Another Year....Jon and I have been at the Marble Church for a little over a year. October 11 was our first year anniversary. The first year was a time for us to determine if God truly wanted us here and to give the church a chance to see if they truly wanted us as well. It goes both ways you know. Well the church officially offered us a chance to continue to serve them.

Jon recently asked me, "What have you liked most about being here in this remote location for the past year?" After all living between two wilderness areas is a bit different than what we have experienced in the past. I gave the question some thought. Then it came to me. I responded,"It's like I was seeing all things new and for the first time in quite a while like you would as a child!" From the little white historical church and the lovely people inside to the breathtaking scenery all around us.

Seeing my first full moon at 8000 feet; I remember twirling around in the middle of the dirt road in front of my house like a little girl. Did I say I was in my pjs? Hiking in the back country; we would hike into an open Alpine meadow with majestic peaks all around and I would break out singing "The Sound of Music." Feeling the intensity of the sun against the bright clear blue skies of this altitude reflecting off the crystalin snow, was invigorating! Then you know how I felt about our bears; photographing them in my night gown in the early morning, screaming at Little Bear through the door to get off the deck. Yes I have seen things and done things through fresh eyes, through childlike eyes.

I seem to remember as Jon has preached many times that our Lord said that we must become like little children to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Perhaps as I have experienced these new sights and sounds my soul has reached back to touch the child spirit deep within. I certainly pray so. Can I hold on to the newness? Can I keep at bay the tendency of life to often paint our daily lives in less vibrancy? I certainly pray so. I want to have the kind of childlike heart that runs, dances, and lives the Kingdom of Heaven! I certainly pray it will be so!

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." II Corinthians 5:17