Photo: July Lake
The water is the perfect temperature for cooling off on a hot day. Jump in.
The generous will prosper;
those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)
Tag: photography
Hot day, cool friends
Photo: Hidden lake
Friends invited us to join them at their campsite yesterday. We’ve lived here 26 years but I never knew about this little lake at the end of a winding one lane dirt road.
“John” would know. He’s a mountain man, more at home resting in his portable easy chair beside a fishing hole in the ice at minus 35 degrees than in an office. He’s happier worshiping God while he cooks for us outside in plus 35 degree heat than in an air-conditioned church. I think he knows every inch of this valley and loves it and the animals and people who populate it. This is the guy to know if ever we need to learn to survive in the woods. He’s a man of action, not like our usual collection of academically inclined friends who are people of words (on the way out to the lake we actually had a discussion about discussion) although John is never short of words when it comes to environmental policies and wildlife management.
John is the kind of guy that boys with long black braids bring gifts of worms and minnows to, hoping he will take them out fishing in his boat later. (He did.) He’s the kind of guy who, when he saw a neighbourhood boy shooting out streetlights with a beebee gun, grabbed him and hauled him home. He then asked his mother for permission to teach the boy how to handle a gun properly and to hunt to supplement her single-mom income. He’s a tough teacher, but the boy, now a young man, completed the safety courses and is now a law-abiding citizen who deeply respects his volunteer “dad” –and the family had venison this winter.
John’s dear wife is always ready to pray. She has taught me so much. She’s the kind of woman who will listen to my stories and then ask questions that show she is truly paying attention and make me so uncomfortable I want to bop her one sometimes. That’s why I love her. She knows me, she loves me, and she’s not afraid of the truth. We can only hear the truth from someone we know cares deeply.
And so we spent the hot afternoon beside this cool lake with people who know how to love.
It was a good day.
Share this:
Day is done…
Photo: Sunset over the Purcells from my deck this evening
From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised. (Psalm 113:3)
Share this:
You who sometimes were brought so low, rise up!
Photo: from my deck
It’s too hot to sleep so I got up and edited some photos I took from my deck yesterday. The music playing on my earphones is from The Odes Project which are modern settings of the oldest hymns we have found. They were written in Aramaic around 100 A.D. by someone who was known only as Solomon -perhaps an Essene convert to Christianity. I love this album. Tonight Ode 8 struck me as particularly fitting for this picture. As someone who has been healed after many years of severe depression I praise Abba Father for raising me up from the pit of despair and putting a new song in my mouth. God has been so very good to me.
These are the lyrics to the adapted version:
You who sometimes were brought so low, Rise up, RISE UP
You who were in silence: now raise your voice , Rise up, RISE UP
You that were despised be lifted up, Rise up, RISE UP
For the right hand of the Lord is with you right now Rise up, RISE UP
Open your hearts, All you who are saved, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER
Through all generations, abiding in His love, IN THE NAME OF THE SON
Now and forever, Let your love abound, IN THE NAME OF THE SPIRIT
For the right hand of the Lord is with you right now Rise up, RISE UP
Chorus:
Christ in us, this wondrous mystery
Christ in us, from age to age
Christ in us, the hope of glory
For You have sealed us in your name
You who sometimes were brought so low, stand tall, RISE UP
You who were in silence: may you shout for joy, RISE UP
You who were despised may you be lifted up, RISE UP
For the right hand of the Lord is with you right now Rise up, RISE UP
This is a translation of the longer hymn:
Ode 8
Open, open your hearts to the exultation of the Lord, and let your love abound
from the heart to the lips.
In order to bring forth fruits to the Lord, a holy life; and to talk with watchfulness in His light.
Rise up and stand erect, you who sometimes were brought low.
You who were in silence, speak, for your mouth has been opened.
You who were despised, from henceforth be lifted up, for your Righteousness has been lifted up;
For the right hand of the Lord is with you, and He will be your Helper.
And peace was prepared for you, before what may be your war.
Hear the word of truth, and receive the knowledge of the Most High.
Your flesh may not understand that which I am about to say to you; nor your garment that which I am about to show
you.
Keep my mystery, you who are kept by it; keep my faith, you who are kept by it.
And understand my knowledge, you who know me in truth; love me with affection, you who love;
For I turn not my face from my own, because I know them.
And before they had existed, I recognized them; and imprinted a seal on their faces.
I fashioned their members, and my own breasts I prepared for them, that they
might drink my holy milk and live by it.
I am pleased by them, and am not ashamed by them.
For my workmanship are they, and the strength of my thoughts.
Therefore who can stand against my work? Or who is not subject to them?
I willed and fashioned mind and heart, and they are my own. And upon my right
hand I have set my elect ones.
And my righteousness goes before them, and they shall not be deprived of my
name; for it is with them.
Pray and increase, and abide in the love of the Lord;
And you who were loved in the Beloved, and you who are kept in Him who lives,
and you who are saved in Him who was saved.
And you shall be found incorrupt in all ages, on account of the name of your
Father.
Hallelujah.
Share this:
Commendation
Photo: On the road to Jasper
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
(Psalm 145)
Share this:
Yarrow and the War of 1812
The yarrow has spread like crazy in my garden. It’s an ancient plant known for its ability to help stop bleeding. Achilles carried it into battle for his soldiers. That’s why it’s called achillea and also soldierswort.
In some wars, the battle plan involved maiming as many warriors as possible because caring for the wounded reduced the number of men available to fight. That was before warfare meant dropping bombs on children, before fighting for justice became fighting for personal peace alone and every man for himself became a default position. It was before fear became the commander-in-chief.
I watched a documentary about the War of 1812 in North America this week. The fort in Detroit fell without defending itself because the commander assigned to guard it was terrified of aboriginal Americans. He didn’t realize Tecumseh marched the same group of war-whooping men past his viewpoint five times. After cowering in his room, the guy who was supposed to lead the fight gave up without a fight. He lost the battle in his mind long before any foes showed up.
Since Jesus Christ rose from the dead after teaching his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” the battle against the father of lies has been over. Christ has already won the victory. The enemy is defeated. Now its a matter of taking back occupied territory and restoring what has been stolen or destroyed. The weapons of this fight are not guns and bombs or fists or even tough negotiation. God’s weapons tear down lies that have kept souls prisoners of fear, those behind prison walls of despair, bereft of hope that healing or change is possible. The greatest battles take place in our minds.
I learned that another battle in the War of 1812 totally failed when troops became confused and started firing on each other. Sometimes people who mean well don’t listen well. In blind panic they start shooting their own. Sometimes, forgetting to ask God for more effective spiritual weapons or better strategies, soldiers leave the wounded behind. There are also those who pick up the weapons of the world and shoot hostages, rather than rescue them. Not-so-friendly-fire.
I wonder if there are more souls wounded by factious denominational tribalism who are crying out for help than ever before. Instead of stopping to care for them, other frightened troops are embarrassed by them. I’ve even heard “experts” say that some of the church-burnt and those wounded in the fight who are bleeding and acting out in pain, ought to be shunned to teach them a lesson. They question if they were ever really on “our side” anyway.
I wonder if most of the “mission field” in the Western world is made up of the casualties of spiritual abuse. Where the spiritual medics? Where are the healers carrying metaphorical yarrow of kindness and goodness to staunch the flow of blood?
Even winners can be wounded in the fight.
Two seemingly disconnected things caught my attention this week. Yarrow is a pretty flower in my garden. The War of 1812 was another of thousands of fruitless, selfish, pointless human skirmishes that accomplished nothing of lasting value. (The Americans captured Toronto, but the Canadians burned Washington, so in the end they simply traded them back.) but maybe we can still learn something from both of them.
Share this:
Clean, fresh air; cool, clear water
Photo: Pond near 100 Mile House
All I need is the air that I breathe and to love You.
Share this:
The angel of the Lord encamps
Photo: Campground
I’ve driven right past this campground for years and never noticed it was there until I was so drowsy one day I pulled off the road to take a nap. It was hidden in plain sight. I took this photo from an empty camping spot. There was no one else in the park but maintenance people that day. I love this place. The smells are wonderful and the mountains feel like giant guardian angels keeping out the riff-raff. Apparently angels like camping too 😉
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
(Psalm 34:4-7)
This is also a prayer and declaration for friends on the other side of the world who face severe persecution this very night. He hears you.
Share this:
You may feel some discomfort
Photo: ceramic dome
(Inspired by a Learning Channel video about a Canadian surgeon who taught brain surgery to doctors in a tiny Russian clinic. The patient was required to be conscious in order to participate in the procedure.)
You May Feel Some Discomfort
Perhaps I had my eyes closed when your assistants bashed
my horizontal chariot through the swinging doors.
I didn’t see that sign.
Just as well.
If I had known
the surgery you intended to perform
(removing the run-away tumour of mal-formed thought)
required me to be awake for the procedure
I may have searched for an alternate practitioner,
one who would anesthetize me
with framed platitudes hung beside
hand-penned personal testimonies
of painless probes
and joyful function (temporarily) restored.
I would have,
at least,
googled the back pages of ancient pdf-ed medical knowledge,
or youtubed reports of accidental new age discovery,
or followed the links to a parallel universe of pharmacos deliverance.
I confess to some disrespectful misuse of your name
when the raucous drill began its breakthrough,
(can you really buy those at Walmart?)
but once my thoughts lay open before you
I merely concentrated on
raising my arm
and opening my hand.
Thanks for letting me rest
as you reassembled my humbled dome
(and for being careful to leave room for expansion).
There.
Done.
Invader gone.
Mind renewal.
Thank you, God.
You’re good.
Very good.
Charis: Subject to Change 