Vacation Holiday

So I am spending this weekend up in Winter Park hanging out with 11 of the 23 people that I went to Kenya this past summer. It is a great time to catch up with everyone. And we are also getting some time to ski at Winter Park. For those that I not here, miss you all. So this is one of the reasons that I have not been up dating my blog. But I will try to get better at that.

Desert Solitaire

So I know I said that I might not post that much this week, but things change. So I got a gift card from a local bookstore as a Christmas present from my boss. Due to the lack of selection in the Christian section (my usual book purchasing section) I chose to use the gift card on a different kind of read. About a month ago I was camping out in Cayonlands and while on a hike an author by the name of Edward Abbey came up. Abbey is a modern writer that writes about his experiences in places like Moab, UT in a fiction perspective. So the book I bought is called Desert Solitare. I just started reading it today and I am enjoying it. Here is a passage from the beginning of this book.

The wind will not stop. Gust of sand swirl before me, stinging my face. But there is still too much to see and marvel at, the world very much alive in the bight light and wind, exultant with the fever of spring, the delight of morning. Strolling on, it seem sto me that the strangeness and wonder of existence are emphasized here, in the desert, by the comparative sparsity of the flora and fauna: life not crowded upon life as in other place but scattered abroad in sparseness and simplicity, with a generous gift of space for each herb and bush and tree, each stem of grass, so that the living organism stand out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock. The extreme clarity of the desert light is equaled by the extreme individuation of desert life forms. Love flowers best in openness and freedom.

The Devil Made Her do it

Just because your husband is the pastor of the largest church in America that doesn’t give the right to go nuts on the plane. Check this article out.

HOUSTON – The wife of the pastor of the nation’s largest church was asked to leave a plane after she failed to comply with a flight attendant’s instructions, the
FBI said Tuesday Houston Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen, his wife, Victoria, and their two children boarded a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Vail, Colo., Monday. The plane’s door had been closed when Victoria Osteen and a flight attendant had a disagreement.
“She failed to comply with the flight attendant’s instructions, and they were asked to leave the flight,” FBI spokeswoman Luz Garcia said without elaborating on the disagreement.
The FBI reviewed a report from Continental after the incident, Garcia said. No charges will be filed, she said.

The flight was delayed more than an hour while the Osteens’ luggage was retrieved, Garcia said. The family took another flight to Colorado, where church spokesman Don Iloff said they were skiing Tuesday.
Iloff called the disagreement with the flight attendant “minor” but would not say what happened.
“In semantics, they might have been asked to be removed,” he said. “Really, it was more of a mutual thing.”Continental spokeswoman Julie King would not discuss the disagreement but said in a statement that the situation was resolved.Osteen’s sermons are broadcast across the country and his book “Your Best Life Now” has become a best seller. His church has more than 30,000 worshippers weekly and meets in a renovated arena where the Houston Rockets once played.

Work Ski Work Ski

So dont be surprised if I dont do much blogging early this week. I started working at the ski resort just north of the town I live in. But you should feel sorry for me because all I will be doing for the next couple of days is working and snowboarding. But do be on the look out for an angery blog later this week.

Obsessed Much

As some of you know I sometimes have an obsession with this writer that I like named Donald Miller. What can I say, I like the guy’s writing. But I am hurt. I did not make the list of his 20 or so closest friends. Oh well there is always next year. At least he was kind enough to share his letter with the world wide web. Here it is.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
I’m writing this years Christmas letter on a Ferry traveling from Orcas Island, Washington to the mainland. It’s about an hour-and-a-half trip, so I’m going to have to make it quick. I’m up here using a friend’s house for a couple months wrapping up one book and starting another. So far, my two weeks on the island have been terrific. God has showed up in ways I never expected, and the break from traveling has proven a needed respite for my soul. The house overlooks the Pacific Ocean, with two islands blocking the mainland, so the mountains behind Vancouver, Canada and Bellingham, Washington provide a backdrop for the miles of water, bald eagles, winter ducks, sunsets, sunrises and low clouds that snag like cotton as they pass through the evergreens. I find myself watching for sunset light every night, and getting in my car to drive across the island if the air is the slightest pink. Often, the sunset is a dud, but there have been times I’ve gotten lucky and seen the sky flame out in the last few minutes of daylight. Flames so bright you think the clouds are alight. It’s a writer’s paradise, and while there are only a few thousand people living on the island, talking to folks in town gives you the impression half of them are trying to wrap up a book.

The year has been a good year. There are times in your life you look back on and wonder how you didn’t know, in the moment, things were going to seem so delightful. And there are times when you know, very well, in the moment, this will be a season you will understand as a time God was choosing to show His love through blessing, through meeting new people He loves and places He took great care in creating. This is one of those seasons. Perhaps each season is, and I am only slow or dull in realizing this truth.
Of the great memories:

I bought my first house this year. My friend Tony Kriz is a mortgage broker and pulled no less than a miracle to get me a loan. As a writer, I hadn’t made much money till last year, so finding a loan meant hard work for Tony. But I found a house near close friends and felt like God was saying buy it. Tony said it probably wasn’t possible, and there were at least two times he called me with the bad news it wasn’t going to happen. I knew each time that if God wanted me to have the house, He would provide, and each time Tony would call with the bad news, he would hang up to call, sometimes minutes later, with odd and sudden hope. The short of it is, I got the house. It’s a small bungalow-type thing near Reed College. I have become obsessive about yard maintenance, and often struggle with the evil pride of comparing my meticulous yard with the neighbors, which is nice but could use fertilizer and a more consistent watering schedule.
I also toured for a little while with a band called Jars of Clay. The band asked me to come on the road and open for them by reading from a yet-to-be-published book. It was a bold move to ask a writer to open by doing a reading, but audiences seemed to be patient and kind and gracious. I spent a total of two weeks traveling with the band, living in a tour bus, sleeping in a bunk the size of a coffin, and staying up late to talk with the guys about music, life, family and what following Christ looks like. I learned a great deal, was convicted by the lives they live, and consider them dear friends. They are working on a new album now, and one of the greatest nights this last year was sitting on the bus after a concert and being able to listen to some new songs for an upcoming record. They are terrific, especially one about not wanting to be left alone. I think it is one of the most powerful songs I’ve heard, and while the album is not out yet, and I’ve only heard it a few times, the chorus rings in my head like some kind of anthem…”Do you know what I mean when I say I don’t want to be alone.” I am not sure what the new album will be called, but I whole-heartedly recommend picking it up when it comes out. These guys are the real thing. Also, on that tour, was Sara Groves and her family. Sara is a new favorite musician and songwriter. Her record Add to the Beauty is of the best albums of 2005 and she is a gem.

Early in the year, for reasons I don’t understand, I found myself being quite negative. I didn’t realize it, but I had the bad habit of complaining, and seeing the difficulties in life and not the blessings. One of the things God taught me was that I should not burden people with my problems by complaining and whining, that this sort of thing affects people in a negative way, as though I were asking them to carry heavy baggage, not realizing they had baggage of their own. I realized I was doing this so made a commitment to stop. I noticed, as I stopped complaining about tough stuff in my life and started sharing the reasons I thought life and God were good, I found there was much to feel blessed about, and that, after a while, it was hard to find anything negative. It’s been a change I’m grateful for, and can look back on as something God brought me through, a habit He rescued me from.

Well, I’m grateful that you would take time to read this letter. I know these Christmas letters can be boring because the temptation is to share the good stuff like a publicity piece. Thanks for taking the time. The truth is it has been a good year, and God has done amazing things. I hate not being able to know what is going on in your lives, but I trust we will get time together soon and I can hear your side of the story. Many blessings to you this holiday season, and I hope your journey with God is remarkable in 2006. I know our time here is very short, and there is much to see and do, a Kingdom to participate in, and a King to worship. So I wont keep you any longer. All of His blessings to you…

Sincerely,
Donald Miller

P.S. John MacMurray and my book will be out in February. I am literally writing the last chapter today and tomorrow. The book will be called “To Own a Dragon.”

P.S.S. The Ferry is arriving in Anacortes. Perfect timing. I wish we could have done this in person.

Finally

So it is finally snow in Durango! This means a couple of things. First my gloomy mood of late is gone. Second no more dodge rocks at the ski resort. And last bad drivers making a bad situation worst. Well at least I will be skiing in the morning. Who ever said ski bumming never gets you anywhere never lived in this town.

Nothing More

This week I had the opportunity to hang out with a good friend of mine Daniel Oliver while I was in Texas. Dan is the bassist for a San Antonio band Nothing More. You should check out their website. Their music is great. I am hearing that their live show is great, if they are playing in a town near you should check them out.

New Blog

I admit that I am getting addicted to this blogging thing. Thanks a lot Shedden! So I started a new blog today. Actually a photo blog. Here is the URL: http://snakepitsphotoblog.blogspot.com

Big D and I do mean Dallas

I am in Dallas this week visiting my dad. While I am here I am touring two seminaries, catching up with some friends that live here, and taking in some golf. Although I might be wishing I was back in Durango. I was just looking at the weather and it looks like snow. Hope I don’t miss a big dump.

Old School

As a part of my internship for the church I work for I help with the mountain top chapel at the Resort near the town I live in. It is pretty amazing to have any kind of church service at the top of a mountain. On top of that on a snowboard. Today was our first chapel of the season. My pastor and I had prepared to sing the old school but fresh hymm How great thou Art. Being that only one person showed up (not unusal for this time of year) my pastor and I did not want to subject this poor soul to our utterly horrible singing voices. So in stead. He just read the words. This is one of my favorite hymms, but looking out over the vastness of God’s creation, the words never had more meaning. Here they are.

How Great Thou Art
How great Thou artHow great
Thou artAnd should I glory
Let me glory in the cross
For when Your blood was spilled
You became greater still
Mine eyes have seen Your glory Lord
How great Thou artVerse
The heavens declare Your glory
The earth sings forth Your praise
Your majesty is manifest in the stars
The wind and the rainBut when You left Your throne in glory
And came to earth to set men freeThat was the day
You became great to me baby wrapped in swaddling clothesIn a manger
He did lieWho would have guessed the King of kings
Had come that He might dieAnd greater than creation was that day at Calvary
For that was the day You re-created me
When we get thereWe’ll gather round Your throne dear Lord
And all the things that seem important hereWon’t matter anymore
And we will crown You Lord of lordsAnd King of kingsAnd with mighty voice
This blood-washed host will singMisc
For when Your blood was spilledYou became greater still
Mine eyes have seen Your glory LordHow great
Thou artHow great Thou art