Coming to the Still Waters

These were my pick of snowshoes for my Saturday hike up the Baker Gulch Trail.  There is a forecast of a major snow event this week so I hope to get out again this Friday up another trail to keep filling in my 2026 mail.  This was the last day of upper 40's day so I walked into town and back road walking with a distance of 10.5 miles round trip.  I keep thinking about the trails I will try to conquer this summer and fall. I am always amazed at Jesus' technique as a teacher also.  He strings together these 3 stories and by the third He is uusing some elements of story #1 and story #2 in story  #3.  Jesus also weaves together a warning, the invitation and also the requirement.  We are seeing these 3 groups again.  Group #1 are those contrary to God's anointed Messiah as Jesus.  Group #2 are those who are indifferent to Jesus as the Messiah.  They head back to work or to the shop instead of going to the wedding.  They are also the ones...

  Which way to go?  This is from a Monday hike without the snowshoes up the East Shore Trail.  I will go to the right and then come back to this point via the left.  I will include a few more pictures from this quick 7.5 mile trek along Shadow Mountain Lake and through Ranger Meadow. This is about the halfway point and a place to stop for a bite to eat and to drink some water.  You can see the condition we are in at the lower elevations.  This trail is at the same elevation that we live.  We pray for snow everyday.  3.9 miles back to Grand Lake seems like a piece of cake when I have been on trails that indicated 12 miles back. I noticed this bit of blue where I stopped for lunch.  Out of place colors catch your eye.  It made me think of the summer when the mountains will be filled with all the colors of the rainbow.  Some parts of this trail were exposed and that made me think of some of the hikes I want to take later in the year. C...

  I took this picture up the East Inlet Trail last week.  I posted it to Facebook with the question, "Is the snow deeper than the log it is laying upon?"  The conclusion was that it was.  I guess I will have to trek back up the 4.5 miles with a tape measure to know for sure.  I agree.  The snow is deeper than the log it rests upon.  It makes me think of the hymn line, "How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure?"    I need to remember that God's love for me is greater than my love for Him.  His love for those I love is greater than the love I have for them.  His provision for me and for them is greater and more complete than what I could provide.  While I am commanded to love and provide, I am not to forget who gave me that command and who displays it infinitely beyond what I can do.  That deep love of God comes in many forms. Before I forget, here is another great new song called " Like No Other. "...

  Working on a grant for our re-roof project, I came across this old picture of the church.  I am figuring it was taken in the late 90's or early 2000's.  I think that is a Dodge van on the drive up.  More trees are present then now and the sign has also changed.  There is also no chain link fence attached to the old building.  What a beautiful reminder of the church's impact on this community over the years.   As we hike with Jesus over His last week prior to the cross, we have Jesus hiking into the temple to cleanse it a 2nd time.  The first was 3 years prior at another Passover celebration in Jerusalem.  Now He is back with His disciples and He see more of the same.  What was once addressed is to be addressed again.  The scriptures that Jesus quotes from Isaiah, Jeremiah and the Psalms show us the hypocrisy of the people in regards to the centrality of the worship of God in places designated for His people to gather. Jesus c...

  My very crude and not to scale map is why I titled this blog post "Hiking with Jesus."  The elevation gain and loss over the next week of Jesus' life is tremendous.  He will make multiple trips from Bethany to Jerusalem gaining and losing 300 to 400 ft of elevation each time.  In the sermon I shared about a hiking trip to Lake Nokoni and Lake Nanita last summer.  After hiking about 10 miles to get to Lake Nokoni you have to make the decision if you are going to go another mile to Lake Nanita but what lies between is a 300 ft. elevation climb and then the same drop to the lake and then back again.  Many stop at Lake Nokoni but if you put in the extra effort you will not regret it.  We will see Jesus putting in a lot of effort over this last week to the cross. The passage is very familiar.  I have covered it at least 40 times in my preaching career.  I blended the gospel accounts together to get a fuller picture of what is going on.  On...

  A little Christmas present that keeps me a little more connected to Stephanie on those long walks through the woods where the cell towers don't reach.  It allows her to actually see where I am along the trail also at 10 minute intervals.  I tried it out last Thursday on a very snowy trail 9500 ft up and getting into deeper snow.  It was my first snowshoe hike of 2026 at 8 miles.  My goal is to get out each week and start filling in my new 2026 RMNP trail map.  I saw this fellow along the trail too. We finished up Matthew 20 this Sunday with the healing of the two blind men in Jericho.  They actually already had the most important sight in recognizing without their physical sight that Jesus is the Son of David.  The crowd had Him pegged as a man from Nazareth and at the most a prophet, a holy religious man but the blind men cried out that Jesus was the actual fulfiller of the Davidic Covenant.  The One passing by them was the long awaited Me...

Sometimes the snow is just right to coat every needle of the pine tree.  This morning it was aided by the fog off the lakes frosting everything.  There was just enough snow while the kids and grands were here to sled, tube, snowshoe and ice skate.  This week more snow is coming so I hope to post some snowshoeing pictures soon. Another year is upon us and a survey of last year via this blog shows that I posted 48 times.  My rate has been in the 40's for the last 5 years.  When I started it was much higher with some years topping over 300!  I think I have settled into this spot and will probably continue at this pace unless something new comes up.  I can't seem to get into the video or podcast lane.  I don't think I am talented enough in those areas so I will stick with the printed word to express what I am thinking and doing.  A short video or a static picture here or there will help at times with visualizing what I am actually seeing. It was ...