Glory

These are some shots I caught before my camera died:


Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, I have survived training week(s)!ALL by God's relentless grace! It was a crazy,chaotic week of teaching sessions(with real kids--eek!),lectures and workshops, but I made it! Jacqueline and I hit the road early this morning around 9:00. Well, I suppose that wasn't too early, was it? :) It seemed surreal to be stepping outside of our "MCT Comfort Zone" and into the great unknown(for me) professional performance world! We passed through Montana, Idaho and Utah today! We're staying at a lovely Holiday Inn Express here in Utah tonight and we'll head to LAS VEGAS tomorrow! Staying on the strip, baby! Haha, of course this is laughable to any of you who know me because I'm not a party animal. However, I am planning on cruising a little bit tomorrow night! Why not? Don't worry guys, I will be safe! :)
The ride today was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. As I sit here now typing, I'm speechless. The Lord was seemingly pressing the "refresh" button on nature every time we turned so that the colors and curves were that much more defined in brilliance. The hills--correction--mountains--continue for miles and were all we saw ahead of us.Seeing them today made me ponder their formation. I decided*and this is probably totally off theologically* that when God was creating them,He pulled out a hunk of red clay,carved out unparagoned spirals and curves and sprinkled little tufts of green and white on top.Like a perfect recipe. It's incomparable, really. And the images only heightened in amazement with every passing hour! I literally couldn't stop staring, and praising the Lord for his might and goodness! As I stared stupified, the Lord reminded me of some verses in Proverbs,
"Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure"
-Proverbs 4:25-26
Hm, look directly ahead, huh? For once, under the canopy of these mountains,I could do that. Gazing around me at this mass of green earth and stone, I wasn't afraid of my future. I was able to solemnly sit there and breathe in the peace(AND NOT FEAR)of the unknown. The Lord knows. What is my calling? To gaze. Gaze ahead and ponder the path. Am I truly doing that? No. I fail(and fall) every day.Thankfully,there is Christ. When my eyes are too doubtful to gaze, he provides a scenic reminder(like the mountains) to lift my head. When my mind is too overwhelmed to trust, He whispers reminders of his majesty(also the mountains) :). Our God is that gentle. He is that loving. Why do we deserve this? Oh, right...we don't. Only because of Christ. ALWAYS because of Christ. How gracious He is to remind us and to draw us in with his beauty!I needed that reminder--a BIG reminder--to prepare my heart for this quest.

By God's grace,I'm learning in every minute. Praise the Lord!

Much love,

Sus