Snow in June

This is James.  Taryn allowed me to make a guest appearance.  Today was hike day at Trail West.  Taryn was feeling a little under the weather, so the girls and I loaded the bus and headed into the San Isabel National Forest and up to the continental divide at Cottonwood Pass, elevation 12,126 feet.  The lodge is (only) 8,800 feet, and it's interesting how the trees change in the higher elevation - the aspens still abound, but the pines are taller and thinner, shaped like Christmas trees.  We hiked to the summit, above the treeline (trees don't grow above about 12,000 feet), where we took in the beauty of God's glorious and majestic creation.  I was moved when the camp leader asked for two minutes of silence and read from Psalm 19:  

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

    night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words;

    no sound is heard from them.

4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

    their words to the ends of the world.

    In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

Sarah Ellen talked Gracie's ear off on the ride!

Back at the lodge, we played in the pool and hung out in the main room until dinner.  As a special parents' treat, the kids' club volunteers took the all the kids while the adults had a cocktail party and steak/shrimp dinner.  After that, we went to "club", where the entire camp gathers to sing songs, watch skits, and listen to a message (the kids break out separately for the message).  The camp director used the story of the prodigal son to talk about being lost and finding ourselves in Jesus.  After some time for personal reflection, we all joined together to celebrate the kids who have been serving us all week.  Taryn and I were not familiar with Young Life before this trip, but this ministry is impressive.  Once built, these camps are self-sufficient (and the cost is very low for the actual high school campers) because the servers, counselors, horse wranglers, kitchen crew, kids club volunteers, ropes course guides, etc. all pay their own way to camp and get no compensation.  I've never seen a more welcoming, mature, enthusiastic, and helpful group of high school and college kids in one place (picture an army of Chic-Fil-A workers falling over themselves to cater to your every need, and loving on your children constantly).  Two of these volunteers shared a bit of their own personal testimony about how Young Life has shaped them and their faith journey.  I could not see SE, but Lily sat transfixed during the entire program.  Listening to these kids, and then our kids, sing Christian songs to us, and then joining in, was another powerful moment.

These are some of the short skits we watch after each meal.  The performers are really talented, and the humor works for all ages.  This one is called "Juan and Dawn" - very entertaining.

Sarah Ellen attracted her own harem of boys to play Polly Pockets.  

A cowboy napping after a day of rustling two ornery sheep on the Cottonwood Pass.  

Sarah Ellen and one of her favorite kids' klub volunteers, Gracie, a rising sophomore at LSU who shared her testimony.

I'm adding this blog to the long, growing list of reasons I love my wife so.  Most nights, I'm rolling over and going to sleep while she sorts pictures, summarizes our day, and hits the highlights so perfectly well.  We'll cherish this blog forever, and I so appreciate her dedication to making it happen daily.  This trip has been a highlight reel of great mothering and wifing (pretend that's a word), going all the way back to summer 2014 when she started planning this thing, but I'll save all that for another post.

The two themes for the week have been:  "Behold the Miracles Around You" and "The Best Things in Life Aren't Things."  Being surrounded by the beauty of God's world and enmeshed with his people, who are so joyfully sharing his love with others - especially my family - those themes really come to life.