Do What??

Sometimes God asks us to do things which, from our earthly perspective, make no sense.  Many times it is only after we have taken the step of faith and obeyed that we begin to understand what it is that God is doing.  Consider the following conversation which may or may not have taken place in Exodus Chapter 17.

Moses - God, we have taken a poll and the majority of the Israelites are really thirsty and we were wondering if you could show us where some water is.

God - Take your staff and strike that rock.

Moses - I understand that you typically know what you are talking about, but our research has indicated there may be an aquifer under the ground near here and we just need to find where it is so that we can dig a well.

God - Strike the rock.

Moses - I hear what you are saying and I think typically that would be a great idea, but historically we have found that large boulders contain, well, rock.

God - Strike the rock.

Moses - I feel as though we aren't communicating here.  We have 100 people with all the shovels and equipment ready to dig for water, we just need to know where to dig.  Everyone knows you dig for water in the desert.  I mean it would look really foolish for me to stand up in front of everyone and begin banging on that rock.  What would they think?

God - STRIKE THE ROCK!  I want to show you my POWER and my GLORY.  This is about me, not you!

Hiking in Sedona

One of my favorite things to do while in northern AZ is to go hiking in Sedona.  One morning I decided to do a hike up Bear Mountain by myself.

I was actually standing on the trail at this point.  There were some pretty precarious places.

A favorite Stop

Peering over this ledge, to gaze at the Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona, has long been a favorite view of mine.  Seeing the tall Pine trees stretching into the crystal, clear blue sky, listening to the rustle of leaves on the many deciduous trees lining the hillside, and feeling the warmth of the Arizona sun, ahhhh, that's home. 

Hamsters have all the fun.

At my uncle's house in Colorado, he provided a great opportunity to use some energy and get a feeling for what it would be like to be a hamster.   To use this toy simply climb inside and walk, run or slide around.  If you have an extra person, ask for a push.  This adds to the fun of being dizzy.  Thanks Gary, we had a blast.

Balloon Crazy

Samuel, Rebekah, and I ventured to church last night to learn from a balloon artist how to twist balloons into animals, hats, and games.    We had a wonderful time practicing the craft and hearing  Gilbert Adams' testimony of his work with children in other countries.  It is always encouraging to hear how God is working through so many avenues, in so many countries.

Rebekah is wearing the baseball hat proven to entertain for hours and cause dizziness.

I am wearing my butterfly hat and holding my dog on a leash that was quite difficult to attach. 

One of these things is different.  While the rest of us followed directions and made a butterfly hat, Samuel turned his hat into a dog. 

What my living room looks like today. Swords, dogs, hats, butterflies, and flowers are covering the floor.   Gilbert told us to practice.  That we did, until we ran out of balloons.   Another trip to Wal-mart and we'll be on our way to more fun. 

The Final Statistics

Yesterday we (I) decided we were tired of driving and that we should just push through and drive all the way home from Denver.  We arrived home at 6:30 this morning.  Here are a few of the statistics from the last three weeks.

Total Miles Driven - 6,991

Hours sitting in the car - 127

Longest day in the car - 19 hours,  1,255 miles

Gallons of gas - 249

Different beds slept in - 13

Most boring state to drive through - Kansas (Sorry Kansas people)

Most expensive gas - Lee Vining, CA - $5.19

Cheapest gas - Kansas City, MO - $2.97

Random pictures from our trip.

Samuel's Civil War costume

Our stop at the Petrified National Forest.  It looked a lot like the Badlands in South Dakota

A giant petrified tree

We found this old rusted out car along Route 66 in eastern Arizona.