13 Adventures In 15 Days

Today I got to thinking about how awesome life here in Branson is. The awesome part comes as I stay open to Jesus and go through doors of adventure he presents. Here the 13 adventures I’ve had over the last 15 days.

1. Hiked to a Mountain Lion’s Kitchen Table a Second Time. Yep, the dogs and I found a place with a recently gnawed bone and a big pile of fresh big cat scat right next to it. I didn’t stay there very long. As if once wasn’t enough, the second time around I took my sister, a good friend, and 2 girls I was trying to convince to be our female sponsors for our adventure camping trip along. No one was eaten.

2. Mountain Biking at Night. I didn’t blog about this one, but I did talk about it in a recent sermon (listen to it or download it here ). Downhill, no visibility, rocky road, oak brush…. nuff said.

3. Worship Under the Stars. The night before we rafted, we were invited to join a college group for some music and worship around their campfire. It was breathtaking.

4. Whitewater Rafting. Blogged about this here.

5. Camping 15 feet from a raging river. Ditto on the last post.

6. Rock Climbing. Blogged about it here.

7. Hitch Hiking. I’m working on that blog right now. That whole day was crazy.

8. Hot Springs Swimming. Warm, fun, waiting for lost keys to show up…. oh no, I’m giving away details on the upcoming blog!

9. Horseback Riding. I helped gather a pasture of cows and calves with 2 of my favorite people on the planet: my cousin Dan and my Grandad Tanky.

10. Swashbuckling. I was Pirate Bones (the comic relief) and the game guy for our pirate-themed VBS, which was this past week. Talking in a pirate voice for 3 straight days will leave your throat trashed. It was awesome. Here’s a highlight video.

11. Standing next to 2 Kodiak Bears. They were dead. I got to visit a homestead where a friend had grown up. His father was a serious big game hunter and had an incredible trophy room. 2 Kodiak bears, a polar bear, a moose, several caribou, lots of antelope, a bull elk, and lots of knickknacks from traveling the world. That room had volumes of adventure stories to tell.

12. Wild Grass Fire Fighting. I just blogged about this here.

13. Cliff Diving. Today I made my first trip to Trinchera Falls: the local swimming hole and possible greatest kept secret on the planet. The swimming was phenomenal. There is an archaeological dig just up the creek if you want to see some ancient cave drawings. Oh yeah, and I jumped off a 25 foot cliff into the water.

Coming up in the next month: a 50-mile bike ride and adding a third little boy to the mix (in that order).

So who wants to move to Branson?

But really, location doesn’t matter if you’re open to adventures the Lord puts in your path. There will always be details to take care of and bills to pay. Take advantage of open doors and let God weave some wonderful memories for you. It’s quite a ride.

Loading Up My Quiver On the Tea Cup Ride

We’re about to shift from man-to-man defense to zone.

According to my brother-in-law (and father of of 3), that’s that way it works.  Other dads of three say the same thing… along with more gray hair, or increasing lack of hair or, or complaints about their membership fees to Starbucks anonymous (caffeine is one of God’s more wonderful gifts to mankind).

There’s still tons to get done… putting together bunk beds and convincing both older boys that they want to share a room now… getting the garden totally planted… writing grants for our local school… curing cancer.  Somehow it will all get done (I hope).  Having three little arrows in my quiver will be awesome.

In about 6 hours I’m leaving on a 4 day rafting and rock climbing trip with our teens from church.  Three nights in tents with no showers.  Hoo boy!  To top it all off, I went on a grueling/exhilerating/insane mountain bike last night with a buddy (so I’m really tired right now) and only got about three hours of sleep last night  (so I’m really tired right now) which is common for me before big trips like this.  Oh yeah, I have to go preach in a couple of hours from now.

Amidst all this chaos, I keep reminding myself of the counsel I’ve been giving several friends and community members over the last several weeks:  God is in complete control and everything that happens is part of His plan to mold us into who He wants us to be.

Good to remember during the Tea Cup Ride known as life.