This Past Week in A Couple Pictures.

Because dude, the work surely did pile right up while I was on vacation. How does that happen?

 

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

I don't know what it is about the Black Hills.

Maybe the clean, pine-scented air, or the sharp rise of the mountains, or the tiny delicate flowers growing up through the rocks.

Or maybe it's the wildlife... not the typical bunny rabbits and deer that we've got at home, but buffalo and antelope.

Maybe it's how simply we live there. No plans, no requirements, just peace and campfires.

All I know is that I'm really excited that we're heading there today.

Zeke's family makes a yearly trip to the Black Hills every August, and we'll be meeting up with them there. After such a crazy busy summer, I'm really looking forward to getting a little time away.

In my more philosophical moments, I've pondered what the Black Hills show me about the character of God.

{I heard once that people experience God in four ways- mystically, naturally, intellectually, and emotionally. We tend to experience Him more strongly in one or two of those areas. I tend to find God intellectually and emotionally, but in the Black Hills? I see Him in most predominantly in nature.}

The Black Hills is rugged and dangerous with sharp edges and hard stone surfaces. It's extremes and challenges and hard-scrabble survival. It's dangerously beautiful.

I tend to see God as safe, as tame. Beige. Soft, fuzzy, pillowtop God. And in some respects, I think He can be... but that's such a limited experience of His character. I mean, even more limited than our already humanly limited minds typically experience Him.

The Black Hills remind me of this other facet of God. The wild, rugged, dangerous part of God. I need that sometimes. To experience Him in a different way, in a way that shakes my narrow minded self into realizing, again, that safe and quiet and beige isn't all there is to life.

<><><><><<>><<>><<>><><><><><>

So, since I'll be sucking up joy and beauty and peace (and that sometimes comes without any internet access. And probably absolutely no cell service, either. Which makes me worry about "I-love-dirt-biking-down-mountains-Zeke," but that's another post for a more anxiety ridden day.), I don't know how much I'll be on ye ole interwebs this coming week. I'll try to keep ya updated and share pictures of the majestic scenery so you can take deep breaths right along with me. 

In the meantime! 

I've got some posts about community scheduled to hit the web (enjoy!), and then when I get back next week, we'll start a new series for all the single ladies (or dating ladies)! 

Introduction here... 

Bloom: Stop Waiting, Start Growing 

I'm really super excited about it. 

There are still two more slots for guest bloggers- so if you're interested, shoot me an e-mail! 

 

 

Fishing in the Dark (What We Did this Weekend)

Our little tiny camper- which we pulled behind the Vibe- hence the hitch in my entryway!

We got to our campsite around 9:30 pm or so (and it was dark, so all these pictures are from Saturday morning, of course).

The "getting to the site at 9:30" thing was not my idea, to be clear.

Maybe you have a husband like mine and can sympathize- a "just one more thing" husband. You know, the ones who find something else they should probably get done just when you were thinking you'd be leaving. And he hasn't even packed! Well, I have one of those husbands, and I also have a "got to talking" husband.

I had planned on getting to the campsite at 6:30 or so. Zeke had different ideas. Not only did he need to move cement after work, but he had to service the Bobcat, and drop off his computer at our friends' house (this friend happens to fix computers- a good network of handy friends is a blessing, but that's another post).

And at the friend's house, Zeke got to talking (for exactly seventeen minutes)... and we were already much later than I had planned, so I was a bit grouchy.

I guess I need to take my own advice and work on growing some fruit (patience in particular)!

We got a marvelous campsite- down right by the beach.

It was very cold when we set up- I wore a long sleeved shirt, a zip-up sweater, another zip-up sweatshirt, and my flannel coat, sitting next to the fire. And shivered the entire time. But my first experience with nighttime fishing made up for it. Did you know you can fish in the dark? I had no idea.

(Sorry about the guts in the picture. Gross.)

We caught this guy and two more of his little bullhead friends ...

... and we ate 'em for breakfast! They were delicious. And Zeke, who didn't bring the right fish-cleaning tools didn't even swear once while using his Leatherman to yank the yuck out of them while running them under freezing cold water in the freezing cold wind. He did grumble a little, though.

But it was worth it.

Because they were yummy.

Zeke had volunteers coming in on Saturday afternoon, so we had to head back around lunch time, but we had a nice time on our first (albeit short) camping trip of the season.