Second Anniversary Hike

Laura & I rehiked Sweathouse Creek Canyon today...praying, climbing over deadwood that rerouted the creek & surveying the fire damage. In 2 days it will be exactly 2 years since we first prayer-hiked to Sweathouse Falls & thus began our Hallelujah Hikers group. Fire swept through this canyon the summer of 2006 & a small flash flood followed in November 2006.



The fire damage was spotty in some areas, complete in others. More larch survived than fir or pine trees. In looking over the hillside, we spotted a little color showing that even a few bushes escaped the general devastation.




Once again, we ate our lunch at the top of the falls. Only a tiny stream cascades down the rocky cliff from this point. Our long hot summer has had almost as much affect on the scenery as the fire.

New Beginnings

L'Shana Tova! We are currently celebrating the Biblical Fall Holidays: Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur & Succot. Each year we celebrate these High Holy Days, I thank the Lord for the new beginnings He gives us.

Esther was working at Subway when she turned 18. Sherry & I took the makings of a small BD party to her work & celebrated with her. Since passing the GED, she has been working as a cashier at Staples. This week, at 19 & 1/2, she began a new job as a nursing assistant at The Village Health Care Center. Monday she began their CNA course, which flows right into working at the Village. She's excited about wearing scrubs, learning a new job & having the chance to minister to the elderly at the same time.

Louis just finished his first year with DirecTV. He is at a supervisory level now that he is on the escalation team - a permanent position with a team of 9 others that is mutifaceted...some phone work, some problem solving, some projects, some presentations to give, some quality assurance work, etc. He loves the variety. He feels so blessed to have this work & mission field.

The women's neighborhood Bible Study that I lead started on September 13th - The Jewish New Year. Eight women are commited to the study so far this year. It is more application oriented than last year. We are working through most of the New Testament 3:16 passages via a workbook by Jennifer Devlin titled "Life Principles for Christ-Like Living." We established the foundational truth of 2 Timothy 3:16 the first week. The second week in Galatians 3:16, we studied our deep roots & how Christ is seen throughout the Old Testament. Now we are in 2 Corinthians 3:16 searching out the promise of the glory of God.

A day & 1/2 of rain has probably concluded the fire season for this year just as Fall began. This morning the mountains are capped with new snow. The wonderful visibility after weeks of hazy smoke & a slight nip in the air invigorates us. We awoke to our first frost. PTL! How I love His new beginnings!

A few metallic facts I learned in August 2007.

Have any of you heard of Sun-Chlorella? I'm experimenting with this natural whole food (pills of algae) as a nutritional supplement. It helps eliminate toxic elements, like heavy metals that have built up in my body from my mercury-silver amalgam fillings & nickel caps/crowns & brought down my immune system. (Yes, I still drink my cider vinegar too.) It's high in fiber, protein & anti-oxidents. At three weeks I have only noticed a slight increase in my energy level.

Several of our small maple saplings planted last Fall look sick. Their leaves turned yellow with a dark brown around the edges. It's not for lack of water, since we water them frequently... almost every day when the weather has been hot. I took a couple of the leaves into Caras Nursery & was told they need more iron. As soon as the temperature drops to the 60's & 70's, we will spray the ironite on them. Our friend Larry was advised to add copper to the soil around his peach trees. So humans need less metals & trees need more?

I have treated the last couple of wasp & bee stings very simply. As soon as I was stung, I taped a copper penny over the stung area & left it in place for an hour or two. Amazingly, the pain vanished & I never developed any swelling. I tried the penny trick on a spider bite, but it didn't work as well there.

Do these facts jive with your experience?