The Love of The Father

I've been saturated in thought over the idea of God loving us. It is really easy to dismiss, overlook, minimize the concept and its importance. I'm listening to Jason Upton right now. He sings with a raw passion, deeply desperate for intimacy with God. And his lyrics speak of an intense love God has for us, for me. Can God really love us as much as we hear from followers, from the Bible? Does God really consider us his children, his Beloved? I am not a father, so I have never held a child in my arms as my own son or daughter, so I don't know what that kind of love is fully like. I think I struggle with this picture of fatherly love also because we are under the human condition where love does break down, where fear and/or pride get in the way of full expression of love and full reception of love being given and received.

Early memories of my Christian walk are met with nostalgic envy, for I recall it being so easy to be excited about God. I remember a time several weeks or months after my "conversion" (the day I prayed for Jesus to enter my heart and life to be Lord) where I was standing on top of my chair, hands raised, tears blinding me, snot nearly choking me as it ran from my nose, soaking my shirt. Why I was crying is hard justify to one not familiar with the concept and experience of the Holy Spirit. In that fresh, new experience of being with God, feeling his presence around me, I was overwhelmed with joy. Part of me was sad and regretful of my brokenness as a young kid. Part of me was madly in love with Jesus and the idea that he loved me. Over the years, I have often lost that intense gratitude and understanding. I envy the passion I had in my youth. I look over my life and my understanding of my relationship with God now, as a twenty three year old graduate, and honestly, I feel alone.

A quick truth about the followers of God: The only difference between followers and those not interested in the things of God is the hope that we can that we will not lose our connection to God. We still are spiteful, conniving, selfish, lustful, annoyed, angry, happy, sad, giving, dishonest, resentful, forgiving... just like everyone else. Why? Because we all are human, broken but human. Followers hold on to the hope of staying connected with God because we see the need to change and trust God is powerful and righteous enough to lead us away from brokenness into redemption. We see Jesus' work on the cross as a means to atone us and make us more like God, who is all loving and forgiving, selfless and giving.

Okay, so it wasn't too quick, but my point is I still feel alone sometimes, even though I claim having a personal relationship with God. Why do I feel alone? In part, I am to blame for I flee from God... I'm the friend who doesn't return phone calls and avoids people out of insecurity. I feel insecure around God most of the time. Not all the time, like when his love renders me powerless to resist his comfort. But when I do resist, and pull away, I feel lonely, alone and isolated. I am to blame, but there are times when I wonder if God does choose to remain hidden or distant, whether to teach an important lesson of discipline (for example) or what not... Who know really but God?

What do I want to say? That I am no different than anyone else except my hope to find God active in my life, so that He can help me change into a better person. I am certain the key to that is letting God be my Loving Father, and fully receiving his love. The key is to find in my heart the place to intimately cry out "Daddy" and trust God hears and undoubtedly will respond in kind with abundance.

I want to say that is my deepest prayer, to be so intimate with God, and that everyone on this earth will be the same. There is a lot of brokenness, fear, pride, sin... there is a lot that keep me from knowing that, that keeps all of us from knowing that. Ideally, those following find that identity and become strengthened and empowered, teaching and guiding more and more toward God and his message of hope. Ideally, I learn it and lead.

A question to end with that can double as a prayer request: God, do you at times intentionally withhold your followers, your children from drawing deeper in intimacy with you, or is it our brokenness to blame? Is it my brokenness? If our brokenness, could you pour your Holy Spirit out in abundance to accelerate our progressive salvation, that we may learn to trust you more and more with our care? If your withholding, can you increase our patience for your coming and our obedience to what we know for certain, that you may be pleased with us?

You say,
"Come up here, come up now
My Beloved, My Beloved..."
Here I come oh Lord...
In the midst,
In the midst of heartache, oh God
In the midst of brokennes, oh Lord
Even like John on the Isle of Patmos, oh Lord
In the midst of persecution, Lord
I look up, I look up, oh Lord
I look up, oh Lord
And I see in the heavens, oh Lord
I see your door, Lord, standing wide open, Lord
Wide open, Lord
And I hear with my ears,
I hear your voice that sounds like a trumpet, Lord
Sounds like a trumpet, Lord
And you're calling out to me,
"Child come up here, beloved come up here,
Come up here and hear my voice,
Come up here and see what I want to do,
...come, my Beloved, come...
You are my Beloved...
Don't let anyone,
Don't let anything hold you back."

- Jason Upton (Come Up Here)

For Those Who Join Me In Wanting More

I really have no idea what I'm going to write. I'm mainly writing out of a feeling that it's needed and important to sort through things, but I have no idea what yet. I am hoping the things will come to mind and out in words on their own. THe song playing right now keeps repeating "everything is going to be all right." It's funny, most times I don't believe that. Deep down, I feel like I'm failing. Maybe I am.

I started reading a book a couple nights ago. It's called To Own a Dragon by Don Miller. It about his journey through figuring out what it means not to have a father around and how that made things harder for him. I grew up and still have my father around. Well, he's around, but hasn't really been there for me, emotionally. I can relate a lot with Don in his struggles, in the lies he's had to confront and deal with due to not having a dad around. One of his chapters addressed how parents should instill in their children a confidence and sense of urgent importance for their existence in the world.

I had a professor say the only reason we have kids (or at least the big reason) is to feed our egos, to continue the pride of our lineage, to remain alive vicariously through our children. He was a bit messed up.

I never felt like my existence was all that important, at least I never picked up the notion that was true from my father or mother. I knew they loved me. I also knew I annoyed them a lot, being a kid, tormenting my sister. I know I confused them, or intimidated them, being a distant, confused, scared teenager. I played it off as anger or annoyance at them, but it was fear.

I never felt the world was worse off without me, but I never felt lived through vicarously through my father, to ego boost him. He isn't that kind of man, and I'm glad. But I'm not in a way because at least in that way I would have felt like I had a purpose, that I was in some way important to my dad. I didn't get the message to much. I think I have been taught to mainly assume I'm important, that even though it is never said, it is true. It's not good enough, nor do I think it should be.

So I guess much of what I am thinking through currently is how my father-son relationship has shaped the way I view the world, how there are false perceptions I live by that make it more difficult, that there is a different perspective, a true reality to live and think by. Am I failing? I think I am because I have seen the truth and choose to live under the lies. I don't really no why I choose the lies; they're not as fun to believe as the truth that I am irreplaceable and world-shaking.

So I am a failure! If my mom reads this, she'll probably get all upset and tell me not to think like that. But my mom do not think alike. I will admit, a couple months ago I would have agreed, there's something wrong with me for thinking that way. But now, I am in a place where God is a little bigger than I once thought. I little more capable than I thought, a little more loving.

I was watching TV with my mom and we turned to the Dateline special "To Catch a Predator." She asked me what's wrong with some people, and I shared my thought that it was all a result of the Fall of Man. I do not do well talking about spiritual matters with my family, so I didn't elaborate any more than to say they were no worse people than ourselves. She made a comment that she didn't rape little children, and I knew I got in over my head.

What I wanted to say but didn't was that I am a sinner just like the pedophiles on that show. No I don't prey on the weak, but I sin in other ways, in the way I sit around most of the day doing nothing of importance or merit, or in the way I lust over the female image. In God's sight, I still choose things outside His will to satisfy my heart's desire that destroy my soul, just like the pedophiles destroy their soul by feeding a carnal desire. I won't get into the argument that certain sins are worse than others, for a good argument can be made to support that claim, especailly when others are hurt or destroyed in the wake of the destructive act. But my point is that sin is sin, and all of it, any of it drives us away from the only one who is good and right for us.

Am I upset that I am failing this part of my life? Not really. I would have been if God hadn't taught me some stuff. Well, it's not really a new thought, just a better understanding of it. It's the Gospel that gets me through the disappointment of failure. The Gospel of Jesus. I know more clearly than ever before that my sins, my failures have no hold over my worth. Because Jesus chose to die on a cross, I have a freedom to fail and be forgiven and redeemed. Yeah, I could choose to run away from God and avoid Him, and I would indeed be in a sad state, a state many are in and think is the only way to be, so separated from knowing the joy that comes from knowing God that they know no other way to be. I have lived that way, have tasted the sweetness of God's way and yet still chose darkness, and it was bad, and depressing and harmful. But God shepherded me away from that and taught me the better way, the way of grace. The Gospel of Jesus is this: that the scared, directionless, lazy young man who wastes his days in front of a TV can at any moment look to God and be redeemed and empowered to make more out of his life, to live like the prince that he is through the inheritance given him by his Kingly Father in Heaven. Even more, when the prince runs away despite knowing his riches, and lives with dogs and dines with pigs, the Father in Heaven still finds a love with no end to welcome him home and restore his glory.

There is tremendous value in our depravity, for it reveals the love of God for all of us when He recreates us and makes us new. And it all comes down to his love. It is everthing. Everything. If I didn't know the Love of God, I would die, I would want to die. This life is too painful without hoping for something more. The more is available and attainable in God.

Graduated... Weird

So this last weekend I spent my Saturday with my parents and Grandparents graduating from College. That's a little weird. It was five years ago when I graduated from High School. That was cool. I still felt young back then. Now I feel older and in need to be responsible. Is it normal to want to resist that as much as possible, the whole responsibility thing? I recently have been developing a friendship with someone who loves to act like a kid. She makes smiley faces with the food on her plate, she plays in the hail even when it is pummeling her. She makes me think if it is possible to still be a kid and be a resonsibile adult, and my conclusion is that you can. She does, get things done that is, while holding onto her youthful side. I admire her for that and want to learn how to tap into that.

I think I forget to have fun a lot of the time. Here I am, out of school essentially for the next few years (well, almost [stupid Spanish test]), in need to begin a responsible life, and yet there is a side to me that loves the idea of wandering the US, scraping by by doing street performance or selling origami or something. I long for adventure. I really want to be an old grandpa one day and have the most amazing stories to tell my grandkids about what went on right now in my life.

Everyone keeps asking me what is next for me, what my plans are for the future. I've come to terms with that... The whole not knowing thing and the fact that the question is unavoidable. I don't know what's next, and I like that. It's mysterious, not knowing. I may live in Colorado again in seven and a half weeks, working for my Alma Mater, I don't know. I may be a bum, bumming off my parents... again and still. I may be finding a girlfriend, I may be in Nicaragua within the year, I may be settled at a nice job in CA. I may get in an accident and die, I may win the lottery. I just don't know and it's okay. It is good.

I see the Lord in the present. He's in my circumstances. He's not in a panic, looking around, expecting danger to jump out at any moment. He's at peace and joyful and fixed on my face, waiting for me to look back on him. I am and I will continue to. I do not fear what's next, if I will succeed, whether I will be happy. I already know the answer. Regardless of where I go, what I do, who I'm with, one companion I trust will be by my side and that is Christ. And that is all the difference in the world, for I know my path is good when He is in my life guiding me.

I've been meditating on a passage of Scripture and I want to share it. Philippians 3:7-4:1 says:

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

There are years that could be spent digesting all that rich word, but to only begin a nibble, may I say I desire Paul's heart for myself. I want to be that focused on Christ, for He alone is enough to get through it, and all others who say there is another way or it needn't be so extreme are liars or immature in the faith, or scared to walk that path themselves, rationalizing away the need. I don't want to be an enemy of the cross of Christ. I want to "continue to work out my salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12).

I may come off as extreme, but I feel passionately that many are lying to themselves, ignoring their God-given consciences, convincing themselves that there is no need to seek God fervently. There is a need, a strong need and all those who don't are wasting precious time. I love and find hope in the fact that Christ eagerly awaits the moment a heart turns toward him and that salvation is readily available even on a dying breath. But I fear many who have heard the good news of Christ love, avoid the issue of their rebellion and give in to the fatigue of the race, losing pace, dosing off during a rest, sleeping precious moments of life and opportuntiy away. I've been there and failed like that. I'm done with that sloth. How many, though, are still sleeping?

For Those Who Like Catagories

Michael scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. Michael is an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. He believes that God's grace enables us to choose to believe in him, even though we are totally depraved (until his redeeming work within us). The gift of the Holy Spirit gives him assurance of his salvation, and he also enables us to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. Michael is influenced heavily by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 79% Neo orthodox 68% Classical Liberal 57% Emergent/Postmodern 57% Charismatic/Pentecostal 36% Modern Liberal 36% Roman Catholic 32% Reformed Evangelical 29% Fundamentalist 21% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Prince Charming? How about Awkward Pauper?

I just read The Silver Chair (4th in the Chronicles of Narnia) and it got me thinking about princes and chivalry and charm... that stuff is dying if not dead, and I haven't decided if that's a bad thing.

My mom used to sing Snow White's famous lines "Someday my Prince Will Come" when I was younger. Half jokingly, usually, when she was annoyed with my dad. But I think a part of her really wanted a prince, some man of extraordinary charm to sweep her off her feet and carry her away from the drab of her ordinary life.

Lately, I've been wondering if I could be a prince to someone. Do I have the passion for such a performance? Is that a fair way to describe it, as a performance? Part of me wants to believe in the possibility of a romantic fairytale, boy meets girl and it's magical, ending happily ever after. Part of me, the realist, says that's crap. Life is hard, people misinterpret the meaning behind actions and words, and things aren't asked, doubts foster fears, risks aren't taken. Fairytales don't exist because there is no work to be done in the relationship, the magic is written in. There is no fighting for the girl except from conveniently evil, predictable villians. Relationships takes work, hard work with tough conversations.

Why can't there be more poison apples? I think I could handle poison apples. It's those cryptic comments, conflicting schedules and vast spans of silence that cripple my character.

I should write a modern day fairy tale romance, crap and all. Perhaps it wouldn't sell, though, since it wouldn't resemble the classic template. Perhaps it would, because it would remind them of their own experiences. Now that I think about it, it would sell, for it's already been done successfully in Garden State. Their lives are screwed up, and they fight through it. I don't know. Perhaps I'm full of it.

To be a modern prince, does it mean to be annoyingly aggressive? Or is that just... annoying? I am pretty sure he would be confident in what he wants. The problem seems to be with what is assumed with the word Prince. Who would turn down a Prince? But a normal guy? People do without them all the time. I don't feel very princely most times.

But I do sometimes... feel like a prince. I am a Prince, for I am a brother of the Almighty King, co-heir of Christ's Kingdom. I believe that whole-heartedly... sometimes. Okay, rarely, but it's true and I should hold onto that truth for dear life. The Flip-side of that is true as well. There are breath-taking princesses out there, worthy of the most respect and tender-hearted love one can muster.

So what does it mean to love a daughter of God? How does one respect her wishes while battling the cravings of one's heart, desires for more than the platonic? How do you make the fairy tale play itself out without completely upsetting the flow of normal life, without seeming like a selfish ass?

I don't want to be a selfish ass, but I want more. I want to try to be the prince. Is the prince even charming? Will a Awkward Pauper do?

Manhood

It's been on my mind these days, what it means to be a man. Logically, I've gone back into the depths of my mind, recalling moments with my father... some good, some not. I've meditated on some sermons I've heard, some passages in books I've read. Being a man, a true man, as one is intended to be, is one of the ultimate challenges for half the world's population. The other half has their own battle, but none on that currently.
I enjoy teachings from Larry Crabb quite a bit. I can see his authenticity, his humble honesty, and I trust his word. I've been thinking about what he said in chapel a few weeks ago. You see, he spoke on true masculinity/femininity in preparation of some visitors we were to receive the following week. Soul Force, an organization dedicated to fighting for equality for the homosexual, Christian community, are having an Equality Ride to dozens of Universities with policies that do not advocate the homosexual lifestyle. All that to say, Crabb spoke about how homosexuals and heterosexuals alike struggle with being the men and women God intended them to be (the main point being Homosexuality presents an alternative to some to not have to face and struggle through their true expression of masculinity or femininity).
I could go on and on about the Homosexuality issue, but I won't. We all are afraid to be who we are. The young man who likes the girl but never pursues, or does but backs off when it seems too vulnerable... he lacks a strength essential to being a full man. The father, who being afraid of failure or rejection, avoids interactions with a son, starts a dangerous cycle of raising future generations crippled by timidity. The woman, defensive from past pains and disappointments whether from a neglectful/abusive father or a self-centered, hedonistic guy, isn't fully a woman when she closes off her heart from receiving the love and support of a man. Others avoid the challenge by looking to pornography, where an image on a computer screen or magazine cannot reject you and there is no committment to another person. The man who has an affair with a prostitute, because for that short period of time he feels like she desires him and is able to please her (ignoring the fact that she is paid to act that way).

I have gotten to the age where I'm imagining starting a family soon. The thought has crossed my mind several times whether or not I'm competent enough to raise a son or daughter (or both). Looking back at my relationship with my parents, their is a legitimate fear that I can't; I wish they handled things differently than they did, and I as their son, should have acted differently too. Anyways, the fact is parenthood, marriage, relationships are ridiculous. It calls one to open up and expose your heart, because that's what love is. Yes, there is a place for boundaries, but at the same time, boundaries can become fortresses with one's heart closed off inside, preventing any connection with those one is supposed to love. Isn't that all too frequent an occurance. Emotional distance.

I was at a prayer team retreat a while back, last year I think, and I was being prayed over. My deepest concern for me then was that I was stuck being timid. After the prayer, I had a vision of sorts. It was just a thought, nothing extremely detailed, but it was of me and my son. You see, it was profound because I had never before imagined having a son. I feared it. I felt completely inadequate raising a son. A girl I could imagine. I didn't have a problem imagining to pour love and affection on a daughter. But a son... that wasn't modeled to me very well. The vision was of me having a great time playing with him, and we were close. It was a great thought.

What do I think it means to be a man? Perhaps the question should be "What qualities do I want to exhibit as a man?"

I want to be vulnerable. Our culture avoids being vulnerable and transparent. I want my friends, co-workers and family to know when I am good and bad. I want to have the humility to accept their support as I show my weakness. I want to model that to my future kids so that they will grow up the same way. I want to be persistent. I want to be the first to encourage my future wife of her importance in my life, the first to ask my kids how their day had gone, what they had learned, how I can support them. I want to never avoid. I want to see a problem and resolve it. I want to love deeply, share intimately, and live boldly.

I have found more strength in God than in anyone or anything. I look back over the last few years in my faith journey, and I feel I'm becoming the man of God I'm called to be. My desires to be a man, those qualities, are absolutely attainable. On my own power, they will never come to be. But with my heart focused on Christ, his example, and by seeking to become like Him, I cannot fail. In Christ there is Life, the Abundant Life. A life where families are strong and centered, where relationships are deep and meaningful, where lives are changed and people see they too can experience joy and peace, Heaven on Earth as you will for the Kingdom of God is here. Victory over evil and death, pain and isolation, is readily available for those who submit their lives to God. I'm learning to do that and am seeing the fruit of that labor. I'm no master, but in time and with grace, I will slowly grow in greater likeness with Christ and the world I know will change. Lives will change.

The Emptiness

I probably should be in bed. I imagine that is what the apostles thought at this same time those many thousands of years ago. I can imagine their grief. They had lost their teacher, their mentor, their friend. He claimed to be this mighty ruler, the one to restore Israel, to bring a new Kingdom upon the Earth. He died though, and was put in the ground the afternoon before last. Jesus had a way of getting them excited. They were hopeful, they believed the claims he made. But now, now their hopes are deflated... empty.

I sorta feel like that now. Empty. I guess I'm just thinking too much about my life, where I am, where I'm going. You see, I'm finishing my time at CCU. I haven't taken any classes this semester, finished those in the Fall. I settled for a job that is not challenging and pays poorly. I have three weeks left with some of the greatest people I'll ever know. I have no place in Colorado after graduation. I need to move back home. At least for now. I'm sad because things just started to pick up here. I prayed a while back that God would take me on an adventure. After going to Nicaragua, and making new friends, there is a lot more I feel I could do here in Colorado.
Glendale doesn't seem like an adventure most times. Not for me. It's too familiar, too full of the obvious. Living at home again. Also, too familiar. So I feel like this adventure I felt God beginning to take me on is much like how the disciples must have felt about their adventure with Christ... derailed.

I remember a Psalm. It was one I was told to read by God (through his servant Amber). Psalm 77.

I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;
I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
Selah
You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart mused and my spirit inquired:
"Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"
Selah
Then I thought, "To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
The clouds poured down water,
the skies resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

I was told then, and I believe I'm being told now, that when in a low state, feeling empty and abandoned, that I need to remember what the Lord has done already, for it is with that perspective that I am able to see the present for what it really is. The morning is nearly here. The Son will shine brightly in glory, victorious over the darkness. Jesus is King, he has not been defeated by death, but his Kingdom has come and is here now, in my heart and yours (I pray)! My adventure is not derailed, it is continuing strongly, with a change in setting, introducing familiar characters that need to see change. My short time remaining is not a thing to be grieved over, wishing there was more of it, but a thing to be grasped and enjoyed, taking every opportunity to savor for what it is, a perfect gift from God. And who knows, I may end up back here in the Fall, or in Nicaragua at the Project... the possibilities are endless. But for now, I will delight in the Lord for the blessings he is pouring over me: time with my dear friends, time to grow closer together and closer to God... time with my family to continue to struggle through what our relationships will look like as a approach adulthood... time to walk the path the Lord has for me, whether it is living in the States, serving in some capacity, or in Nicaragua, supporting a beautiful hope for more in life than living and working in trash.

You see the emptiness of Easter has nothing to do with the feeling of defeat and has everything to do with the grave. Christ is Risen. And his story is not over but continues this day in my life and yours. I have Jesus in my life and he leads me in truth. He leads along a tough path, full of twists, turns, fog and smoke. I lose my way sometimes. But Jesus always knows where I am and calls me back to continue on. And so I go, excited, for I know no harm can come to me.

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

A Few Photos from the Trip

Take this link to my Facebook Site where I have a few photos up of the trip. We have yet as a team compiled all the Photos, so the ones of the dump and many other good ones will not be there. Enjoy anyways and I'll keep you posted of additional shots when they become available.

I hope this works. Here is a link to more photos from the trip, taken by my teammates. And another. And another.