Gear Report: Keen Daytona Sandals

Grace and I recently returned from Israel, where my Keen Daytona sandals worked flawlessly. Whether it was hiking down Masada, sloshing through Hezekiah's Tunnel, traversing the dusty trails up to the streams of Ein Gedi, exploring the ruins in Galilee, or navigating the haphazard streets of the Old City Jerusalem, these sandals did it all!

Through no fault of their own, however, they did provide a pungent reminder of the time when Jesus washed his disciples' feet (John 13). Jesus' humility in washing the disciples' feet takes on new significance after having to wash off the grime from my own feet on a daily basis!

Dandy Point, Hampton, VA

2 June 2012

Warm sun. Cloudless sky. White sand. Empty beaches. Great friends. Saturday found us enjoying some R & R not too far away from home near Hampton, VA. We found a great spot to go kayaking near a nature preserve with very few people on the beach itself. We even saw a bald eagle! The perfect place to take a walk on the beach and have a picnic lunch.

Now THIS is convenience!

21 May, 2012
After a full day of typing on a paper, I decided I needed to clear my mind a little by taking a bike ride on the Creeper Trail. I thought I'd ride to Damascus, VA and back to get some great exercise.
Creeper Trail Cool Down
Along the way, somewhere around mile-marker 9 or 10, some ingenious capitalist strung an extension cord from his mobile home to power a vending machine an arm's reach from the trail. Zoom in to see the hand-scrawled notes offering the traveler reasons to 'buy now'! I'm positive this man's slogan was accurate: 'coldest drinks on the trail'--literally, on the trail.

Alas, I had no quarters!

Abingdon, VA

19 May, 2012
Today Grace and I drove to Bristol to spend a long weekend with her family. So Buddy and I took a ride on the famous Creeper Trail and made it 6 miles, 4 bridges, 2 bikes, and 0 incidents!

After we got back to the parking lot, I unlocked the car to start putting the bikes in, then looked up and all I saw was Buddy's bike... parked (see pic below). I figured I should check it out, so when I walked over, he was just getting up from lying on the tracks, 'just to get the experience,' as he said. Thankfully, no train was coming!

The Scars of Blessing

I've been meaning to post this since I composed it at Christmas, but I've obviously been busy. A thought by Tim Keller on Jacob wrestling with God sparked my thoughts and I worked out a few lines, though I am no poet. I really wanted to remind myself not to bail on God when future nights of wrestling come, but to stick it out until He blesses me, scars notwithstanding. I don't want to waste the opportunities put before me!

Dedicated to two friends who are currently wrestling through a long night...

The Scars of Blessing
Jacob wrestling with the Lord, doesn't look like blessing,
the pains of a long dark night, are rarely praised in song.
But his wrestling ends in scars, the Father's love to show,
scars remembered and lived out, ignores the pain below.
Cherished scars are rarely had, for wrestlings left undone,
too oft the opportunity is "needless" or "un-fun."
The blessing of such moments, so painful in the midst,
far more precious than fine gold, poured into your fist.
The sweetness of the blessing, is not in changed events,
nor change in circumstances, no matter what comes hence.
But the blessing is the Son, our God Immanuel,
who accompanies each one, dispensing grace in full.
Yes the limps and scars remain, of treasures to remind,
and turn our thoughts to heaven, our hearts in his to bind.

Vicarious Travel

This is officially my [Jared's] first post to this travelogue. As an original member of the Kaessner Bro's Expeditions team, I haven't posted yet here because my abilities to travel have been somewhat limited. However, the next best thing to actually going there yourself... is reading about someone who has.

Therefore, in the spirit of exploration, I want to commend to you a book by Rory Stewart, The Places In Between. It's about his walk across Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban fell in 2o02. It's a fascinating read: his knowledge of the history of the area as well as his knowledge of several languages of the region make his book come alive. Anyone who loves adventure or wants to push a little further into the complexities of Afghanistan needs to read this book.


Thanks to our guide, Jed Kaessner, for finding this book.

Blessings

Blessings come in all different ways. There are blessings of brokenness, which are painfully bitter, yet exceedingly sweet as you drink deeply from unmatched reservoirs of grace. For such times, His grace is sufficient.

The dry, parched lands of the wilderness bring their own blessings. While they are seldom appreciated, the blessings of discipline, endurance, and strengthening often come during this time. These are the "Good Soldier Days," where His grace is sufficient to grind through the daily mundane of life, doing the next right thing, one step at a time.

But then there are blessings of blessings. While Americans are familiar with blessings, we often are not aware of the blessings of blessings. That is to say we often look at the blessings but no more, forgetting that there are lessons to be learned by responding correctly to blessings—things like holding them loosely, using them to serve God/others, not ourselves. But even with these times His grace is sufficient! So the real blessing is not the brokenness, the wilderness times, or the blessings themselves, it is the grace He gives to respond to each circumstance for His glory! And in each case, His grace is sufficient. It will never be found wanting, it will never be overdrawn—it is always enough! 2 Cor. 12:9