As we made our way alongside the river, carrying raft and gear, we noticed a number of places that we felt were too dangerous to raft. "We'll need to pull out right here and portage." Those words were heard again and again. Because of the grade, we expected Class IV whitewater, but we were seeing a lot of Class V. Then we passed where an avalanche had covered the riverbed but the river had melted ...  Read More

Every true adventure has a cost attached. We took turns carrying the 85 pound raft 7 miles up the East Fork of the Eklutna River. We also had 4 paddles, lifejackets and other essential gear. A friend was dragging a kayak. Our goal was to be the first people ever to raft this stretch of river. We scouted every stretch as we journeyed in, and the river was much more gnarly than we had anticipated. I...  Read More

The temperature has finally dropped below freezing again. Everything that was wet is now frozen, but 'dry ice' is much better for driving than 'wet ice.' After breaking October's record for snowfall, we've now broken all-time records for 'lack' of snow. In some ways it reminds me of God's created order for the harvest. At harvest time, you reap an abundance. But then there is month after month of ...  Read More

Snow at higher elevations- 2 inches at my house, but rain at the bottom of the mountain. At lower elevations we have a grit and grime. It clings to our shoes and boots and vehicles. But the higher you go the cleaner things become. The breathtaking purity of a blanket of fresh snow is in stark contrast to driving rain on grimy streets. There is a spiritual principle to be learned from this. God is ...  Read More

The light shines in the darkness. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I preached by candlelight to hundreds of people in a totally dark room. This was not by design. As I began to preach, the fire alarms went off. I told people to remain seated. Then the power went off. We had wind gusts in the area that exceeded 100 miles per hour, and we could hear the heavy gusts battering our building. A...  Read More

While Georgia and Alabama and Texas are getting snow, Alaska is getting rain. The first 3 months of our winter have been strange, but we still have several months left. With temperatures around 40°, I'm seeing people in shorts and t-shirts.  Undoubtedly, the snow will come. Strangely, I love this time of year. It's filled with expectation- with anticipation. Each day the sun rises a bit higher in ...  Read More

California is burning. Is it simply God's judgment upon the nucleus of the most evil entertainment industry in history? Some think so. Without question there is an enormous failure of leadership. Not only were warnings ignored (for years) from the professional firefighters, but the Governor of California also slashed the firefighting budget. This was important to make sure that there was money for...  Read More

Turning around was a hard decision. Climbing with a pack and rifle is never easy. The ridgeline that I wanted to hunt went on for miles. I'd been climbing all morning. Here I was just a few feet away, but the crevasse in front of me was impassable (translated 'impossible'). Whether I'm hiking or climbing, I always experience a sense of disappointment when I'm forced to stop and turn around. This i...  Read More

I'd never seen anything like it. The narrow ridgeline, often almost razor thin, suddenly stopped as though the mountain had simply split open. There was perhaps a 3 foot gap, and then the ridge began again. Even carrying a pack and rifle, with a little momentum I had no doubt that I could leap across it. But I was sheep hunting. I knew there was NO way I could come back across that precarious gap ...  Read More

The battles you face will never be won by 'committee.' Sure, seek wise counsel. Of course you want to learn and prepare. But when it comes to doing what is right- when it comes to standing firm for Jesus- the opinion of the crowd simply doesn't matter. The Israelite king and his entire army were quaking with fear. Day after day, they were frozen by indecision. But get this- a refusal to make a dec...  Read More

38° and rain? In January? After breaking records for snowfall in October, this has been a strange winter. Trying to drive home yesterday we were fishtailing and sliding everywhere on our side roads. We didn't even make it to the first hill. One of our neighbors braved it, and then called me to say the steep hills were actually in better shape than the flat roads. We tried again and made it home. W...  Read More

While Jesus commanded, "Therefore go," he also commanded us to 'stop.' The disciples weren't ALWAYS actively sharing their faith. Jesus knew they needed time to LEARN. You see, knowledge takes us from faith to FAITH. In other words, you can be 100%, sold-out, all-in regarding your faith, and yet somehow knowledge ADDS TO and INCREASES our faith. We need time to learn, but we also need time to YEAR...  Read More