Tag Archives: nature

A day with God

26 Monday Mar 2018

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Today I am taking time to spend with God.  As a pastor, this is vital to my spiritual health.  As a human being, it’s just as important.  It’s no different from breathing the air – without oxygen, the body dies.  Without the breath of life, the spirit dies.

I’m not sure what to expect, to be honest.  My plan is simple – to take the dog as my companion, and to walk along the Appalachian Trail for a few hours, stop for a break and something to eat, and then head back a few hours.  I imagine that there will be stops along the way – time to take notice of what is around me.  Time to see or hear nature.  Time for the dog to stop and sniff all sorts of wonderful things.  Time to stop and reflect and listen to what God is whispering into my heart.

I am not going with an expectation to hear some kind of miraculous epiphany.  That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.  I just don’t have that many questions right now.  I’m just experiencing life as I go.

I scheduled this day away with God on the Monday of Holy Week.  It’s a bit crazy – there is much to be done before all the worship services coming up later this week.  But in another way, this time away makes a ton of sense – it’s an opportunity to start the week on the right foot.  It’s an opportunity to start in silence.

Monday of Holy Week is traditionally seen as the day Jesus re-entered Jerusalem without any fanfare (according to the Gospel of Mark).  We went to the temple and did the unexpected – he flipped tables and drove out the animals and upset the status quo.  On his way back into Jerusalem, he curses a fig tree.

I don’t plan on cursing any trees.  Nor am I going to be flipping tables.  I’m just going on a walk, and taking in the story of Jesus’ final week before crucifixion.  And I’m keeping my eyes open for where God shows up on the journey.  It’ll be God, me, and the dog.  And a whole lot of nature.  Nature has beauty, and it has natural cycles of seasons and life.  Nature has organisms eating one another, and others assisting others.  Nature has sound, and it has silence, if it is far enough away from human touch.

Today is a day away with God and dog.  Tomorrow I am back to Holy Week.

Walking in nature

28 Friday Oct 2016

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Walking in nature is something that I always look forward to.

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And why shouldn’t I, nature often gives me a sense of life.  It feels like I am heading somewhere, even when the way may not be clear or is full of weeds along the journey.

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Nature is refreshing – a way to connect with something larger.

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Nature can be destructive – that’s a part of it too.  But I savor the moments when nature is something else – life giving.

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Last views from the volcano

29 Friday Jul 2016

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We took a few more minutes to enjoy some of the beauty of creation.

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There is nothing quite like looking out across the land and seeing nothing but nature.

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It’s one of the few times in my life where I have felt total peace.  There’s no bickering and fighting over land or resources, fighting over who’s right and who’s wrong.  There’s no worrying about who’s in charge and how they are using power and who’s getting screwed.  There’s no made up human problems at all.  It’s just nature, with it’s own set of issues – working them out in it’s own way, or vast lengths of time.

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Faxi waterfall

02 Thursday Jun 2016

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Iceland is one of the few places I know of that use waterfalls as major location markers.  That’s partly because they seem to be all over the island.  It’s also because they are beautiful.

Take Faxi waterfall, or Vatnsleysufoss in Icelandic.

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It’s beautiful.  There is no other words to describe it.

One of the neat things that the Icelandic people have done is that they do things to help nature out when it’s needed. Like this fish ladder along side the waterfall.

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Every step in Iceland was a step into fantasy land for me.  Everywhere you look, there’s an amazing view to see.

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On the Road in Iceland

01 Wednesday Jun 2016

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As I was loading pictures for this post, a thought came to me.

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“I’m posting pictures of rocks and dirt and moss and grass.  The only way this is interesting is because its Iceland.”

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Which is absolutely true.  Amazing what becomes interesting when you attach it to a unique location.  Any other picture of rocks and grass and dirt and moss – no one would care.

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But that’s the thing – common elements on their own are not unique.  But add one unique element and all of sudden, they become special.  For me, it’s kind of like Eucharist.

Along a Creek

13 Friday May 2016

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Canoe Creek is a great park.  One of my favorite parks about the park is hiking along the paths.  You end up finding locations like this:

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It reminds me of so many things.  It reminds me of Finland.  It reminds me of Carlisle.  It reminds me of so many places where water flows.  It reminds me of life and all the twists and turns that it takes, but keeps flowing.

And so does this:

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Bridges take us from one place to another.  They provide a path.  They are over calm and stormy waters.  But they ultimately can’t control nature.  They only change how we experience nature.

Life is more like nature than we want to believe.

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The Peace at Nymphenburg

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

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As I finished my time at Nymphenburg palace and the grounds, I have a very peaceful feeling.

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There is something amazing about just being out in nature that is so calming.

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Last night I came home after it was dark.  I was disturbed by many things that were happening and that I was hearing.  I raised my head to God saying “I don’t get it.  I just don’t get it.  None of this makes sense.  What the hell is going on in the world?”

And that’s when I looked up and saw the sky.  It was a dark clear sky.   I could see stars.  The wind was still, so that meant I could hear what was going on around me.  I heard the neighing of a horse nearby.  I hear birds chirping.  And I also heard nothing.  It was glorious. And it in that moment that I realize that being out there at that moment was the only thing that actually made sense in the world at that time.  It was enough to center me and bring me back to my senses.

Sometimes being out in nature can feel holy.  It felt that way last night, but also when I was on the grounds of Nymphenburg.

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Into the Woods

14 Thursday Apr 2016

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After seeing the palace and the garden, it was time to wander through the rest of the land and into the woods.

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I absolutely loved it.  I wandered along the path.  Actually there were many paths along the way.  It was great to just wander and explore and enjoy the surroundings.

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I saw plenty of small creatures on my walk.  They, like the rest of creation were amazing.

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How can you not feel alive just wandering through a place like this.  I find connecting with nature to be very important for me.

It’s very life giving.

In Honor of Labor Day, USA – 1000 Steps

07 Monday Sep 2015

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Today is Labor Day in the US.  It honors all working people for their labors.  It’s also a day of rest from our labors.

To honor this, I decided to go somewhere near where we live that was built from hard labor – 1000 Steps.

There’s an incredible history to these steps:

There are actually 1,043 steps in the Thousand Steps Trail. They were created in 1936 as a means of transportation to work for the miners high up on the mountain. I don’t know what anyone else thinks, but having done this climb I think it is pretty incredible that this was the morning and evening commute everyday for the men who worked up on the mountain. Quite a commute!

Source – Jacks Mountain

Read the whole page for more interesting nuggets of information.

Now on to my journey up the 1000 steps.

1000 StepsFirst step – getting there.  I drove about 45 minutes along beautiful Rt. 22.  It cuts through some gorgeous farm land and up and over mountains.  It’s quite a beautiful road.  When you finally do find the entrance, you’ll be a bit surprised – The parking is not well-marked – I figured out it was the parking area because a whole bunch of vehicles were parked along the side of the road.  Then a lovely climber helped point me in the right direction.

1000 StepsThe picture above is pretty much what the 1000 steps are all about.  It’s climbing, up hill the whole way.  It’s actually quite amazing when you think about the fact that workers created these steps, after working all day, to make their journey easier.

I wanted to run up the steps as part of my training for a half marathon.  I heard that it can take over an hour for people to walk up the steps.  Running would be faster, but really hard work.  And it was.  I took many breaks along the way.

1000 StepsWhen you see this step, it’s a glorious feeling.  You know you are almost to the top.  Someone, some time ago decided to mark each 100 steps off.  I’m glad they did because it feels like you just climb for ever.

But then you get to the top and bam – you get your reward:

1000 StepsIt doesn’t get much prettier than that.

1000 StepsComing back down the 1000 steps was fun too – I ran down those, without a break.  But they are a bit treacherous at places, so it’s best to use caution.

Overall – 1000 Steps is well worth the hike (or run if you are crazy enough to do it).