Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, do I have so much to be thankful for in 2007. This has been a blesed year what with the completion of the Appalachian Trail and also four books that have been published. But in reality it's more than that. Without knowing Christ, the strength of God in my life, none of these things would have come to pass. So all these blessings, these avenues of thanksgiving, really boil down to the foundation. The Cornerstone. Christ in us, the hope of glory. And for that there is much to be thankful for!

I Have Seen and Felt God

I just read the blog of a writing friend I had met at a writer's conference a few years back and how she is now suffering with a malignant brain tumor. The news is not good. It made me consider death. Surrounded by family and the things of this world, I found death to be frightening and unable to be understood. Maybe because I lacked a deeper understanding of my Creator who made me. But when I spent six months on the Appalachian Trail and saw wonders, His wonders, the hand of the Creator that made those wonders, I saw that death was not something to be feared. On that journey I felt Him take my hand, grab my foot, help me down slippery slopes, create moss "rocks" for me to step on, and give me the strength to conquer steep mountains when I was weak and helpless. I knew then I could trust Him, even with something as mysterious and uncertain as death That it was okay. Death was okay. Everything is okay, that we can get through anything because God is in it. I am so glad I could experience Him in a profound way on my trail journey. I pray for the strength to be able to write down these things in the book I am currently now working on and hope you will pray for me too.

The Article is Up!

Good news- today an article on our hike appeared in the Sunday Daily Progress Lifestyles section - the newspaper in Charlottesville, Virginia. Except for a minor error on the "white triangles" of the AT - (yikes!) I thought the reporter did a great job. Wish you could see the pictures that went along with the story (we had two pages worth) but you can at least read the article here. The picture on the right is one that the Progress did print on the front page, of Paul Bunyan in the snow on the way to Damascus.

The News Begins...

I was out for a run today - I've been doing that to keep myself in some kind of shape and sanity, really, when I spied a newspaper in our culvert. Normally we receive The Daily Progress only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I was somewhat surprised, this being Thursday. I opened it up to see the following sidebar under What's Next.

The Trek That Dreams Are Made Of

For more than 30 years Lauralee Bliss has dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail. She recently completed her goal, accompanied by her 17-year-old son, Joshua. Read about their 2,175 mile trek in this Sunday's Lifestyles.

So there it is - the big story on our hike is coming this Sunday, November 4th. We had a photo shoot last week with all our gear spread out in the backyard. The photographer took pictures of us with our gear, setting up our tent, standing beside a map of the trail. It is exciting, for certain. But I can't get wrapped up in it all. I'm just amazed and teary-eyed that I was even able to complete this journey. And what God can do with a dream, if we let Him. That is where the real story lies.