As we draw near to Christmas, to "God with Us," to the miraculous birth of our Savior here on Earth, I find myself continuously amazed at the thought. Young Mary was very pregnant at this point. Young Joseph had taken her home to be his wife, and yet had honored his commitment to stay separate until after the baby was born. They've had nearly nine months to talk about what all of this means- how t...  Read More

The wind was roaring as I climbed. Blowing snow was freezing to my eyelashes, causing my eyes to stick shut. I usually stop to pray, but the wind drove me off the top of the mountain. For over an hour, my eyes had been focused on the trail in front of me. Now that I was descending I got my first look at 'the view.' The night sky was so beautiful that it reminded me of a Christmas card. I was stand...  Read More

A week of gale force winds often exceeding 80 miles per hour, a 7.0 earthquake, bitter cold- Alaska has had an interesting start to December... but we don't have snakes. I smile as I write that because my wife grew up in Alaska, and while there are a number of things she sometimes lists that she doesn't like about our state, whenever she does this she adds at the end, "But we don't have snakes." E...  Read More

I'd forgotten the stillness. Climbing a mountain in the early morning darkness- the white of the snow touching a sky lit by stars and moon- the only sound is my soft breathing and the rythmic crunch of my boots on the snow. It's been cold, true, but the air is crisp and clean and somehow exhilarating. From high on this mountain, 'Peace on Earth' actually seems possible. Luke 5:16 says, "Jesus ofte...  Read More

Several weeks ago I got ready to climb. I set out my crampons, poles, gaitors, boots, headlamps, pack and gear. I put on my climbing clothes and was ready to go. Then Laura reminded me of an important appointment early that morning. I didn't have time to climb. Then for three weeks or so, there were many mornings when I COULD have climbed, I just lacked motivation. Yesterday I finally did it- my f...  Read More

It was a sunny morning in the middle of August- the kind of morning sheep hunters remember. Of course, hunting is when you go where the animals live and try to get one. It's more accurate to say that I was 'hunting for a place to hunt.' I hadn't seen any sheep, didn't know if there were any in this stretch of mountains, but it was too beautiful a morning not to climb. Besides, I only had two days ...  Read More

I'd only been to this mountain one time before. It had involved side-hilling through heavy brush right at treeline. I had to 'walk' the machine down several steep cuts and then winch it back up the other side. It was extremely slow, extremely difficult, and very dangerous. Not only that, but it didn't get me 'to' the mountain, it only got me close. Now, years later, I found myself on an old trail ...  Read More

Cold and dark. That's our Alaskan morning. We all know that 'cold' is a word we use to describe the absence of heat, and 'dark' is the word we use to describe the absence of light. Our God is a Consuming Fire and The Light of the World. Heat and Light.But more than that, God is GOOD. Thus, the ABSENCE of GOD is the ABSENCE of GOOD. This is what makes hell so terrible. If you want nothing to do wit...  Read More

As I walked into the empty church in the early morning darkness, I was overwhelmed by the beautiful Christmas scene. Trees are lit and covered with ornaments, garland and lights decorate the stairwell, and somehow the combination blankets me with a feeling of peace.... and joy... and gratitude... For me, there is something holy about Christmas lights shining in the darkness that makes me want to w...  Read More

I spent much of yesterday in the wilderness. Although the sun was not yet up at 10 AM, the temperature was a balmy 10°. The only problem is that there's so little snow that I have to ride an ATV. In fact the freezing rain last week settled the snow down to about 8 inches off the trail. What we need is at least 2 feet- 3 feet is better. The moose population in my area is at a historic low. In over ...  Read More

I laid awake that night with my foot throbbing in pain. When I got up in the morning my foot was so stiff and swollen that I could barely make it down the stairs. I allowed things to 'settle' for 2 or 3 days and then I climbed again. Each climb was not quite as slow as the one before and my recovery time got better. As the first few months went by, I continued to climb- continued to get stronger. ...  Read More

A normal, good pace for me coming down Bear Mountain (which is faster than going up) is about 40 minutes from the summit to my house. I was still near the top and 40 minutes were already behind me. The first hour stretched slowly and painfully into the second, and I was still a long way from home. With my damaged and swollen foot, coming down the mountain was far more difficult than climbing up. I...  Read More