March 09


Time Away


God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good.

Genesis 1:31 (NKJ)


Today, I need reviving. Since getting outdoors on a beautiful day is the quickest way I know to rejuvenation, I smile as we cruise down Highway 20, and I am excited by what I see. Gosh, this place is breathtaking!

I turn up the car stereo. Audio Adrenaline’s album, Lift, is blasting away … You … still amaze me … The words are simple, pure and most appropriate. Soon the wide-open spaces of Central Oregon with the majestic panorama of Cascade peaks gives way. We pass through the quaint, Old West town of Sisters, and now Douglas Firs and Ponderosa Pine squeeze the road into a winding ribbon. The trees seem to grow, pressing in, towering over us, turning the sky into a blue slit. Like sentinels they guide and guard our way. Down low, wildflowers form a finer glory, painting the sides of our asphalt intrusion with an abundant offering. Today, we can almost smell their fresh fragrance. But then the road starts to bend. It twists fully revealing a sheer rock wall jutting above the towering trees, then our tightly banded drive dips exposing mountain runoff turned river—the South Santiam River. Late summer streams swoosh past brightly pebbled sandbars. The river grows and bubbles and ripples. Sunbeams penetrate the canopy like laser beams ... and our world sparkles.

We make our way further down range and spy contrasting bluebirds hopping from moss-covered trees. Our forest is thick with green. Green that is greener than green. A thousand shades join in a perfect chorus of life and beauty and … rest.

We arrive at Camp Tadmor, and the smile … hasn’t left….


Father, thank You for time away … with nature!