Desires (part 1)

Happy Birthday to you.........now make a wish and blow out your candles. How many times have you heard this, how many times have you said this? How many times have you really thought about it. What if it were true? What if when you blew out your candles you could have whatever you wished for? What would it be, what would you most desire? If you ask some blond haired beauty queen she would probably stumble around trying to say something about such as world peace, but lets be real here. Nobody would seriously wish for world peace even if it was possible, because that would mean we can't be jerks to anybody anymore. When they get your coffee wrong at Starbucks you would have to nice and respectful. So what would it be? What is your utmost desire?

I got thinking about this around my birthday (for obvious reasons) and the thought has never really left me. What I'm talking about is your desires. When all the distractions are stripped away and really have time to think, what is it that you desire most? And don't just scream out JESUS like some kind of Sunday school poster child, because I'm mostly talking to people who already have Jesus.

Some people might say heaven. I just want to be in heaven, I'ma just passin thru and all that jazz. But if you really think about it, we were never meant to be in heaven. The fact that we spend any time in heaven at all is because of Adam and Eve jacked everything up in Eden. And when everything is said and done and all prophecies are fulfilled we are going to be on a new earth not in heaven. So lets try to stop over spiritualizing this and really think about what it is that we desire. What do we long for from day to day?

How far is the West from the East

(written earlier today)

I'm sitting in the Salt Lake City Airport waiting on my next flight out to Atlanta. FYI: The Delta crown room at this airport is pretty amazing. They even have a small putting green in case you are in to that sort of thing. But you still have to pay for Wi Fi which I really don't understand these days. It's an easier and cheaper service to provide than coffee, but they make you pay extra for it.

The past few days have been pretty awesome. Getting to see the contrast between the west side of Washington and the east side of Washington was incredible. The west side had a lot of mountains, was very green and covered with clouds all the time. You might see children jumping up and down playing in a ray of sun light that happen to make it to the earth for a few precious minutes. On the east side you would see very few trees, a few mountains but not near as many, almost no grass, maybe a few clouds in the sky, but the sun shining brightly.

Saturday morning I got up and went for a morning hike up Wallace Falls. It were three waterfalls over a 3 mile hike to the top. It was a moderate hike with some great views. Waterfalls are kinda of like sunsets for me, I just have to stop and watch a little while and take in the wonder of it. Water is so diverse in it's nature it is mind boggling. The very essence that gives life to the creatures of this earth can destroy anything and everything in it's way when given the opportunity. It's not something I try to fully understand because to believe that I could fully comprehend it would be to take the wonder and excitement from it. I would hope that I never lose the wonder of watching the stars in the sky, the sun setting in the west, or water cascading over a seemingly random and yet beautiful path.

Saturday afternoon I started my drive over to the east side of the state. I had many people tell me I would love the drive, but I had no idea what to expect. What I saw during that 3 ½ hour drive was the most beautiful portrayal of God's diverse landscape that I had ever seen. It was one of the best parts of my time here. The weather was perfect as I drove down the scenic highway with my sunroof open, the windows down and the music turned up. Starting out in the rolling green hills of the west and watching the slow transition to the rocky clay of the of the east. I wish I could have taken pictures to reflect the inspiring wonder laid out before me, but there was no way that it could be accurately captured in a 5”x7” frame. (Plus I was driving and enjoying it too much to stop.)

Sunday was somewhat of a rest and relax day. I went to Faith Baptist church in Spokane in the morning and randomly ran into a guy from ALERT. He went through unit 32 so I had never met him before, but what are the chances, right? I mean, how many ALERT guys could be in Spokane and I happen to go his church. That gave me an “in” to the church and was able to meet a few of the other young adults there. Nice people, good church. I would go back if I was ever in Spokane again.

Overall I had a great time and wouldn't trade the memories for anything. I think God knew I needed a break and it worked out perfectly. The west side was fun and exciting, the east side was nice and relaxing. Now back to Atlanta where reality and life start happening again.