Geocaching

G is for Geocaching.  If you are not familiar with Geocaching, It is a modern day treasure hunt powered by a GPS.  Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

Geocaching got its start in May 2000 when the U.S. government allowed greater GPS accuracy.  Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world had an instant upgrade.

For GPS enthusiasts, this was definitely a cause for celebration. Internet newsgroups were filled with ideas about how the technology could be used.

Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finder would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver.

On May 3rd he placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods near Beavercreek, Oregon, near Portland. He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav.

Within three days, two different readers read about his stash on the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week, others excited by the prospect of hiding and finding stashes began hiding their own containers and posting coordinates.

Geocaching.com began operating on September 2, 2000. With a worldwide membership the website claims millions of caches and members in over 200 countries.

I have been geocaching since 2004.  One of my favorite things about the sport is that it gets you to go places and discover things that you wouldn't otherwise.

On of my most memorable experiences was while geocaching in Tyler, Texas. I had found the geocache that I was searching for, and was finding my way back to my car when I got a bit lost. I had forgotten to put the coordinates of my cars location in the GPS, so I was just trying to remember my way back through the woods. I came into a brushy clearing and was trying to decide which way to go. There was an area that looked a bit wet and muddy, so I stepped carefully across it to avoid getting my shoes dirty. Imagine my surprise when the "solid" ground gave way, and I sank up to my armpits in stinky mucky quicksand. At first I was just angry that I was filthy, but then I started trying to get out and realized that I was in a serious predicament. Fortunately I was able to reach a small shrub than was strong enough for me to pull myself out.

I was now on the opposite side of the quicksand from where I needed to be and was trying to decide how to proceed. I layed out spread eagle and "swam" to the other side. It wasn't until I thought back on the experience as I was driving back to the condo that it dawned on me how much trouble I had actually been in. I was by myself, and my wife had no idea where I was. I never saw another person while I was out in the woods.


This is what I looked like after I got out.

If you have never tried geocaching I can recommend that you check it out.  Wherever you live, I'm sure that there are some caches in your area.  Just go to Geocaching.com and enter your location to see what is in your area.  I use the geocaching app for iPhone and since I always have my phone with me I can quickly look for caches anywhere I am at.  This weekend I found a number of caches in Conroe, Texas where I was visiting my son.  Geocaching is a great family activity; give it a try.

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Thank God For Grace

We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with my son and his wife. We will be leaving this afternoon and heading for Conroe, Texas.  The purpose of Thanksgiving is eating until we are stuffed... and giving thanks.  I appreciate the reminder to give thanks for our blessings, but realize that we should be giving thanks 365 days of the year. 

In the U.S. there has been an annual Thanksgiving observed since 1863.  In that year, with the county involved in a horrific Civil War, President Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring a day of Thanksgiving. 

One of the traditions of Thanksgiving is talking about the things we are thankful for.  There are many things, but I am truly thankful for my family.  

The Greek word translated thanksgiving is eucharista.  The English spelling is Eucharist.  My dictionary gives the following definitions.   1.  The sacrament of Holy Communion; the sacrifice of the Mass; the Lord's Supper.  2.  The giving of thanks; thanksgiving.

The word that most people use to describe the Lord’s Supper means thanksgiving.  What a great thought.  The Lord’s Supper is a ceremony in which we give thanks for what Jesus has done for us.  The root word in Eucharist is charis.  Charis is normally translated as grace.  That makes sense.  Think with me for a moment.  What happens at the beginning of your Thanksgiving meal?  Someone says “grace”.  Why do we say that they say grace?  Saying grace is giving thanks. 

At a British conference on religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room.  “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”

After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, is singularly Christian.  Of all the world’s religions, only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.

In 2 Timothy 1:9, the Bible says, “He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”.

Before you were born there was grace for you.  Thank God for grace!  As wonderful as it is, grace is not well understood and often not really believed. We use the word a lot but rarely think about what it means. It's probably true that most of us think infrequently about God's grace. 

Part of our problem is in the nature of grace itself. Grace is scandalous. It’s hard to accept. It’s hard to believe. It’s hard to receive. We are skeptical when a telemarketer tells us, "I'm not trying to sell you anything. I just want to offer you a free trip to Hawaii." Automatically we wonder, "What's the catch?" because we have all been taught that "there's no free lunch."

Grace shocks us in what it offers. It frightens us with what it does for sinners. Grace teaches us that God does for others what we would never do for them. We would save the not-so-bad. God starts with prostitutes and then works downward from there. Grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don't deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it.

Grace means that no one is too bad to be saved. The Bible is full of examples; Liars, cheaters, murderers, adulterers, prostitutes.  God specializes in saving really bad people.

Grace also means that some people may be too good to be saved. That is, they may have such a high opinion of themselves that they think they don't need God's grace. They may admit they are sinners but they don't admit they are spiritually dead.

This view of grace is hard for good people to accept because it means we must give up our "goodness" in order to be saved. We must admit that nothing we have done matters in the least when it comes to being forgiven by God. God has designed our salvation so that he alone gets the glory!

Ephesians 2:8,9 tells us,  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”.

Imagine what heaven would be like if you had to earn your way there. "I was a preacher." "I built churches across the world." "I gave a million dollars to world missions." "I had hundreds of baptisms at my meetings." "I volunteered at the hospital." “I baked cookies for the school kids.” As good as those things are they will not help forgive even one sin. They will not save you or help save you. 

Can you just imagine someone putting his arm around Jesus and saying, "You and me, Jesus, we did it: You died on the cross and I baked the cookies”? I am so thankful that it's not like that. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the full price for your salvation. Jesus paid the price all by himself.

Grace is never cheap.  Grace costs the ultimate.  It is just that you and I aren’t the ones paying.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life”.  John 3:16

Thank God for grace!   Look for grace in unexpected places. I know that you will find it. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:14, "the grace of our Lord is exceedingly abundant".

The Steel Wheels

Last weekend we drove to Conroe, Texas to see my son and daughter-in-law.  While we were there we went to see The Steel Wheels at The Dosey Doe Music Cafe.  Dosey Doe's is a great music venue along with an award winning restaurant.  We arrived early and got a table a few feet from the stage.  After a great meal, with the best fried green tomatoes I have eaten, we were ready to see the Steel Wheels.


The Steel Wheels are based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  They blend old-time musical traditions with their own innovative sound.  They often cluster tightly around a single microphone and add to Trent Wagler’s unmistakable tenor with bell-clear four-part harmonies inspired by their shared Mennonite heritage. Add to this Eric Brubaker’s lively and evocative fiddle, Brian Dickel’s grounded yet buoyant upright bass, and Jay Lapp’s signature mandolin style, and you have The Steel Wheels.



The small venue and the intimacy of the concert made it feel like your friends were singing for you in your living room.  The musicianship was absolutely top notch.  Every song was tight, and the harmonies were amazing. I was close enough to be able get some video.  The song "Rain In The Valley" is an acapella song that defies description; it is sparse and dense all at once.  



The song Lay Down Lay Low is the title track from their latest album.  It is much more representative of their sound.  The song is very poignant after hearing the story behind it.  A friend of Trent's walked to a tall bridge with the intention of ending his life.  He didn't go through with it, but his experience was captured in the song.

As I stand on the river bridge, Silent on this thirsty ridge
No more birds will sing for me on this desperate day
I’ve walked far to make it here, I know my path is plain and clear
I will take to rest a final time on that clay.

Lay down, lay low, They say it’s quiet there
Lay down, lay low, I want to finally fall down, fall down



The concert was one of the most enjoyable that I have ever attended, and I highly recommend The Steel Wheels to anyone who likes Americana, Folk, Acoustic, Bluegrass or Vocal Harmonies. A line from one of their songs seems to say it all, "Going to that place where the song sings you".







I shot all of the photos and videos in this post during the January 19, 2013 Steel Wheels concert at The Dosey Doe Music Cafe in Conroe, Texas.