Glen Eyrie, Colorado Springs, Colorado

More than just a beautiful rock.

Tragedy struck Colorado Springs this summer.  The Waldo Canyon fire burned thousands of acres, destroyed over 350 homes and damaged many more.  Those of us who live here are reminded of this fire every day.    We look to the west and see nothing but the blackened forest of the Rampart Range.  The scar from this fire will be with us for our lifetime. 

It hurts.

However, the rock formations in the Garden of the Gods and Glen Eyrie stand as tall as ever.

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."  Psalm 18:2 ESV

Our lives might resemble the ravaged homes and charred forest of the Waldo Canyon fire, but God stands as our rock in midst of these personal tragedies.

The gift of faith sees Jesus even when life seems hopeless.

And to our first responders who saved lives and homes, we cannot say thank you enough.  You are more than a blessing from God.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.  

Anchorage, Alaska

Who is your Goliath?

Many of you have watched the Seinfeld episode entitled, "The Soup Nazi."  Anchorage has its real life version.  He is known as the Hot Dog Nazi (and many other names).  Posted on his stand are rules that must be followed if you want to be served and not "yelled" at..

His presence is like that of Goliath.

Israel didn't want to cross Goliath.  Standing at a distance, his taunting brought fear to the Israelite troops.

In taking on the giant, David said, "'The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.'" 1 Samuel 17:37 ESV

Who is your Goliath?

In fighting Goliath, David prefigures Jesus.  Your Goliath, that makes your knees tremble like the Israelites, has been defeated by Jesus.  He defeated Goliath not with sling and rock, but with nails and spear driven into his own body. 

Jesus' death has deafeated your Goliath of sin.

By the way, I was too afraid to purchase a hot dog.  Hard to believe, I know.

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.  



Brauner Backyard

You gotta love your grand kids! 

I love my grandson, Eli (not to mention his mom and dad).  He makes me laugh.  He likes this gnome in our backyard but not because it is a gnome.  He likes to put rocks and stuff in the gnomes pot.

Eli has not been beaten down by popular opinion or the negative comments about his silly actions.

He likes Thomas the Tank Engine.

He thinks his father's mini van is his personal fort.

His favorite food is ketchup.

And he doesn't care what you or I think.

Oh that we had the faith of child; that we could be that unique creature we were created to be and that we have been set free in Christ to be.

Those who are in Christ are new creations.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  2 Cor. 5:17 ESV

As a new creation of Christ, I invite you today to find your Thomas the Tank Engine, your own personal fort and a bottle of ketchup and celebrate what God has made you to be.

God loves his children.

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.  

Where Are Your Initials Inscribed?

Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

It is kind of annoying isn't it?  You walk along a beautiful trail in the greatness of God's creation and people have engraved their initials on a tree.  But which makes less sense: The engraving of these initials or my thinking they're worthy of a picture?

The truth is, something compelled me to take this pic.

If I returned to Fish Creek Falls and traverse this trail a second time, those initials would still be there.  As long as that aspen tree exists, those initials will endure.

Are your initials inscribed somewhere?  A tree, park bench or telephone pole?

Like Israel, your initials have been engraved in God's hands.

"Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me."  Isaiah 49:16 English Standard Version

More enduring than the ink of a Sharpie is the fact that your initials have been written upon God's palms with the everlasting blood of Jesus shed for you.

I don't know what you're facing today; the joys, pains and stuff of life.  But know this God has you engraved in his hands.

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.  

Cedar Mountain, Lutheran Valley Retreat, Divide, CO

Life is an uphill climb.

It had been over ten years since I climbed Cedar Mountain.  The last time I made the ascent was before the Hayman burn (June 2002).  At the Holy Cross men's retreat this past weekend I once again took the challenge and climbed the peak. The trip was not the same.

The elevation gain was the same.  The rock scrambling was the same.  The cross at the top was the same (other than more rocks at its base).  But there were two important differences.

• The trees were gone
• I'm older.

The trip had changed.  So also the road of our lives changes from day-to-day and year-to year.  We hear Solomon's words, "Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure."  Proverb 4:26 ESV

The landscape of our lives changes. 

• Like the trees that no longer exist on the Cedar Mountain trail, there are external changes to our lives.
• Like the fact that I'm older, there are personal changes to our lives.

God calls us to ponder this path of life and remember that it was a path to a cross that Jesus climbed.  Yes, life is an uphill climb, but like the cross at the top of Cedar Mountain, we remember that Jesus climbed this path for us and with us.

Feel free to check out Lutheran Valley Retreat's (LVR) website at www.lvr.org.  Amazing place with amazing people.  Thank you Steve Johnson and your staff for hosting us.

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.  

Ginger

Who is that masked dog?

Ginger was a wounded dog when our son, Michael, rescued her.  We weren't sure she was going to make it in our house.  She hid from us, barked at us and tried to escape from us (that's another story).

But that was only a mask.

It didn't take long for Ginger to become an important member of our family which she remains today.  I credit Michael for her transformation.  He loves her unconditionally.  And in return she loves us unconditionally.

Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.   John 15:13 (ESV)

Jesus laid down his life for us.

It is God's unconditional love for us that has transformed us from "wounded dogs" to loyal followers.

It is this unconditional love of God in us that changes the lives of people around us.

By the way, there is mounting scientific evidence that petting your dog lowers your blood pressure.  And no, John Morely, Ginger is not the spawn of Satan!

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.  

Oklahoma City National Memorial &  Museum

There are moments that change life forever.

9:02am comes between 9:01 and 9:03.  That probably doesn't mean much to you but it does for the people who lived in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.  At 9:02am Timothy McVeigh set off a bomb in a rental truck that killed 168 people. 19 victims were children under the age of six. 

At 9:01 everything was as it had always been for those in the building; grabbing a cup of coffee, tackling their "to do" lists and turning on their computers.  

At 9:03 everything had changed.  

All of us have experienced moments that changed our lives forever.  They might not be as devastating as those experienced in OKC, but they are none-the-less life-changing.

Or they are more devastating as this eleventh anniversary of 9/11 reminds us.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)

Good and bad things happen from moment-to-moment that shape our lives.  Yet in that mix of life's experiences is the knowledge that God's love for us in Jesus Christ will never change.  In fact, that love is ever present in the "moments" of life.

May we not forget!

For my good friend, Aaron Tisdale, who charged in to the Twin Towers as they fell, and cleaned up in the aftermath.  God bless my friend!

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.  

   

Summer Aspen Near Divide, CO

I recently read an article from Outdoor Photographer that ended with the writer stating that he prays with his eyes (or something like that).  This phrase stuck with me.  It states what I try to do with my camera.  Here is my goal: to add a photo each day with a Bible passage and some thoughts.  I hope you enjoy.

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Isaiah  55:12

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.