Sugar Mountain N.C.

Camp Lutherock on the side of Sugar Mountain. A Cert School group. This morning... 5:30am up, and then up the Mountain. We were on top for sun rise... and the cracks in the Inukshuk we built caught the sun! It was two years ago this morning I got up and walked... how fun to be on top!

more GRINERguys

Lyle, Tim, Joel, Andy, and David

GRINER

A rather nostalgic day, in Bristow, IA. As little ones, Grandpa Griner paid the $25 tuition for each of us to go every year to this same camp. Now a couple of us are Grandpa's...

Top of the world?

The top of the world?
–the highest point between the Rockies and the Andies with niece Hill'
–another amazing small group of kids

Milestone Blessing

Another Lee Valley, Black Hills, sacred ground, life-giving week… Another Black Hills 3 mile run!

In the mean time the rest of the team is busy in the midst of the Institute’s Milestones conference.

I appreciate the Milestones of birth, baptism, communion, even driver’s licenses and graduations. I also recognize that many of the most meaningful milestones I did not recognize until well after.

Blessings…
I remember well the official Bishop blessing that was given during a service for Dick, David and myself, a blessing of our ministry and work at The Youth & Family Institute. This particular blessing spoke kind words of Dick, of David, and… when he got to me I realized he really did not know me and made up words, at one point calling me one of the great “lone ranger” youth ministers of our time. “Lone Ranger!” I wanted to step forward and object. If anything the trade mark of my ministry has been the ability to equip and empower others. This particular blessing, meant to be a milestone, carried very little significance for me.

The days that followed took me to Chicago, where I was to speak for a youth gathering. On a walk down a street, a large, black woman, asking for $5 dollars, approached me. She gave me the story of her car breaking down and needing bus money. It was a good story, even believable, which is the art of the panhandlers. I have to admit it was not my nature to hand over money but for some reason I did. What followed was a hug, wrapped in her big arms, and a prayerful blessing. I wish I remembered the words. But this was significant.

I look back and realize now that my milestone blessing, the affirming of me, the affirming of ministry, was not to be the words of a Bishop, but were to be the words of women whose name I will never know, while on an unknown street in Chicago.

The 4th

"The wonder of children is they see new things and beautiful things and take them in."
-Father Richard Rohr

Stop, listen, quiet, observe, breath - all good reminders for a person with long to-do lists. Happy fourth!

Jamestown N.D.

World's largest buffalo and I have now been there.
First run in North Dakota, even the first time here, and the first invitation to work with Missouri Synod Lutheran Youth Fellowship. Enough firsts for this weekend.

morning alarm clock

the little one who persistently, even franticly insists the world be up and moving at 5 a.m.

morning being time

Working with youth I have always been intrigued by the experience.
What new experience will intrigue them, will wow them, stimulate them into wanting more?

Fr. Richard Rohr suggests that westerns have tried to change Descartes “I think, therefore I am,” into “I experience, therefore I am.” We have saturated ourselves, maybe even overdosed ourselves with experience.

We are not human doings, we are human beings.

An old saying… But I am still struck by the wisdom.

Again Richard Rohar, “I’m pretty much convinced experiences don’t change people; realization does. I think of all the powerful experiences that I’ve had. But only when I taste my experiences enough so they become realizations, do I change.”

Maybe the real job is to help people choose silence. My new innovative intriguing experience is lost unless there is given time to realize it, question it, reflect on it, and just let there be time for inner space to be emptied so that spirit can reclaim.

Click and Go to Gloria My Space!

American Pilgrimage

Rushmore... must be photographed several thousand times a day. It really is a pilgrimage that most Americans will take at some point in their life. Amazing leaders. But so are Dick and Cynthia Borrud our hosts, certainly legends, and dreamers. ––– The wild west week comes to an end as the sun sets, and coyote howls. But wait, Wall Drug, and free ice water awaits for us tomorrow!

Sunday Gulch

Hiked... and hiked and hiked and hiked
Sunday Gulch near Sylvan Lake, and then drove the Needles Highway home... still tired from hiking!

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse Monument
"When the Legends Die The Dreams End When the Dreams End There is No More Greatness"
-Korczak Ziolkowski

When completed the Crazy Horse mountain carving will be 641 feet long by 563 feet high. Crazy Horse's completed head is 87 feet 6 inches high. The horse's head, currently the focus of work on the mountain, is 219 feet or 22 stories high.

The carving of Crazy Horse is more than bigness, more than time, it is about the dreams. When the dreams are worthy they become the force of creation. My prayer for the day is to have worthy dreams that meant to be followed, that lead me in creating life.

CO to S.D.

Our day of moving from Estes Park to the Black Hills was sandwiched with Cow experiences. On the highway leaving town the cowboys and cowgirls decided to drive the cattle down the road. Arriving at Lee Valley we had time to hunt garnets and explain the finer points of life and religion to a group of passing cow friends.

up the mountain

We decided it was time to climb, "No" ride the tram, "Yes," up the mountain. Conquering the mountain we found 10,000 munks... all starving. Fear not! We fed them all.

rainy tuesday

cook out in the rain! Pancakes... "Yes, folks that's what that is!"


"I've had enough of camping!" Brrrrrrr.....

Mountain Hike Day

A


Andrea "My favorite shirt!"

Rocky Mountain High

Estates State Park.

Wild Kingdom

Andrea trains the hummingbird to do unusual tricks as...

Lyle feeds the ferocious Chipmunk...

Then the wild bull elk charges us both but we manage to get a picture off just before Andrea swings onto his back riding him down the mountain and breaking him so small children can now ride him with out fear.