A (belated) Year in Review: 2011

I fear that I have rather fallen out of the habit of blogging.  This will have to be remedied.  This also means that I never did my annual "Year in Review" summary of the previous year.  

So, about a month late, here's my highlights from 2011:

In the winter months I worked at odd jobs, like tutoring and cooking (lunch for 100+ at MBC):

I took a couple small trips, one to Arizona.  It was not as warm as one on vacation from Montana could have hoped.  

On Feburary 9th we celebrated my Grandad's 82nd birthday,

a month before he passed away, on March 9th.  While it was hard to say good-bye to him, it was a blessing to be able to spend time with various members on that side of the family.  I have a pretty great family.

 A week later my Great Uncle George passed away also.  I didn't know him very well, but we were able to join his family in remembering his life for a short time also.  

Probably the highlight of the year was the trip I took in May-June.

It started off in Greece, a couple hours drive from Athens, on a boat.  

After about a week on the boat, we ended up in the area of Ephesus (in Turkey) for a few days.

Then back on the boat, and headed back to Athens.  The Acropolis is truly spectacular.  

We took a day trip to Corinth.  This picture is from the top of Acrocorinth, with a good view of the Isthmus of Corinth (now the canal) separating the Aegean from the Ionian Sea.  

 From Athens I headed to Delphi, probably one of my favorite places in Greece (aside from some of the Islands I visited).  

 After other Greece adventures I ended up in Istanbul.  Here you can see the Golden Horn across the way, with both Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque visible.  The Blue Mosque is towards the right and has more minarets.  

 After an over-night bus ride from Istanbul I found myself in Goreme, Cappadocia, which has some of the most interesting and spectacular geology I've seen.  I enjoyed a few exploratory hikes in the area.

 After stops in Ankara and Antalya, I paused in Olympos, a magical and Care Paravel-like ruin.

The trip finished off with short stops in Finike and Hierapolis, before heading back to Istanbul and then home.  

Shortly after I arrived home, my uncle passed away on July 11th.  

Again, it was hard, but we took great comfort in knowing that he was home, with his Savior.  I also enjoyed re-connecting with cousins I hadn't seen in some time.  

At the end of July I went to a Family Reunion/50th Wedding Anniversary in beautiful eastern Montana.  We took the time to visit the old ranch, Sleepy Hollow.  (Yes, yes that is its name, and no, there are no headless horsemen.)

 We even flew some kites. :)

 We spent time with Uncle Walt and Aunt Arden at their family reunion.

 We cousins enjoyed playing some games together.  

Most of the rest of the summer I ended up spending at camp, helping in the kitchen and re-connecting with old friends.  This is some of my camp "family."

I even got to go on the annual rafting trip.  Most summers I would have missed it, but with the high water we had in the spring and early summer, it took much longer than usual to be safe enough.  

 I never get tired of the scenery up there.

After camp I celebrated my birthday...and somehow we all managed to wear just about the same color.  

And to go with all the purple...we had our first grape harvest.  Pretty exciting because grapes aren't really known to grow here...

This fall especially I started experimenting with various knitting techniques.   I'm getting better.

 

I've also tried to experiment more with cooking, like this lime cheesecake I made for my birthday:

or this lemon souffle I made, just to try a souffle:

We haven't had much snow, but I've tried to enjoy it a little.  (This is me building a fort.)

It wasn't all just fun and games.  I also worked at MBC, including starting to help in the library. I've cataloged...lots of books...

For the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) we spent some time at our place in Lewistown.  (It's very cold at first.)

And, of course, we visit my Grandma when we get a chance.  (This picture isn't all that flattering...but the situation made me laugh.)

T

The year wouldn't be complete without a mention of the Christmas stroll and the Christmas spiders.

And, of course, throughout the year I've enjoyed experimenting with capturing various places, moods, and seasons in Montana with my camera.  (I've added some new lenses and filters to experiment with, which is fun.  If you want a bigger view, click on the picture.)
Lightening:

  Sunsets:

 Wild berries:

 Harvest:

Autumn:

 Stars and moon:

 And, of course, barns:

And now we are on to 2012, which I'm sure will be full of its own adventures, and I trust God will be at work through everything.  

Always Winter Adventure

This morning, braving the snow and wind and cold, a friend and I headed to a town three hours away to visit a former roommate.  Fortunately, the roads were passable.

But as we drove, the wind buffeted the landscape around  us, obscuring outlines and giving us a glimpse of a magical fairy world.  

Pictures never quite do justice to the scenery here, and snapshots from a moving car achieve even less, but it's better than nothing.

 The snakes of snow sometimes obscured the road as well.

 Nearer the river the trees were covered in frost.

We found our friend - and discovered that we were all wearing close to the same color.

 Many other adventures were had, but I'll close with this: McDonald's, as owned and operated by the White Witch.

Yes.  Yes, those are statues in a snow covered courtyard.  Better get those fries served on time.

January Morning

The Spanish Peak bask in the first rays of the morning sun.  

Within a few minutes, the warming light has spread to the rest of the landscape.

 Spectacular clouds float across the lightening sky.

 Another unseasonably warm and snowless January morning.

Lessons from Patmos

Since returning from galavanting around Greece and Turkey, I've often been asked what my favorite part was.  It's a question that is nearly impossible to answer completely, but I find myself often mentioning the Island of Patmos as landing high on my list of favorites.  It may have been partly the fact that it was absolutely beautiful. 

It may be partly that we spent a longer time there, giving us an opportunity to explore and experience more.

 

 Ancient customs observable today didn't hurt it either.  (These men are harvesting hay with sickles.)

I think, though, that much of the reason that Patmos is a cherished memory has to do with its Biblical significance.

Patmos is actually only mentioned once in the Bible, in Revelations.  


I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."    
                                                                                                            ~Revelation 1: 9-11


That doesn't give a whole lot of information.  Church History/tradition explains a little more.


According to tradition, the book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John who also wrote the gospel of John and the three epistles of John.  All four of these books were likely written towards the end of the first century - the last of the New Testament to be completed.  If tradition records all the activities of John between the cross and his imprisonment on Patmos, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with everything.  However, it seems that at some point John went to Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) where he took a leadership role in the new churches springing up there - especially the church at Ephesus.  John was the Bishop of Ephesus, and judging from the love and compassion demonstrated in his writings, he loved the people there.  He cared for his "sheep."


Of course, at some point late in his life, the Romans, fearing and persecuting Christianity, banished him to Patmos.  Patmos is a tiny island, less than 40 miles off the coast of Turkey (and about 60 miles from Ephesus, as the crow flies).  On land, even at that time, that distance could have easily been covered in less than a week, and John could have been back with his beloved church.  But with the sea intervening...such a distance was insurmountable.  John would have seen nearby islands, maybe even the coast of Turkey, from his cave, but for him they would have been as unreachable as the moon.


As we sat on Patmos and talked about John it was easy to imagine his discouragement and despair.  He had been busy all his life, serving God, sharing the gospel, offering counsel and encouragement to fellow Christians.  And now he was separated from everyone and everything he held dear.  His ministry opportunities were reduced to almost nothing.  And, possibly worst of all, he knew he was the last apostle: the last of the generation that had actually known and walked with Christ.  He attempted to pass on some of this knowledge in his writings, but he must have wondered, when all the apostles were gone, would the baby church survive?  With persecution growing worse and no actual witnesses to the resurrection left, would it become easier and easier for believers to deny the faith when faced with death?  And, with time, would this precious church slowly cease to exist?

Traditional site of St. John's Cave

Surely such doubts assailed his mind from time to time while he was imprisoned on Patmos.  But then something miraculous occurred.  John was given just a glimpse of what the future of the Church would be.  It wasn't all good.  There was danger on every side.  Even now the church was threatened, from within and without: bad doctrine, lovelessness, immorality, and persecution all posed problems.  But far in the future a light shown brightly.  However you chose to interpret Revelations, one thing is clear: in the end, God wins.  The last enemies will be utterly defeated, and the Church will take her place as the Bride of Christ.


No wonder John's response was worship.  What a joy it would be for him to know that in spite of all the bad in the world, and in spite of his own helplessness, God's plan would prevail and all would be made right.  What joy to know that God cared enough about him to chose to send this encouraging message to him.


And I think this is an appropriate reminder as we head into the new year.  So many people I know are suffering; though their circumstances may differ from John's, some of the discouragement is certainly repeated.  But John's experience on Patmos serves as a reminder of God's love and grace in trials.  And the message that went from Patmos, first to the seven churches, and then down through the ages to us, assures us that in the end, all the wrong will be righted.  God has a plan, and He will triumph.