Merry Christmas!

My parents used to tell me that ever since I was a little kid I've always been enamored with lights. Well, true to form, this holiday season I hit up three different tree lightings! And another thing I love is the music! Even though it's not socially acceptable, I confess I've been listening to Christmas music since after Halloween. ;) So here's a little video of my fun, festive holiday season filled with lights and lots of Christmas music. I hope it helps everybody get in the holiday spirit! Merry Christmas!!

New York City

A friend of mine from Namibia has always wanted to visit the Big Apple, so he planned his trip to coincide with my drive south so that I could meet up with him there. I spent three days with him exploring the sights of the city. Since both of us are photographers, needless to say many photos were taken. Here are a few of my favorites, but you can see more on my Flickr page here. (Click on any photo to enlarge)

Lower Manhattan behind Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Holiday Train Show at the NYC Botanical Gardens

Holiday Train Show at the NYC Botanical Gardens

St. John's Cathedral and the Peace Fountain

Waiting to cross 

New York Public Library

Bryant Park Tree Lighting SKATE-tacular 

Bryant Park Tree Lighting SKATE-tacular

Gutenberg Bible 

Grand Central Terminal

Panorama of Lower Manhattan at night

Personal Retreat

The words silence and solitude seem so quaint and antique in today's fast-paced, activity-driven, tech-saturated world. But for a small segment of spiritual seekers, silence and solitude have long been a centering discipline to quiet our own inner monologue and make ourselves available to hear from God. This past week, I set aside three days to do just that.

The Wixson Ministry Cabin at Camp Sentinel

I had heard about the Wixson Ministry Cabin at Camp Sentinel, a place for full-time Christian workers to get away for rest and refreshment, so I booked it out for 3 nights. I arrived Tuesday afternoon to find that I would be the only one there that week. No campers, no church groups, just me and the small camp staff on 600 acres of beautiful New Hampshire forest.

It's a small two-bedroom log cabin with a large kitchen-dining-living space. Out back is a lovely porch, lawn and fire pit with a view out over Dan Hole Pond (which is really more the size of a small lake). The trail down to the lake opens up to a beach which would have been great for a swim were it not late November. But it did make a lovely place to tie up my hammock and lounge for a while looking out over the lake with the mountains in the background.

The dining/living room area at the cabin

I left my computer at home and put my phone on airplane mode. I didn't even ask for the wifi password. There would be no contact with the outside world. I brought only my Bible and one book as my "guide" for the week. It was the book The Gift of Being Yourself by Dr. David Benner, recommended by one of my pastor friends. It's a short book, only 100 pages or so, perfect for a 3 day retreat. If it were any longer, I would've found myself spending more time reading and less time digesting, evaluating, and applying. His goal was to help the reader know himself better, and therefore know God better. It's a very helpful little book and I definitely recommend it.

Having no agenda or plan or activities to do, I found the hours crept by. I'm so used to being active, that it felt a little weird just sitting there. But just sitting on the couch, trying to quiet my mind, intentionally trying to recognize the presence of God already with me was incredibly helpful. You don't have to go away on a retreat to experience the presence of God. He's with you all the time. He's everywhere. And, as a Christian, He lives inside you. But sometimes we need to get away on a retreat to quiet ourselves enough to recognize that Presence that has been there all along.

Sun rising on the mountains across Dan Hole Pond at Camp Sentinel (click to enlarge)

Fall in New England

Anyone who lives in New England is no stranger to the tourist buses filled with leaf peepers that start showing up in late-September, early-October. Highways through the mountains are dotted with cars stopped along the side of the road and people generously snapping selfies with the gorgeous display of colors in the background. I think growing up in New England I never actually appreciated the brightly colored trees sweeping across the hillsides until I left. Like they say, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone!" So it's no secret why I strategically planned my home assignment dates in New Hampshire to coincide with my favorite season here. I've made sure to take full advantage of opportunities to get out into the mountains on a free day, or meander down country roads through small New England towns. Maybe some of the pictures below will encourage you to start planning your vacation for next Fall!

View from atop Mount Osceola

Lonesome Lake halfway up Mount Kinsman

Visiting the Summit

This past week was Homecoming Week at my alma mater. I have a number of college friends who still live in the area and I figured others would be in town for homecoming, so I thought it would be a good time to visit. Also one of my former RAs was speaking at the Bible Conference so I was excited to hear him preach! I love hearing people's stories of the journeys God's been taking them on over the years, seeing how people have grown in their understanding of Christ, and seeing what their kids are like! It was a short, sweet trip, but a reminder of God's faithfulness and how thankful I am for the people He's used in my life to shape me into the person I've become.

Always a privilege to have Doc Harris leading worship!

Home of some of the best calzones ever!
I always plan to stop in whenever I visit.

Finn and I enjoying the fruits of our labor
(granted it was mostly his enjoyment and my labor!)

Photo of the Day

View of Lake Winnipesaukee from Mount Major

(click photo to enlarge)

NETS Mission Trips

click to enlarge

Learning pastoral ministry can't happen by only sitting in a classroom. That's why the curriculum at NETS has so many practical elements! This past week the entire student body at NETS was split up into three teams and sent out across the country on mission trips. One group went all the way to the north to work with a NETS grad in Onekwaya West. Another group went to minister with a NETS Distance Coordinator in the town of Tsumeb. And the third group went to work with a children's ministry in neighboring Okahandja. Here are a few testimonies from the trips.

“I was not looking forward to the mission trip because I knew we would be working with kids. I thought it was not my calling or ministry. But God proved me wrong. One of the things I have learned is that kids are precious to God. I understood what Christ said that we should be like little kids. Kids are precious to God and they are created by him and Jesus Christ died for them, too. We as believers have a responsibility to show love to these kids because it was so obvious that this was what they needed: LOVE. I remember a saying that 'God qualifies the unqualified.' So for me that was one of the things that I learned from the mission trip: God is the one who qualifies us to do His work in this world.”
~Thomas (Okahandja)

"While we were worshipping God on Sunday morning we learnt that one of the homesteads in the bush had completely burnt down the previous day. We went to visit and it was a shock. The people had lost everything. It was such a privilege for us to go and comfort them by praying for them and giving them blankets and food. We had taken second hand clothing from Windhoek with us and so far did not have the chance to distribute it. This was a golden opportunity and the clothes greatly blessed the people. They were so encouraged, telling us that they had been advised to go to the witch doctor because of what had happened. But instead it was God who took the initiative by coming to them as He sent His people to help and encourage them."
~Russell (Onekwaya West)