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| Winding up Day Three of our Seattle Trip: We left Rainier, drove north past Seattle and kept heading toward Canada. Along the way we saw more trees, (especially evergreens), suburbs and smaller communities, many casinos, (operated by Native Americans), and always, the Cascade Mountains outlining the horizon.      As evening approached, the real show began: the one displayed in the sky. Proximity to water + cloudy skies + a setting sun = daily, or nightly, splendor.       Soon after the sun set, we pulled into our next destination: the Skagit Valley area. It's about an hour south of the border, and home to the churches we had come to investigate. A very kind and gracious family there would then be our hosts for the rest of our stay.
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"Let God be as original with other people as He is with you." ~ O. Chambers
The older I become, the more grace I want to extend to others, and the less I want to control people. I need to continually let God do the things that only God can do. He knows what He is doing, and He knows best.
"Mighty and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God....righteous and true are Your ways." Rev 15:3
When He calls me to love someone in a special way, or to speak some words that He is prompting, I certainly need to respond, and that quickly....but otherwise, I need to let Him have His way with others. He knows exactly how to draw them to Himself, and how to conform them to His image. He doesn't need my interference, and if He wants my "help", He tells me clearly. The more I stop reacting and conniving, the more I "let Him", the more at peace I am.
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Grateful for:
> a great lunch with Irrepressibly Me, who was with us for the weekend. A good talk with a good friend.  > AlpineGirl passing her first level of riding lessons. She's now officially at the "intermediate" level. > a fun, energetic dinner and 2 rousing games of Pictionary last night. > the possibility that TheBassmon and TheGirl have found an apartment near D.C.!
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| I'm grateful for:> a lovely nap yesterday. (I don't do that often. The delights of summer!)
> beautiful, classical music.
> the fact that all my family loves my son's girlfriend, who is here visiting with us now, even though my son is not. How cool is that?!
********"We come....foot-sore and travel-stained, with the dust of our lives upon us, our failures, our deceits, our hypocrisies...If...we have never taken anybody's life, we have again and again withheld from other people, including those who are nearest to us, the love that might have made their lives worth living, not to mention our own.....We come...as we are...strangers and exiles in our way, because wherever it is that we truly belong, whatever it is that is truly home for us, we know in our hearts that we have somehow lost it and gotten lost. Something is missing...that we cannot even name - something we know best from the empty place inside us all where it belongs. We come....to find what we have lost...We are helpless to save ourselves." ~ F. Buechner
So true.
"All humanity had corrupted their way upon the earth and lost their true direction." Gen 6:12
"All we like sheep have gone astray." Is 53:6
Yet, there is hope.
"This life is only the anteroom for greater reality to come. No one reaches their potential in [this] world. It's only preparation for what [God] had in mind all along." ~ W. Young
There is more.
All that was lost will be found and restored.
...for those who will take part in the Great Recovery.
********After our hike, on Day Three, at Mt. Rainier, we got back in the car and drove to THE mountain itself. The closer we came, the more cloudy and beautifully stark the landscape became. There was an increasing sense of power and wildness about it all.
A growing sense that we were encountering something beyond ourselves.     This guy was amazing....he biked, ever upward, to our destination - an area called Paradise. It's a "developed" spot at the base of Rainier.  I'm sure his ride back down was more enjoyable.At Paradise, we stood at the base of the mountain - there it is - behind the visitor's center. Evidently, you have to see it "by faith" some days! I guess on a clear day, it would soar right before your eyes!Folks were enjoying the snow at the base.  The trees there are lean and wind-swept. I bet it's brutal in the winter. Evidently the snow can draw close to the eaves of the buildings.  We then returned to our car, and headed back down, down, down, and out of the park. However, I could not resist having Bikeman stop one more time when I spied this rock wall. Believe me, I wasn't the only one. There were several other ladies, pulled over to the side of the road, all wielding cameras.       What lovely closing memories of a thoroughly enchanting place! | | |
| "Thou righteous and holy Sovereign,
in Whose hand is my life and Whose are all my ways....
O lead me into all truth...
that I may know the things that belong unto my peace...
Make practical upon my heart the Father's love...
Lead me from faith to faith...
Teach me to draw near to Christ with a pure heart,
steadfastly persuaded of His love."
~ The Valley of Vision
Peace comes as we recognize that our lives are His.
As we find and linger in His love.
As we choose faith, rather than derailment by life's circumstances.
As we stay as close to God as we possibly can.
"May the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in all ways, under all circumstances and conditions, whatever comes." 2 Thess 3:16
I can't ask any more for myself, or for those I love.
********* Day Three: Mt. Rainier National Forest - hiking past the waterfalls. Going up, up, up....  I bet such meadows were rich in floral color in the spring.  What's this?!  Time for some slippage action. I was just grateful to not slip over the edge. I was only wearing sneakers, not hiking boots. Silly woman. Unprepared.  And, while we are at it - why not run up the mountain?  Ah, following the water's course, ever upwards, or downwards.... depending on your viewpoint.  A tender shoot.  "This way, my dear....your staircase awaits you."  On a brink.  Look what is peeking through the haze and trees....no, it's not Mt. Rainier - only one of the many "small" surrounding peaks.  Trees growing so straight and tall despite the incline.   More vistas.  Right about here, we turned around, when we heard a report that part of the path ahead had just collapsed. Straight trees, but convoluted roots.  A fuzzy trillium - lovely, nonetheless.  Even rocks can be pretty.  Back down by the waterfalls....a sign of victory with a hint of "Enough with the camera, already!"  Ah...  I wouldn't mind living in view of a mountain! ***** Some of yesterday's "gratitudes": > Bikeman had a mishap on his bike - he was thrown off when someone opened a car door in his path. I am so grateful he was only bruised and scraped up a wee bit. > I went to the grocery store...I'm so grateful we have the money to buy food. > The kids and I watched a movie that wrestled with deeper questions of life and death. It gave no adequate answers, in my estimation. I'm grateful that though the answers may seem elusive, they are there and God delights in revelation. | | |
| Yesterday's inspiration for gratitude:
> my cold is definitely better!
> my scratched up limbs, our garbage pile at the curb, the bags of clothes waiting to be given away all = progress!
> TheWeeOne made some good choices when offered the opportunity to view some questionable videos. Always encouraging to a mom's heart.
> Laissez's FB post shows that he has an earnest desire to walk out an authentic, make-a-difference-in-this-world faith. That is terrific.
> TheBassmon and his bride have both a job possibility for TheGirl and some potential apartment choices lined up. They move in 4 weeks!
> gorgeous, gorgeous, ideal weather.....
*******
And some good advice:
"Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you - your children's lives, the lives of your husband, your wife, your friends - because that is just what you are powerless to do.....The lives of other people....are God's business....Even your own life is not your business....leave it to God." ~ F. Buechner
"Let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters - yes, even one's own self...." Lk 14:25
"[Believe] with a personal trust, a confident surrender." Rom 1:16
"Lord,
You've told me untold times,
to let You work, to trust Your might.
But my fearful, fretting heart
just will not trust, still walks by sight.
The worries come in crashing waves;
they warp my brain and wreck my soul;
they tempest-toss me through the night.
I'm ashamed, Lord,
for acting like the spying few,
comparing myself to giants
instead of likening giants to You.
Lord. Intervene!
Lord. Overrule!
Not just in my child*,
but in me, too."
~ R. Morgan
* substitute in whoever is on your heart, struggling or in pain.
"We walk by faith, not by sight...." 2 Cor 5:7
It helps to remind one another, doesn't it?
******* Still hiking on Day Three:On a good tip from our B&B hostess, we decided to hike the trail to Christine Falls. The trail was so lovely.  Climbing up....  And on....  Amidst the trees with mossy-like things hanging off trunks and branches.    And vistas of misty mountains and more forest.  First hint of water.  Ah, part of the falls - looking up:  Looking down:  Looking more closely:   The intrepid hikers. (Courtesy of random person.)  This is our only shot of the two of us from the entire trip. I'm grateful for random hikers!
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| I like this perspective:
"Events happen under their own steam as random as rain, which means that God is present in them, not as their cause, but as the One Who even in the hardest and most hair-raising of them offers us the possibility of...new life and healing....God [does] not will what happen[s]...but I believe that God [is] present in what happens[s]." ~ F. Buechner
This makes so much sense to me. I am disquieted by the folks who credit God with everything - including disaster, illness, the tearing of relationships, terror, corruption, death. These cannot be of Him. Yet, I am equally disquieted by those who say He is not a factor, or at work, at all. An impossibility. Present, but not controlling. That's my Redeemer. He's ready to step in and work wondrously in whatever mess mankind might create or encounter, yet He does not force His way on unwilling subjects. Oh, if only we will let Him.
"We can be....sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good..." Rom 8:28
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you. For I am the Lord your God." Is 43:2, 3
I never grow weary of the realization of Emmanuel - God with us.
***********Yesterday's gratitudes:
> Bikeman, in our Scion, was rear-ended yesterday morning. (Our poor car!) I'm grateful he wasn't hurt and that cars can be fixed.
> ...for cool breezes, that stir the leaves and bring refreshment.
> ....for decluttering progress both inside and out. The garden work has become a treasure hunt. As I pull out weeds and carried-away growth, (mint, lamb's ear, vetch, etc.), I discover plants I had forgotten that I planted! What fun!
>....for the laughter of my children.
> Bikeman and I are on the same page in terms of our thinking regarding future direction. There is a quality of contentment in that unity.
> Laissez and I made our first steps toward an upcoming visit to Georgia, to check out a school that piques his interest. Check that off the to-do list!
*************Third Day: Mt. Rainier National ParkTo see more, visit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129399&id=696864571&l=b0caad3f5fWhen we first entered the park, we drove through "Old Forest" growth.
It was primeval, haunting, like something out of The Lord of the Rings.  And tall.  And furry. (Sorry for the blur....we couldn't slow down the car.)  Then there were areas that had a moonscapish quality about them. I'm not sure why.
The area is glacial....maybe that's what we were seeing. Or, maybe there had been a fire.
I never found out the story. It was far from beautiful,
but it was stunning in a stark sort of way.    We missed the main wildflower season, but I kept a lookout for little gems.   And always, there were the mountains, sitting amidst the mist.   And the hike....coming next! | | |
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