Words from Colorado

Imagine being stranded! If you were stranded, if you could select your destination , where would you choose? How about the Keebler Elf Cookie factory? I wouldn’t mind….and if I had a gallon of milk in hand, I would be set! Hershey, Pennsylvania would be great!  I wouldn’t cry if I was locked in overnight at Mardels Christian bookstore ….provided I had a flashlight! What if stranded did not include cookies or books… what if stranded meant a remote location…like....no I am not thinking of Wyoming …how about a deserted island? No movies stars or professors …just you and one study Bible! Okay, Okay three study Bibles …and plenty of water and food, and shelter. Rescue would be a year away . Which three study Bibles would you want? I would want, in order: 1. The MacArthur Study Bible 2. The Nelson Study Bible 3. The ESV Study Bible. Why? MacArthur? He is serious about God’s Word, he is a Scholar in the first order; the study notes are outstanding, and his the...

His name was Mike. He was 48 years old a carpenter by trade, out of work out of money but… and he emphasized this, he was…not out of hope. He had been hitchhiking from the Yellowstone area. It had taken him 9 days to catch enough rides to make it to Green River. He was tired, he was hungry and now he was looking at me. I am a part of the Travelers aid ministry that assists people who are traveling through and have limited to no resources. I asked Mike how much money he had on him, he replied 6 cents! He wanted; he needed a room, for the night. I hesitated because funding for travelers aid is often tight and especially so in the summer. Not to mention some “Travelers” are professionals who refuse to work …who by their own choice amble across the country subsisting off the generosity of hard working people! Mike was not a “Professional Traveler” he just needed a friend. I talked about knowing Jesus; he assured me he did….and that’s why he was not lonely…why he was not with...

My favorite quarterback, John Elway, just turned 50, He is 6 months older than me, two time Super-bowl champion, hall of famer…holds numerous records…most fourth quarter comebacks etc! In a recent article in the Denver Post…He was talking about his own mortality. With luck and hard work , I've achieved a lot in my life so far, but I've still got a lot more I want to do," Elway told The Denver Post in a lengthy conversation at Elway's restaurant in Cherry Creek. Elway's bucket list includes playing the bad guy in a cowboy movie, driving a stock car on a local track, biking the Ride The Rockies, traveling to Italy again (where he proposed to his wife of 10 months, Paige), playing in a seniors golf tournament, visiting the historic World War II beach site at Normandy, watching his four children graduate from college (the oldest has earned a master's degree, and the other three are attending different universities), doing dozens of new business deals, growing the ...

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25). ESV Starting the race is easy. It’s finishing the race that is difficult! My new favorite writer is Washington D.C. Pastor Mark Batterson . Insightful, inspiring, and challenging that's Mark. Here are just a few of his book titles: Wild Goose Chase: Reclaiming the Adventure of Pursuing God The Id: True you Primal: A quest for the lost soul of Christianity In a Pit with a lion on a snowy day. When I think of the challenge of " Finishing Strong", I am reminded of something Mark wrote, and his thinking as always takes the reader to a place of contemplation, where one must face squarely the decision to remain where you are or believe God for something more: Here is a challenge from the heart of this writer: There ar...

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16). Will you pray for me? In my life I have had so many people ask me to do just that . As a minister that is to be expected. Do the folks that ask, think I have an in with God that they don’t have? Are the prayers of ordained clergy more effective? I think the vast majority of people who have asked me to pray for them do so, because they truly just want someone, to care enough to walk with them in a difficult time, to join their thorny journey by sharing a burden, and audibly seeking the ear of the only one who can relieve stress, change a life situation and open a new door. Just today I have had two different people ask me to pray for concerns that are weighing them down . I paused during the writing of this blog entry to pray for them. When people ask you to pray for them, do you? I try to pray immediately...

It was expensive. I knew it would be. Travel always is. Even “Got to get away” airline packages add up. Then there is the hassle of traffic, where did these people all come from? Don’t they have to work somewhere? They probably are thinking the same thing about me! When you take last minute trips, the expenses pile up like line-backers on a slow running back! When you factor in the cost of airport parking, gas, snacks (An essential part of the American traveling experience) restaurants, movie tickets and shopping sprees, you,… well, you face certain financial modifications…definite check book shock, serious... fiscal accountability ….bottom line… you just might be eating variations of spam! For me it was all worth it! Just where did I go you wonder? I, spent four wonderful days with a woman! That’s right a woman…that has been my wife since August of 1981! She flew via United Airlines, to Salt Lake City, Utah. We drove back to Wyoming (170 miles away) where we worshiped at the ...

I love spring. Birds tweeting, bee's buzzing, flowers blooming , and young and not so young men and women are receiving diplomas! Academic rigors give way to academic accomplishment! And life beckons, inviting them to step out into the unknown , and move toward adult years! Relatives of graduates sit row upon row in auditoriums and stadium bleachers to hear their loved one's name called, those few seconds of verbal recognition belong to the graduate, but for those who love them, they are also a part of that small segment of time that separates the student from the graduate...and we applaud! Much like a baby bird who faces the uncertainty of flight , our young men and women will test their wings. In the flying and near flying (Think hard landings, and life hurts) they will stabilize and soar. Looking back from the vantage point of my own life experience I would, if I could remind them: 1.Continuing education is important, keep reaching, believing there is no limit but the sky...