Trying to submit or surrender to God is an oft-referenced topic of teaching these days. It’s Biblical if very rarely put in those terms – “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies…

Trust to Surrender

The Endless Wall Trail
The Endless Wall Trail is the premier hike in New River Gorge National Park. I personally didn’t find it to be the most scenic trail (that award goes to Long Point), but it does have several advantages: It’s near the…

Mud Volcano Area & Sulphur Caldron
The Mud Volcano Area of Yellowstone National Park has one of my favorite non-colorful hot spring, non-geyser geothermal features in the park. It also has some other cool geothermal things to see, most of which are more violent than pretty…

Photos from Near the Nautilus
A few weeks ago, I posted a trip report for hiking to the Nautilus in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. In that post, I couldn’t possibly include all of the amazing photographs that I took, not of the Nautilus itself, but…

Don’t Become the Oppressor
As I read through the gospels, I’m struck by Jesus’ compassion. He really didn’t get along at all with the people who thought they were great. In fact, in most situations, He sided with those who were oppressed. Even in…

An Off-trail Hike up Coffin Peak
There’s nothing quite like climbing Coffin Peak in the Black Mountains of Death Valley to see the Funeral Mountains. That’s just too much of a single theme if you ask me! But it’s actually a fun off-trail trek, without too…

Exploring Round Valley Draw
I only did one real slot canyon in Utah last fall (that doesn’t count Resurrection Canyon and Wiregrass Canyon, which I did earlier in the trip, but which weren’t very slot-y). Round Valley Draw was introduced to me as being…

Terrace Mountain Loop: The Quiet Mountains of Yellowstone
The Terrace Mountain Loop was a hike in Yellowstone that piqued my interest for no particular reason, similar to the Lamar River Trail. But I’m so glad we did it! The miles through meadows with fantastic views were worth the…

The Best Kayaking/Canoe Adventures & Water Trails near Rochester, New York
A few years back, we made the leap to buy two kayaks. A year later, we bought two more. And then we ended up with a couple of canoes. I’ve reviewed the kayaks here, but suffice to say that we’ve…

God Gives You What You Value
No, I’m not going to make a works-based gospel out of this idea. Nor am I going to make a formula for how God works or tell you how to twist God’s arm into giving you what you want –…