You had to be there...

On June 17th, 2011 we were finished. A group of us from the College Church, Pond Springs Church (Austin, TX), and our four guides were finally down off the mountain. We made it back to base camp in Salida, Colorado with the same number that left six days prior (that's a good thing). Wilderness Trek 2011 was an experience unlike any other that I had ever been through, and to understand what I mean....you had to be there!

When I found out that I was going to get the opportunity to make this trip I was really excited. I have always wanted to do something like this, but for many reasons I had not. As time grew closer to the day we would be leaving a lot of anticipation, apprehension, and insecurities filled my head. Did I have all the "right" things packed, would I get altitude sickness, am I fit enough to climb a 14,000 ft mountain, and on and on. The last one was one that I focused on the most. I knew that I had come a long way from the man I was almost 5 years ago, but was I ready to do something like this?

One thing I promised myself was that I would not let my head get in the way of the beauty and what God was going to do in me and our group that week. Although it tried to many times I was able to erase those creeping thoughts. Man, was the beauty amazing...you had to be there. I have seen pictures and I have even traveled out there as a child, but the unspeakable beauty of the mountains from our morning camp or hike cannot compare to views from a highway! After we made it to our high camp, a place where we would spend three nights, we spent one day all on our own. It was called a "Solo Day" and its design is twofold: 1. for you to be by yourself with God, and 2. to help you get acclimated to the high altitude before the climb to summit. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. After completing two days of hiking pride was filling my head. I did not want to "waste" a day doing nothing. I was already acclimated and I have spent enough time with God, so I wanted to move on to the summit! As you can see, my head was starting to get in the way. But, none the less I took part in the solo time. Near to the end of that time I had taken a walk that ended up right beside the super cold snow melt fed stream close to our camp and sat down. Then and there it hit me. I felt a calm and peace as if God had His almighty arm around me. Then I understood why Solo Day was so important, to prepare me for the CLIMB. Solo Day was designed to get me ready for the 11 hour hike (that we did not know was coming) the next day. That's the physical. The spiritual is the same, Solo Day helped me to focus on God and the CLIMB I was making in my walk with Him. I came away with this...if I am going to be the best that I can be, I need to have alone time with God...if I am going to make it to the top of the mountain, I need to walk with the Savior! I was humbled that day! Needless to say, I was more than thankful for Solo Day once we completed our climb to summit!

You had to be there....I want to encourage you to take time to spend with God, just you and Him. Get away from all the things that distract you and just focus on your CLIMB and listen to what God has to say to you!

Just Thinking- Nick

Quenching the Holy Spirit: Reflections on "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan

This week I have started reading the book Forgotten God:Reversing Our Tragic Neglect Of The Holy Spirit by Francis Chan. I knew from the moment that I read the introduction that I would be slapped around a little (or a lot) and that this book was going to cause me to think about my views of the Holy Spirit and his workings in my life. And I was correct! I am only a few chapters in to this book and I have begun to really think about a lot of things concerning the Spirit.

Here's a quote that really caught my attention...it is referring about how we avoid following the Spirit wholeheartedly because we are worried about what others may think.

"In much the same way, many believers care too much about appearances. Even those who move past the superficial and materialistic are often concerned with their reputation in "spiritual matters." For example, if a friend sees you reading this book about the Holy Spirit, do you worry he or she will think you too "charismatic" or "radical"? If you share about the Holy Spirit's movement in your life, do you wonder what others will think about you? Are you afraid of getting "too much" of the Holy Spirit and the possible ramifications of that? (Heaven forbid you gain a reputation for being weird or immoderate!)" page 52

In many cases I could answer yes to all the above. I will be honest, I have had very few conversations about the Holy Spirit, much less how he is working in my life. I really can't think of anyone (maybe its because I just don't know the right people) who refer to the Spirit as their driving force from day to day. I don't know about you, but it would seem to me if the Spirit were driving them they would talk about it and same goes for me. Because I know plenty of people who are consumed with and talk about their "favorite" things in life, but I have yet to meet someone who could label the Spirit as one of those. Again, maybe I don't know the right people, I mean we tend to know those who are most like ourselves. I do know that I am naive when it comes to the working of the Spirit in my life. It has become apparent to me that I have quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Spirit from being able to do his work on me and through me.

At this point I can only recommend the first few chapters of this book, but I know these chapters have helped open my eyes to some good things. I love that Chan has really laced this book with Scripture and the foundation of all his thoughts are rooted in exegesis studies, in other words not out of context and "straight from the horses mouth" and the Bible is the horse!

Remember these are just my thoughts, I am not a scholar, but I am a man who desires to live by the Holy Spirit and I want it to be evident in my life!

Just Thinking-

Role Models...Michael Jordan?

One of the few books that I always have on my desk is My Story by Michael Jordan. I guess you could say that I grew up a Jordan fan, from the time he entered the NBA in 1984 (I was 4yrs old) I can remember watching countless games, and I wanted to be Like Mike.



Last night I was teaching a Bible class to a room full of Jr. Highers and we were talking about the biblical aspects of choosing good role models. I made it a point to share with the class my childhood role model (along with millions of other boys my age), Michael Jordan. I loved Sunday's as a kid, not because it was the Lord's day (which should have been the reason), but because the NBA on NBC would be on immediately following church. I would get to watch match ups like Jordan vs. Bird, Jordan vs. Magic, Jordan vs. Isaiah, and so on. But none the less, it was Jordan that I was watching. I used to play basketball in my bedroom on a goal nailed to the wall. As I look back, I might have been able to beat Jordan one on one on that goal. I was a master of sinking shots from crazy places in that room. :)



I have always respected Michael Jordan, not only was he the BEST basketball player (in my opinion) of all time but he always conducted himself with class on the court. I also remember many commercials that he made and how each of them always carried a good message, even though he was making millions off each one. One of my favorites is this one, Maybe.



Even though my idea of a role model has changed drastically over the years, and it includes those who are good husbands, good dads, and godly men I still can get chills after watching this commercial. it reminds me our lives are really up to us. Our lives are really about what we decide to do with it ,and no one is really in control of the decisions we make other than ourselves. I am thankful for good role models, but I am even more thankful that I have Jesus Christ to look too as the ideal role model. I am also thankful that HE gave me His spirit to guide my every step. Enough rambling....



Just Thinking-