Author: sagmoe

Well, we have made it another day. My black lab Dexter fails to see the greatness of staying up past midnight, messing up his walking schedule and having to listen to these random explosions in the sky. For the most part, I would have to agree with him. Except for the part about the fireworks. I like to see a good display of fireworks, whether its the 4th of July or New Years or even on Christmas. It’s nice to have a few bright lights light the sky.

Happy New Year!!

So as the light dawn on a new year near San Antonio Texas. Even after the nights events, for us this means Steak on the grill, roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus, cheesecake for desert, and then games until we either feel the need to give up and go to bed or say “Happy New Year” about 5 minutes late because no one was watching the clock and we hear the fireworks going off.

As we look upon the year 2019 we can all sit back and think about all the things that have gone right for us. All the beautiful things we have been a part of and all the relationships that have gone right and we cherish the most. That is what we should be doing but that’s not the reality of what we do is it? No, we sit back and think about all the things that went wrong. All the things that did not go the way we wanted them to or all the things that others did or did not do to help us get what we want when we want it, and how we want it, don’t we? What are some of the regrets that you have when you look back at 2018 or 2017? What are you going to do with what God has given you?

Ok, now that you’re done with that little fun exercise let’s take a look at what is ahead of us. In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes the King of Israel, King Soloman, starts off his letter this way “Meaningless! Meaningless!”says the Teacher.“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say.” Ecc 1:2-8

Is that how you look at 2019? With all the warmth and closeness that cactus or a fresh hairball from the cat can offer? (just, one more reason not to have a cat) Even with all the things that can go wrong you have a choice. You can continue to look backward and see what could have and what should have been or you can turn around and look out front to see the path God has for you and take each new day as it comes. I think that one of the best things we can do on this new years day is to have a funeral. WHAT…. you say a funeral? Yes, a funeral. Let’s put away what we wish would have or could have happened in the past. Put away the death of a dream that is never going to happen and you still won’t let go of. You can’t change what happened in the past but you can take steps to change how you’ve made decisions in the past to have a better outcome in the future. Nothing is guaranteed but we can sure make better choices. Like everyone says, you can’t predict your health but you can predict poor life quality if all you eat is donuts, bacon, steak, and coffee. (that life may be short but it does sound pretty good) You can’t be sure what the markets will do in the future but you can guarantee yourself a life of misery if you don’t save any money for the future and spend less than you make. The same thing applies to your dreams. You can give yourself a chance at a better outcome if you will be willing to look toward your purpose and giftedness that God has given you.

I will leave you with this. ‘This is what the ancients were commended for. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ‘ Hebrews 11:1-2

If you will choose to seek what God want’s for you to have you will find a life that is filled with Joy. Look to my last post to see what is said about happiness and joy. https://ethos4life.com/2018/12/20/happiness-and-joy/ Look toward what changes you can make in the new year, resolutions if you must, but if you get tripped up don’t be afraid to get up, wipe the blood off your knees and keep taking that next step. Whatever it may be and know this. I am praying for you – I pray over the people that read this even though I don’t know who you may be. So go ahead and let me know who you are and what I can be praying for you and I will.

Happy New Year! and God bless your 2019

Bryan

As we approach Christmas Day at warp speed. (That’s the speed of light for you non-Trekker fans.) Many people are obsessed with making sure they try to get everything just right. Many obsess with making sure they have bought just the right present for the right person and that the house looks like a picture out of a Norman Rockwell painting. When you walk into their house, the smell is better than the greatest scratch and sniff you have ever scratched and sniffed. Don’t act like you have never had your nose buried in a magazine so deep that we couldn’t see your face trying to get every last bit of fragrance to make your day just a little bit brighter.

Anyway, we come to Christmas Eve and as the family gathers, the house looks great, decorated with just the right mix of modern and all the different things the kids have made for us over the years. Those things that when you see them almost stop you in your tracks as the flood of memories hit you like a brick. The food smells amazing as if to prove that all those cooking shows you watched have certainly paid off and you even think to yourself “I may be ready to apply my skills to Chopped.” You look forward to everyone complimenting you on how amazing everything tastes and smells and looks. When people walk into the living room they can tell that this is no store-bought tree. The fresh pine smell fills the room and the decorations are all hung with precision and meaning.

Is all of this ok? Or are we supposed to be doing and thinking something else? Yes, this is all ok. But there is a qualifier to it all. That qualifier is this, does this bring you happiness or joy? There is a difference and in this application one is right and one is wrong.

Let me explain. As we look at this holiday season we can get caught by all the different elements it has to offer. The sights, the smells, the touch, the sounds, and of course the taste of everything that makes up Christmas for us. These things all can and do bring us happiness. But some people make the common mistake to think it brings them joy.

Joy, true joy can only come from one place and one person. That person is Jesus. In Luke 2:10 the working class of people, or Shepard’s were just hanging out doing their job when all of a sudden there was a bright light that just turned on in the middle of the night. This scared the stuffing out of them and then an angel says this. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” This was certainly good news for a bunch of people that didn’t usually have joy in their life. The joy he was talking about was the saving relationship we can have with Jesus. Jesus spent his whole life and short ministry telling people this good news, that God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. If you’re willing to give up your ways for his you will have the real joy to know for yourself. You can know that you will live forever with God in Heaven. That is real joy!!

So for the next week. Go for it!! Enjoy all the happiness that will come. Get to Christmas morning and be happy, make others happy with gifts and food. Be happy in the community you are a part of but just remember that in all of life there is only one way to have true joy throughout the whole year. Jesus!

Merry Christmas from the Sagmoe’s

As we are in the mix and the mess of what December can bring. Let me ask you a question. Where are you traveling?

As we continue on our year-long journey, Joan and I find ourselves in Arlington Texas. Mainly because there is no snow here and I have followed the star in the east just like the wise men of years past. (Yes, we are about 4 miles west of Cowboys Stadium) Since I last posted we have been to several different places and done several different things. Some we planned and some we did not. We started in our last place of residence, Madison SD, and finished putting the last of the touches on our home before selling it in late October. This event was met with a lot of different thoughts and feelings. We sold a house we put a lot of ourselves into and were able to have a lot of great people be a part of. We departed a town we had put our lives into for over four years and leave behind some great people and a great church. From there we spent time between Sioux Falls and Rapid City visiting family and friends and getting to relax in the Black Hills.

For the last month, we parked the RV at the farm by Avon. While there, Joan and I were able to help out on the farm. I was allowed to help harvest by spending several days sitting in the combine watching it chew up some corn. I thank God that the harvest seemed to be good and glad we were able to help as the weather did not cooperate as well as it could have with rain, snow, and even warm weather. You may be asking yourself how warm weather can be a problem? Well, without it freezing, at times it was too muddy for the trucks to get in. Along the way, I was able to experience food poisoning for the very first time. Wow, that’s fun…..not. One morning we woke up to the camper being rather colder than we were used to. With a little brilliant investigating on my part I deduced that with it 18 degrees outside and only 55 degrees inside the furnace went out. While the most common reason for this in the RV world is that you are out of propane. Well, this was not the case and the furnace would not light. Now, this might not be a huge inconvenience in most cases, for us, however, this meant that all of our tanks were going to freeze. So we spent a three day weekend in the shop of an RV dealer where we thawed out and they replaced the furnace. Hey, life is good.

After a month at the farm getting to hang out with family and help out, we hooked up and headed for Chillicothe MO. It was about 15 years since we had seen some old friends and enjoyed getting to hang out with them for the weekend. When the weekend was over we shuffled down to the Kansas City area where I had the great joy and privilege to meet with a pastor at Cornerstone Church. This is a church I have been working with over the past few months in helping them develop who they are as a church and what their purpose is. The basis for this is helping their pastor find her purpose and develop her ETHOS. That is what truly makes my heart beat. But it was much too cold to stay there and with the threat of more cold weather and possibly even some freezing rain, we decided it was time to see where we might go to avoid having to use the furnace so much. Texas seems to be a good place to start.

So here we are Texas. We are going to spend the next month or two seeing some of the places we have only heard about in the winter. We will start in the Dallas area and then make our way south toward San Antonio, Galveston, and maybe even see what Brownsville looks like. 

That is a brief glimpse into what we are up to. What are you up to this month? The month of great anticipation of family, friends, parties, and Christmas. The month of great exhaustion, planning for parties, family, friends, and Christmas. But also it is the season of Advent. The expectant coming of the Messiah. No one (except a few) knew who or when this event might take place but there was none the less an excitement of when this might take place. Did Mary know that traveling would take place? In the Bible, Luke chapter 2 it says this “He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.” (Luke 2:4 NLT) They traveled, they left one place for another if even just for a short time.

I wonder if we could be in the same position as this young couple? They have a lot going on with a baby on the way. Do you suppose they were thinking, why do we have to do this now? Why does this have to happen to me now? In the midst of knowing who his pregnant wife was carrying inside her and not only not knowing how to be a father let alone the father of the creator of the universe and all that is in it. Joseph found out what it was going to be like to juggle all the things in his life all at once. What pressure were they feeling to keep family, friends, and work all in balance during this time? What are you feeling or going through?

I’m sure you have heard this from more than one person but let me add to it. Slow down, take a breath, see who is around you in your life and take just a moment each day to thank God for them. Take just a moment, just five minutes, to see how you can organize your crazy schedule so some of the unneeded stress can be minimized so we can see and feel the anticipation of what Advent truly means. For us, part of our anticipation is awaiting our children to join us in just a few days for a couple of weeks.

God is good. Blessings to you and your family during this Christmas Season!

Last week Joan and I headed out on the bike for who knew but maybe our last ride of the season. We took off from Rapid City, SD and headed west about 120 miles toward Devil’s Tower WY. It was going to be a beautiful 80-degree day and we didn’t know how long this weather would last. After all, there were six inches of snow on the ground just days before, but that was all in the past and we headed out. It truly was a beautiful day and after about 100 miles of the expected 120-mile trip, we could start to see something in the distance. There it was, Devil’s Tower sticking up in the distance. Sticking up as if a finger was pointing to the heavens.

My mind began to think about a couple of different things. One, no matter what season it is or whether its sunny or cloudy out the tower will be seen from miles away. It seems that no matter what the tower would try to do to cover up or shrink down there is truly nothing it can do to not be seen by millions of people every year and from miles away. I also asked myself, is that what it was created for? It didn’t ask to be placed where it did. It could have been placed in downtown L.A. or New York but it wasn’t, it was placed a lot of miles from anywhere. It didn’t have a choice, it just stands there looking out of place some people say, while others see the hidden beauty that can only come from such a majestic piece of rock.

The second thing that went through my mind was this, What does it matter?  

As we arrived at the base of the tower, we noticed there was a low buzz from the people that were hanging around and looking at the tower and interestingly enough, there were a few people climbing it.

I see people every day who are placed in different places, looking differently, feeling out of place, feeling majestic or somewhere in between. Is that you? Does it seem that people are climbing all over you? (If you’re a parent, sorry, it’s just part of the job)

As we sat on the bench watching these climbers slowly move up the tower I could not help but be reminded of how this is a pretty good image of us. Each of us is seen by thousands if not millions of people every year and we all at one time or another feel out of place or not worthy of being where we are. Sometimes we wish we could just sink away as many people try to do without real success and then there are those times when we think everything is going our way and we love the fact that everyone can see us.

I’ll ask you the same thing I said about the tower. What were you created for and what does it matter?

I’ll help you with the first one by telling you what you are not created for. You are not created to be alone, you are not created to feel like a loser, you are not created to do life trying to hide who God created you to be. Check out what Paul says in Ephesians  “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Eph. 1:4-5)NLT

Maybe today can be a reminder that you were created by the love of God and who he is and what he wants you to understand. Paul goes on to talk about living your life with the purpose that God has created you for. In Pauls words “Live a life worthy of the calling that you have received.” (Eph 4:1) and in a letter to the young man that Paul was mentoring, he said this “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Ti 1:7)NLT

It is time for you to stop hiding! It is time for you to stand up and reach for the stars as if you were a tower in northeast Wyoming. Find out what God has in store for you by seeking him out. Remember who you are and understand how God has created you by paying attention to the things God has already put in you. Things like your passions, giftedness, personality, core values, and drive. God has created you for more than just standing around and looking pretty. What are you here for?

You are here for those around you. Who around you is hurting? Who around you could use a hand up and not just a handout? Who around you would like to feel the love of someone else? Think of all the things you would like and help others think and do the same thing.

Remember, we all stand up and are seen by people so we might as well enjoy the ride! Besides, it’s a nice day. Have a great one!!

As I write this, I am sitting by a small creek running through the Black Hills of South Dakota. I love the hills and what they offer for so many different reasons. One reason is that I love to sit back away from the highway and listen and smell. What? you like to just listen and smell you say?? Yep, smell. The way the wind will blow through pine trees is unmistakable and the smell of pine will just carry you away.

For me, it carries me to remember all the years we have come to the hills during the Thanksgiving season. We would come to the hills and have Thanksgiving as a family and watch some football in the afternoon (go Cowboys) and that was great. But it is the Friday after that has made permanent marks in my memory. Here in the Black Hills National Forest, you can purchase a permit to cut down your own Christmas tree. So our family would set out on our own black Friday so to speak as we would tromp through the hills looking for that one tree that was not too sparse, not too tall, and not too ugly. Some years we even managed to find one. If you know us at all and have seen any of the trees we have brought back, you know that we didn’t always have the best looking tree on the block but I can tell you this. I’ll bet we had a tree with the most memories attached to it. For on those tree hunting days, our family would make some of the best memories we have together. We would spend the day hiking, playing, talking, and just plain goofing around. This would be the week I looked forward to more than any other week of the year, including Christmas. On these days, we would pack some hot cocoa, a few things for lunch, clothes for playing in the snow, a camera, and a saw. We would then set out for the journey of a lifetime. Well, ok maybe not of a lifetime but it was really fun none the less.

We would get off the main highway and onto the fire trail backroads. At this point the hunt was on. Driving through the hills someone would shout out “What about that one” and from the road, it would look great. Nice and full, not too tall but just right. So, we get out of the truck walk up the hill (it was always uphill) and when we could hardly breathe due to our impeccable physical training and a little more altitude than we were used to, we would come to the “perfect tree” only to find out it was two small trees grown together or one grown right behind the other that looked like a perfect tree. It didn’t take too long before we got smart and brought along some binoculars. No matter how many times or trips we took up the hill or over the deep ditch or across the creek, we always ended up cutting a tree down, taking a family picture with it, and loading it up in the truck.

We have taken a lot of flack from people for the trees we bring home. Mostly because a lot of years we would bring home a tree that even Charlie Brown would have to look twice at to make sure it was really a Christmas tree.  But that didn’t matter to me, not because we had such a great tree but because we had logged some of the greatest memories on the planet about being together and what it meant to have a true community as a family. Now, this sounds a little too much like a Norman Rockwell painting and I will admit that every once in a while a temper could get short or a feeling would get stepped on. But even with all of that, I count these trips as the highlight of the year.

I titled this post “Reactions” and up till now, you may be wondering what hunting for a tree has to do with that. Well, let me tell you. Every day of our lives we deal with reactions. We see one thing and react, we feel one thing and we react, we have something happen to us and we react. It’s not about what happens to us that is important, it is how we react to it that will either give us a boost or tie us down.

Have you ever thought about why you react the way that you do? Do you think you have a choice to how you react? Do you ever think you can change the ways you may react inapparently to certain situations? I believe that if you understand the “Why behind the What” of reactions you can have a better understanding and a better chance to respond to situations in life more appropriately.

In my last post, I asked you to take a look at some of the memories you have from your past. Both good and bad memories because I want you to look at those times in your life and see how you reacted. As I am sure you are thinking the same thing I am and you may even say “Bryan, I’m not all that proud of the way I reacted in some of the situations I have been exposed to.” I get it, me too. I have not always picked the best route through some situations either. And, there is nothing we can do to change that. The only thing we can do is try to learn from the bad ones as to what not to try and repeat and grab on to the good ones and try to build upon them. We have a big advantage in this area of life if we will understand our own personalities. According to Florence Littauer, there are four dominant types of personality: sanguine, choleric, melancholy, and phlegmatic. Each personality type has its own distinctive strengths and weaknesses. I would encourage you to find a personality profile quiz and see what your personality says about your strengths and weaknesses. From there you can both give yourself permission to understand why you may react the way that you do. Fix the reactions that cause harm and build on the reactions that create good in your life.

Remember this, the best reaction we have to make is the reaction to what Jesus has told us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 God loves you and wants you to have a life that is pleasing to Himself. God will not force you to react a certain way but will show you how he made you and why he made you the way that he did if you will react toward him and not away.

I hope you have a great day and if you can, get out away from the noise of life and find somewhere to sit and listen and smell all that God has for you.

Blessings,

Bryan

With the start of the NFL and college football seasons set to begin very shortly, we will all be focused on the win of the day. And just as there is in a football season, there will be winners and losers every game. But just because a team wins or loses that week there is one thing they all have in common. They get ready to play next week. One win or loss does not define their season but it does dictate what the teams’ practice looks like during the week. It doesn’t matter if you’re one of the chosen (a Cowboy’s fan) or some misguided person cheering for another team (Ok haters, keep with me I’ll lay off the Cowboys talk) we are all in this together.

So whether you’re a football fan or not, you are part of a group that plays for a win. You are a part of the human race and your race started the day you were born. You were not asked if or when you wanted to play the game, you were just set at the starting line and encouraged to get started. Let me ask you the question millions of people ask themselves every day.  What is the point of life? or better yet what is the meaning of life? Both great questions and I think there is an answer and I want to take the next several posts to take a look at what we can do to live a life that wins.

First, let’s take a look at what a win is and how we can know if we have it. The win is very important whether you are looking at it personally, in a church, a business, a city, or even a culture. From the viewpoint of the one I believe started this whole thing, a win is understanding that God came down to Earth in the form of a baby boy, lived a life of perfection of choice and then died the death of a thief to answer for the sins of all who had come before us and after. I think a win is living a life acknowledging that Jesus is the son of God and died for your sins and mine and you choose to follow his ways for your life. That is the way to eternal life with God forever in Heaven. That is winning the season and the Lombardi trophy.

What if you were the owner of a team and knew that at the end of the season you would be awarded the Super Bowl trophy but you still needed to play the entire season anyway. That is what it is like for you if you will put your trust in Jesus. You have already won the season but just for fun, you have to play all the games anyway.  And just like every NFL team that will play the entire season for the hope of winning the Vince Lombardi trophy we who choose to follow Jesus Christ are playing with the hope of eternity with Christ in Heaven. In 1 Peter 1 it says this “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,” (TNIV 1 Peter 1:3-4)

So let’s take a look at what I think will help us get through the season with as few bumps, bruises, and concussions as possible. Every football player on the field knows it’s not “if” but “how many” bumps and bruises they will experience. And we, just like football players, will practice to try and get through the season while minimizing the hurts and pain but at the same time playing within the rules as to not get disqualified from the game.

In my last post, I asked for you to look at the stars. To look and see if there was anything different and something to follow. In the next few posts, I want to give you some things (stars if you will) that you can follow to reach the goal and win the game.

Just like a team striving to win the game you need to know who you are and what your role on the team is. I will call this knowing your purpose and your ETHOS. Take and ask yourself this. Where did you come from? There is a power in your past. Your past will include some good things and some bad things. Some of the decisions you have made in your past are good and had good results and other decisions were not so good and have left some noticeable bruises and scars in your life. Getting back to a football team, you don’t ignore the bad plays and just keep calling them. No, you pay attention to what plays worked and which ones didn’t. The teams that remember the good plays, the ones that created success, and get rid of the bad plays, the ones that created the opposite of success, will stand a much better chance of winning the game and moving on to the postseason.

The same is for you and me. I want you to do something, take a good honest look at your own life and even write down the plays in your life. God has instilled in each of us our memories. Memories that are good and bad both. Memories that we love and some we would just as soon forget. Use them, look at them honestly and put them down on paper. Take a piece of paper and make two columns. One column is good or happy memories and the other are bad or sad memories. After you put them down, ask yourself what part you played in them. Did you make decisions that led to a successful play or did it lead to a quarterback sack?

We will talk soon and take a look at what you have and how you can use it to your advantage.

Have a great day and Go Cowboys!!

How many times in the past month have you taken the time to just lift your head and look up? Especially at night? When is the last time you have taken a look at the stars and really looked more than just to say at yourself “yep, there are sure are a lot of stars tonight.” But today I want you to ask yourself a question. Do the stars matter?

After having taken a long break from writing and thinking on the page I was reading about a group of guys who must have looked at the stars every night. The reason I know this is because they knew that one particular night there was a difference in the heavens. It says “We saw his star when it rose…” They knew something was different and that there was a meaning behind it. These men later found out that this new star was a fulfilling of a prophecy of long ago. Of course, you know the story as the Christmas Story and these men who came to worship Jesus and bring gifts were the Magi from the east.

So, right now you’re wondering what this has to do with you or me???? Right…

Well, what this has to do with you and me is that there are signs all around you that mean something. It could be a star, it could be a word from inside yourself, or it could even be a word from someone else. It’s really not a matter of if you are going to get a sign but will you recognize it and will you do anything with it… I am talking about your ethos and purpose in life. God has uniquely positioned you in the right place at the right time with the right gifts and abilities for such a time as this. Just like He placed a star in the heavens for those Magi to follow, God has placed you right where you are on purpose. Yep, I know the argument you will have with this and you’re going to say “but Bryan, I’m not where I want to be or even where I should be.” and I can agree with that….kinda.

Just like the Magi, they were not where they needed to be but they were where they were. (boy, that sounded profound) I think like many of us we get caught in two different battles. One, we don’t pay attention to what God is doing around us, for us, or in us and two, we think that just because we are not where we think we should be or where we want to be then we are not useful. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The first thing we need to do is understand a little better who God is and therefore who we are. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) God loves you and wants the best for you. God made you different than he made anyone else. You have a different look, a different style, a different set of gifts and preferences and skills. All of this comes together to make the best version of you possible.

Ok, I know I haven’t explained everything to the end but I will start to do this in the next few posts. For now, I want you to take a look at who you are and what God has put together in you. Then we can take a look at the world a little differently. We can look at the world through the lens of what God has put you here for and not just what others want you to do… I think God wants you to look at the stars and marvel in His expanse, His majesty, and His personal love that he has for you today. Then, just as the Magi did all those years ago, we can start our own journey toward the star that God has for you.

God bless and we will talk soon

Bryan

The title of today’s moment can conjure up a lot of different meanings. There are a lot of people that wake up in the morning and either ask themselves, where am I this morning (this happened only to the extent I forgot what state I was in not where I spent the night), what happened last night or even who is this next to me? But for me, I wake up this morning and look around saying to myself. Wow, that was fun and adventurous. We have just spent the last four weeks in an RV and traveled some three thousand miles going from eastern South Dakota through Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks then up into Canada where we saw some of the most majestic scenery ever and now we are back in western South Dakota. But wait, as if that wasn’t enough, we also did it with our two kids and three dogs too. The adventure is by no means over but just step one in a journey that does not have a definite destination. We are fulltime in the 5th wheel and after the 4th of July, our kids will head back to their college town to get ready for their next step in their educational lives at South Dakota State University.

So this morning I wake up with a different kind of reality, one that starts to go from vacation mode to life mode. What does that mean you say? Well, I mean that sometimes in we will experience many different things along the road or life. We will have times of extreme joy and fun. We will have times of pain and sorrow and then we will even experience times where life just kind of trudges along. Each of these are ok and even have their own sense of beauty but none are meant to be the only type of life we are to live. We will all have times of sorrow in our lives, we will all have times of joy in our lives if we look at life right, and we will all have times in our lives where we just seem to click off the days of life heading down the road.

My thoughts today revolve around what kind of life are we driving and where are we taking it? Are you driving your life or are you letting someone else drive your life for you? I’m not talking about a country song where you say “Jesus take the wheel” but rather I am asking you who is making decisions in your life? I recommend using the map that Jesus gives us as to travel the road of life but ultimately you will have to decide what road you are going to take. Jeremiah wrote what God told him “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jer 29.11

As we traveled over the miles we drove on roads that ranged from smooth blacktop and concrete to gravel and even a stretch of mud and muck that made quite a mess of everything. You and I will experience the same thing in each of our lives. One day we are cruising down the road of life and everything is great. Another day we have to slow down to navigate the uneven gravel roads of a bumpy life and some days we even have to pull over to wait out a storm and even after its past the mud and muck of life is still there to remind us we are not where we want to be. But remember this, God wants you to make the right decisions in life even when things are not going as we would like them (I mean come on, whoever looks forward to road construction) and keep both hands on the wheel. Work hard to make a living, Love hard to enjoy the wife of your youth, play hard to enjoy a Sabbath, and worship hard to remember that God is the creator of everything and he is due our praise.

In a post like this, it is impossible for me to fill out every thought but remember this “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph 3:20–21) Happy travels and if you would like me to pray for you, feel free to respond and I would be honored to do so.

Happy travels!!

So, we crossed the border into Canadia. The border crossing was the easy part. A simple showing of our passports and rabies certificates (for the dogs, not the kids) and we were on our way in a matter of a couple of minutes to Cranbrook BC and then to Radium Hot Springs BC where we currently are. Yes, the country is beautiful and the weather has been cool. High’s in the 60’s and low 70’s with lows in the 40’s.

Once we were in Cranbrook we did a little looking around and happened upon a store called the Real Canadian Superstore. Well, it looked a lot like a Costco and if you know me at all, I can always go wonder around a Costco. To my family’s dismay, I pulled into the parking lot and said: “let’s goooooo”. One by one they trickled out of the pickup knowing the loads of fun they were sure to have. They all had something to add on the walk into the store. Things like: “we probably need a membership card.” or “If it wasn’t fathers day we would not be here but since it is we will give you this one.” Wow, what an inspirational bunch and adventurous spirit’s we have in the group.

Once in the store, the Real Canadian Superstore, we learned it was a Canadian version of a Walmart. Cool, we needed a couple of things like milk, steaks, and of course Jelly Bellies that you buy in bulk. This is where the real schooling begins.

I told Jaron we are most likely going to need a cart…..He responded with a typical teenagers response: “Umphhh” or something that sounded as if he was saying “really dad, let’s just go home.” But being the great kid that he is he turned around to go get a cart. As he was away finding a cart I headed back by the kitchen and BBQ tools and the girls went to girl clothes or something totally not needed like that.

It was about ten minutes later that Jaron finally came with a cart. He had this look on his face that told me things had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped. You know that look your kids give you when they feel a little conflicted between feeling dumb, mad and wanting to laugh at what had happened. As he came strolling up he says: “Do you know what a loonie is?” I, of course, knowing all there is to know said “ummmmmmm, no what” (yes, it is a one dollar coin) Jaron proceeds to tell me that he didn’t either but when he went to go get the cart he was following a little girl that walked up to the carts, (O by the way all the carts were chained together) well, the little girl walks up to the cart and pulls out the chain that held her cart to the rest and proceeded into the store. Of course, Jaron tells me that he walks up to the carts and pulls on the chain and nothing happened. After several attempts at trying to free up a cart a “wonderful” women that worked there came up to Jaron and said: “Do you have a loonie?” He tells me that the first thing that popped into his head was “yea, my dad’s a loonie” but he just said no…..what. She says again “Do you have a loonie?” I think it was the long pause of silence that had given him away. She then says “Are you from the United States?” and her tone was not the O, I’m glad to meet you tone and Jaron tells her he is and then she reaches into her pocket and pulls out some sort of key that unlocks the cart. We found out later that you have to stick a coin into the handle of the cart in order for the chain to unlock. Well ok, lesson one learned.

Now that we have a cart, my arms are filling up quickly with milk, steak, a grill brush and that’s when I came across the largest bulk section I have ever seen. There must have been close to a hundred bulk bins from nuts to dried fruit to all sorts of candy. Well, you guessed it, I came across the best deal I have ever seen. They were selling Jelly Bellies for only 1.49 a pound. At least that’s what my brain told me. So I filled a bag and then thought “I should probably weigh this” and so I did. Wow, it was only about a pound. So, I loaded up a little more thinking that a pound and a half was probably enough. What I had so innocently overlooked is that we were now in Canada and in Canada, they don’t have a lot of use for things like miles per hour or ounces and pounds. So what I thought was going to be about two or three dollars ended up being about 900 grams… That’s when it clicked in my mind that it was 1.49 per 100 grams and not a pound. Sooooooooo, what turned out to be about two pounds of Jelly Bellies ended up costing me just short of 13 dollars. Lesson number two learned. I knew at this point it was just time for us to leave the greatest Canadian store ever, or so they think. But we did have milk again so life is pretty good.

Now I know none of you are really thinking that any of this was my fault. But it was, and that’s ok. Every now and then we all do things with the best of intentions but they don’t turn out the way we had planned it. We may have to even learn a lesson or two about what we didn’t know before. The thing both Jaron and I learned that day was that it is ok to make a mistake. Very rarely in life does making a mistake turn out to be something that is irreversible. Most of the time we have learned and told ourselves that making a mistake is the worst thing that could ever happen and we get stuck. We get stuck thinking that we are worthless and hopeless and will never amount to anything.

There was a guy a long time ago that made such a mistake. His name was Peter and because of his mistakes and what he eventually learned from them, and let me tell you he made a couple of real doozies.  This one time he denied that he knew Jesus, the creator of the universe. There are other times too but we don’t have time for that right now. What I want you to think about is that no matter what kind of mistakes you have made or you think you have made. God loves you and want’s you to learn from them and grow because of them. In the Bible, in John 21, Jesus shows up and talks with Peter after Jesus was crucified and rose again from the dead. The interesting part is that Jesus didn’t remind Peter of all the things he had done wrong, although he could have. No, in fact, what Jesus did was ask Peter a very simple (we learned later a very complex question) “Do you love me?” Jesus then goes on to ask Peter to tell others about him and begin what we now know as the church. Out of Peter’s so-called mistakes came one of the most influential leaders in the church.

You are the same as Peter, full of potential and made with a purpose in mind. I want to encourage you to seek out more about yourself and how God made you. Ask questions like, why do you have the personality you have or why are you wired the way you are and how can you use your strengths for telling others about God? It’s time to step up and step out and learn a little more from our mistakes.

Have a great day!!

As we travel on to Livingston Mt. and West Glacier Mt. I am captivated by the beauty of both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.

But even more than that is the beauty of my family. We have come through places like I have never seen before. Yellowstone is so diverse in ways that I did not expect. From belching hot water to pools of water that are laden with acid all the way to the natural water that cascades down the side of the mountains. Each place is different from what it shows and in what it leaves behind.

Once we left Yellowstone we headed north to Glacier National Park. With similar views that we had in Yellowstone except its very different at the same time.

This is what a family is like.  A beautiful piece of God’s creation with many different parts. As I write this on Father’s day I am at my first Starbucks in about three weeks and I am starting this morning with a caramel macchiato as my family gets moving back at the RV.

As I reflect on the journey so far, we have encountered storms that created a delay in our timing, beautiful mornings on the patio with a cup of coffee and a chill in the air. A day of rain with no wind so you could sit with the awning out and just listen to the rain and smell the freshness of the mountains. We have seen lots of wildlife from deer to elk to antelope but to my daughter’s dismay, no bears. (yet)

I find that a family, my family, just the same as yours, is as diverse as the countryside. We all have times where we experience some gloomy times that don’t go according to plan, times where we are a little acidic to one another in our attitudes, and this is the greatest of all, we have those times where we are able to just sit and enjoy what God has put right in front of us, each other. Just like when you look at the mountains, the family is a wonderful view of God’s majesty of creation. The beauty of my family far outweighs the small inconveniences of the rough times.  Remember that, not only today but every day that we need to look past the hurts of life and family and see the beauty of what is right in front of us.

As the Apostle Paul reminds us “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

Have a great father’s day to all of you and Happy Father’s Day to my dad and all that he has taught me through life. Blessings to you all!!

Next Stop, Cranbrook BC