To God be the Glory

Well, my trip has ended and it was a good one. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve met a few interesting people along the way, and I’ve heard a few of their stories as well. The conversations that I’ve had with people were good and productive conversations. I rather not write about them here, but feel free to ask me personally, and I will share. With the exception of Boise, ID and Salt Lake City, UT, all of the cities that I’ve visited were great cities with lots to see and do.

San Francisco is a very interesting city, but it reminded me too much of Boston. I would probably go back again (I will for a wedding), just to see how I would feel about it years later. Portland, OR is the city to visit. If I could describe Portland, I would say that it is a huge Newbury Street in Boston. Downtown is clean with lots of shops and lots to do, and the hostel I stayed at was the best out of all the ones I’ve stayed. The hostel was as clean as a hotel, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Seattle was another great city, but I have to confess that I did not take advantage of it as I should. The hostel I stayed at was also a nice hostel, but the rooms were cramped and was structured only for sleeping. Furthermore, I was glad that I was able to visit Green Lake Presbyterian Church. The service and the liturgy was really uplifting and afterwards I walked along Green Lake as recommended by someone from the congregation. I would definitely like to visit this city again sometime in the future.

There is nothing to say about Idaho and Utah other than to say that both states have beautiful countrysides. If I ever wanted to work on a farm for a few weeks in the summer, I would definitely check out these two states. After Salt Lake City (SLC), my plan was to go to Phoenix, but due to my experiences with Boise and SLC, I decided to head on out to Denver, CO.

Denver is probably my favorite. It has everything that an outdoors person could want. I was in Denver for 4 days and there was still a lot of stuff I did not have the opportunity to do. Going to the mountains and the peaks was definitely a highlight for me. I was able to look down into the valleys to get a birds eye view of the Father’s creation.

This trip was a blessing and an opportunity to get away from the busyness of life to pray and think about my life and where I am. I am blessed with the family, friends, and co-workers that I have. Sometimes it is hard to see your blessings when your mind is clouded with this, that, and the other and takes you away from seeing life the way God would have us to see it. This is a concept that I sometimes forget but was reminded of while I was traveling: God has placed me where I am at this point in time in order to carry out His purposes to the glory of His name. To be dissatisfied with where I am, is to say that God does not know what He is doing or to say that it is about me, when in truth it is all about God, and I am privileged to be a part of what He is doing.

Well, that is it folks. As I mentioned before, I have lots of stories and I’ve met a lot of interesting people. Feel free to ask me anything you want when you see me. Enjoy the pictures and the videos.

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. — Psalm 55:22

For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. — Psalm 56:13

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. — Isaiah 49:15

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. — Ephesians 1:3-14

(Note: You may need to reload the page in order to see the video. Use Ctrl + r or Apple key + r. Also, check back again soon, for this was a quick video but there are lots of pictures and video clips missing. Hopefully, it will be updated by the weekend. If you have issues playing the video on my site, you can view it better here: http://vimeo.com/13451801)

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