Really Big Trees

As I mentioned yesterday, Virginia and I spent a good part of the day at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. I know it's really hard to have perspective in a photo, but the giant Redwood above is nearly 300 feet tall. Some in the grove are taller by a little, and several are more massive. These trees are truly amazing ... the largest and oldest living things on the planet. In my mind they are a tribute to the creative imagination and power of God. Enjoy the other pics below.


VJ with a few giant friends.


















This one is two trees that sprouted together and separated above the base.

















The grove is also full of mountain dogwoods that were in bloom. Here's the perspective thing again. That Redwood in the center is probably 100 yards behind VJ.
















Dogwood bloom with a really big tree in the background.

Beaver Creek on the trail to the South Grove. We'll see those trees next time.

Weekend in Calaveras County

Let me start off by simply saying, "Thank you" to all those who serve and have served our nation in the military. While there will always be all sorts of questions about the roles of Christians and the military and the church and our nation, today is not the day to have that discussion. Today is the day, as an American, to be grateful to all those who wear the uniform.

Well, Virginia and I had a wonderful time up in Gold Country. Murphys is a great little tourist town. It was especially nice to walk around after most of the tourists were off doing other things. Last night we mostly just settled in, got the lay of the land, and ate supper. Today we hit Mercer Caverns in time for the 9:30 tour, which took us 16 stories under ground... that's a lot of steps!! We spent the afternoon hiking around and looking at Giant Sierra Redwoods (Sequoias or Sequoiadendron giganteum) at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. We got some pretty good shots, so today I'll post some cavern shots and tomorrow I'll post some tree shots. Enjoy!





We decided to hike the "short" mile to Mercer Caverns. It was a bit more than a mile, and there were some hills to boot. However, the air was cool, the view was great, and we made it both directions.






Other than stalactite and stalagmite, I don't really remember most of what these formations are. Suffice it to say that the same process of water seeping through limestone causes all these formations to grow.












This one's really cool... sort of looks like tentacles.













Amazing!!



























This one was almost paper thin... sooooo delicate.

















No, that's not a critter crawling across the wall, just another strange formation that I don't remember the name of.










OK... this one almost looks like some kind of strange cave beast.






We have a few other shots, but these should give you an idea of some of the eye candy available at Mercer Caverns.

Tomorrow... big trees!

Hills and the Garden

It's been really windy here the last couple of days... strong west wind off the ocean. And that means it's also been cooler than usual... getting into the 70's here in Antioch, but staying in the low to mid 60's closer to the coast. As a result, it was really clear and windy, not to mention a bit chilly, for my run in the hills at 7:30 this morning with Randy and another guy named Phil Murphy.

Now, for those who know us, our niece, Jamie, is married to a great guy (does that make him our nephew-in-law?) named Phillip Murphy, but the guy I ran with is not him. First, this PM has about 35 years on Phillip. Also, Phillip has recently relocated to American Samoa as a vocational missionary. Here's his blog, in case you're interested in his adventures there while waiting on his family to make the move.

Anyway, Phil is a "serious" runner... trains daily, runs races, is lean and fast... some of you will remember what that is like. So, I was having to push it a bit to keep up with him and Randy this morning. Then it happened... my left calf started feeling as if it would pull. I slowed down and turned around early, but it still yanked on me a bit. I managed to finish in a slow jog... I mean really slow... but it'll be a few days before I can run again. Virginia and I are going to the mountains Sunday afternoon and Monday (Murphys, CA), so I should get in some therapeutic hiking. And, no, I don't think either Phil Murphy or Phillip Murphy are from Murphys, CA. Now that that's cleared up... here's a link and some pics of the Murphy's Historic Hotel, built in 1856, and host to Mark Twain, President US Grant, and, as of tomorrow, R&VJ. I think we'll try to hit one of the caverns in the area and do some hiking in Calaveras Big Trees State Park for sure.

OK, we spent most of the rest of the day working in the yard... primarily in the vegetable garden out back. We hoed and watered... we planted some flowers... we also planted a couple of guava trees that we had brought as seedlings from VJ's folks old place down in Carlsbad when we moved here. They had been existing in pots in the mean time. We did some stuff out front as well.

I didn't get to the irrigation system for the veggies... decided I was too tired after about 6 hours in the dirt. We'll manage with watering by hand for a few more days until I can get to it. Who knows, maybe I can find a guy named Murphy to help.

Worship

Tonight's praise team practice was one of those special... some might say magical... actually spiritual interludes when notes and rhythms and lyrics and voices become worship. Our rehearsals are almost always fun, and we usually do OK with the music... and even the message, but tonight was one of those special times when it becomes about what God is doing instead of what we are doing.

I think part of it was simply the powerful text that had shaped the selection of songs and continued to interact with us.

Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminalÂ’s death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)

Those words of Paul are so central to our faith... so rich in imagery... so exemplary for our own walk. Anyway, tonight God used those words to morph rehearsal into worship. Thank you!

Ham Seasoning

Today was the final full day of Mom's visit, so I decided to stick around the house and visit... getting some work done that didn't require being at the office. It was a fun day. Mostly we just talked about a whole variety of things... and "hung out" at the house.

On Saturday Mom's cousin, Anne Jayne (along with her husband, Jerry, their son, his wife and grandson), all came for a visit Saturday. Although they had communicated some over the last few years, Mom and Anne had not seen each other in about 80 years, so it was a fun reunion... complete with lots of stories and pictures. Virginia fixed a ham and some of her wonderful potato casserole for lunch. Chris (Anne's 16 year old grandson) finished off the last of the potato casserole, but we had lots of ham left. It was fun getting to meet a branch of the family I had never met. Making some of those old Winsor connections helps make some of the names more "real."

This morning Mom took the rest of the ham off the bone and boiled the bone and some ham scraps to make a strong seasoning broth for later use. It's amazing how much good we will eventually get from that ham... and those ham-seasoned veggies will be great! Thanks, Mom!

Mom's flight tomorrow morning is an early one... 6:30. It was her choice so that she could get into Little Rock in the early afternoon. No problem on this end... just means a really early start for all of us to get her there in plenty of time.

It's been a good visit... looking forward to the next one.

Dinner and Conversation

Last Sunday June Chandler offered to take us all out somewhere for dinner so she could get to know Mom a little better. Virginia suggested that the conversation would be better at home instead of at a restaurant, so June came over for dinner tonight instead. The food was good, the fellowship was too, and the stories that were shared completed the evening. It turns out that June and Mom hold some similar ideas about education because of their experiences teaching reading to kids, and they shared many similar experiences.

June brought a wonderful pistachio cream pie... really good, and she left what we didn't eat with us for later. Ymmmmm.....

Just a comfortable, fun and relaxing evening... good way to spend a Thursday night. I'm pretty sure all four of us enjoyed it a lot.

Quiet Servants

Today on his blog, Mike Cope wrote about the food women

...the ladies who express their compassion by providing meals at funerals and family visitations. They’re usually behind the scenes. But they use their talents to make life a bit more tolerable during loss. Food women. The ones who brought the casseroles and banana pudding to the church lunches we had in the church in Neosho growing up. The ones who fed the whole church on Wednesday nights in Wilmington (along with enough fresh vegies brought in by F. W. Mattox from his garden). The ones at Highland who fed our extended family when Megan died.

It got me thinking about all the quiet servants who have been part of churches in my life... growing up in Oxnard... 15 years in Cabot, AR... almost 14 years at Sugar Grove... 2+ years here at Eastside... even those who have blessed me or made an impression at churches we touched by in other ways.

If you think about it for just a few minutes, my guess is that images of many men and women you know and have known will begin to drift through your memory. Some who are like the food women Mike talks about... some who always seemed to know when jobs around the building or the parsonage needed to be handled... others who have a sense of when it's the best time to pray or cry with someone or just be there for them... the ones who lovingly teach and work with our kids... or those who willingly use their spiritual gifts to benefit others and strengthen the church. So many who allow God to use them. Give thanks for them... tell them "Thank you!"... determine to imitate them at their best... as they imitate Jesus.

A Corvette and Mothers Day

Well, Mom (Ruby Fern) arrived safely Friday evening. We had quite a traffic snarl getting through the tunnel on the way to the airport (Giants game... something about Barry Bonds going for 714 :), but we got there in time to meet her in baggage claim. Two years ago when she flew out, storms forced her to fly all over the place, eventually getting here about 6 hours late. This time was a breeze by comparison. Jeremy and Amber flew in for the Mothers Day weekend Saturday morning, so we had a really fun couple of days with everyone here.

We have a friend who has collected Corvettes over the years... for fun and as investments. A week earlier he suggested that I come get his brand new 2007 Corvette and have it here when Jeremy came. Sooo... Friday afternoon I drove out and swapped my 96 Camry for a this Corvette.

Needless to say, I got great reactions from both my mom and Jeremy when they first saw it. Mom started chewing me out for being so extravagant... Jeremy was almost in shock, thinking everything he had ever known about his dad had just gone out the window. They were both relieved to find out it was a "loaner." :-)

Man, is it fun driving that car!!! The gas mileage isn't great, but it has EVERYTHING on it, and it's a great ride! Thanks, Bruce!! Here are a couple more shots with Jeremy and Amber.

Here's a Mothers Day shot after church in our front yard.

Mom and I took Jeremy and Amber to the airport today to catch a 12:30 flight back to Burbank. Then we headed over the Bay Bridge, drove around San Francisco a bit, headed north across the Golden Gate Bridge, toured around Marin County, and eventually arrived back on Hwy 4 toward Antioch. It was Mom's first visit to SF, and I haven't been there but a few times. The only downside to our little tour was the thick fog that almost totally obscured the bridge even as we drove across it. However, a burger at In-&-Out made up for that. :) All in all... I good day!!

Security

How often do you think about security? And what do you think about? Security is one of those words that gets tossed around a lot... and people use it in a variety of ways. Christians often talk about the security of their relationship with God or the secure feelings you get from healthy relationships with other believers. Those who are in the work force think job security is a good thing... although it seems more rare than it used to be. We all think security at our bank is pretty important, and secure investments are preferable to ones that are not. In the last few years we've heard a lot about homeland security, and there is now a big debate raging about the best ways to enhance border security. Security is an important thing.

We just became a "demo home" for a Honeywell security system. Now being a "demo home" means they come and install all the hardware and sensors to this wireless system for free... even waving the activation fee (I always wonder exactly what that is). To be a "demo home" we just have to keep the sign visible in the yard for 3 years... and pay the monthly monitoring fee (probably how they make most of their money anyway). I offered to let them just put the sign in the yard... avoiding the monitoring fee and all the arming and disarming... but they wouldn't go for that.

I never have felt particularly unsafe in our neighborhood, but a security system is probably a good idea. Plus, we'll get a discount on our homeowners insurance... although I doubt it will cover the monthly monitoring fee. Actually, the last several years we were in Houston we had a security system, and we learned to live with the arming/disarming thing pretty well... don't think we ever had even one false alarm. That's a good thing because the city starts charging you after a few. Since Virginia's job at the Antioch PD includes keeping track of false alarms, I guess we'll need to be on top of that here as well.

Well, hope you have an enjoyable and secure rest of the week... wherever you are. :-)

Pepperdine 06 Pics

Here are a few pics from our week at Pepperdine. Enjoy!!

Couple of "view" shots.

The 11:00 worship and Lecture on Friday. Pretty good crowd, eh?!?

Marlene by the really cool tree outside Firestone Fieldhouse.

Virginia and view from the dorm area.

Pepperdine Lectures 06

Once again the Pepperdine Bible Lectures proved to be an amazing few days. We came home truly recharged spiritually and truly worn out physically. The classes, the main lectures, the singing and drama groups were all amazing. This was indeed a spiritual feast in the context of God's beautiful creation in Malibu.

Our East Bay Praise Team had two opportunities to lead worship. Friday morning we partnered with Lynn Anderson in Stauffer Chapel.

Friday afternoon in Elkins we led worship with a full house as Kent Mereness (Lubbock) created an amazing painting. If you come by to see us, we'll let you watch the DVD. :-)

Of course, one highlight was getting to spend some time with Jeremy and Amber. True Lift sang at lunch on Thursday and Friday night, and we love singing their music.

It was a great few days. I'll share some more pics this week. Blessings...