Rockies Game II

We finished our counseling at Quiet Waters Friday morning. It was excellent.

We enjoyed the chance to walk around downtown Denver, saw the Denver Capitol Building (right) and learned about the history of Colorado at the Colorado History Museum (left).

Our last big event in Denver was the Colorado Rockies game against the Chicago Cubs. As a Milwaukee Brewers fan, I was delighted when the Rockies trounced the Cubs, 6-2.

Saturday we fly back to Iowa, and on Sunday we will head to Clear Lake, IA, to visit Karin's cousin and to meet Karin's parents and pick up Tyler and Sam. It's been a great two weeks in Colorado.

Gonna Fly Now!

Once again this morning we had an excellent session with our counselor. Karin and I are learning a lot about ourselves, our marriage, and my ministry. The time at Quiet Waters has been worthwhile.

The surprise today was that I got to fly. No, it wasn't flying in the black, no-chrome Dodge Charger rental car we've been driving, although I feel like I could fly while I'm driving it.

I got to fly by going skydiving! Okay, I didn't actually jump out of an airplane, but I did go indoor skydiving. I've always wanted to skydive, but Karin doesn't want me to fall, so she compromised and signed me up to fly in the windmachine.

So, with helmet, pads, goggles, and jumpsuit ready, away I go...

Not exactly flying like an eagle, but better than falling like a rock! What a trip!

Boulder

The counseling sessions have been very good, revealing some important things about us. The Quiet Waters experience has been worthwhile.

After our session this morning, we headed to Boulder, CO, where we got a delightful experience of tea. We had lunch at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. This teahouse was a gift from Boulder's sister city, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Tajik teahouses are decorated with Persian art and are places for friends and family to meet and talk over a cup of tea. The teahouse was beautiful, the tea was excellent, and the food was delicious.
After the Dushanbe Teahouse, we headed to the Celestial Seasonings factory for a tour and free tasting of the tea. It was a very good tour, and the stop in the Mint Room was overwhelmingly wonderful. The Mint Room is the storage place for the peppermint and spearmint, and we were able to stand in the room and enjoy the aroma. Heavenly! (So, what do you think of the matching hair and beard nets I had to wear on the tour?)
We ended our time in Boulder with a trip to Chautauqua Park, where we took a short hike to enjoy the view of the wildflower meadow and the Flatirons rock formation. Unfortunately, it was evening when we were there, so it was hard to get a good shot of the view.
Tomorrow will be a special treat -- check back for the story.

Sunday Insights

A few insights on a Sunday afternoon:

1. Denver people have interesting driving habits. During the week, they can drive at a very leisurely pace. It isn't uncommon for people to drive 10-15 miles an hour below the speed limit on the Interstate. If you can go the speed limit, you're doing very well. It's not because of heavy traffic - it's just that people take their time. However, on Saturday the traffic moved at about the speed limit. Perhaps people who are looking forward to getting to the mountains for the day? But, this morning the traffic was moving along at 5 or more mph over the speed limit. I wonder... could it be the Christians hurrying to worship who are the speeders? Hmmm....

2. The pastor this morning used to sit in the balcony while I preached at Immanuel CRC in Orange City. That tells me two things: first, the Spirit can work, even in the balcony. Second, I'm getting old...

3. I've been thinking about the themes and things I've been learning on the sabbatical. Here are a few things that stand out:

A. I anticipated some time of solitude and silence at Iona, but found that the experience was much more about community and about healing and reconciliation. These themes are important to me, and are significant for the ministry of Pella I. To be a healthy community, where we love and respect one another, where we can disagree and still be loved brothers and sisters in Christ, where we can welcome diversity as part of God's beautiful family -- these are things that we are learning together. And there is a lot of brokenness, sorrow, grief, and pain in the lives of a lot of people in Pella, and God calls us to a ministry of reconciliation, to heal the wounds of life in a broken world. The things I've learned at Iona, at Luther Seminary, and here in Denver all help me to have a renewed passion for the ministry of the Church.

B. I came to Quiet Waters anticipating examining how God has been at work in me through the past 46 years, with an eye to what may lie ahead in the next 20 or so. However, I've had some new insight into myself, and into how I experience the joys and sorrows of life and ministry. God seems to be taking a different path than I had anticipated on this sabbatical.

C. "I lift up my eyes to the mountains.... My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth." We have seen the wonder and glory of the mountains and hills and countrysides of Scotland, Germany, and Colorado. We have been brought to places of breathtaking beauty, where we were compelled to cry out with the creation, "Glory!" The mountains and hills, the oceans and rivers, the cities and countrysides, and people of all languages and cultures proclaim the creative wisdom of God. Glory be to God!

D. I have been made more keenly aware of how blessed I am with the family I have. God has given me a wonderful gift in Karin -- a beautiful complement so that we strengthen and encourage each other. I was blessed with terrific parents who provided me a stable home and encouraged me to excel. I am blessed with fantastic children who delight my heart and make me smile. And I have been blessed with the true family, the family of God, the Church. Thank you, God, for the gift of family.

The Mountains At Last!

Karin and I have been pleased with our counselor for the Quiet Waters Intensive. We are talking about some good and important things. It's good for us to have a "25-year tune-up," and I would recommend to anyone that counseling can be a very good option -- especially if you begin to have marriage trouble... don't wait! Get help right away while the issues are small. Anyway, we are having some good, productive conversations.

Karin has been longing to get to the mountains (she's never been to the mountains before), so today, after our counseling session, we headed to the mountains. We went to Morrison, CO, and we got a tour of Dinosaur Ridge. We got to see and touch dinosaur bones and footprints from millions of years ago (above). We also went from there to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater (below). The red rocks are some magnificent rock formations protruding from the earth. Among the rocks, the CCC built an amphitheater (completed in 1941), where concerts are held all summer long. The season begins with an Easter sunrise service, which would be exceptionally beautiful, I'm sure.

From there we drove on part of the "Lariat Loop," through Kitridge and Evergreen, along some winding mountain roads, through rocky, craggy, valleys, and through evergreen forests. It was beautiful, and Karin enjoyed the trip.

On the way home, we drove past a little shop where I might be able to resolve any mid-life crisis I may be having! :-)

The weather has been good -- cloudy and cool, but only a few sprinkles of rain. The forecast is the same for the next two days -- the weekend looks sunny and warm. God has provided!

Coors Field

We arrived in Denver on Saturday so that we can participate in a two week Quiet Waters Counseling Intensive. The Counseling Intensive is 20 hours of counseling, intended to provide a place for renewal and transformational growth and change for pastor and spouse. We hope it will be a time to renew my sense of calling and passion for ministry, and a time to renew and strengthen our marriage. Our 25th anniversary will come in August, so this will be a kind of "25-year tune-up" for our marriage, and a "17-year tune-up" for my pastoral ministry.

But before the Counseling Intensive begins on Monday, Karin and I got to go to a Colorado Rockies baseball game at Coors Field - the Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-2. That's one of the baseball fields I haven't seen before, and we enjoyed the game and the field. The weather reports called for scattered thunderstorms, but other than a few sprinkles, the weather was dry. God provided again.

In addition to the Counseling Intensive, during the next two weeks here in Denver, Karin and I hope to spend some of our free time by hiking and touring some sites -- Rocky Mountain National Park, Garden of the Gods, Pike's Peak, etc.

Back In Pella

Sorry about a lack of posts from Germany, but I didn't have much access to a computer to do any posting. Karin and I are now back in Pella for a few days before we fly to Denver for the Quiet Waters Counseling Intensive.

Our time in Germany was wonderful -- we saw a lot of great sites and had a fantastic time with the Schuenemanns. I hope to get some photos from Europe posted between now and Friday, so be sure to check back!

Less Than A Week Away...

It's been a good, relaxing week.  Reading.  Playing tennis.  Watching Little League baseball.  Checking a few items off the "honey do" list.  I got three new books to read for Father's Day, so in addition to the ministry related books, I've now got some good sports-related books to read.

In less than a week, I'll be boarding a plane for Scotland.  I'm excited and nervous.  I'm especially hoping that Andy Murray, the Scottish tennis star, makes it to the finals at Wimbledon.  I imagine that there will be a lot of interest in Scotland if he can make it that far!

The latest issue of the "Quiet Waters Compass" (the publication of Quiet Waters Ministries, located in Denver, where Karin and I will be going for two weeks) has a good article on "Midlife Transition: Embracing Your 'Second Adulthood.'"  It puts a finger on some things that are going on inside me as I move through my late forties.  The author shares the questions she has participants at "Midlife Momentum retreats" work through, and they are questions I'm looking at myself.  In light of Ephesians 2:10 -- "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -- consider these questions:

1.  How has God been at work in my life, preparing me for this next season?

2.  What are the good works that God has in store for me?

3.  What do I need to do to fully walk in them?

Those questions will help focus my spiritual reading and prayer and journaling for the weeks ahead.