Do you remember the first thing I said to at the beginning of the week? (How could you forget? I said it over and over, emphasizing a different word each time LOL)
“This week could forever change the path of your entire life.”
Well, I hope it did! I hope that as you listened to my lessons they weren’t “my lessons” but GOD’S and that you heard somethings that will make a difference – because a small difference now – over time – will end up being a huge change over the course of your life – the path of your LIFE WILL BE CHANGED! That’s why I love being a camp speaker, to have that opportunity to be used of God to maybe have that chance to help change the path of your life. Wow, it gives me goose-bumps! That’s for all your words of encouragement, drawings and shrinky-dinks!
We had a GREAT theme this year:
“Walk the Way” – and we studied how Joseph walked the “way” of his God no matter what happened… and it was a good thing, because God was workin’ an awesome and amazing plan for his life that he would have TOTALLY MISSED OUT ON if he at any point had decided to mope and complain and stop following God and trusting God. He kept his chin up with he was mistreated, falsely accused, and forgotten… because He knew that GOD would never mistreat him or forget Him and was working behind the scenes where he couldn’t see!
The same is true for you, remember Jeremiah 29:11?
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
but that promise is follow by a condition: (most people forget the next 2 verses)
“Then you will call on me (prayer!) and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
See, that promise of the awesome plan – it’s for those who WALK THE WAY, it’s not automatic for everyone… so I DO HOPE that the path of your life turned toward God this week! It will make a difference for the rest of your life, and just like for Joseph, for many others even after your life – those who will be impacted by your life. (That’s amazing to think about!!)
I had sooooo much fun meeting all of you, and miss you so much! If you want to e-mail me, you can by writing to me at karl [at] toyboxtales.com and I’ll get your e-mail! I know you are wanting to see that video of me on National News dressed as a Jedi, so here it is so you don’t have to hunt for it:
And remember, I didn’t dress up as a Jedi and confess my nerdiness to you for nothing – it was to teach you about the EPIC ELEMENTS of STORY! There are REASONS why all the Great Stories become so popular and make millions of dollars and it isn’t because of special effects, great acting or because so-and-so are in them. Movies with famous people in them flop, movies with awesome special effects flop, and movies with great acting flop. But movies and books with these EPIC ELEMENTS touch us deeply, and people flock to them. WHY? Because they trigger deep needs in us – something we all want. And the crazy thing is, most are made by non-Christians! They so often put their finger on our needs in movies, even better than Christian movie makers do. (But don’t get me going on that!)
Let’s review the EPIC ELEMENTS:
Dangerous Journey (of Significance)
Great Sacrifice (dying to save others)
Ancient Book (or Order or Legend)
Secret Power (or Language)
Fellowship of Friends
And on Saturday morning at the Parent Rally, which some of you may miss, I added a 6th: A Guiding Spirit. Luke Skywalker in Star Wars had the ghostly spirit of Ben (Obi-Won Kenobi) who would appear and guide him. In so many films and movies there is some spirit or ghost or presence that guides the main character – often only they can see or hear this person. We have a Guiding Spirit too! After Jesus left, He promised He would send a Guiding Spirit: His name is the Holy Spirit. (John 14:15-29)
See kids? Everything we long for – that makes it into all these movies, GOD HAS GIVEN US! We don’t want a boring life – God invites us into a Dangerous Journey – a life of adventure and significance of following him, a life of great importance and significant. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us, even when we didn’t care, know or deserve it. We HAVE an ancient book filled with answers, if we would only READ it! And we don’t need “The Force” – we have the Power of Prayer and can tap into God’s Power at any time, entering the Throne Room of the Creator of hte Universe!! And I hope you have a Fellowship of Friends who also know and love Jesus and will help you Walk the Way – if not, you need to work on forming your own small fellowship, you can’t Walk the Way alone.
I will be blogging on each of these in more detail in the weeks ahead – a summary of each of my lessons for my blog readers, so if you are more interested in this – just follow my blog!
Noduh, the Wise One had a great time being here this week and helping you learn the ways of the Lord so “powerful Christian you could become!” Remember,
“If powerful Christian you want to be, listen to wisdom from Noduh, that’s me!”
If you are interested in other stuff I have available for kids, here are some things to check out. My main website, Kidology.org, really isn’t for kids – its for other grown ups like me who love kids and teach kids, so you won’t find much there for you. BUT, you will like www.toyboxtales.com! There you will find over 100 videos I have made with toys that teach the Bible and are REALLY FUNNY! I made them in my kids church and they are now shown in children’s churches all over America (and in some other places too). While people can buy DVDs, they are totally free to watch online, its like YouTube, you just click on them to play them. The newest ones are called Object Talks are from the curriculum I write for a publisher – talking objects teaching lessons about the Bible – but if you go through the links you will find the Toybox Tales, which are videos of talking toys telling stories. There is HOURS of fun to be had on that site!!
Well, Luke had a great time “hanging out” at camp – thanks to everyone who was so nice to him, helpful, gave him little treats and made him little gifts – you truly made camp special for him. One counselor bought him a sucker and taught him to play Torpedo Ball and was so patient and kind, and as Sara (my wife) and Luke walked back to the cabin, Luke looked up at her and said, “Mommy, I think that guy really really loved me. I could tell.”
That’s what Camp Timber-lee is all about – sharing God’s Love with kids, whether they are campers or just the speaker’s kid. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone at camp for doing a super job, week in and week out, all year around! You Rock!
I’m always a little bummed and sad when another year of my week at Timber-lee comes to an end, I’ve been speaking here almost every year since 1997! Most of the kids’ speakers are my friends I helped recruit – I just love this place.
But campers – it is YOU GUYS AND GALS I miss the most each year. I asked this year if any campers were born in 1997, the year I started speaking here (or after), and a bunch of hands went up! (I about fell over!) And then some kids yelled out, “Will you be here for my kids?” I was floored. All I could say is, “I sure hope so!” (and added on some humor about my cane and false teeth by then!)
Oh, and in conclusion, we can’t forget the BUTTERFLY INCIDENT can we?! Here is the picture I took with my iPhone in the middle of chapel when that butterfly descended upon on my head and I took this picture when he wouldn’t leave!! AND THEN – when he did fly off, he came back!! I’m still working on the spiritual meaning of a butterfly landing on your head, flying away and returning to your head while you are teaching! Too bad Joseph isn’t around to interpret that for us, huh? But it was pretty cool!
I hope to see you again someday. As the saying goes, Christians never say goodbye, they only say,
Me as Evening Settles in over Nevada Falls (click 4 large view)
This place is beyond description, though of course, I try. As I often say, it is where God showed off. Our language lacks adequate words to do Yosemite justice.
I suppose the best I can use is awe-inspiring. Awe at the sheer size, and height, and depth, and distance, and beauty, and splendor that hits your eyes all at once. And no matter how many pictures you take (and I take a lot) you can’t contain it. You can’t get your mind around it. You have to be there and just experience it. But what is the “it” – “it” is not Yosemite, it is GOD. His Bigness, His Majesty, His Beauty, His Greatness, His Power, His Creative ability, – I do not worship Yosemite – I love Yosemite because it draws out of me a depth of worship I can only experience there. It’s like somehow God is more there than anywhere else. While I know theologically that isn’t true, this broken spiritual vessel is somehow healed there – even if only temporarily – and able to feel God’s presence like no other time. All doubts, All worries, All concerns, All pressures, All temptations, All guilt, All my earthly distractions vanish there – and I get a taste of what heaven will be like. Not necessarily what I see the outside there – but what happens to me on the inside there. And I beg God to let me take Yosemite (His peace and presence) back with me when I return to my normal life. May I not forget those mountains, those waterfalls, those trees and those vistas are all still there – even as I hurry about my busy life – to remind me the HE is still there too, quietly, patiently waiting for me to STOP and ponder Him, worship Him, and return to that place of Awe wherever I may be.
Just letting y’all know, that from this Saturday night through next Thursday I will be COMPLETELY off line. No e-mail, no cell phone, no facebook, no twitter, no nothing electronic, except worship music on my iPod shuffle and my Sony Alpha 350 digital camera enjoying Yosemite Summit with several other guys.
Many people joke that going offline must be ‘torture’ for me, and they forget I created this event. This may come as a shock to some, but while I very much ENJOY ministry and serving others and am comfortable ‘in the spotlight’ I do not crave it, I am, in fact, an introvert and crave being alone and feed off being disconnected and long for times like this.
So, fear not, I’ll be back, for it is my Calling from God – but I’m very much going to enjoy the next few days and will not be bothered a bit that my inbox, voicemail, and snail mail box will be piling up while I am away.
I appreciate your patience while I recharge!
PS: I’m also testing mobile blogging from my iPad here, lets hope this worked!
These are images and journal entries from my Solo Sabbatical to Yosemite in January 2010. (Pictures are all from Day One, two more days yet to come.)
Day 1 – February 1, 2010
First Glimpse of Half Dome - Always Stunning
Knowing God.
Started thinking about this topic this morning – so been mulling it around all morning as I snow shoed around the base of El Capitan and Merced River taking pictures today. (Love snow shoeing by the way.) Really thought it would be a lot more laborious than it is, it’s easy and enjoyable. But anyway, “knowing God” – isn’t that the promise of the Christian life? We can know God!
I gave away my Badger Pass ski lift passes each morning (also included tour bus passes and other perks) at breakfast that came with my Lodge “all inclusive deal” because I didn’t need them, the meal vouchers were all I needed. I’m here just to hike and take pictures. I was offered money each time and just said nope, “they’re as free as God’s salvation.” I almost added, “I hope you’ll get to know Him like I do.” That’s what got me thinking about this. How well DO I know Him?
El Capitan Aglow in Late Afternoon
That’s supposed to be the big offer of salvation! How many Gospel tracts have on the cover, “You can KNOW GOD!” Then why don’t I feel like I know Him? (Should I not be admitting this?) Oh, I know a lot about him – probably more than most people. Try me. And not just on a biblical knowledge basis either, philosophically even. (Don’t ask me to explain, it’s complicated.) ;0) But know God? – come on, are you serious? He’s GOD for crying out loud! How am I supposed to KNOW Him? What does that even mean?
Understand Him? Yeah, right. Predict His behavior? I wish. Anticipate His moves? Never. Influence His decisions? You could argue prayer – but that’s a stretch. Hang out with Him and shoot the breeze? I hardly think so. Worship Him? Certainly! (I’m doing that here in Yosemite!) But that isn’t knowing Him.
Brideveil Falls in Winter
I worship Him (especially here in Yosemite) precisely because I don’t know Him enough – how He created this place, etc. I understand what He expects, wants, and demands of me well enough – and how far short I fall – and I understand His mercy and grace, even friendship and salvation through the person and work of Jesus Christ — and have accept it!! BUT KNOW HIM?!?!?
El Capitan On Fire from the Evening Sun
I’m not so sure about that – and I’m not even convinced I’m supposed to KNOW HIM – just His TRUTH. The more I marvel at the wonders of Yosemite – the more I am convinced my purpose is not much different from that of Half Dome or El Capitan. I think I have about as much chance of knowing God as one of those Rocks! And only man’s pride tells me I have more chance of knowing God than a towering tree or a flowing river.
Seriously. The more I think about who God is – the more I see that I am just another of His creations. Sure – I’m MORE than a rock – I can talk, write in this journal! (or blog) I’m self aware – and aware that I’m self aware - and aware that I’m aware that I’m aware and so on! I have a free will, and therefore the capacity for love as well as rebellion – I can be loyal to my Creator – or selfishly act independent of Him even as He sustains my very existence and breath. But know Him?
A Snow Covered Half Dome from Sentinel Bridge
I’d like to meet someone who claims to know God. Seriously. (email me if you do.) I’d like to know what that looks like. For me, I’d like to stop telling people, “You can know God personally.” I’m not sure that’s true. However, perhaps we can say, “God knows you personally, and you can be right with Him.” I think I want to give up trying to “know God” and instead focus on being right with God. Living a life of obedience that pleases God, honors God – and reflects His glory.
Half Dome from Sentinel Bridge After Dark (time lapse)
As I said earlier, my purpose, as a creation of God, is no different that these mountains here – it is to be a testimony to God. The only difference is that they are far more limited in what they can do, however they get to do it for for hundreds of years! I don’t get as long – but have been given much more ability to testify! With words – actions – love – attitudes – etc. HOW I LIVE, the testimony of my life.
I’m not sure my goal in life ought to be to “know God” – I think it is rather that others might be right with God too because they knew me.
Yosemite Fall Taken in Pitch Darkness with Open Shutter
I wonder every time I come here, how people can be in Yosemite and not believe in God. I ought to wonder how people can know me and not believe in God.
It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about how I hoped 2009 would be better. And here it is 2010! Aren’t we supposed to riding around on hover boards and beaming from place to place by now? I read that post, and instead of writing a post about my New Year’s Resolutions, I think I can just say “ditto” to that post!
But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that an entire year has passed by when I reflect on all that I accomplished in 2009 – it’s actually quite an astonishing list – no wonder I am so exhausted!
And I wonder why I’m feeling exhausted?! No wonder I wasn’t ready for 2010 to arrive! I usually spend the last week of the year doing evaluation of the year just past and planning for the year to come, but I had some projects culminating and family visiting and am writing at CPC in Nashville (which I really don’t like being right after the new year) so I missed out on my week of margin for reflection and I can really feel it. Just reviewing my blog and making that list above has been very encouraging and eye-opening. For now – I need to survive this week at CPC – finish a few deadlines that still loom over me, and then do the planning and reflecting I wanted to do last week.
I’m excited that 2009 is behind me, and have NO desire to see 2010 “top” last year. In fact, you know what I am MOST excited about in 2010? Starting a guys hiking group here in Colorado for children’s pastors! Yup, I’m calling it “The Fellowship of the King.” (I know it’s corny, but I do like to hike to LOTR music.) I’ve been collecting a list of guys in Colorado, friends and soon-to-be friends via facebook ad twitter, and I’m going to be inviting them to join me hiking around this beautiful state to spend time away from ministry and with God. One thing I learned from Yosemite Summit was that once a year just isn’t often enough to disconnect from normal life and connect with God out in nature with others who share your passions in life. Most of them already know about this and are just waiting for info on the first hike – if you live in Colorado and are a guy – let me know, and I will add you to the list! (No, you do not have to be a children’s pastor or even in ministry to be included. But you may have to endure some worship music, prayer and spiritual conversation if you are not a Christian.)
Yesterday I spent most of the day at the Garden of the God. (I leave the ’s’ off on purpose!)
I went to see the sunrise and to work in my new office: Colorado!
This was my view for my morning staff conference call. Not too shabby! It was a little chilly, so I eventually moved to the Visitor Center across the street where I had a counter, power outlet, free refills and an elevated view:
Next I headed off to Chipotle for lunch and on my way back I noticed a Navigator’s sign right before the turn to Garden of the Gods, and turned in. Soon I was at a Castle Gate being stopped by a Gate Keeper. I wasn’t sure if I would get in, but after speaking a little “Christianese” I was granted a pass and allowed to proceed into the most amazing compound that rivaled the Garden of the Gods next door! Turns out the Gen Eyrie retreat center may be one of the best kept secrets of Christiandome! Not only are there more red rocks….
and over 700 acres with lodges and hiking trails…
there is even a Castle!
But on to the CAVE!
As I was exploring, I noticed a CAVE up on one of the cliffs!
Now, GUYS, why is it when you SEE A CAVE you have this thought… I must go up in that cave! I’m sorry, but I REALLY TRIED not to. I seriously thought, I could get hurt. It might be too much for my heart. There could be a bear or a cougar or something worse! No one who loves me even knows I am here at Glen Eyrie, how long until my car would be found? I signed a release to hike, so they wouldn’t even cover any medical costs if I got hurt. Would my insurance…
but the CAVE WAS CALLING TO ME… so I climbed!
I got closer! I half expected some fierce animal to peek out at me! Would I run? Or would freezing work? What if I found treasure? Bones? I’m sure no one else has ever climbed up here!
Finally, I made it! Here is the view from INSIDE THE CAVE! And there is the PK Cruiser, to prove it is really the same cave! It was about twenty feet deep. No wild animals or bones or treasure. I was actually a little disappointed. (About the treasure and bones that is.)
I put on the fisheye lens to try and show the entire cave from the back!
Just as I was about to head down I was surprised by a great view of the Glen Eyrie Castle from the opening of the cave! Pretty cool, huh? You know, if you don’t get out of your car in life, you miss out on some of the best experiences.
The next time you are driving in life and you see something cool – don’t drive by. STOP, and just do it! I’m way behind on email and a bunch of stuff from moving last week, and I know just as I get caught up when I’m moving in next week, I’ll get behind all over again. I have every reason to work all day and into the night non-stop.
But then, I would have missed out on this neat cave!
Yes, we are packing everything up and moving to Colorado this month!
In his book Visioneering, Andy Stanley makes the following statement:
“Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose.”
I have been in Chicagoland since my parents brought me here in 1985. My wife has been here since she married me! I LOVE the city of Chicago! The architecture, the sports teams, the political corruption, the hustle and bustle, the malls (that’s for Sara) the blizzards (yes, I love to snow blow), and the friends made over the years, will all be things I will miss. It is a world class city. I have traveled throughout the world as well as the United States and there is NO CITY like Chicago – not even close.
But in my heart I’ve always been an outdoors guy. And after hosting two Yosemite Summit retreats, nearly dying in April, and again in May, it was time to stop putting off for “someday” what could be done now.
I grew up in Colorado where my dad pastored a country church in Elizabeth, Colorado. We got picked up from school on Friday and drove to the country where my imagination was unleashed and bows and arrows and BB guns and a countryside to explore were all mine before returning to Denver for the week. I even had a horse that was “mine” named Rusty that a rancher we called Rollie let me ride freely all over his property. My preacher dad’s sermon prep and prayer retreats were also father-son weekend camp outs where I fought off Indians, discovered lost civilizations and explored abandoned mines and railroad cars while he studied before we made a camp fire and then argued the finer points of Calvinism and Eschatology over s’mores. Those were the days!
Becoming a father myself has changed me deeply in ways I can’t even put into words. The ambitions that drove me in my younger days – to be a “mover and shaker” in the world of children’s ministry – to make an impact in as many kids as possible and to equip and encourage as many workers as possible – suddenly slipped behind becoming a better husband and wanting to be the best dad in the world to this ONE boy rather than a great teacher or entertainer to the crowds of children I used to regularly stand in front of.
Don’t get me wrong, my Calling has not changed! My life mission is still to Reach and Teach as many children as possible with the Good News of God’s Love and in the process to Enlist, Equip and Encourage others to do the same. But my ministry hot rod crashed three years ago from going too fast in too many directions for too long and I’ve been rebuilding it for three years from the inside out. And its a much slower vehicle now. And it needs some new roads to drive on and some new scenery. Like Rascal Flatts sings in I’m Moving On, “I never dreamed home would be where I don’t belong.” I’ve reached a point in my life where after nearly 25 years in Chicago, I need a fresh start and it is time to start again back where I began as a boy. (And as a bonus, my dad is back in Colorado too now – so we’ll be close to Grandpa and Grandma for Luke!)
I’m looking forward to a mountain view and hiking trails to walk with the family on – to riding my recumbent bike more and to practicing my photography more. And to being in a place where it is easier for me to simply be still and know my Creator more. There is a State Park just minutes from my new home where I plan to hang out with the Maker of that park quite often!
And, yes, I plan to find a church to minister in and will continue to serve the Lord and others through Kidology.org. But sorry, the hype-active super-busy over-achiever Karl has faded away and the new, much slower paced, chilled out, freer Karl is moving with his family to Colorado. I’ve called myself a recovering pastor for three years – the recovery is about complete – the final step is this move. A fresh start in a new place.
Thank you for your interest, your support, your grace and your friendship.
Karl
HELP NEEDED!
If you are an Illinois friend, and want to help load the moving truck at my home or Kidology office, let me know, the dates are Sept. 22-25.
If you are a Colorado friend, (new friends needed!) and want to help unload at our new home, contact me as well. The move in dates are October 5-7. We are moving to Parker, Colorado, a South East ‘burb of Denver.
Well, I was going to keep this kinda quiet… but word is getting out about my electrifying experience with lightening in Yosemite and the pressure for me to tell the “full story” is increasing, so I’m giving in hoping this doesn’t discourage anyone from coming to Yosemite Summit in the future!
The question I keep getting is, “Were you really struck by lightening at Yosemite?” Well, since I’m typing this from my current location on earth (rather than heaven) the technical answer is, NO! But… I was in the middle of a strike that hit trees all around me and there is that mysterious jagged hole in my poncho to account for! So when I posted on Twitter and Facebook that my most exciting experience at Yosemite was being struck by lightening… it wasn’t much of a stretch!
So here’s the story! We started out Day One with a spectacular all day hike that began at Sentinel Dome, where the view is absolutely breath-taking. Here we all are on the top of Sentinel Dome:
After our chapel time and quiet times alone, we took the Ponomo Trail, a little traveled segment of a longer trail, in order to loop around through the woods and then to the edge of Upper Yosemite at the top of Sentinel Fall. Here we are at the top:
Yes, I photo-shopped myself into this picture, since I took it! You can’t see the water fall in this picture, because, well, we are above it, BUT you can see we are higher than El Capitan in the background! O.K., here is a picture of the falls… as close to it as I wanted to get:
It’s hard to tell in the picture how HIGH we are, but that is the valley below, some 3000+ feet below! Here is a view of it (from Google images) from the bottom, it cascades for awhile before it final long drop to the valley floor:
Next we left the sunny warm open areas and entered into a forest where the temperatures were still cool and snow was still on the ground!
We forged rivers… (OK, one creek)
and finally all arrived at Taft Point at different times since the group spread out over time depending on their hiking pace and whether they constantly stopped to take pictures. Which is why I usually am one of the last to arrive at the meeting spots. Taft Point is simply amazing!
Taft Point is one of the highest places that has a STRAIGHT DOWN view, over 3500 feet. (hard to see in this photo, but there is one of the few railings in all of Yosemite at the very tip where you see the guys standing!)
I know, I know… what about the LIGHTENING!? I just want to make sure you know, it’s not like we just went to Yosemite and got attacked by lightening, it was a spectacular day… with an even more spectacular ending! So, on to the lightening…
Here’s me at Taft Point, in what very well could have been the last picture of me ever taken! It indeed was the last picture of me that day! By the time I got to Taft Point, we had started to see some clouds appearing East of us toward Half Dome and heard some thunder in the distance. It is a known fact for Yosemite hikers, that being out on large open granite surfaces is not safe if lightening is even remotely possible, as the lightening, being unable to absorb into the rock, will travel across the surface at, well, lightening speed, until it finds grounding. Being in the path of that lightening is, well, let’s just say, not recommended. Oh, and Taft Point is a huge open granite area, oh, and with a metal railing at the highest point!
As the leader of the expedition, and taking our group’s safety seriously, as soon as I got to Taft Point, I called out to the guys that we needed to leave and skipped going up to the point myself even though I’d hiked all day with this being the final destination. But there was another “final destination” I wasn’t interested in reaching today, if possible. Let me say for all the wives reading this – the group was not in any danger at this point, but we weren’t going to stick around until we were!
We regrouped, counted to nine (something we did often!) and once we knew the entire group was accounted for, headed back to the van. At this point, due to the loop we were doing, we were only about a mile and a half from the van. We headed back, and over the course of that last segment, the group spread out again until six were back at the van and I had two guys with me. About half way to the van the rain started, and by the time we got near the parking lot it was pouring HAIL. Seriously! We went from a beautiful sunny day with clear skies to rain and hail!
AND NOW THE EXCITING PART! (you skipped to here, didn’t you?)
Because the trail was blocked by a creek and in the rain we didn’t want to walk across the log that would normally be the easy way across, the three of us headed down river a bit until we could find some rocks in the creek that were high enough to cross over. I went first, called out to the two guys behind me that I’d found an easy way across, and then headed up toward the road. I could see that I was about 200 feet from the road, and gathered that the parking lot was probably another 200-300 feet up the road. I was almost out of the storm and into the van! I was feeling bad knowing that the six ahead of me were locked out of the van in this hail, but fortunately they had found a small pavilion to huddle under.
At this point everything is both fuzzy and crystal clear – don’t ask me to explain that – but as soon as I reached the road and started to walk toward the van – IT HAPPENED. It is difficult to describe. The words I have to use don’t do it justice. But there was this incredible NOISE – yes, an explosion, all around me. Scared is not the word. I was beyond scared, but only for a nano-second, honestly. It was like I was so terrified in that instant as I had no idea what was happening – I just froze – then I saw red billowing flames ahead of me followed by a pillar of smoke of biblical proportions and realized that lightening had struck VERY close. For the next few seconds, I wondered if I was dead. That sounds strange, but I just had a stent put in my heart a month before, and had been given the OK to go to Yosemite via stress test, but in that frozen moment, I wondered, “If your heart stops, do you feel it?” I couldn’t feel anything anywhere in that moment, so I wondered, “Do you die instantly, or do I have a minute to soak in life?” It was literally just a few seconds and I could feel that I was truly was OK and not about to keel over. I heard the guys behind me calling out to me and asking if I was OK. I heard them, but was still in shock (no pun intended) so while I answered, I knew they couldn’t hear my soft answer. When I could, I yelled that I was OK, and we’d better get to the van as fast as possible. I was finally able to look away from the explosion that was still smoking and noticed wood fragments were scattered everywhere, I instinctively reached down and picked up the piece at my feet before starting toward the van, the last two guys were now with me.
Yes, I thought of taking pictures or grabbing my video camera. No, I didn’t!
When I was walking toward the van my head was down and I noticed that there was a huge jagged hole in my poncho. Was I struck by lightening?!?!? It was a brand new poncho and it had been fine before the lightening strike! It was then that I realized my leg hurt a little. Not much, but like I’d been hit. We got to the van and I just handed the key over and asked another guy to drive, I was still kinda in shock. (not literally!) I was wearing zip off pants that convert to shorts so I unzipped them to look where my leg hurt, and there on my leg was a bruise – not huge, but clearly new. (I took a picture, but I’m sparing you that!) I looked at the wood in my hand and realized I must have been hit with “shrapwood” from the exploding tree! (Later, when putting my PJ’s on, I was to discover multiple bruises, I had been hit in several places by flying wood!)
The conversation in the van was charged with excitement. This was both exciting and sobering. Debate broke out on where the lightening struck, and how close it was to me. The guys by the van saw it hit much higher and farther away than I described. The guys behind me described it as being even closer to me than I thought. It was a bit of a puzzle, but we were curious, so we decided to return the next day to investigate.
The following morning was our sunshine at Glacier Point, which just happens to be a mile or so farther down the road than where we had parked the van the day before. It was pitch black out when we drove by so we couldn’t see anything.
After an awe-inspiring time at Glacier Point and our chapel time, we headed back to to the cabin to pack up for our hike that would begin in the valley today… but not without stopping first at the scene of the crime from yesterday:
Of course, I wanted to go back to the very spot I had been standing when the lightening struck! It felt kinda wierd to revisit the spot. My foot prints were visible and it appeared, that contrary to what I remembered, I had actually moved backward 4-5 feet reacting to the explosion, judging by the foot prints and dug in impressions that matched my shoes. (We were all acting like CSI guys!) Most of the wood debre was now gone, either washed away in the storm, or perhaps cleaned up off the road, but as I was standing in “the spot,” someone pointed out the large piece of tree that was lying RIGHT NEXT to where I had been standing!
It may go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway… what if THIS ’stick’ had hit me? In a very large area, on BOTH sides of the road, wood scraps lay everywhere.
Not all of it was on the ground, some was up in trees:
Look a little closer, that’s not a twig!
As we walked up and down the hill, it turned out ALL the reports in the van were correct, as lightening had struck several trees, on all sides of me, in an area probably more than 50 feet circle.
This is the tree that I saw on fire and whose fragments probably hit me. It doesn’t look like much damage to the tree from here, but up close it’s kinda crazy…
Wood was ripped off these trees so fast and so hard that branches still stuck out in places like rebar from concrete! And the parts of the trees that were damaged spiraled from top to bottom, so it was hard to get a picture of all the damage.
Here you can kinda see how the damage spirals toward the top of the tree! And there is another 8 feet below and up higher on the other side toward the top!
Hard to even image the POWER of something that can rip through a tree like this!
Matt McDaniels holds up a massive segment of a tree he found… yeah, I know.
Me and my tree. Wow.
Well, what can I say? Yosemite Summit was a blast. Can’t wait until next year. Statistically, it can only be safer!
In conclusion, one of the guys shared at our chapel time the next day that God had given him a verse for me, and thought perhaps this could be my theme verse for Yosemite Summit 2009. I think I like it!
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him —
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
Psalm 18:11-12
Yes, I still have that piece of wood I picked up, and plan to keep it as a reminder of how God protected me that day. Every day of life is truly a gift… perhaps that is why it is called the Present.
I’m writing this from a hospital bed in Aurora, IL after having a stent put into my heart that saved my life!
The full story is here if you missed all the updates on Twitter and Facebook!
Yes, I was twittering (which updated facebook) during the whole thing, and live blogged to give more detail than you can in status updates. It was really quite amazing that due to today’s technology I literally had more people praying for me probably than your average church prayer line – for those scratching their heads that I would twitter while having a heart attack, let me first say,
A) I didn’t technically have a heart attack (explained in blog post)
B) I was never in great pain, just enough pain in my chest to know something was wrong and decided the smart thing was to go straight to ER and
C) I really truly believe in the power of prayer and wanted to get the word out so that I’d have prayer for myself and family during the critical hours when it mattered most. I never really felt dread or fear, though I had a sober understanding that this was indeed serious – and yet really felt peace that I was in God’s hands and that He was walking me through the steps to address this.
Did you know if you hold your breath the
white line on the monitor will go flat?
If I were to add a D) it is that a big part of me is wired to want to encourage others and remind others that God is in control – thats easy to say when everything is going hunky dorey – (good) – but I wanted to show that even when our life is in danger (literally) there is always reason to laugh, enjoy life and savor the moments – even if our time to say so could be soon over. My twitter updates were intended to show that there can be moments of joy and reasons to smile even in the midst of hard times. You can’t say it if you don’t live it!
I asked not to be “put under” during the procedure because this is my LIFE and as long as I am alive – i want to LIVE every moment of it, even those moments that should be scary. I gotta tell you, its very sobering when they have you remove everything you own and you watch them put it all in plastic bags. (I hid my iPhone under my leg, I wanted to take it in with me – my link to all my friends and family!)
It was amazing to watch on a screen what the surgeon was doing inside my heart! The funny thing was later, even though I was never “out” or asleep, I couldn’t remember the journey from the surgery room to ICU. I finally asked my nurse if I had indeed been out because there were some details of the day I couldn’t remember and she said that they did give me a drug that caused short term memory loss! Wow! I asked if I can get that at Walgreens, that could come in handy in life! In fact, that might come in handy in pastoral counseling too! “Just take this, and soon you’ll forget all about it.” I’ll have to look into that. (My wife probably thinks I already take that it on a daily basis!)
One of the cool things was getting to meet a fellow Twittering in person, @scotthodge who I was hoping to meet today anyway, since I was doing the children’s services at this church at 3,5 and 7pm after the massive egg hunt this morning. Well, I did get to meet him, but not as I planned; he visited me in the hospital! It meant a lot since I was too far away for most friends/family to come visit, and I know he’s in the midst of Easter weekend! Even a pastor enjoys a pastoral visit! (Our pastor from our previous church did call too and offer to come, but we told him it was too far from Easter-eve, but that was very nice too!) Of course, my wife DID come while my awesome sister took Luke for the entire day!
I am now staying over night but it looks like I’ll get to go home tomorrow. Please pray for my sweet wife, I know this is harder on her than me!
I was able to get my friend, Jonny Magic, to take the shows I had the rest of today as he was in town to perform with me tomorrow, but pray for the church I was supposed to be at tomorrow – they’ve got a lot of entertainers, so they should be fine, but I was doing their preschool program so they’ve got to make adjustments. I have a pretty good excuse, but I still feel bad!
Going to sleep now – just wanted to let some friends and prayer partners know the scoop.
Well, I’m writing this from a recovery room at a hospital over an hour away from home after a surgeon placed a stent in the main left coronary artery of my heart!
Being the tech geek I am (and wanting prayer support) I’ve been twittering the journey which also updates my facebook status. Yet another good reason to link the two!
O.K., here’s the scoop. Did a big magic show at Stuart Sports Complex in Aurora IL right before a helicopter came to drop eggs. Before the show I rode around on my giraffe unicycle to attract attention toward the stage. I rode out on the grass which is extremely difficult on cold hard lumpy ground and it was a work out! I managed to stay up much longer than I thought I would but after 10 minutes fell. (thats how get off a giraffe unicycle, eventually you just fall to dismount) i was so out of breath, I could hardly talk or breath, but immediately had to do the program.
The show went well despite high winds and cold air, but I got through it. It wasn’t until I was packing up that I first thought the blasting music was hurting my chest since I was so close to all the speakers that were playing upbeat contemporary Christian music. I went to take pictures of the helicopter but was starting to realize something was wrong since I was away from the loud music but my chest was still hurting. Packing up was a challenge as I was back by the speakers and just felt fatiqued and sluggish and loading the car seemed far more difficult than it should have. I was eager to drive away from the pounding music since the next 3 shows at the church weren’t until 3pm, 5pm and 7pm. The pain was not going away and while I had planned to just go find a place to eat and work on my laptop for a few hours, I asked a cop directing traffic where the nearest hospital was.
Seemed keeling over at Chipotle was less desirsble than going to the ER and being told “you’re fine, you’re just a wimp” so I headed to the hospital thinking, I can just work in the waiting room so at least I’m close to serious help if I neef it.
Well, pain got worse and I asked to just talk to a doctor knowing I’d be out $75 for it.
Then it all just unfolded. Technically NOT a heart attack, as heart attack is non-reversible damage; which I avoided by coming in when I did. My EKG was a very abnormal one and my right arm was feeling weird, not the usual left. So next it was off for an angioplasti (sp?) and I asked to not be sedated so I could watch on the screens! Simply amazing what our doctors can do today! To be watching something IN MY HEART squirting out liquid and watching it flow through my heart. I asked the surgeon if he could see Jesus since I’d asked Him into my heart when I was four. He assured me Jesus was fine and had triggered the pain so I’d come in today!
Gotta go, time to order from room service, as I see they have cheeseburgers, hoping they’ll make me a double with extra cheese!!
Thank you everyone for your concern and prayers, more later! (Lord willing!)
Noduh, the Wise One had a great time being here this week and helping you learn the ways of the Lord so “powerful Christian you could become!” Remember, 
Just letting y’all know, that from this Saturday night through next Thursday I will be COMPLETELY off line. No e-mail, no cell phone, no facebook, no twitter, no nothing electronic, except worship music on my iPod shuffle and my Sony Alpha 350 digital camera enjoying Yosemite Summit with several other guys.
In his book Visioneering, Andy Stanley makes the following statement:
