Our friends Bob and Molly came into town last Monday and the weather this week has been beautiful. Bob said he wish he could see the New Mexico winds we have talked about. Well, on Sunday he got his wish. Here's a video of a visit to Old Town and having lunch at Kellys in Nob Hill.
It's not every day that I will say that someone else's suffering gives me comfort, but I will say that today.
Matthew 26:38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
It gives me comfort to know that Jesus suffered the night before his death. Why? Because it reminds me that Jesus was fully human and fully understands everything that I go through.
I can't relate to a god who sits on high and makes judgment of me when he/she doesn't know what it means to be me. How can I relate to someone who doesn't know how to relate to me?
Fortunately, Jesus can relate to me because he has lived a human life - and I can safely relate to him.
On Friday, we took our friends, Bob and Molly, to Inscription Rock and El Malpais National Monuments.
Inscription Rock, also called El Morro (Spanish for bluff), is a landmark in this dry Southwest high desert. Travelers from early Indian tribes, to Spanish explorers, to wagon train settlers heading West, to Army Calvary and to government surveyors have stopped at El Morro.
The reason they stopped is there is a pool in a crevice of the bluff that always has water. It is not fed by a natural spring, but rather by rainfall and runoff from melting snow on the top of El Morro. This area gets a fair amount of snow in the winter. The pool is in a secluded, shady place so not much of the water ever evaporates.
The reason it is called Inscription Rock is everyone who travelled through here left their mark on the soft sandstone of El Morro - everything from Indian petroglyphs etched into the rock to elaborate script testaments to the glory of the traveler.
El Malpais (Spanish for The Bad/Evil Country) is a unique mixture of sandstone bluffs, one beautiful arch called La Ventana in the picture to the left (Spanish for window), and black lava beds - some only about 3,000 years old.
We had been to Inscription Rock before, but El Malpais was new to us.
We were surprised when we went there. We knew there would be lava beds - the maps indicated that. We didn't expect the beautiful bluffs and the arch that we saw.
Following are some more pictures from our trip and a video recap.
Pictures from Inscription Rock...
Pictures from El Malpais...
We're heading down Southwest of Albuquerque today, Friday, with our friends Bob and Molly.
We're first going to show them Inscription Rock. After that we'll drive down into El Malpais National Monument to show them the lava beds. Finally, if we have the time and energy, we'll drive over to Acoma Pueblo.
So, it should be a full day and I hope to have photos and/or video tomorrow.
Since it's Friday, here's a Friday Funny to hopefully give you a chuckle - or at least a smile.
I guess even God has problems with technology.
Tuesday, we took our friends, Bob and Molly, to Tent Rocks National Monument which is on the Cochiti Pubelo. The Indian name for the area is Kasha-Katuwe which means 'white cliffs.'
The 'tent rocks,' like the one behind the group in the picture, are left over from volcanic eruptions and thousands of years of erosion.
We had a great hike and the weather was perfect - blue, New Mexico skies and a nice, cool temperature.
Here are some pictures and a video from our visit.
We picked up our friends Bob and Molly at the airport yesterday so I decided to share a Monday video on Tuesday.
Need a few minutes to rest and have your spirit lifted up? Listen to The Piano Guys as they do their cover of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "Simple Gifts.'
Enjoy.
We have good friends from Ohio flying in today and will be with us for a little over a week. Bob and Molly Dutina are some of our closest friends and we have known them for a long time. It looks as if God is favoring us with the weather forecast as it's supposed to be much warmer and sunny throughout the week they are here.
I'll try to post some of our activities as the week goes on.