The Walk

I left out the garage and started up the side of the hill.  It's a walk I have taken three of four times before, but I had forgotten just how hard it is to get started.  It seems like the first couple of hundred yards are the hardest, and then you start to get use to the incline and the thin air.

At the top of the first ridge there is a barbed wire fence where the property ends.  You carefully step on the bottom wire and pull the middle one up and climb through.  I briefly snagged my shirt, but no harm.  After hiking up a couple of more ridges there is a National Forest, but I don't think I made it quite that far.

I have never seen another person when I have done this walk.  I usually see a few deer, but this time it was too hot.  All the deer are likely higher up where it is cooler.

I went a little farther than I probably should have and not quite as far as I would have liked to.  I might have gone a little further a couple of years ago, but today this seemed like a good stopping point.

From this particular ridge there was a great view of the valley.  Incredibly green trees and green grass as far as you could see.  I could also see patches of snow on the mountains just above me, and the higher mountains in the distance were still snow capped.  A cool breeze kicked up, which felt pretty good.

As I looked around it occurred to me that I was seeing a creation that not even the most gifted human artist could have imagined on his own.  It was a long drive and a long hike to be reminded of God's power and His artistry.  I'm sorry, but I just don't see how all of this could have come about by a combination of random events and selfish genes.

For The Love Of Tim

If you have known me for any length of time you have probably heard me mention a friend of mine named Tim Krumal.  I first met Tim at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California.  I was a freshman in college, and Tim and I lived in the same dorm building.

Tim and I had quite a bit in common, but were opposites in some ways too.  Tim was extremely outgoing and friendly to everyone.  Within a week of moving into the dorm you could not help but feel Tim's presence.  Tim quickly established himself as a leader and, much to my dismay, Tim seemed to be the favorite of all of the girls in the dorm (yes, it was coed -- but the men and women were on different floors!).

I was a bit more introverted and cautious.  To be honest, I was a little intimidated being in a new environment where I didn't know anybody.  Plus, my first roommate was big into heavy metal -- which kind of freaked me out a little.  So, it took me a little longer to get to know people.

To my credit, I was a reasonably capable guitar player (folk-rock was big then, which only required you to know about eight cords).  Tim was just learning, and to tell you the truth at that time his guitar playing kinda stunk.

Before long Tim and I became good friends -- although I am not really sure how that happened -- and Tim quickly began, in sometimes subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways, to teach me about Jesus.  One time Tim bribed me and another friend into going to church with him.  I mentioned that to Pam the other day, and she observed that even though all it took was a free lunch, paying for Taco Bell was probably a sacrifice for a college student on a tight budget.

Another time, for reasons I can't quite remember, Tim convinced me to spend a weekend with him at a Christian youth camp where he served as a counselor.  What was I thinking?  Better yet, what could he possibly have done to convince me that a weekend at a Christian youth camp was the best weekend option available?  During that week Tim did a lot of counseling.  I did a lot of dishes.

Anyway, the way Tim fits into my life is pretty simple -- Tim was the first person I can recall showing me what having a real passion for Jesus looks like.  Tim loved God and he loved people.  He still does.

Years after I had lost contact with Tim, as my own walk with Jesus intensified, memories of my time with Tim began to flood in and I felt a great need to track him down and tell him about my journey.  I mostly wanted Tim to know about the fate of the seeds he had planted in my life.  Just last year I was able to reconnect with Tim.  It was great to meet Tim's family, and to be able to thank Tim for pouring into my life so long ago.

Tim, as it turned out, is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Auburn Grace Community Church in Auburn, California (which is near Sacramento).  Tim serves there with his wife Jana.  In addition to their responsibilities at the church, Tim and Jana are kept busy by four great (and active) kids.  Tim and Jana have a great heart for ministering to families, and particularly for teaching spiritual leadership in the home.  I have attached a link to the page of the Auburn Grace Community Church web site describing Tim and Jana's ministry if you want to learn a little more about them.

Some time ago Tim mentioned that he was having some health issues, which later turned out to be cancer.  More recently, I learned that Tim needs a bone marrow transplant.  After the transplant, Tim will need to live away from his family for a number of weeks near Stanford University Hospital so that he can be monitored and cared for.

I cannot imagine the emotional and financial stress Tim and his family are going through.  When Tim called to tell me about the need for the transplant he was literally just about to start a round of chemotherapy.  In fact, our call was cut short when the nurse came in his room and told him it was time to get started.  The funny thing was that when we spoke Tim sounded ... well, like Tim.  He was upbeat, laughing, optimistic and full of faith.

I have never really asked anyone to leave a comment on this blog, but I am asking now.  I love Tim and his family and I want you to love them too.  Whether you know Tim or not, I would greatly appreciate it if you would take a minute to say a word of encouragement or a word of prayer for Tim, Jana and the kids.  Pray for God's healing, for peace and for financial blessing in the weeks to come.  Pray that when this season is over Tim and Jana's family and ministry will both be stronger than ever.  Pray for the friends, family and medical professionals who will see Tim and his family through this time.

If you wouldn't mind, please leave your comments on this blog and NOT on Facebook.  Just click on the Comments at the end of the blog.  Please leave your first name and maybe the City, State or Country you are located in.

Thank you so much, and God bless.


Tim and Jana

Are We A Christian Nation?

While most of us were busy eating hot dogs and watching fireworks this last Fourth of July, a few people were using the occasion to try to convince Americans that we are not, and never were, a "Christian Nation."  Putting aside the question of what being a "Christian Nation" actually means, I have to agree that we are not a Christian Nation today.

Some time ago President Obama went on record to say that the United States is not a Christian Nation.  (I have included a link below).  Like I said, I have to agree with the President on this one.  I just don't think that most Americans hold a Christian worldview anymore.  In fact, I am not sure that most Americans really appreciate what a Christian worldview even looks like.

As far as history goes, if by "Christian Nation" we mean that Christianity was at one time the "official" religion of the United States, obviously that was never the case.  So, we never were a "Christian Nation" in that sense.

But, to suggest that we were never a "Christian Nation" in a deeper sense is really just silly.  The vast majority of the founders of this country believed in the God of the Bible.  To deny that faith impacted everything they did, and particularly the ideas that became the foundation for this country, is pure folly.  I  have included a link to the prayer that opened the First Continental Congress in 1774 just to provide a little support for the point.

The so-called historians who want to deny or downplay the impact of Christianity on the founding of the United States like to quote Thomas Jefferson.  (I have included a link to a CNN blog by one of these so-called historians.  If you are irritated by this guy's take on the founding of the United States, you probably don't want to see his views of the Bible, which he also tries to clothe as objective "history").  I would too if I were them.  Jefferson was not a Christian in a sense recognizable to most of us.  Among other things, he did not believe in the deity of Christ.  However, Jefferson's view of religion was hardly reflective of the views of the great majority of early Americans.  But let's put history aside and get back to the here and now.

In the speech by President Obama that I mentioned earlier, after stating that the United States is not a Christian Nation, the President went on to say that we are a nation of citizens "bound by ideals and a set of values."  Here is where I have to disagree with the President.

Again, I believe that the ideals and values on which this country was founded were at root Christian ideals and values.  But, as those ideals and values have eroded what has taken their place?  Yes, we Americans still have some common values -- I think most of us still believe in democracy for example.  But, it seems to me that Americans are more polarized today than at any time since our founding.  I am not sure that ideals and values bind us together anymore.  In fact, I think they may be tearing us apart.

Over the last ten or twenty years a war has been waged against Christian ideals and values (and, indeed, on Christianity itself!!).  In my opinion the casualties of this war have mostly been marriages and families.  And now, as a country, I think we find ourselves largely without any real identity -- without any real ideals and values.  It seems to me that the predominate moral view is that everyone should do what they want as long as no one is directly harmed.  Maybe I'm wrong.

Do you think we are a Christian Nation?  Do you think the United States has turned her back on God?  Feel free to weigh in.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIVd7YT0oWA

http://chaplain.house.gov/archive/continental.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/04/davis.jefferson.other.words/