Shaken to the Core

Pikes Peak, Colorado

The drive to the top of Pikes Peak is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever take. There are opportunities to pull your car to the side and enjoy majestic vistas. This is one of those vistas before reaching the summit.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Psalm 46:1-3 English Standard Version

I can't imagine Pikes Peak being "moved into the heart of the sea" but I have experienced a couple of minor earthquakes. One tremor lasted a couple of seconds. The other lasted longer, shaking me out of bed.

There is always the potential of a natural disaster intruding on our lives. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes can change our lives in a moment, yet it doesn't take a natural disaster to impact our lives.

Our lives can be shaken as much by good things that happen to us as well as bad things. A new baby can shake us as much as the death of a spouse. A new job can turn our lives upside down as much as a foreclosure on our house.

In the good and the bad, God is our "very present help."

There are many things that will shake us to the core. Maybe you're facing such an event, good or bad.

Because of Christ, and the promise of his presence, you can face the fears of the future because Christ Jesus is your "refuge and strength" even as your world shakes around you.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR. 

Confidence for Living in the Great Unknown

Chico Basin Ranch, Colorado

Chico Basin Ranch takes me back to episodes of The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman and Big Valley. I can see cowboys riding their horses through this gate, home from a long day on the range.

I took this picture on Sunday as we gathered with friends celebrating the Confirmation of a very special young lady, a lady who knows her Bible better than most of us. We sat in chairs, told stories, caught up on each other's lives and did a lot of laughing.

My prayer partner, Dave, sat across from me. We've been meeting once a month for spiritual retreats for a while now.  I deeply value these get aways.

I saw Dave again Sunday night at 9:45 in the emergency room at one of our Colorado Springs hospitals. Though Dave is younger than I, he had suffered a stroke. He could talk but the words weren't coming the way he wanted. Early in the morning he was flown to Denver for surgery from which he is now recovering.

While in the emergency room, I took out my phone and pulled up my Bible app. I'm not sure what word I was searching on when Psalm 77 appeared. We read this psalm.

"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Psalm 77:7-9 English Standard Version

Sounds hopeless, doesn't it?  Sounds like some of our prayers.  However, the psalmist continues, "I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?"  Psalm 77:11-13 English Standard Version

I don't know what God has in store for Dave. I don't know what God has in store for any of us, but I do know that even in the worst of times we can remember God's faithfulness and lean on this faithfulness into the great unknown of life.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.

Planting Seeds

Guayabal, Honduras

This young woman never stopped smiling.

When the children left the church building to hangout, play games and learn about Jesus from the rest of our team, this young woman stayed behind to listen my message.  She smiled the entire time.

Later that morning, I called for our translator, Pablo, because I wanted to tell this young woman how special her smile was. I told her that I thought God would use her smile to help someone else. She looked embarrassed, but as you would expect, she kept smiling.

I might not see this girl again.  I probably won't know how her smile affects others, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to plant a seed.

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." 1 Corinthians 3:6 English Standard Version

God calls us to work hard at planting and watering seeds in the lives of others.  I'm certain that an opportunity will arise today for us to plant or water a seed.

We work hard at planting and watering the seed, but only God gives the growth.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.

Love Life

Colorado Springs, Colorado

I feel like an eagle in a chicken's body.

When I read the Scriptures I see the life that God intends for me to enjoy this side of eternity, but I find myself too often mired with the chickens.

"For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God." 1 Peter 1:23 New Living Translation

The life we have in Christ lasts for eternity. The problem is that too often we think this life begins when we're in the presence of Christ on his throne, but when I read the Scriptures like 1 Peter 1:23, I see that God intends for us to fly like eagles now.

Look at this picture. There are only two people in the balloon beginning their flight into the morning air. There are hundreds of people stuck on terra firma. Those two people saw the world differently than the rest of us.

We have been redeemed to fly with Christ even now. Our problems and struggles look differently when we fly with Christ.

In Christ this chicken can fly like an eagle.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.

The Infectious Nature of a Smile

Guayabal, Honduras

Thinking about the people of Guayabal brings a smile to my face.

Like many of the villages we visited, Guayabal is beautiful. Added to that beauty is the vegetable garden planted in front of the church. Even though it was March when I took this picture, beans, corn and other vegetables were growing. (I'm still a few weeks from planting anything in my garden.)

However, what causes me to smile more the the beauty of Guayabal are the smiles on the people of this village. It seemed to me that everyone was smiling.

"We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, 'What amazing things the LORD has done for them.'" Psalm 126:2 New Living Translation

Smiles are infectious. In high school I worked for a pole bean farmer. During the picking season I weighed the beans and dumped them into the tote that would carry them to the cannery. I saw the same pickers multiple times during the day and throughout the week. One picker asked me why I smiled all the time.

People notice when we smile. When our smile is rooted in the "amazing things the Lord has done" for us that smile runs deeper than simply having a nice day. I've seen this smile in the hospital and at the graveside. I've seen this smile on the face of the poor and the wealthy.

I believe the people of Guayabal understand this fact. That's why they keep smiling.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.

Moved by the Spirit

Near Lepaterique, Honduras

Tuesday was a busy day, and one thing that we've learned over the years is that when we visit Lepaterique we must be flexible. In fact, that is one of the things that we enjoy about our trips. Every year its and adventure.

We knew that we'd be visiting different villages around Lepaterique, but we didn't know how many. This year we set a record.  On Tuesday alone we visited four villages, and as you can tell from this picture, some of the villages didn't have curbside service for our bus.

Our visit to honduras is a reminder of how the Holy Spirit works.

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:8 English Standard Version

God's Spirit is more than the wind beneath our wings.  The Holy Spirit is the wind that directs our lives.  It is the Holy Spirit who constantly directs us back to the cross.  It is the Holy Spirit who directs us in our testimony to the love of God in the world around us.

Sometimes the Spirit leads us to places of comfort, and at other times it directs us to places of discomfort, to places that stretch our understanding of how God acts in the world.

The team was exhausted when we returned to Lepaterique that Tuesday evening. It would have been easy to retire to our rooms and catch some early sleep, but the Holy Spirit had another plan that night. As tired as we were, the Spirit directed us to a faithful community of believers whom we joined in worship.

That's what the Holy Spirit does.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.

The Gift of Growth

Lepaterique, Honduras

Meet Wilson, a young man that many on our team have watched grow up. Not only is he a university student studying to become a dentist, he is also in a leadership training program through Compassion International. God is doing a mighty work in and through Wilson.

However, his plan for the future is not the reason why I chose this picture. I selected this picture because he's the drummer for the worship band at Betesda; a good drummer.

Wilson, like the other members of the worship band, have been encouraged to make a joyful noise to the Lord by Pastor Omar. They've had to grow as musicians. They didn't simply pick up the sticks, strap on a guitar or place their fingers on the keyboard and play like a professional from the beginning.

There were times of frustration, setbacks and insight. That's how we learn to do something whether we have a gift or not.

That's the process of growth.

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation." 1 Peter 2:2 English Standard Version

We don't know everything there is to know about God the day he brings us to faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. There is a process of growth in all of us, a growth that continues until the day we die. This process involves frustrations, setbacks and new insights. That's how growth works.

May we long for the pure spiritual milk of God's grace that we continually grow into our salvation.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.