A few days ago our family went for a drive one afternoon.  It wasn’t a particularly pretty day out.  For the most part here in the winter, cloud cover is very common during the day.  However, the weather here changes very fast, and you can have quite a few different weather patterns here all in one day.  So, when you get up in the morning, and begin to plan your day, just because it is overcast outside, doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to stay that way.  At any moment, the clouds may be pushed aside and the sun can break through and shine, or those same clouds could just let loose, and snow, hail, sleet or rain!   

Checking the weather forecast doesn’t help much either, I’ve found.  There are micro-climates here that the weather reports can’t forecast.   It may be raining 2 miles away, but snowing where I live.  It has hailed a mile away, and the sun shone brightly with nary a cloud in the sky at my place.  The kids have come home from school, and told me it was hailing in town, and out here, the sky is clear. You can take a drive, and in just minutes, you can see with your eyes how the weather changes, just by a curve in the road! 

So, one of our favorite things to do is to get in the truck (with the four-wheel drive) and take off for an afternoon of exploring up in the mountains. 

Today, we turned out towards a mountain lake here in Idaho that is pretty remote.  We weren’t even sure if the road would be open to it, because it is way back up in the mountains.  However, we headed that way anyway, and sure enough, the road to the lake had been plowed....  and while I wouldn’t have taken my front-wheel drive car down that road...  our truck in four wheel drive handled it just fine.

It was a magnificent view, even though it was late in the afternoon, and the little sun we had seen that day had already dipped down behind the mountains in the west.  We took our dogs with us, and they were so excited they couldn’t wait to get out of the truck and explore.  Our German Shepherd almost knocked me down trying to get out of the truck and out to see what exciting things there were to smell! 

As we walked down to the lake, we realized it was completely frozen over.  The dock was stiff and unmoving, unlike this past summer when we had visited this lake and fished off this very dock.  The water then had been deep and still, and very, very cold!  Now, it just looked like a huge field of snow.  If we hadn’t been there in the summer to see this beautiful lake, it would have been hard to believe it was a lake.  It was frozen over, and covered in snow. 

When we got to the lake, the dogs got very excited.  Looks like someone had a great time fishing out here! They had left the bones, guts and blood after cleaning their fish.  The dogs wanted to stop right there, and check this fishy business out, but we had more important things to do, and they were on a leash, so they had to follow, reluctantly!  

You could see the holes where the ice fisherman had set up their camps, and went fishing.  We didn’t see anyone out there fishing this afternoon, but you could see their circular ice holes everywhere.  

You could see tracks of snowmobiles and perhaps even a car, we weren’t sure, or at least a four-wheeler out there all over the lake.  Pretty brave people!  They had been out there when the ice was soft, because the imprints their vehicles had made had frozen later in the ice, and the imprints were two to three inches deep.  I was hoping to find that we could go ice skating out here.  I’ve been wanting to ice skate since we’ve been here, and I haven’t found a place close by where it has been cold enough to freeze over, and skate on the pond.  To my disappointment, I realized there would be no ice skating on this lake.  The ice fisherman, and snowmobile people had made sure of that.  They had been out on this lake before it was completely frozen, and was still soft, and had made a mess of the ice with deep tracks everywhere.  

It was so quiet and still out there.  We just drank in the beauty and wonder of it all.  We left the lake, and walked back through the trails where the trees were covered in powdery sparkling snow. 

I haven’t yet been able to take a picture to capture the beauty of these amazing trees covered in their white coats of sparkling crystals.  I don’t think there is a way to capture it and send it to you… but oh how I wish I could!  The stillness, and beauty of the trees ministers to my soul every time we walk through them.  

Do you ever see something so beautiful sometimes, and feel like it hurts to see it, it is so beautiful?  

That is how I feel many times here in Idaho.  I think the beauty hurts because you know you can't take it with you.... and that something soon will come along to replace it, and it will be gone.   

And so, you try to soak in the beauty into your heart so that it will never leave you, but of course, you know it will!  I wish there was a way to bottle up all the beautiful, wonderful things that we have been able to see here in Idaho, and somehow preserve them forever, but of course, I know that’s not possible.

So, we just try to live life to the fullest here, and enjoy      every. single. moment.    with complete abandon!   

Let the beauty of the moment overwhelm you, inspire you, encourage you, and thrill you. 

May you find something so beautiful today that you realize it is a glimpse of heaven.  Don’t try to grasp it in your hands, or bottle it up, but just open your heart wide, let the beauty of the moment hug your heart, and allow it to brighten the rest of your day!  

And for a lasting smile of the day... here is a picture of our dogs, wore out after all the excitement of our afternoon cuddled up together in the back seat of the pickup on the ride home.... 

As I sit writing a few days ago, it began to snow.  It started with just a flake or two in the sky, faintly.  Then two, then three and before you know it, the sky is full of them. Softly falling.  Gently.  Minutes ago, I could see clearly the little mountain beyond my window.  Now a minute or two later, it is snowing so thick you can barely see the little mountain!  Yet, cars are driving past my house just flying by.  Snow doesn’t slow anything down here in Idaho.  People just put it in four wheel drive, and keep on trucking. Things here are never dull or boring! 

I love sitting here at my window looking out as I work, and the ever changing sky and little mountain out my window just seeps peace into my soul. 

Looking at the tree covered mountain just outside my window reminds me of a thought shared by a little lady who went to the big country of India  to work with the children there.  Many of these children had been rescued from temple prostitution, and came to her home desperate and ravaged spiritually as well as physically.  You may know her story well (if you don’t, go to your local library and pick up a book on Amy Carmichael); you will be blessed by her story.   

As she took in these young children whose lives had been completely shattered, she faced a monumental task to try to teach them about a God who loved them.  The children were raised in a home where they were taught daily about a merciful and loving God.  One of Amy’s favorite things to teach these young children was to look to the mountains. 

Mountains symbolize the unmovable and unshakable.  She taught the children to look to the mountains and imagine as though the mountain were God himself. 

Beholding the mountain in the sunshine and daylight is easy because there are no shadows or darkness.  Each beautiful outline of the mountain can be seen and wondered at.  You don’t doubt that the mountain is there because you can see it, and such beauty there is to behold.  When the sun is shining, it is so easy to believe in God, and see His beauty for yourself.  

But then Amy Carmichael would tell the children to watch closely because one day soon the mountain would be covered up, and appear to have disappeared completely from sight.  Storm clouds had rolled in, or darkness had come, and the mountain would no longer be visible.  

You see, darkness occludes our vision.  Clouds obscure the obvious from view.  Indeed, even as the mountain cannot be seen, at times in our lives, it seems that God cannot be felt or known.  Clouds, darkness, tempests, storms and trials have covered Him up, and it seems He has removed himself far, far away from us.  If we had not seen the mountain before with our very own eyes, how easy it would be to believe that the mountain simply didn’t exist, wasn’t there, and was gone forever. 

So, because we had indeed seen the mountain, knew and believed it was there, just because clouds or darkness were covering the face of the mountain, this does not change the fact that the mountain is there, steadfast, immovable, firm and unshakable. 

And so it is in our lives.  There are times that we feel God so close that we could just reach out and touch Him.  He is so near us, and so real to us.  We feel as if we could never doubt Him again.  His beauty overwhelms us.  His love is so real.  No other material worldly thing could compare to the beauty of His presence.  This is the sunlight bouncing off the mountain in all its beauty and glory.

But!  Then comes the cloud, that dark overshadowing moment in our lives, that tempest in the storm.  That dark thunder cloud that rocks our boat. 

That phone call that changed our life forever. 

That word spoken that broke our hearts in pieces. 

That financial situation…..

Or an unfaithful spouse….

Oh the despair with the death of a child….  the illness of a loved one, or the crushing blow of a cancer diagnosis….

On the list goes! Fill in the blank!

We’ve all been there and experienced the crucible… the cloud… the darkness in our lives.  When it seemed we had no hope left to go on.  No trust left.   All the beauty and peace in our life shattered in a moments blow.  That cloud hung low.  The darkness so thick.  No one understands and no one cares! Have you been there? Are you there? 

Clouds symbolize our emotions and thoughts.  

Think about it for a moment.  Think how quickly our emotions may cloud over in a moment, and we feel overshadowed, and as if the very God we had just seen, had suddenly disappeared from our lives.  One moment we feel as if the very hand of God were with us, and then in split moment, it seems God has deserted us and left us all alone… in a moment of distress or need. 

You see, the clouds roll in at will, and sometimes they part for a moment, and then close back up again, just like our emotions, and thoughts.  Sometime the rain pours and the thunder rolls, and then the sun comes out.  Sometimes the clouds persist for days, maybe weeks, months... or even years....  

But do the clouds and the darkness change or alter in any way the unmovable, unshakeable, firm, and invincible mountain? No.  No indeed. 

That mountain is still there.  It hasn’t gone anywhere.  External, outer appearances may have changed.  Our clouds (emotions) with all their instability come and go….  but the mountain is still there.  It can still be touched.  It can still be felt.  Clouds may obscure, darkness may hide, but the mountain is still there.  It hasn’t gone anywhere. 

 

This is what Amy Carmichael would teach these young children.  Look to the mountains.  Learn from them.  Know that your God and Saviour, Jesus Christ is just like these mountains.  The beauty and loveliness may be obscured from view for a time, but God doesn’t change. He’s still there.  He will always be there, unchanging, unmoving, and unshakeable.  He is still there.  He still cares! 

Darkness comes.  Clouds come and go.  But our God is there.  The sun will shine again.  The beauty will astound and amaze us once again. Wait. Be patient.  He is there.  He has not left you.  The sun will shine again!

May we always remember the lesson taught by Amy Carmichael.  God is our mountain, unchanging, and unmoving.  External life issues may hide Him for a moment… but when the time is right, the sun will come out and shine again, and the beauty will again be ours to behold. 

Perhaps this dear lady drew her insight from this scripture written by the psalmist David in Psalms 121:1-2  “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

Lifting our eyes unto the hills here in Idaho has been the most uplifting experience we’ve had.  The mountains are ever changing depending on the weather, sunlight, darkness or clouds.  I never tire of looking up, and imagining the face of God smiling down at me, rain or shine, darkness or clouds. He is there, ever present, unmoving, and unshakable.  My God and Saviour is my ever present help!

I’ve created this blog to share the spice of my life here in Northern Idaho.  Each day here I’ve learned and collected a treasure chest of memories, stories, thoughts, tears, joys and more.  I’ve tried keeping record of these things in my journal.  I’ve been inspired to share these stories beyond the pages of my journal.  Each day I’ve recorded new joys, and sometimes sorrows, something learned, something lost, and something gained.  I think it is time to share those things in a way that will speak to your life today, and make you laugh or cry, bless your day, or challenge your thoughts. 

I want to start off by sharing pieces of my life with you… 

I’m a mother of two teenage children and married to an amazing, wonderful man.  Being outdoors and close to the beautiful things of nature is something our whole family loves to do together. 

We chose to come and live up here in a wild remote area of Northern Idaho a little over a year ago.  We moved here from Texas to experience adventure, and to live life large.  We sought adventure, excitement, and escape, in this wildly beautiful land, and boy! Have we found it!!  

Our adventures have taken us deep into the forests and mountains of Idaho, along the white sandy beaches of the lakes and rivers, mountain roads no wider than a vehicle with steep drop-offs on either side, so remote that you hope you can find your way back out!   

Adventure has been the name of the game, and my trusty camera has traveled most of these journeys with me!  I hope to share some of the pictures I’ve taken, and the stories behind them in coming posts. 

I hope you’ll come along for the ride!  There are plenty of ups and downs, and smiles and tears, but peppered in with all those things are joy and thankfulness just to be alive in this beautiful place.   This remains the overwhelming theme I think you’ll begin to read about here…  

So grab a cup of coffee or hot tea…. And come along for an adventure with me!