shh . . .

silence is the simple stillness of the individual under the Word of God. we are silent before hearing the Word because our thoughts are already directed to the Word, as a child is quiet when he enters his father's room. we are silent after hearing the Word because the Word is still speaking and dwelling within us. we are silent at the beginning of the day because God should have the first word, and we are silent before going to sleep because the last word belongs to God. we keep silence solely for the sake of the Word, and therefore not in order to show disregard for the Word but rather to honor and receive it.

silence is nothing else but waiting for God's Word and coming from God's Word with a blessing.

--bonhoffer, "the day alone", life together

a walk in the clouds

isn't that the name of a movie? well, i really did it. today. i walked in the clouds.

and that is just one of many pretty darn cool things that i did today. a quick run-down:

today, I:

had chipmunks eating out of my hand.

walked in the clouds.

played in the snow while wearing short and sandals.

felt the snow falling from the sky in the middle of july.

climbed past 12,000 feet.

saw elk and moose.

crossed the continental divide.

spent 7.5 hours in the mountains of colorado with my precious mother and father.

check out more pics on facebook.

(and if all of that wasn't good enough, then i got to spend some quality time with gordon at the driving range and out for smoothies.)

AHHH, A GOOD DAY.

growing up

the other night, we were sitting looking at old pictures of our childhood that my mom is putting into scrapbooks for us. the one she is currently working on is called "just the 2 of us" - all pics of my brothers together over the years.

it is a strange thing as the eldest sibling to watch your younger siblings grow up. it's very easy for us "first children" to continually look at our younger counterparts thru the same eyes we saw them thru years ago. especially when we are around them all the time.


it has been amazing for me over the past several years to watch my brothers grow into adults. for some reason, this trip has accentuated that more than any other.

• watching gordon, dressed in his business-casual striped button-down and khakis with name badge around his neck and walkie on his hip, in action at his job at Coors Stadium the night we went to the game.


• visiting brandon's apartment in downtown denver where he lives with his girlfriend and a new kitten that they adopted.


• having my brother invite me out for sushi and say he is paying!


• discussing serious life issues with both of them instead of fighting about who did what.

crazy how quickly that change to adulthood happens. seems like just recently we were all at home together playing with our friends and sitting at the dinner table for meals.

but the reality is that my bros are not the little kids that i used to see them as. they are grown men. and i am so proud to say that i am their sister.

as strange as the change is, i rather like it.

ironic freedom

(a bit from my journal. so if it's a bit stream of consciousness or thoughts are left out or jumbled, just bear with me.)

freedom is the buzz word, particularly around this time of year . . . the freedoms we hold as American citizens. largely, we, the American public, think of freedom as an American concept, principle, idea, lifestyle. but it occurred to me the other day that freedom is not an American-originated concept - rather it is the design of God that we be free. and free from more than just man-made dominion and manipulation, but free from the spiritual and fleshly holds that bind our hearts.

the biblical idea of freedom is expressed all throughout the new testament, but the concept is interesting. where we are quick to think that freedom means doing or being what we want, scripture clearly shows us that that is a misunderstanding of true freedom. we can never be absolutely free beings because we are not absolutely self-sustaining. we are always serving someone or something. and ultimately, we are all under the authority of a Sustainer.

read the words of this song carefully, to understand them:

from jonny diaz (a singer you should check out if you don't know):

it's like a thousand pounds of irony
come crashing down on top of me
the day i learned what it means to be free.

a heart that is enslaved to you
two feet that remain chained to you
and follow you wherever you may lead.

then you'll see a heart that's free.

an enslaved heart, chained feet, following someone else's path = freedom??? yes. this is precisely what we see in scripture.

from jesus (again, read slowly and carefully):

if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free . . . truly, truly i say to you, everyone
who commits a sin is a slave to sin. the slave does not remain in the
house forever; the son remains forever. so if the Son sets you free, you
will be free indeed. --john 8:31, 34-36

from paul:

for one who has died has been set free from sin. now if we have died
with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
--romans 6:7

death = freedom; the person who has died has been set free and will live with Christ; therefore, to live with Christ is to live in freedom.

i don't think i'm so good at doing this. i don't think the church as a whole is good at this. our tendancy is towards rules and regulations, not freedom.

so what does it mean to live as free people in Christ???

1 peter 2:16-17

live as people who are free, not using your freedom to cover up for evil, but
living as servants of God. honor everyone. love the brotherhood. fear God. honor the emperor.

galatians 5:13-14

for you were called to freedom, brothers. only do not use your
freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but thru love serve one another.
for the whole law is fulfilled in this one word: 'you shall love your neighbor
as yourself.'

there are all sorts of directions that you can go with this whole topic . . . the truth of adoption into God's household, the implications of these last two passages, etc. i'll leave that for your pondering if you care to. i would recommend looking at how freedom is used in other passages too, regarding both us as fallen creatures and creation itself (somewhere in romans). i may have more to say on this later.

camp time

spent two days in the BEAUTIFUL Shenandoah mountains with some of my favorite people.

a few pics to share from our adventures.

joshua setting up camp.

popcorn and card games.

keith testing out the wire fence. it didn't hold so good.

mary showing us how it's done in the boulders.

anna and luke taking in the view.

dean whittling by the fire.

john taking a break near the summit.

the whole gang.

for more pics, check out facebook.