My Journey to Alaska – Inside Passage
Alaska’s Inside Passage is a region of pristine water, snow-capped mountains, deep fjords (a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity) and forested islands. This area is prime habitat for bald eagles, sea lions, porpoises and whales.
From all my research this is not even an option to miss. You miss this you have missed all of Alaska
Tracking My Journey To Alaska
May 2012 I will turn 50 and my goal is to go on an Alaskan Cruise & Land Tour. When you look at a calendar that seems like a long way off . But then when you think about all the money I will need to save and all the things I will need to do to get ready, then it looks like it is just around the corner.
So follow me on my journey as I prepare to cross off one of the biggest items on my bucket list.
The first thing that I need to do is decided whether I want to do north or south Alaska. The only one thing I know I will do no matter what is spend a day at a dog sled camp so I guess I need to do some research on the different places in Alaska and decided what I would like to see.
So check back regularly to see the research I have done on various places in Alaska
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My Bucket List
Here is where I am going to keep track of my bucket list. I will be adding more as I think of things until I get to 100, I will also write a blog when I complete one.
- Write a cookbook
- Create a Psalms Photo Book
- Visit Washington DC
- Visit New York City
- Go to the top of the Empire State Building
- Climb the Statue of Liberty
- Tour a Vineyard
- Reconnect with a childhood friend
- Leave a 50% tip
- Get down to 135lbs
- Run a mile
- Learn to quilt
- Send a Care Package to a soldier
- Get a converatbile
- Buy a hammock and use it
- Get a Tatoo
- Stay in the Penthouse
- Fly 1st Class
- Buy a gun
- Go to the Grand Canyon
- Make Wine
- Grow a pineapple
- Visit a city from each letter of the Alpabet
- Learn to say Thank you in 50 different languages
- Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
- Swim with Dolphins
- Race a sports car
- Go on an Alsakian Sea & Land tour
- Time Square on New Years Eve
- See Mount Rushmore
- Grow Prize winning roses
- Get a photo published in a reputable media
- Gamble in Las Vegas
- Be able to totally work from home and get all the bills paid
- Own my own home
- Go on a photo African Safari
- Mush a Dog sled team
- Go to the olympics
- Take a Tai Chi Class
- Go to the Kentucky Derby
- Sing the National Anthem at a Baseball game
- Go to Macy’s Thanksgiving day Parade
- Watch a rocket launch
- Ride a horse on the beach
- Go to a Broadway Musical
- Go to Israel
How To Handle The Storms Of Life
This was given to me several weeks ago. A friend of mine’s mother wrote it. I took it out a couple of days ago and read it again and decided I needed to share it with all my friends.
Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus walks on the water
22: Immediately (about 6-8pm, after they had fed the 5,000 with the 5 loaves of bread and 5 fishes at the evening meal) Jesus made (Made means compelled, forced, pushed) the disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd.
23: After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came He was there alone.
24: but the boat was already a considerable distance from land (about 3-3.5 miles), buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25: During the fourth hour (3-6am about 6-8 hours after they left the shore) Jesus went out to them walking on the lake.
26: When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It is a ghost” they said and cried out in fear.
27: But Jesus immediately said to them; “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28: “Lord if it’s You,” Peter replied, “Tell me to come to You on the water.”
29: “Come” He said Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came to Jesus.
30: But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out “Lord save me!”
31: Immediately, Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “Why did you doubt?”
32: And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down
33: The those who were in the boar worshipped Him saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
I have read this story since I was a little girl and I know that you have heard it many times, but it just hit me last night as if it were the first time. I love the analogy of the waves and the storm compared to the storms and trials we face in life, and how if we keep or focus on Jesus, We will be saved from the storms. I hope you receive the same message as I did. The parenthetical additions are those the minister gave during the message.
Jesus purposely sent (made them go) His disciples out into the lake, knowing the storm was going to come up while they were out there. God may purposefully send us out into life’s storms too, but He is still in control. In life’s storms, the water will threaten to wash over our heads and try to sink us, but the same water is UNDER Jesus’ feet. Meaning He is always in control.
We need to always remember that the power in our feet (to walk on water – or to overcome life’s storms) depends on the focus of our eyes. Instead of focusing on life’s problems. circumstances, disappointments, hardships, etc. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will keep us from being overcome by what is happening around us! When Peter focused on Jesus right after he climed out of the boat, he was fine and walked on the water toward Jesus. But the minute that he took his eyes off Jesus and focused instead on the waves and heard the wind and rain, he probably thought, “What in the world am I doing walking on the water in the middle of the lake in a terrible storm!?” As soon as that happened, he began to sink and scream for help — “Lord save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and saved Peter. Thats all we have to do too, and He will save us!
Once Peter and Jesus were back in the boat, the wind died down and the storm ceased! All those who were in the boat and realized what had just occurred, worshiped Jesus. When we are lifted out of the waves and are back in the safety of the boat, we too should say, “Truly You are the Son of God!”
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The Fourth Week of Advent
We can use this fourth week of Advent to try to heighten our awareness of whatever is going on in our lives these days, and how that can bring us to Christmas.
For some of us, the Christmas we will celebrate this year pales in comparison to wonderful Christmases of our past – perhaps because we were younger or more “innocent”, perhaps because some of our loved ones who were central to our Christmas are no longer living, perhaps because the burdens and struggles of my life or the changes in our world and the war have robbed this Christmas of something that was there before.
For some of us, Christmas will be just another day. Unable to get out to go to church to be with a faith community, and without family or friends to be with, Christmas will be a day we are tempted to ignore.
For some of us, Christmas inevitably means family conflicts. Facing the days ahead, whether it be the last few remaining parties, or conflicting demands of family and friends, or the friend or relative who drinks too much, or the experience of personally drinking too much and this season is an easy excuse.
For some of us, Christmas challenges us with terrible financial burdens. Children today become victims of the gross commercial exploitation of the day. For those of us struggling to make ends meet on a day to day basis, feeling the cultural pressure of buying for our children things which we can’t afford, can lead us to put more debt on the credit card in ways that simply push us further and further behind.
Some of us, might be really looking forward to Christmas, and not be aware of these struggles with Christmas, yet feel that, in spite of our best efforts to make Advent different this year, there is still something missing, and we still feel un-ready for Christmas.
For all of us, the story behind these days can draw us in, and invite us to bring our lives to the mystery of how Jesus came into this world and why. Our best preparation for the Holy Night ahead and the Joyful Morning to follow is for us to reflect upon how he came. He came in the midst of scandal and conflict. He came in poverty. He was rejected before he was born. He was born in a feed trough. He was hunted down. And he grew up in obscurity.
He did not shun our world and its poverty and conflict. He embraced it. And he desires to embrace us today, in this day. Right where we are. Right where we are feeling most distant. Right were we are feeling least “religious” or “ready.” If we let him come into our hearts to be our Savior these challenging days, we will find ourselves entering the sacred night and morning of Christmas “joyful and triumphant” as never before.
The Thrid Week of Advent
This third Sunday of Advent is “Gaudete Sunday”. Gaudete means rejoice in latin. During this third week we feel, Joy. As we move through this week feeling a part of the waiting world that rejoices because out longing has prepared us to believe the reign of God is close at hand.
This week we light our third inner candle. Three candles go from Expectation to Longing to Joy. They represent our inner preparation our inner perspective.
In this world of conflict and division, greed and lust for power, we light our third inner candle with a sense of liberating joy. As we encounter sin – in our own hearts and in our experiances of the sin of this world, we can find joy and hold fast to the truth found in Matthew 1:21. “You are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.
The Second Week Of Advent
This second week of Advent we are going to step up the longing. We will do that by naming deeper and more specific desires.
As we light our second inner candle, let it represent a bit more hope. When lighting this candle we need to pause, breathe and whisper a prayer to God, ” Lord I put my trust in You.”
This week as we encounter times that are rushed and crazy we need to take a deep breathe and whisper the above prayer to God.
Each time we find ourselves in darkness, having a parched land experience or in a place where we feel defeated, pause and whisper ” My God will come to save me!”
Our longing this week is to experiance God’s promises and invite God into all the places in our lives.
So, this week as we light the second inner candle we need to give thanks that these two candles are faithfully pushing back the darkness.
