Four (not songs) for Friday

Sorry to disappoint, but I won’t be delivering the expected goods today.

And yet, I feel the need to share four of something. So here it is.

 

1) Crazy Snow.

Arkansas had some snow last week, but nothing like this. Click HERE to see 40 crazy snow storm pics. Some of the better ones are down towards the bottom.

 

2) The Bible

Regardless of your feelings about the King James Version of the Bible, it has stood as something of a cultural landmark for centuries. Four to be exact. This year marks the 400 year anniversary of its original production and there are some interesting things going on to commemorate it.

 

3) Senior Backpacking

My beloved put together some thoughts and pics on a trip that our student ministry does with graduating seniors every year. Which was good timing, because it is right about this time of year that I start fantasizing thinking about being in the mountains. Seniors… get pumped. Non-seniors… sorry.

Actually, if you are interested in a trip of this kind, talk to me. I’ve got some ideas about other trips for the strong of heart and limb.

 

4) The Very Best

I know that this picture probably doesn’t do much for you, but the odds of me sitting in this establishment sometime this weekend is somewhere right around 100 percent. I’ll be in Seattle with a friend for a quick visit, and Zeitgeist Coffee has and always will hold a special place in my heart. Seattleites… HMU.

 

everywhere i go

Lissie – Everywhere I Go

It has been a week since Cole and I returned from Switzerland.  And while I’ve wanted to share about our experience there, the combination of not knowing where to start and entering into a busy stretch for the next few weeks has kept me from piecing together some spare minutes to do so.  To be sure, there is no lack of material to draw from.  The challenge is knowing what to share that would be of interest.

So, while I’m figuring that out, I’ll share a thought and some pictures (everyone loves pictures).

My time there was bathed in the recognition that simply being there was a gift.   And not just in some poetic sense of the word, but being in a foreign country with my eldest son is something I simply shouldn’t have been able to do.  In any normal reckoning of things, a colossal mistake on my part would have kept us from stepping foot on an airplane.

And yet, a tidal wave of grace came crashing down on top of us, as at least five make-or-break moments came together.  Any one of which might have been written off as coincidence or luck, but the cumulative nature of those “make” moments leaves little doubt as to whose hands they (and we) were in.

So for both of us, from the moment Cole stepped off his plane from Little Rock, until we touched down in the same, gratefulness permeated every minute of the trip.  Even when snow kept us from doing all that I had planned, it barely even registered that I might be “missing” anything.

We were…

grateful to be there.


Grateful for Cole.


Grateful for friends.

Grateful for warm homes.

Grateful for our health.

Grateful for the Word.

Grateful for food.

Grateful for hiking signs.

Grateful for cows.

Grateful for splendor.

Grateful for trains.

And yes, grateful for snow.

 

 

you are doing what?

It doesn’t quite seem real, but in a few days I’ll be waking up to views akin to something like this.  Whenever I tell people that I’m going to Switzerland to do some backpacking in the Alps with my thirteen year old son, I’m not quite sure how to respond to the look on their faces.  I think it is a mix of “you’re not serious-you’re doing what-how’s that possible-I’m happy for you-but I also sort of don’t like you” kind of look.  So I stare back with a sort of sheepish grin and say something like, “yup, crazy huh?”

I wish I had a better response.  It is honestly sort of awkward.  I’m not really sure what makes it so, but it just is.  The vibe I get is “who the &%^%&$ does he think he is?”  I mean really!  Who takes their thirteen year old to the flippin’ Swiss Alps for a little one-on-one time?

I guess the only answer to that is “I do.”  For a few years now, Alison and I have had this dream of taking each of our children sometime during their thirteenth year to a place in the world (somewhat) of their choosing.  She and I both love traveling.  And we want share our love for that with our children, even at the tender age of thirteen..  We want them to see the world and to realize that North Little Rock, Arkansas (while wonderful) isn’t all there is.

Of course, this trip bears all the marks of a classically Chino-esque sort of trip.  Heading to the mountains.  Hiking.  Eating great food.  Seeing incredible sights.  Lots of intentional time together.  That’s the plan at least, but who knows.

At first, I started planning every step of the journey, but eventually gave up in favor of a more flexible itinerary.  The basic plan is more or less intact.  Fly into Zurich.  Train to Luzern.  A good friend will drive us to Engelberg.  Stay a couple nights there.  Then we’ll head out onto the open trail.

At this point, I should explain that backpacking in Europe is a different animal than in the good ole US of A.  Euro-backpacking is often done walking from one mountain hut to the next.  When you arrive, there is a meal waiting for you.  And a bed.  The next morning, there’s breakfast.  Then you head out for another day of walking.  All this means that you don’t carry much.  No tent.  No food.  No sleeping pad.  Maybe a light sleeping bag.  Sort of feels like cheating.


Ok, so back to the itinerary.  After a few days seeing some of the Maker’s handiwork, we’ll hop a train back to Engelberg, and eventually end up back in Luzern for a couple days of hanging in town, then back to Zurich and back home.  Nutty, right?

And if all that weren’t crazy enough, there is also the small detail that that I’m returning to the very place my father and half-sister died about eight years ago.  While I continue to be the “most well-adjusted person I know,” there is no doubt that there are issues surrounding my relationship with my father that are still unresolved.  Not that a trip (even one as monumental as this one) is the cure-all for what ills, but I’m hoping that the adventure Cole and I have together in the mountains will in some way mirror our journey to wholeness.  And I’m glad that he and I are getting to do that together.

Obviously, I won’t be showing up much around here over the next several days, but if I come across any internet out there, there may be a Twitter or two that comes flying to you from across the Atlantic.  I’m tweeting at @taidochino.

See you on the other side.