On The Mountain

A few weeks ago, I took a trip with some men to Colorado for some black bear hunting, trout fishing, campfires, high mountain time, 4-wheeling through the mountains, star gazing, ah...good times. The trip started great until our RV, hauling 4 ATVs, started crying out for mercy. First, the brakes caught on fire. Then it started fussing about how much power it wanted to give. Then one of the fuel lines started leaking. Then black smoke started billowing out of the exhaust. Not good. All in all, we became stranded at an RV / Truck stop on the West side of Kansas...12 hours from home. Our high mountain country time dream became a nightmare.

Thanks to 2 brothers from Victory who drove through the night to rescue us and drive us back home. We were only 1 1/2 hours from the Colorado border. Two words...extremely disappointed.

But we were relentless. We decided...'Let's get home, regroup, and turn around with a truck, camper, and 1 ATV this time. Let's do this thing!' And we did. 4 of us put the nightmare behind us and made the journey. I had to join the guys later by catching an airplane to Colorado where they picked me up.

Making the journey to Crested Butte, Colorado

I'm sharing this with you because this journey of ours (a bear hunting trip) turned in to something completely different for me after the RV broke down. To this day, I think about the Kansas Nightmare, the up-and-down of whether I was going back after getting home, and then the sweet peace that came as I flew by my lonesome to Gunnison, Colorado turned into a pursuit of an adventure with God.

I shared with my wife after the nightmare was over that I still wanted to go because I wanted to encounter God on the mountain. I wanted to seek Him there. I'm a man, and this man needed an adventure.

My Prayer Stump with Mountain View

Let me tell you. I was refreshed because I heard the Lord speak and speak clearly. I could have thrown in the towel and gave up after the RV broke down. But persistence paid off. I wanted to hear from God. I wanted to hear Him speak and give direction for my family; my first and most important ministry to my wife and kids. He spoke. I heard Him. Each day I was on the mountain I came to the dead tree stump pictured above and prayed, talked with the Lord, and or read His Word. What He said when He woke me up at 4am on the last day of the trip was amazing and exactly what we needed to hear. He provided us with a vision plan, things to repent of and correct, things to realign and adjust. He spoke.

Listen. If you are in need of the Father to provide direction, vision, and clarity for your life right now...get away with Him. Shut off the voices. Close up every other opinion. Disconnect from other's ideas and words. Connect with the Holy Spirit and He will speak.

While I was on the mountain I enjoyed the fishing, fellowship of friends, campfires, and the wilderness and wildlife were awesome. And...we didn't see one black bear. And that was just fine by me.

I heard from God.


More photos from our trip On The Mountain.

Buck Mule Deer bedded down, spotted 80 yards from the roadside (center of the photo)

Campfire with Mountain View

Fishing in a massive beaver dam. Water was clear to the bottom. Fish were plentiful.

We ate fresh brook trout 2 of the days from the beaver dam pictured above.

Camping at the foot of Gothic Mountain as seen in the background.

Reflecting on God's Word (more specifically Romans) while sitting on my stump.

On the day I was being dropped off at the airport, we came upon sites like this. Breathtaking.