The Tower

As promised, I am posting photos from our trip to Devil's Tower yesterday.

First, though, you must educate yourself by reading this.

We stopped to take a photo as we neared the tower. It is pretty impressive even from a distance.

There is a nice path circling the tower so I took a LOT of photos.  Well, it looks different from different angles.

There were some climbers on the Tower.

Ok, that is Mike. Isn't he funny? 

But there were some real climbers.

They are in some of these photos, I think, but they are just specks.

Jennifer and I asked each other many times, "Why? ". It just didn't seem like a good idea to me to climb on something so big and slippery looking.

It was a perfect day!

We had a delightful guest.

One thing we were aware of was that many tribes consider that area to be a holy place.  

These things tied in trees represent someone's prayers. Although that isn't part of my faith tradition, I kind of liked it.

When we left the Tower, we stopped by a little gopher colony. That was when we learned Jennifer is a gifted gopher whisperer. I think she was maybe surprised to learn that as well! 

I missed the photo but that little guy came right up to her shoe! 

It was a good day, a very good day.

Bison on the Wyoming Prairie

Today was a good day!. Mike and I spent it with Jennifer, our favorite little Aussie/American.

Jennifer's parents were very special friends to us during the early years of our marriage.  Her Dad, a Montana Native, married Anne, an Australian Native. They both taught in Turner, MT where we lived. 

One day when Anne and I were talking, we discovered they had gotten married one week before us. They had gone to Calgary for their honeymoon, one week before we did the same!  We became great friends and a few years later, discovered we were expecting babies, our's due one week after their's, of course! 

Sadly, for us, Jennifer's family moved to Australia when the girls were about 2 1/2 years old. Honestly, I remember breaking down and crying in our car after we said goodbye to them. It was a rotten day.  It was not so easy to keep in touch them as it is now, either.

Years later, Maria and Jennifer reconnected.  One year Jennifer decided to come visit us here in Wyoming. We were so impressed with her courage! She really didn't have much of a memory of Maria, yet she came. Anyway, this is now her 3rd trip to Wyoming and we are always so happy to see her.

Maria and Eric has several responsibilities today so Mike and I asked Jennifer if she would like to go to Devil's Tower with us.  Although it meant another 6 hours of travel, she was willing. Off we went! 

Occasionally when driving the route we were to go today, we have seen a few buffalo so I mentioned to Jennifer that she may see some if we were lucky. As it turned out, we were very lucky! We came upon a giant herd, more than I have ever seen, and they were right by the road!

So many! 

And so close! 

We were happy for the fence and stayed near our vehicle but the buffalo (bison, actually) were not much interested in us anyway. Still, we knew to keep our distance.

For those of you who may not know it, those docile looking creatures are not pets and should NEVER be approached for photo ops.  Like I said, we stayed by the road, behind the fence, near our vehicle.

Fine animals to look at, not to pet.

So, from there we moved on to see Devil's Tower. Since it was 3 hours one way, we enjoyed a really nice visit with Jennifer. We really love that girl! 

Tomorrow I will upload some great photos from Devil's Tower! 

Autumn Evening

Mountain Hike

Mike and went on a two hour mountain hike yesterday. Last week end we watched Everest, but I don't think that inspired us. Nope, that movie was about people risking their lives and the lives of others for no good reason.  Our hike didn't seem too risky, although there are bears and mountain lions up there.  Still, we were on a well traveled path so the risk was very, very low.

Anyway, It was a beautiful Fall day. Almost perfect, in fact.

Right away we had company.

I like this walk through rock. It's pretty cool inside!

I admired these little ferns that seem really, really determined to live. 

I told you is was pretty cool inside there!

I like rock. Doesn't everyone?  Really, there is a lot of beauty in most rocks.

I like sunshine, too.  I really like sunshine on rocks.

There were many places where we could look down to see how high we'd already hiked.  It made me feel pretty much like a jock.  Well, if most jocks huff and puff and hear their pulse pounding in their brains.

But the beauty up there was worth the effort!

Another beautiful vista.

I thought of my sister a lot as we hiked.  My sister can't walk and I sometimes feel guilty when I get to have these sorts of adventures. Then, I feel guilty when I don't use my legs as much as I could/should, knowing how much she would love to go on just one hike.  Just one.

Then, I feel guilty about feeling guilty.

So, I take lots of photos.  Tina, I hope you can kind of get the feel of a Fall day on the mountain.

Isn't that tree just stunning?

And I like water.  Sunshine. Rocks. Water.  Perfection.

More gold.

Gratitude. 

A Word From Pastor Mike - Humble Pie, Anyone?

Mark 9:35 "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."

James 4:6  "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

James 4:10  "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."

Humility is a key value in the Christian Faith.  Jesus exemplified humility.  Our reading from James and Mark call followers to humility.

What is humility?  The word literally means "to be near the ground" or perhaps one could say, it means to be grounded.  

Here are some not-so-serious quotes about humility...

• "Oh Lord, its hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way." Mac Davis

• "My incredible humility is what makes me superior to everyone else."

• "I try not to laugh at my own jokes, But we all know i'm hilarious."

• And maybe the most outrageous quote of all, "Humility.  I've mastered it."

And that's the thing with humility.  You can't master it.  You can't win the humility championship.  You can't bestow the title on yourself.  The complete opposite of humility is lurking in the shadows.  That is pride.  Some say pride is the original sin; it's what caused Adam and Eve's fall from grace.

In the book of Mark, Jesus announces that he will be arrested, killed and 3 days later, rise again.  The disciples' response?  They did not understand.  The light did not come on.  Later, when they got to Capernaum, Jesus asks what they were discussing on the way.  They were discussing which of them was the greatest!

The disciples are us.  They weren't complete blundering fools but the Bible doesn't paint their picture with halos over their heads. They were people like you and me.  All human beings have their strengths and their weaknesses.  The power of sin is working on us but the Spirit of God also dwells within the faithful.

For some Christians, humility is a God given gift.  Other Christians learn to be more humble but then still sometimes struggle with pride.  We do some thing nice, some thing kind, and then we blow it by announcing to the world how kind and humble we are.  

Jesus took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."

In Matthew's gospel, Jesus tells about the separation of people like a shepherd separates sheep and goats.  Jesus talks about being hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison.  They ask him when did they see him that way.  Jesus responds, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

Mother Teresa, who worked with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India said, "Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces given us and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."

In our society when the proud are brought down, when the arrogant are shamed, we say they have eaten humble pie. But this is really the encouragement of the whole Bible for Christians.  We SHOULD be feasting on humble pie.  Why is humility so important?  Because it keeps us grounded.  It keeps people connected and caring for each other.  Humility brings out the best in us.

Pride, in the bad sense of the word, can lead to arrogance, meanness, hard words and separation. Eating humble pie keeps us grounded, keeps us focused on what's most important.  The most important things are not trophies or awards but the kindness you showed others and how you helped those in need.

Jesus told his disciples that he would be arrested, suffer and die. The disciples didn't get it.  Later he would explain the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Jesus giving his life for us was, in part, an example of humility.

In the letter to the Philippians Paul would write, "Have this same mind among yourselves that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant... he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

"Have this same mind among you."  Christ came to teach us to be humble servants.

Let us close by praying this Humility Prayer (author unknown)

Lord, I am far too much influenced by what people think of me, which means that I am always pretending to be either richer or smarter or nicer than I really am.  Please prevent me from trying to attract attention.  Don't let me gloat over praise on the one hand or be discouraged by criticism on the other.  Don't let me waste time weaving imaginary situations in which the most heroic, charming, witty person present i myself.  Show me how to be humble in heart like you.  Amen.

Lennon and Maisy and The Stellas

I love the old-fashioned sound of this family! It makes me feel like we should all hang out on a big porch, sip some sweet tea and just relax.  Yep, that's what this music makes me want to do.

My friend, Terri, shared this on Facebook this morning. I was charmed!

I had to look these girls up.  They are Lennon and Maisy and I found they can be seen on the show, Nashville. I've never watched that show, but I'm going to have to check it out.

I also found these girls have musical parents. I love their sound as well! They are known as The Stellas.

Check this one out!  It is such a sweet song and their harmonies are beautiful.

OK, I just needed to share something that added some sparkle to my day. My job is done here.