Two Sunsets

The last sunset I watched (for now) in Texas.

The first sunset I watched in Wisconsin. 

Lifted Gaze in Africa

This year's trips to Africa brought amazing opportunity to see God's splendor in the faces of people, but also in creation. Here are some favorite images from 2008.

A sunrise over the Indian Ocean in Malindi, Kenya . . .


Two pictures of Mt. Kilimanjaro from my hotel window in Tanzania . . .



Back country in Burundi . . .

Thin Place

We had the good fortune to join David and Joy Sonju up at CAMP-of-the-WOODS in Speculator, NY last week. The camp offers the L.I.F.T. program to train young adult leaders. Check it out at http://www.camp-of-the-woods.org .

The group took an afternoon for snow-shoeing in the forest. Spectacular views in the white north country. The students celebrated the expansive horizon by striking a "grace pose" high on a hill: arms and head flung back, face tilted to the heavens. Wide open stance toward God and others. The silky winter light fell on their upturned faces. A thin place with God a mere breath away. Joni

The Painter

An artist friend refuses to paint sunrises or sunsets. Says they are clichés and overrated in the art world. Perhaps humans struggle to capture the view, but God succeeds with each dawn and twilight, reminding me of new mercies and horizons of possibilities. Wanted to send along a delight from the Garden Isle of Kauai. God playing with watercolors. Joni

Rainbow in the West Texas Sky

The Gorge and the Desert

Last week I joined my friend Garry Friesen and Michael, one of his Multnomah students, for a hike in the Columbia River Gorge. Waterfalls and streams appeared around every corner as we climbed the mossy trail. Garry strategically prompted Michael to ask me theological questions during the steepest parts of the hike, when we were all out of breath. We talked about the emerging church, biblical authority, Christianity and gender, and African missions. The scenery provided a fabulous backdrop for the conversation. It is hard to be disagreeable when hiking in the Gorge.

Two days later, hiking by myself in the rocky mountains north of Phoenix, I enjoyed solitude and magnificent desert vistas.

Neither place was prettier than the other, and the hike filled with theological conversation was no more — or less— spiritual than the solitary one. They were just different. Very different. And I was most grateful for both.

Bob

A Colorado Stream

Step One: Read the words of the psalmist: “They feast on the abundance your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalm 34)

Step Two: Turn your laptop on its side and click Play.