Aspens........ Until living here I was not always so impressed by the aspen tree. But seeing them in every season and learning about them, I have come to love them. Unlike most deciduous trees they are interconnected by a root system that spreads out and creates other aspens by sending out shoots. This helps them to survive and continue on. Even after a fire, due to the fact that the root system survives the heat, aspen colonies will reappear with the roots sending forth more shoots. They can be fragile as individuals subject to disease and other ailments causing the one tree to die but because of its connection to the root system, others will take its place continuing on the colony.......Are we not in the kingdom of Heaven called to be sort of the same? "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:4-5

Aspens are tender green in the spring with a green that defies description. The white trunks with their dark spots called eyes due to their shape reflect the sun when they are hit by its light in all seasons. Their leaves quake in the wind sounding like little fairy hands clapping. In the Fall they turn either a bright yellow-gold or a peachy orange depending on the species; their Fall beauty takes my breath away. Should not the Kingdom of Heaven do the same in the midst of a world in turmoil; our every breath, our every season, our every sound calling out to the world, "come home, come to the One who offers peace that transcends all understanding?"

So as I sit in the midst of the aspens, or sometimes I even lie down among them looking through their leaves heavenward, my prayer is that I can be a citizen of hope and peace in the middle of the Kingdom of Heaven.

By the river.......We had a church retreat this weekend just around the corner from our Marble Community Church at Treasure Mountain Bible Camp. The first day was making the 13,552 summit of Treasure Mountain with three other church members. It was exhilarating to say the least! It was something that I was deeply grateful that I was able to do. I do not take these things for granted with all the things that I have experienced with my head! God's world is magnificent and I am so grateful that I can SEE it.

On the second day of the retreat I taught the women's session and one of the scriptures that we looked at was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazareth sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to His words, His teachings, learning from the Master. I encouraged the ladies to have a time of reflection somewhere quiet in the camp. I went to sit by Yule Creek, listening to it as it ran across the rocks creating nature's music. With the procedure I am having this week and with some of the sorrow that friends and family of mine are facing, I had a lot in my heart. But I sat still by the creek and opened my heart to Jesus and felt the sun on my face as if it was God Himself warming me with His love. Off to the right I caught a glimpse of wild raspberries. There were only a few left. I reached for them, picked them and popped them in my mouth! I was amazed that there were just those few left. It is a little late in the season for them.........Then I heard the Still Small Voice, "I am your portion, child." and I knew and I know that He is my "all in all."

"Martha, Martha you are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better (or the better portion as some scholars say) and it will not be taken from her." Luke 10:41-42. .....We are blessed for we face nothing alone. He is our portion.

I saw the neurosurgeon. The news was better than expected. I only have two small brain tumors instead of three. They were concerned that the one in the front of my head in a place called the olfactory groove might reach the optic nerve or the optic chiasm of my left eye which is the only eye that I have vision in. But the optic nerve and the chiasm look clear of the tumor. The doc recommended that I get that tumor taken care of through a procedure called gamma knife which is a type of radiation. He said that it was not an emergency and that we could watch the tumor for a year.

I took a couple of days to pray about it. One morning sitting out in the back of my brother-in-law's yard with my dog Starbuck and a venti cup of Starbuck coffee looking at the mountain called Pike's Peak, I just felt this strong inner urge that I should get it out. It was the cool of the day. It was just God, me, my dog and a cup of morning coffee. I felt a peace that this is the direction I should take. So on the 9th of September, I will have the gamma knife procedure in Denver. Prayers are appreciated. I rely upon the prayers of God's people.

Sunday in our historical Marble Church......today was a very sweet service for me as a pastor's wife here in our mountain village of Marble. As a chaplain's wife in the Air Force I have had the privilege to love many Air Force parishioners and to have them love me enough to pray for me, with me, and over me through some very serious health issues. By God's grace and the prayers of His people I was brought through those times.
Here in our small historical church in Marble I have the privilege of loving our parishioners and today felt their love in a powerful way..........

As many of you know, I have had 5 benign brain tumors in which one of them took the vision in my right eye. They were all successfully removed and I survived it all by the grace of our almighty God! Recently I found out that I have developed a brain tumor that is in a spot that could endanger the vision in my left eye. I go to the neurosurgeon this week to determine what is the best course of action to treat this tumor and save my vision.
Today, the parishioners led by one of the men of the church, laid hands on me and prayed for healing, guidance, and direction. It was a surprise to me and touched me deeply. It was as if Jesus, through His people, reminded me that I am not alone. I go with the confidence that once again I am held before the throne of grace by the prayers of the "saints!"
The service ended at the altar with communion following the sermon on "crumbs from the Master's table". O how sweet are even the crumbs from our Lord's table.

Today I chose miserable.......Wandering around Marble today with Starbuck (my lab) I chose miserable. We were on a walk with rainy skies, muddy roads and spectacular "moody mountains" with clouds above them and below them. In the middle of the walk I chose a different option than the one I had originally planned. I decided that we would go down a trail from the road and circle back to the Bob Marly (my jeep). The operative word here would be trail not road.

So we started down the trail and we were immediately in sometimes knee high vegetation and sometimes shoulder high vegetation. Did I mention rainy skies? Less than a minute into the trail, my hiking pants were soaked due to wet vegetation. My pants were a little too big and with the extra water weight, in constant threat of slipping down, not something I particularly wanted to happen. My feet got soaked, my dog got soaked.... I think you get the picture. Once at the bottom of the trail we had to walk a muddy road to get back to the Bob Marly. Almost to the said jeep, we ran into horses being loaded to go into the back country. Starbuck barks furiously at horses. Horses do not in general like dogs to bark at them. I had to drag her on a tight leash by the horses to load up and head home.

Yes, indeed I chose miserable. I could have finished my original course and avoided miserable. Then as God often does when I am on a hike, He led my heart in a spiritual application. How many times does He give me options and I choose miserable? The good news is that He often gives us options and gives us choices. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we miss the mark just a bit. The even better news is that even when we choose miserable, He does not forsake us but woos us back to the better trail or sees us through to the place where we can load up in our jeep and go to a dry home!

"...And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:end of vs 20

Old Man of the Mountain......The flower photo that I posted called Old Man of the Mountain is my favorite yellow flower. We have a joke around here about yellow flowers. Everyone says, "Oh, it's just another yellow flower." I think this yellow flower deserves some respect! This yellow flower grows only at the alpine level which is above the tree line. It grows in a harsher climate and in rocky soil. In spite of these circumstances, it blooms and turns its head toward the sun.

I can learn a lesson from the Old Man of the Mountain. In spite of my circumstances or the conditions around me, I can turn my head toward The Son and bloom even though I am just another one of God's creation or better said because I am one of God's creation, one of His beloved!

On the trail........We hiked a portion of Avalanche Creek trail today. As usual we were confronted with God's magnificent creation everywhere we turned from the wildflowers to the open meadows and to the roaring creek itself! I feel so alive on the trail and at times everything in my heart comes close to the surface.

On our way back, in the midst of the beauty I thought about my father's memories slipping away and wondered how I could hold on to the beauty around me. I thought about brain tumors and vision and wondered how I could hold fast to the things I was seeing. And I looked up into the blue of the skies between the canopy of aspens and conifers and yelled out, fellow Christian, " to hell with Alzheimers, to hell with brain tumors!!!. This does not define the child of God! The trail led up and I attacked it and allowed the sorrow to flow out with the effort of each rock-covered climb! I began to proclaim; "every memory we hold, every experience we experience, everything that we see, they do become a part of us!!! And the Holy Spirit knows every one of them! And Jesus Christ knows every one of them! And God, the Father knows everyone of them! Nothing that is part of us is lost because the Three in One experiences our lives with us!!! And one day when we pass through the vail of
death and through Heaven's gates into the arms of God, all the memories, all the experiences and all the things we saw good or bad will be part of the journey that led us into God's arms and thus are not lost but are held tenderly until that day we are made whole again before Him!"

So dear Christian friend, we do not climb the trail of despair in vain! We do not rest beside the roaring creek in vain! We do not see the beauty all around us that becomes a part of our soul in vain! We do not stumble and fall and skin our knees to sit there! No! We get up! We go on! We finish the hike! WHY? Because dear Christian, we still believe, we still have faith! And one sweet day we will finish the "hike" and hear the words,"Well done my good and faithful servant."