My Patronus is an Aerodynamic RV

Battling the wind didn’t take away from the awe-inspiring beauty of southeastern Utah.

355 miles.  What was the mileage like today?  Glad you asked.  Roughly 5.5 mpg.  Yep, from Moab, UT to Sedona, AZ a little bit of a headwind.  Not sure what the gusts were, but this rolling 31 foot billboard felt the breeze.  From the left.  From the right.  From the front.  But not once from the rear.  That’s where I like it – from the rear.  Ooo… That sounded weird.  I like a good tailwind, is what I meant to say.  Really.  I swear.  Anyway, that mpg was roughly $.85 per mile.  I could physically run cheaper than that, but I’d still be in Moab.

To know that your RV rig only spent all but 15 minutes of driving time downshifting due to high winds is somewhat stressing.  That knot that I had in my shoulder returned with vengeance.  After all, I was sitting up in the ‘captain’s’ chair, pulling myself forward to the steering wheel like my leaning forward would induce greater, progressive momentum.

The Jayco Greyhawk 31FK in tow-mode. Nice setting against the brilliant bazillion year-old rock surfaces.

What I’d love to develop is a fine-running, sleek aerodynamic RV for these kind of conditions.  I mean, we did drive through northeastern Arizona.  (Sorry AZ, but Utah stole your picturesque scenery on highways 163, 160, and 89 all the way to Flagstaff)  There was absolutely nothing to break the wind from beating the sides and front of the RV – no trees (at  least, trees tall and wide enough to do the trick), no nothing…  There was a lot of sand, however.  I still have some in my shorts.  How it got there I have no idea.  I want an RV that can plow through high winds at the holler of “EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!”

A delightful time (in the morning hours) to watch the sun move through the opening in the arch…

Life can present itself in much the same manner.  There are days when it is simply hard to move froward and doing so requires a exorbitant amount energy.  Then there are days when your energy pushes you forward.  My near-13 week-old daughter Sophie Ann is mostly like the latter.  When I’m with her I feel delighted…most of the time.  There are days when nothing seems to settle her unsettledness, not even Dr. Karp’s 5 S’s.  Kinda like having nothing to block the wind.

Still, whatever the day brings, at the end of the day you arrive safe at home where rest awaits – a recharge for the day to come, the oasis gas station to fill your tank when the wind has caused you to lose more than anticipated.

So stop and fill up.  If your day was life-taking or life-giving, you deserve a break from the winds of life.  A good rest awaits.

Located minutes from Mexican Water, Arizona (didn’t go there… I had mexican water once. Didn’t go well), Mexican Hat stands out in a crowd of rock structures. By ‘Hat,’ do they mean sombrero? Because I don’t think it looks like one.

No Less than MOab, Utah

A long-view of the Windows at Arches National Park and the La Sal mountains in the background

There is a certain beauty in a place where humans aren’t supposed to be living.  I found that today at Arches National Park, in Moab, Utah.  We traversed this national park for a little more than 3 hours before heading into the little community of Moab.  Brilliant hues of red, blue, and green.  (Some of which was actually vegetation – you’ll have to visit this place to see why I used the word some)

Of course, there was the obstacle course of humanity that invades Arches on a daily basis.  They were all behind me in a line as I drove the single-lane road through the park, pulling off occasionally for the opportune photo op and allowing the gathered train of traffic to pass on by.  This happened a lot, for both photos and cars.

Simon and Garfunkel once sang, slow down, you move too fast, you got to make the morning last.  While I didn’t kick down the cobblestone, but did manage to trip over a firmly rooted sagebrush while enjoying the scenery (THAT was embarrassing), I felt a rushed presence of the tourists behind me, as if they had another park to go to today.

It wasn’t too long ago, while at a retreat for confirmation youth, I experienced the same phenomena.  I purposefully entered into a prayer labyrinth ahead of the youth to see how long a one would form behind me.  It didn’t take long.  Before I knew it, I had to ‘pull over’ to allow a train of youth in the labyrinth to get to where they needed to go…the center of the labyrinth.  I imagine for many of these youngsters a prayer labyrinth was a new experience.  Not knowing what else to do, you just go with the flow, right?

Life can be lived much the same way.  Without knowing how to live it yourself, you could get sucked by the extreme flow of secular society, rushing down the rapids of life trying to hold on or even blowing wherever life blows you without holding onto something firmly planted…something…say, for example, God.

With the tragic myriad of activities for any one of our family members to be involved with, when would anyone have the time to slow down.  You have to drive through that proverbial park as fast as you can so you can get to another park as soon as possible, right?  Because that’s what life has taught you.  But do you miss a chance to perfectly frame a photo for a memory book?  Would you have the opportunity to be so lost in wonder that you trip over the very wonder you’re wondering about, looking goofy as ever in front of a few hundred people?  Would you even know to stop and take in the various colors of a land that you may only see once?

I’ve got the 59th Street Bridge Song rolling through my head…  especially the last line of the song… Life, I love you, I’m feelin’ groovy.

Maybe, just maybe, you all can join me in singing that first line – slow down, you’re movin’ too fast, you’ve got to make the morning last…today, tomorrow, and the weeks to come.  Life, I love you.  I’m feeling very groovy.

The Itch…

I’ve got it.  The “itch.”  “Senioritis.”  Attention deficit… SQUIRREL!

Two weeks and we’re on the road for a three-month sabbatical.  Well, I’m on sabbatical.  My wife, on the other hand, will be fresh off of maternity leave and back to work, 3/4 time for about a month before full-time resumes.  She’s stressed, but for totally different reasons than I am.  For her, it’s all about the packing and placement of said pack”ages.”  For me, it’s all about tying up loose ends.  Every time one is tied up, about a million more present themselves.

I am itchy to get on the road and journey with my family…and my God, who I will be praying to on a more than regular basis out of sheer need to arrive at our destinations without conflict.  (Fat chance?)

I will also be praying for a little direction.  I’m fried on the ministerial inside.  I could use some rest and guidance for my pastoral life during these coming months.

An acquaintance of mine writes for the Facebook page called The God Article.  I love this page.  It’s a progressive Christian page with its foundations clearly in what I would think is religious ‘reasonability.’  Meaning – all is spoken out of love.  I like that.  Last year, this author left his own North Carolina church for a sabbatical.  I anticipated his blog entries religiously… no pun intended… as he intentionally avoided “church.”  The blog was published in the Huffington Post.

As he journeyed I felt he may, like others I knew in ministry, leave the church because of its often-cited hypocrisy within its church leadership.  While he didn’t leave the church another one of my friends left the church years ago and claims “reason” as his greatest following.  Sad thing is… I get it.

It may be the loose canon preacher pretending to “speak for all of Christianity” who’s asinine YouTube videos go viral.  It could also be the people within the church who, as American author, friar, priest, contemplative and speaker Brennan Manning once said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”  It seems as if the whole of Christianity, even some who post on The Christian Left (similar to The God Article, I just find they speak with a little less love for others than our Gospels appear to teach) seem more able to open mouth and insert foot than to be effective at creating new (or, for this matter, used) disciples.

Am I going to do the same?  Will this sabbatical journey give cause to doubt?  Am I going to question my faith or will I … SQUIRREL!?!?

Two weeks from today the journey begins and the questions continue.  Prayerfully, mile by mile, God will speak the answers.  That is my hope.  It’s almost time to scratch that itch or grab some calamine lotion… one or the other will do.

Ups and Downs…and In Betweens.

Over the last week we’ve had some pretty interesting weather.  Now some may think that if you live in Colorado you’re a shoe-in for cold, snowy, cold, snowy, cold… and more snowy weather.  Visions of white-capped mountains may come to mind.  But that’s a little further up.  And we’re much further down.  There’s a joke I’ve learned while living here.  You want to hear it?

You know why northeastern Colorado is SO windy?  Because Nebraska sucks and Wyoming blows.  (insert appropriate level of laughter here.)

Yes.  We’re in between, it seems.  Cold and snowy we’re typically not.  This is one of two snowy winters we’ve experienced since moving here in November of 2007.  The last one was 2007-2008.  Otherwise temps here may be consistent with snowy-like conditions elsewhere, but the sun, the lack of cloud cover, and an elevation of 4,300 ft. above sea level seems to make everything feel about 10 degrees warmer than anywhere else.

Our weather is interesting because it’s been snowing.  I’ve pulled out the two-stage snow thrower a whopping total of five times more than last year!  How many times did I use it last year?   A big, fat NIL.  Zero.  Zip.  Zippo.  Nada.  None.  Not once.  I even pulled out the snow thrower a bit prematurely this evening as it’s still coming down and blowing.

Why do I mention this?  Ever try to RV in sub-freezing weather?  Right… you can’t.  Well, I should say you can, but with very limited capabilities.  Luxuries like using the shower are off limits (pipes freeze… or your water pump freezes and explodes… Learned the latter of the two the hard way) and even staying warm is a challenge.  It’s not like these RV’s are insulated like your congressman (again, learned that one the hard way – never do a test-run at an elevation of 9,400 ft. above sea level in February and expect good results) .

In two and a half weeks we’re on the road.  Going UP through the mountains and then slowly back down to an elevation of 4,000 ft. for our first stop.  4,600 ft. for our second stop.  I’m praying for mild weather to say the least.  It’d be slightly better than a good thing to get this adventure off to a good start.  Would you pray with me?  Please?

Thank you.

The Adventure is About to Begin

The countdown has started… about a year ago.  As a solo pastor of a church of over 300 listed members and roughly 50 more children-in-tow, ministry has begin to take its physical and emotional toll.  I lack energy.  I lack motivation to lose weight.  My ability to hold back on frustration is minimal… I am ready for a time of renewal.  

Three weeks from today we leave.  “We” is me, my lovely bride of nearly 12 years, my newborn daughter Sophie, and Melissa’s cat, Tink, who loves me best… dammit.  We’ve purchased a Class C RV, a 2012 Jayco Greyhawk and have made a few test runs to break her in before our adventure begins – 29 states, 9,800 miles (give or take a few more), towing our grocery-getter for three months.

Did I say I was ready for a “”renewal”?  What was I thinking?  

My journey will consist of daddy day care, spending quality bonding time with my daughter while my wife slowly works back into…work.  We’ll visit national parks, friends, and make some new friends while hoping to enter into some sacred conversation along the way.

3 weeks.  Let the adventure begin… Why don’t you come along for the ride… I’ll need the company.