My Lent Project: Day 18

Instead of giving UP something for Lent, I’m giving THANKS for the many blessings of life.  Here’s what I’m feeling incredibly thankful for today . . .


One more day on the mountain.


The excitement in their voices.


A healthy breakfast.


Sunshine.


Not a cloud in the sky.


Making it almost 10K on cross country skis.


Quiet.


A cool breeze at just the right time.


The half wedge.


Going downhill.


Squirrels scampering through the snow.


Capability.


The views.


Praying at the top of McCoy Park.


A clean bathroom.


Automatic paper towel dispensers.


A final afternoon of snowshoeing.


Deep breaths.


A delicious dinner in the village.


Watching the ice skaters.


Finally getting that chocolate chip cookie.


A wonderful spring break with our family.


Four days of skiing with no injuries.


Thoughts of home.


Jesus, who took all my sin upon himself and set me free. 

My Lent Project: Day 17

Instead of giving UP something for Lent, I’m giving THANKS for the many blessings of life.  Here’s what I’m feeling incredibly thankful for today . . .


A good night's sleep.


Sore muscles.


Warm toast.


Sweet strawberries.


Our son, waking up and stretching to get ready for another day on the slopes.


Our daughter, always game for whatever is on the day's agenda.


Margaret, the kids ski instructor.


SNOW!


The way God puts people in your life for a reason.


Eric, my cross country ski instructor.


Cross country skiing on fresh powder - wow.


Feeling completely warm in 30 degree weather.


Making it all the way down Polaris and Discovery Loop, and back.


Gaining confidence.


Bonding with someone who has no colon.


Tips for my semi-colon from my new friend.


The wonderful people in the Beaver Creek Nordic Center.


Lunch with my family at the base of the mountain.


An afternoon of snowshoeing.


Going my own way.


Making new tracks.


Solitude.


Forests.


Pines and spruces covered in white.


Pure peace.


Our kids making snow angels.


Jesus, the perfect lamb, without blemish.

My Lent Project: Day 14

Instead of giving UP something for Lent, I’m giving THANKS for the many blessings of life.  Here’s what I’m feeling incredibly thankful for today . . .


Airport security.


Running into friends in one of the busiest airports in the world.


Airplanes.


Pilots.


Peanuts.


A safe flight.


Beaver Creek, Colorado.


Mountains in ever direction.


Aspen trees.


Untouched snow.


Family vacations.


A warm coat.


Cold medicine.


Starbucks.


Roast chicken.


Peach gelato.


The United States of America.


Libby in her silver sequined Uggs.


Charlie trying out his ski poles around the house we're staying in.


The looks on their faces when they talk about the days ahead.


Jesus, who is with me wherever I go.

 “Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”  Psalm 8:9

Our family went to Colorado for spring break – our first ski trip ever, and it was truly an unbelievable week.  The views, the sunshine, the snow, the fresh air, the new experiences . . . we all enjoyed ourselves so much I’ve recently been online looking at time-share condos in the Vail Valley.  After I win the lottery, I’m totally buying one.  

The thing about doing something you’ve never done is that it requires some faith.  It’s not cheap to fly a family of four three-quarters of the way across the country, and we won’t even talk about the prices of ski rentals and lift tickets and a salad the size of way too small when it’s served twenty feet from a gondola. Not to mention the fact that we chose to do all of this with a ten year old who doesn’t like to be cold and a seven year old who can’t stand to wear long sleeves and socks.  Like I said, it required some faith.  Not surprisingly, God was faithful right back, as he always is. 

I’ll never forget the looks on their sun-kissed faces after our first day on the slopes – pure joy is easy to spot on your children and it makes your heart soar in ways you’d forgotten it could.  There was joy for me as well.  Downhill skiing is both amazingly thrilling and ridiculously challenging – there’s something quite remarkable about gliding down a snow-covered hill with “things” attached to your feet that simply don’t belong there. Still, I quickly realized my thirty-seven year old body and mind could not let go of the fear of falling, of injury, of sailing off the mountain into one of the deep ravines scattered with rocks the size of small cars.  It was obvious my fear would hold me back forever, because you can’t get over fear like that when you are in your late 30’s, or at least I can’t. 

Since I knew my fear would likely keep me from ever making enough progress to enjoy a run down the blues with my kids (which they accomplished after one day of lessons), I decided to try a new winter activity on the third day of spring break. Turns out, I’m a Nordic girl at heart, and it was cross-country skiing that got my heart pumping and won me back my confidence in myself.  Who would have thought this lifetime Southerner could excel at a sport created in Norway?!?

Yet it was our last day in Colorado that I will remember long after my children stop teasing me about my ability to remain in a permanent snowplow position.  Since everyone had passed me by on the Alpine areas of the mountain, I was on my own that final morning in Colorado.  I trekked back to my new home away from home, The Nordic Center, rented a pair of snowshoes, took the chair lift to the very top of the mountain, and spent two hours entranced by Earth’s bounty.  It was just me and my God, roaming together through some of His most splendid works - pristine forests filled with alpine trees and sweeping views, miles of untouched land, snow falling, quiet enveloping, peace pervading.  It was nothing short of glorious.

And so, after our brief yet memorable time in Colorado, here’s what I know for sure . . .  

God’s providence = God has guardianship over all his creations.

God’s sovereignty = God is in control of all things.

God’s mercy = God withholds that which we deserve.

God’s grace = God’s gift of salvation granted to sinners through Christ.

God’s wisdom = God’s infinite knowledge of everything.

God’s power = God’s ability and strength to bring to pass what His infinite wisdom directs.

God’s dominion = God’s complete ownership and supremacy over everything in the entire universe.

God’s righteousness = God’s actions aligning perfectly with his holy nature.

God’s love = the primary reason for human creation and the primary purpose of life.

God’s holiness = God’s complete absence of sin.

God’s goodness = the sum total of all of God’s attributes.

And God’s majesty . . . well, that’s easy . . .

God’s majesty = Beaver Creek, where no one seems to have any idea there’s a recession going on, but where smiles prevail, souls overflow, and the incredible creations of God take center stage, as they always should.

Disclosure: The above opinions may or may not have been influenced by the warm chocolate chip cookies freely handed out all over the mountain in Beaver Creek every afternoon at precisely 3:00.