We all Need a Hero

At least I know I’d like one.  The GoPro Hero2 is an amazing HD camera that comes with a waterproof case and all kinds of mounts.  It would be an amazing camera for time lapse video captured from my deck!

Here is my first UStream broadcast from my phone:

Create and Sell Your Own Calendar Online

Like I did!

It’s no secret that I have a serious photography addiction.  With sunrises and sunsets as beautiful as they are around here it’s hard to resist.  The perils of living in a target rich environment I suppose.  As a result I have all these pictures.  What to do?

Over the last couple of years I have been playing around with Zazzle.com.  I have a little store there with some of my pictures on coffee mugs and mouse pads.  I’ve sold a few and it’s pretty neat to see some of the great scenes I capture around here on a mug.  My favorite is the “God Is Amazing” mug with a great shot of Pusch Peak after a storm.  The other is a mug that screams Valentine’s Day gift.  The, “Life is Better Shared” mug features two hummingbirds enjoying a sunrise lit breakfast together.  Aw.

I’ve had a couple of friends asking when I was going to have a calendar for sale.  Well today I finally went through my pictures and have published two calendars you can buy at my Zazzle store.  The Oro Valley 2012 Calendar and the HummingbirdFeederCam.com 2012 Calendar.  The cost is kinda high though.  Almost $21! and I only make $2 of that.  Calendars are half price today at Zazzle, so you might could grab one for $10.50 plus shipping.  I’ve sold a couple so far today!

Still, $21 is kinda high for a calendar.  I don’t care how much you like me :-)  So, I was looking around for a better solution and I found it.  A quick web search landed me at Lulu.com.  I remember my Mom telling me about it.  A site mainly dedicated to self publishing authors, but they also have a slick tool for creating calendars.  Here’s what I came up with.  My self published TonightsSunset.com 2012 Calendar:

Best part is I can offer it to you for $15.99 and I make almost $3. I call that a win win.  Order up a couple today and tell your friends.  2012 is only a week away!

Here is the HummingbirdFeederCam.com 2012 Calendar:

November 20, 2011 Pusch Peak Sunrise Time Lapse

Originally posted at TonightsSunset.com

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Not as much color in this one as we often get, but I like they way the cloud were moving and forming and unforming. 45 minutes around sunrise condensed into about a minute and 45 seconds

AMAZING Oro Valley Sunrise

Nice way to start the day.  I think God really likes Arizona:

Be it Resolved in 2010 – The Ultimate Hike

I want to try this in 2010.  I’ve climbed Pusch Peak a couple of times and Picacho Peak once, although it’s been a couple of years since I’ve done either.  I’d say at my current fitness level, I’d be looking at a couple of months of pretty intense hiking.  Assuming I got serious about this right away, I could try it this Spring.

What am I talking about?  Hiking from Catalina State Park (2,700′) to the top of Mt. Lemmon (9,080′).  Looks like an all day hike with wonderful scenery and a quite a leg burn.  Read much more about it here.  I’ve already hiked to Romero Pools numerous times including a few days before Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas.  Here’s a nice map of the trails leading out of Catalina State Park.

April sometime would be a good time to make this hike.  Plan B could be November, which would give me all year to get ready.  I’ll let you know!

I Shot a Deer!

With my camera, but still.

I decided that today would be a great day to start a morning hike along the Linda Vista Loop, just a couple miles up from the apartment (actually, I decided yesterday was a great day to start, but since I didn’t, today was a great day to start).  It was warmer than it’s been thanks to a nice cloud cover, but the wind was kinda gusty.  I figured I would warm up once I got on the trail. Turns out I was right.   50 degrees is kinda refreshing when you are huffing and puffing.   (the trail has a 300 foot vertical climb and I started out at a brisk pace… plus I am not in my best shape yet)

I was probably a little past half way around the loop when I heard some crashing through the bushes.  Two White-tailed Deer bounding by about 50 yards in front of me!  They keep trucking until they were out of sight, but then I guess one doubled back.  He was maybe 75 yards in front of me just sorta posed.  He gave me enough time to zoom in with my camera and get off a couple of shots.  I grazed him on the first shot, but the other two were dead on!  I feel like God rewarded me for getting off my lazy backside and getting out in His creation!  It was a great way to start the day, for sure.

Click on the pics from this morning’s hike for larger versions.

Work Pays Off

Funny.  I can’t seem to get motivated.  Will I have to jog 3 – 5 miles a day for the rest of my life so I can be fit and trim and avoid dying of a heart attack?  I think I’m starting to think I am more of a hiker bike rider than the runner I used to be.  It’s harder than I remember!

Then there is this.  My junior year in high school I returned from my Summer vacation in San Diego.  I had spent the Summer goofing off at the beach and sneaking joints when I could.  (I was pretty lost back then.  No focus.  No vision.)  I reported for two a days in bad shape.  I struggled through the first game and then quit so I could party.  It’s one of the biggest regrets of my life!  If I had to do it over again, I would have stayed home for the Summer, worked out with the team, and been the stud on the football field I should have been.

How does that relate to now?  True, I don’t have anything to prove on the field.  That’s for men younger than I.  However, there is a life lesson for me.  Press through.  Set a goal and trust God to help me achieve it.  I can’t let my laziness of the past few years keep me from good health now.  It will be hard.  I will want to quit.  But if I will persevere, there will be a reward.  The Bible says that work pays off:

1. Proverbs 10:4
   Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
2. Proverbs 12:24
   The hand of the diligent will rule, But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.
3. Proverbs 13:4
   The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.
4. Proverbs 21:5
   The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

You get the idea :-)

So, this morning, I am going to jog.  I signed up for www.everyoneruns.net, a 5.5 mile run on April 14th.  Ambitious considering I am having trouble running 2 miles right now!  But, with persistence I can do this.

I wanted to climb to the top of Pusch Peak today, but I don’t have the 6 hours it will take.  Even better, I want to climb to Finger Rock.  The vertical climb is the same, but since the trail starts higher, it ends higher!  Awesome views from up there, I’m sure.  Plus I’ve yet to climb to Finger Rock.  Maybe on Monday…

Sacrifice of Praise

Hebrews 13:12-16
¹²Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

¹³So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

¹⁴For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

¹⁵Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.¹⁶And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

I was hiking the other day.  Actually, I’ve been hiking a lot lately.  I signed up for a 5.5 mile run on April 11th and I am going to be ready!  However, actually getting ready is WORK!  As I was huffing and puffing my way up the steep slopes this concept of “Sacrifice of Praise” came to mind.  I believe the Lord showed me something.  I’ll share it with you and you can decide if God is speaking to you too.

I know I don’t look like it so much these days, but in high school I was a pretty good athlete.  A sprinter, football player, one year of soccer even.  Games and meets and matches were fun.  Practice, not always.  It took work to get in shape, to train the God given abilities to be able to perform at a high level (hopefully) on game day.  Some of those practices were grueling.  Another set of intervals when you were ready to throw up.  More wind sprints after a hard practice with the coach blowing his whistle and barking at us to move it.  Needless to say, there were days I would have rather been doing other things.  The payoff was;  being in great shape, and running a good time in the 100, or making a big play to help win the game, etc.

As I was huffing and puffing up Pusch Peak and I was noticed that I really wasn’t in the mood for a hard hike.  I was tired.  It had been a long day.  I almost turned back, but I decided to press on.  To make a sacrifice!  With a payoff in mind;  get into great shape (someday, with consistent training), and be ready to run 5.5 miles on April 11th.  I was offering a sacrifice of hiking!  I ended up making really good time compared to just the week before.  My workouts were paying off!  But I don’t always feel like working out.

God started showing me the parallel.  Sacrifice of working out when I don’t feel like it builds discipline in my life and rewards here on Earth.  Spiritual sacrifice builds discipline in my life and rewards here, and in Heaven!  A win win!  That is so like God.

How many times in tough circumstances do we run to the TV, or comfort food, or our favorite sin, instead of thanking God in (not for, but in) the circumstance.  This is where the sacrifice of praise comes into play.  Instead of running from God, or ignoring Him, when the tough gets going, this is the time to run to God!  Consistently.  Especially when you don’t feel like it!  He is always there.  He loves us soooooo much!  He is close to the brokenhearted!!!  He desires for us to rely on Him and to trust Him all the time, not just when life is going well.

When we run to Him we receive all of His benefits.  We cry Abba Father to the caring Dad who has already met our needs forever through His Son Jesus and longs to meet them now!  Why do I cry in my beer when I can cry on His shoulder?  Especially when alcohol is a depressant!  No.  It’s the sacrifice of praise that will build spiritual discipline.  Not so much because our hard work brings us closer to God, but rather, the closer we stay to God the more His presence can change us!  Discipline is a fruit of the Spirit.  We can only bear fruit when we are connected to the vine.  Still, staying close to God can be a fight!

If working out brings a benefit, how much more spiritual discipline.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25
²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Next time you are feeling down.  Like God has forgotten your name.  Run to His loving arms.  Praise His name for giving you life!  For giving you His Son as a sacrifice!  He hasn’t forgotten your name.  He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you.  Take Him at His Word, even though sometimes the going is very hard.

Psalm 126:5 & 6
⁵Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
⁶He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Keep sowing good even when it feels bad.  It will pay great dividends!

On the Trail Again!

The workout routine continues.  Very nice hike this morning to the “first saddle” on the Pusch Peak Trail.  1,000 feet vertical and maybe 3 miles round trip?  It is more intense overall then the bike ride since it’s more effort for a longer duration going up.  Really keeps the heart pounding for most of the hour and a half!.  Coming downhill you really use your quads and concentration.  On the bike you just coast down at 40 mph!  Yippeeeeeee!

It was hot early!  I left the apartment at 7:50 and it was already 84.  When I got home just barely after 9, it was 98!  It’s 107 right now and just 11:30 a.m.  Heat advisory today.  Be advised.  It’s Hot :-)

While I was hiking, the Lord was reminding me about keeping my eye on my walk.  How it’s so easy to get our eyes off the trail and end up on our rears!  We can all avoid many troubles in life if we’ll just stay close to the Lord and take careful steps on the trail of life.

God is good!  He longs to have that relationship with us.  He is passionate about it!  So much so He gave His life as payment for ours!  I think the reason God has told me not to ever forget how much He Loves me, is because when I do is when I get discouraged.  When I remember how much He is for me!  That He is passionate about guiding me, even transforming me into the likeness of Christ!, I get excited and the joy of the Lord becomes my strength!  Strength to stay close to His love, and His best, for His glory!

This Morning

I almost didn’t.  I got up a little later than I wanted and by the time I had my coffee and smoothie breakfast I thought it might be too late.  I decided to jump on my bike anyway and give it a go.  I’m so glad I did!  What a great ride!  I did my usual that I’ve been talking about the last few days.  It was a good workout, not much traffic and I had the satisfaction of knowing that I had my workout done for the day!  Anything extra would be extra :-)

I left about 6:42 and it was already 80 degrees!  Still a lot less than this afternoon’s high of 107 or so  :-)

There were a lot of fat lizards on the road this morning that scurried off as I approached.  There were also a few joggers and one old guy walking.  A couple people on bikes too.  On the way downhill, I was moving and got the thumbs up from another old guy walking.  I love that downhill!  Unfortunately the speed limit is only 25, so I know I am speeding on the way down.  It was that downhill that prompted me to buy a helmet.

I used to say, “I survived growing up riding my bike everywhere without a helmet.”  That’s what happens when you get old.  Going 40 mph down a hill and you wonder, gee, what happens if my tire blows?  I don’t recommend getting old, but I do recommend the helmet if you are riding downhill.

I got home around 7:15 and it was already 83 I think.  Kinda cool for this time of year, actually :-)

Tomorrow I’m leaving early for Phoenix, so unless I’m up pretty early, the bike will get a rest for a day.  I’m glad I followed through with my promise to myself to ride.  There needs to be more where that came from!

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