Helpless Grace

Sometimes you hear people say that the exchange of presents has nothing to do with the “Christmas spirit.”  I disagree.  This Christmas especially, as we finish the last of many gift exchanges with friends and family, I’m more acutely sensitive to God’s grace than usual.

Everyone unwittingly teamed up to give me the most awesome Christmas ever.  A library of books that I like and a garage full of woodworking tools are just some of the things I was given.  Presents I just mentioned in passing and never dreamed I would actually get were standard fare this Christmas.

I’m so humbled by the generosity of my friends and family.  I’m all the more humbled because, frankly, I didn’t give a very spectacular selection of gifts this year.

In light of my own paltry offerings and the awesomeness of what I’ve been given, on Christmas and on the Cross, the only way to respond to generosity of that magnitude is with sincere thanks and by enjoying and putting it to use.

Experiencing helpless grace is an awkward feeling.  But it’s something I could use a lot of practice doing.  Thanks guys, and thank God for Christmas presents.

Mount Yonah

Sorry for the silence.  I was having so much fun with my family while they were up here I forgot to blog.

On Friday I went hiking with my brother, uncle and cousin.  We decided to climb Mount Yonah in Cleveland, an impressive-looking mountain (for here, anyway) that rises 3,186 feet above sea level.

There are three stages, more or less, to the trail.  The first is a winding trail with a shallow grade through the lower forests that passes by a lot of huge boulders.  This culminates in an overlook with an impressive view, and the first rock face for climbing or rappelling.

The next stage is much steeper, but shorter, than the first, going over lots of smallish rocks perfect to roll your ankle on.  No big views, but the hiking gets easier when you turn right onto the road (they use this to bus Army Rangers up to the cliff face).  The road leads in to a campsite with restrooms of a sort and nice places to build a fire.  The campsite is open year-round except when the Rangers are up there to train (call 706-864-3327 to find out when they’ll be there).

Continue up the road to reach the summit and the third stage of the trail.  At one point you’ll see a trail that leads off of the road: you definitely want to take it!  All the best views out over the valley are located off of this trail–you can see some of them in the photos below.  Although the temperature was about 55* down at the parking lot, there was ice up here near the top– the main cliff face features ice climbing in the winter–and the winds were astonishingly strong.

A little farther on we reached the summit, which was a whole different animal from the rest of the mountain.  The winds abated to a light breeze, the sun felt balmy overhead and the top was a grass-covered bald surrounded by trees, with a fire circle and great camping spots.  It was a peaceful rest after a strenuous climb.  We saw two, four and then an improbable dozen eagles soared out over the side of the mountain, diving occasionally as they hunted.  We had lunch, rested, looked fruitlessly for my poor cousin’s cell phone which he’d dropped, and headed back down, taking the road this time.

In total, we took about two hours to get to the top, counting breaks, and a bit less than an hour to get back down.  There were points when we looked all the way up toward the summit and considered turning back, but it was well worth it when we reached those views!

Looking back at the road so far

The journey’s left its share of scars

Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight

Looking back You know You had to bring me through

All that I was so afraid of

Though I questioned the sky, now I see why

Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view

Looking back I see the lead of love

-Caedmon’s Call, Lead of Love

Something you should know about Lead Of Love LyricsTitle: Caedmon’s Call – Lead Of Love lyricsArtist: Caedmon’s Call LyricsVisitors: 4008 visitors have hited Lead Of Love Lyrics since May 27, 2008. // <![CDATA[ tf_sid = "PMMBs0001"; tf_artist = "Caedmon's Call"; tf_song = "Lead Of Love"; document.write(''); // ]]> Listen to Lead Of Love Caedmon’s Call music, lyrics and more! Listen to it with the free music toolbar. free-music-online.com Lead Of Love Lyrics All Caedmon’s Call Lyrics from largest lyric site on the net! best-song-lyrics.com Ads By Monetized // Send “Lead Of Love” Ringtone to Mobile Looking back at the road so far The journey’s left its share of scars Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight Looking back it is clear to me That a man is more than the sum of his deeds And how You’ve made good of this mess I’ve made Is a profound mystery Looking back You know You had to bring me through All that I was so afraid of Though I questioned the sky, now I see why Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view Looking back I see the lead of love

Backyard Eden

Today we hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner.  Family members drove up from Florida to stay with us for a few days and we had a great meal this afternoon.  My favorite part was picking vegetables out of our own garden to cook for the meal.  C and I planted our vegetables shortly after moving here, and these two crops reached maturity in time for the feast:

Mustard Greens

Green Beans

I was so excited to pick them out of the garden!  We’ve been watching these guys grow in the hard Georgia clay, getting bigger every week despite my infrequent watering.  It was really amazing for me to see what creation will yield despite my amateur attempts to help.

On the other hand, it reached my soul in a very deep level to harvest and consume something I grew myself.  A fulfilling, deep joy, almost addictive, that makes me look forward to the spring when I can plant in earnest.

Little wonder I feel this way: we’ve been hard-wired since the very beginning to take care of the earth and live close to it.

Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

 

To dress it and to keep it: the Hebrew can be translated “to work in it and to protect it.”

Our work in the dirt is a mirror of God’s free, gracious attention to us dirty humans: he works in us, to improve us and increase our yield, and he protects us from danger.

Simple Gifts

Yesterday I bought my wife a harmonica.  She’s never really played an instrument before so she was very excited to try it out.  After learning “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which was included in the box, we worked out a little part for some worship songs and Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” and sat together playing music and singing.

Unfortunately the cat was very upset by the harmonica noise, and wailed desperately when C. played it, and when that failed to stop the noise she started sneaking up on us and biting our arms as a deterrent.  Laughing through the pain, we had such a joyful, simple evening that I had to write about it.  I’m so thankful for simple gifts.  They help cut through the hype we surround ourselves with and bring us close to the heart of God.

Simple Gifts: Harmonica and Guitar

          C         Am                C         Am
  3  3    4   4  -4  5   4     5 -5    6   6 -5   5
'Tis the gift to be sim-ple,'tis the gift to be free;

          Dm                G
 -4  4    -4  -4  -4    4   -4   5    -4  -3  3
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be.

     C               Am              C           Am
 3   4   -3  4   -4   5   4   5 -5    6   6  -5   5
And when we find our-sel-ves in the place ju-st right,

       Dm        G           C    F      C
 -4 4  -4 -4 -4   5   5  -4   4   4   4   4
Twi-ll be in the val-ley of love and de-light.

      Am       C            Am
  6    5  -4   5  -5 5  -4   4
When true sim-pli-ci-ty is gained

              Am7        G
-4  5   5  -5   6 -5 5   -4   -4 5   -4
To bow and to bend w-e shan't be a-shamed.

   C       Am         C         Am
 3  4 -4    5   5 -5  6  6  -5   5
To tu-rn, turn wi-ll be our de-light,

         Dm        G7          C     F     C
 -4   4  -4  -4    5    5  -4  4     4     4
'Til by turn-ing, turn-ing we come 'round right.

C         Am                C         Am
3  3    4   4  -4  5   4     5 -5    6   6 -5   5
‘Tis the gift to be sim-ple,’tis the gift to be free;Dm                G
-4  4    -4  -4  -4    4   -4   5    -4  -3  3′Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be.

C               Am              C           Am
3   4   -3  4   -4   5   4   5 -5    6   6  -5   5
And when we find our-sel-ves in the place ju-st right,

Dm        G           C    F      C
-4 4  -4 -4 -4   5   5  -4   4   4   4   4
Twi-ll be in the val-ley of love and de-light.

Am       C            Am
6    5  -4   5  -5 5  -4   4
When true sim-pli-ci-ty is gained

Am7        G
-4  5   5  -5   6 -5 5   -4   -4 5   -4
To bow and to bend w-e shan’t be a-shamed.

C       Am         C         Am
3  4 -4    5   5 -5  6  6  -5   5
To tu-rn, turn wi-ll be our de-light,

Dm        G7          C     F     C
-4   4  -4  -4    5    5  -4  4     4     4
‘Til by turn-ing, turn-ing we come ’round right.