 2 bath) condo in a different section of the resort... with a balcony with a beautiful view of St. George (maybe I'll find a picture for a later blog entry).

So anyway, on Wednesday morning, we headed to Zion National Park, where the whole gang of us set out on the Emerald Pools trail. At first, we teased Tara's mom ("Nanny" to Jonathan) about her Chicago feet going up the trail, but she did well and even seemed to enjoy herself.

The next picture is a nice family picture. Note the borrowed backpack in which Andy gets to lounge for the duration of the hike (except when I let him explore on foot at the upper pool). And note the new Camelbaks worn by Tara (loving the women-specific Helena) and Jonathan (the mini-Mule he's wearing is supposed to be for kids 5 and up, but it fit him well and he loved it) as well as our family-matching Keen sandals (unfortunately, Andrew's fat little feet won't fit in those of his size, so he got different shoes).

Jonathan loved hiking maybe even more than he did when we went last year when we were in SW Ohio at the Hocking Hills. He especially liked playing in the water.

This next picture is pretty representative of the scenery we saw all week.

After the 3+ mile hike was over, the intrepid hikers got to enjoy some ice cream at the lodge. Jonathan hiked the entire way without complaining - and he still had energy left by the time we made it down.

The first full day in Utah was quite a success!