35 YEARS! YOU KIDDING ME?

This past Saturday was my high school's 35th class reunion at Marion.  A little more than half of the class of 1976 was able to get together for a fun day riding a float in the Old Settler's Day parade and then gathering at the lake hall at the county lake for a catered meal and goofing off (some more than others).  I must say, it was a great time.  29 out of the 54 grads were able to converge on Marion for the get-together.  Some of my classmates I had not seen since graduation.  And boy, have they aged.  What the heck?  Gray hair, no hair, colored hair - mercy!  Amazing to think that we were not just talking about our kids, but GRANDKIDS!  What??  Too much fun!  Too much fun!!

Kudos to Duane McCarty and Joni Wiens Crofoot for all the grunt and groan work to gather addresses, send e-mails, facebooks, snail mail, and do all the logistical stuff for the parade and for the meal at the lake.  Great job!!  You're both keepers!

Personally, I had a great time seeing everyone again.  Not to mention retelling some of the crazy stories from our days of old ("I just told myself a joke I never heard before" - Duane M.)  And of course, I was the designated prayer for the meal.  Tried to take up an offering but did not succeed.  Anyways, looking forward to our 40th.  I'll invest in some Grecian Formula before then.

 A motley crew!

 Duane McCarty, yours truly, Jim Hoch, Steve Smith

Uhhh, who knows what's going on???

Sadly we lost four of our classmates:

Ann Higgins, Pat Kelly, Doug Druse, Jim Higgins

God rest their souls and God bless those of us who remain!!

See ya all in 2016!!

HOW GREAT THOU ART!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands".  Psalm 19:1

 Once again I had the wonderful privilege of experiencing God's great creation in the Rockies as I went with my brothers, nephew, and friends to the Flat Tops Wilderness Range in Colorado.  Yes, it was disguised as my annual elk hunt, but in reality, a time to see God's handiwork in the great outdoors.  The verse above truly speaks of how great God really is.  The heavens my not be able to sing, the trees and the mountains may not have literal voices, but they loudly proclaim the truth that our God is indeed an awesome God.  I love the picture above because the branches of the tree point skyward causing us to lift our eyes to the heavens and to the One who created them.

 Since I didn't see any elk on this particular day, it made sense to take in the sights around me.  Lest we get too prideful and think we are "big stuff", it just takes a picture like this to remind us that we are, in reality, quite miniscule in the bigger picture.  It reminds me of the verse in Psalm 8 that says, "What is man that you are mindful of him?"  Good question.  Yet God loves us above and beyond all of His creation.

 I was hiding in some pine trees (elk hunting, remember) when it began to spit ice pellets from the sky. Next thing I knew, there was a rainbow.  Beautiful! 

A panoramic view outside our tent towards the west.  You might notice our horses grazing off to the right.  The mountain is called "the Derby".  A beautiful sight.  As far as the hunt, the elk were hard to come by.  They stayed hidden in the timber due to the full moon at night and the fact that it had been so wet.  It was lush wherever we went and as a result, the elk needed no reason to come out.  However, a great time with the guys, as always.  And yes, as always, God was present in the very midst of His creation.  O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder......