On the way from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite, I drove through a beautifully-situated small town called Markleesville, then over Monitor Pass and south to Lake Mono and Lee Vining. At the bottom of Monitor Pass, I saw Aspens changing colour for the first time; their beauty lives up to its reputation. Monitor Pass is spectacular, with beautiful colours and contrasts. We experience such beauty only fleetingly, even if we sit down for a time to enjoy it, yet it remains in our memory, however indistinctly, for a long time. Photos, at least my photos, do not do it justice. The experience is so much more, having this beauty surrounding us. It is a reminder that there is a God, and perhaps that is why man is so intent on building houses, offices, roads and cities, and expanding them all the time: do anything to remove the beauty, and the reminder that God exists.
The drive further south towards Yosemite in the late afternoon and early evening was also beautiful, the golden sunlight illuminating the dry grass-covered hills. The sudden vista over Mono Lake just after sunset was an amazing surprise; I drove around a corner in the road on the crest of a hill, and saw this amazing panorama, the blue and pink of the sky reflecting in the lake, turning the whole view into a deep pink painting. The view was absolutely incredible; I have never seen anything like it before, and the photos do not nearly do it justice. I was awestruck.
Finding a room for the night was an adventure. The motels in Lee Vining, where I had hoped to stay, were full. I then tried driving up Tioga Pass in the dark (note: do not try this at home 🙂 ), only to discover that the only accommodation there was already full. I finally found a place in June Lake, further to the south – but with neither telephone nor internet connection. My attempts to contact Mary-Anne also failed, because the telephones inexplicably would not accept my credit card.
Month: September 2005
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a beautiful place. I drove from Reno as night was falling, so did not see the lake at all until this morning. After looking at the map, I had planned to stay in Crystal Bay, but was so horrified by the bright flashing lights and number of casinos that I drove a little further to Kings Bay, the first place across the border in California. California regulates gambling much more strictly than Nevada, so there were no casinos.
I got up early to see sunrise – too early! I waited on the lakeshore for about an hour in quite low temperatures. Even wearing my fleece, I was cold. The view and atmosphere were worth it, though.
Continue reading “Lake Tahoe”
Arrived in Tahoe
Just a quick note to say that I have arrived at Lake Tahoe and taken a lot of pictures. The best so far are in the gallery.
A beautiful last day before heading to California
Today was my last full day here before I head off to California. I got everything packed, then changed my mind and re-packed everything. Even though I am looking forward to California, I feel sad to be leaving here. My time here has been wonderful, and Mike, Chris, Sarah and Joe have become very dear to me.
This afternoon, Chris started learning to ride Mike’s motorbike – I had to jump out of the way once or twice to start with 🙂 , but she soon gained confidence and looked great riding around.
After dinner this evening, we watched the movie “Crash”, which is about several groups of people whose lives intertwine at some point, although most of the events are only very loosely related to one another. The language is foul, but less so towards the end. Some of the characters are quite complex, acting in contradictory ways. Others see positive development towards the end of the film, still others are tragic. If you can get past the foul language and some lewdness, it’s actually a reasonable movie, with some very interesting developments. The scenes with the Hispanic locksmith and his daughter are particularly touching. Not all of the stories in the movie end well, though, so be warned. Sandra Bullock plays a character quite atypical for her, by the way.
Preparing for California
It has been another beautiful day, sunny and warm. I spent the morning preparing to go to California – getting things washed, deciding what to take, what to leave here. Mike and I met the youth pastor of a local church for lunch; it was great to hear from him and how God is moving in his life.
This evening, we watched Steve Martin’s “The Jerk”, after seeing one scene at the conference in Denver. The movie is funny if you like absurd humour, but has a lot of bad language and lewdness. The scene we saw at the conference was the only really good scene in the movie. Not recommended.
I am going to miss this…
It’s another beautiful day here. I ate breakfast on the deck, in the sunshine and cool air – wonderful.
I also connected with Roger Thoman in California, who I will visit next week.
Revolution, chapter 6
Barna writes about his observations of where and how God is working in people’s lives, identifying mini-movements as the prime source of transformation, including house churches in his list. In my opinion, most house churches do not share one of the five characteristics he attributes to these mini-movements.
Chapter 6 of Revolution is titled “God is active today”. Barna writes about his observations of where and how God is working in people’s lives. He starts out with the comment “There is nothing more affirming than knowing that God is active in the lives of those who seek His touch, and nothing more exciting than seeing the passion and enthusiasm of those people for the God who has revealed Himself in such personal and restorative ways.”. He searched for examples of such activity in local churches, but he was “stunned – and deeply disappointed – at how rare such instances were.”
He found more evidence of such examples in what he calls mini-movements, which include “simple church fellowships (house churches), biblical worldview groups, various marketplace ministries, several spiritual disciplines networks, the Christian creative arts guilds, and others.”
He describes why these mini-movements go mostly unnoticed, and in doing so starts to touch on the questioning and struggles which I missed in the earlier chapters. He then lists five aspects which make them effective in producing transformed lives: Continue reading “Revolution, chapter 6”
Special guest appearance
By special request, Sarah and Joe make a guest appearance on this blog. Here they are after the Honor Roll, celebrating their academic achievements. (Obvious, isn’t it??)
Another tough day in Colorado
It was another tough day here, lounging around outside in the sun. I’m not sure I can take the pace much longer 🙂 . (Aren’t my legs a beautiful colour?!)
House church finances
We had breakfast with Jon Dale and his friend David, talking about the National House Church Conference and starting a discussion about financing house church planters. Mike and I continued the discussion later, both wanting to conclude that we should not – after all, isn’t one of the advantages of house churches that they do not need full-time workers or financing? Our discussion led us to another conclusion, though; looking at our experience with the movement so far, we had to admit that the people who had been most effective and had the most influence were those who could devote the most time to it. So there is an argument for full-time house church workers. We then have to ask what these people do, how many of them we need, and where the money should come from. Continue reading “House church finances”