The Bronco Season Has Begun!

I'm so excited to see the start of Denver Broncos Football season. Today was the first day of training camp that saw the players take the field. Unfortunately, we've already lost one our draft picks for the season due to injury and another suffered a broken hand (not sure of the long term prognosis for him). I'm only praying that "injury" does not become the theme for the team this year. I may not be able to take another season like last.
I'm proud to be a fan of a team that had a player like Rod Smith for so many years. He announced his retirement and did it with class and emotion. I've never read anything that bashed Rod. People in general, and especially the fans of the Broncos absolutely loved this guy. Personally, aside from his amazing football talent, I think it's because he's got that good old fashioned strong work ethic, integrity, character, and humility. He's a stud for sure! There's a great video of his farewell speach over at my favorite Broncols Blog site - BroncoTalk. You can link to it from here.
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!

A Jam packed July!

Wow, July feels like a tornado and just as fast as it rolled in, it's almost over.

Cheryl spent several days on the road with a group of teenagers travelling from Denver to Seattle with several missions and recreational stops along the way. This was part of Kingdom Building Ministries "16 Days" program. I know it was a challenge for her, especially from a physical exhaustion standpoint. God stretched her in many ways, however, and I know she added a great deal to the program. She was able to connect well with the students, especially the four girls. I know God did great things in each persons life that was on that trip and I'm so thankful she was able to be a part of it. Here's a couple of photos:

In addition to that, Jonah spent a week at church camp, Id Ra Ha Je (I'd Rather Have Jesus). It was his first week "doing camp" and he handled it like a champ. He had an awesome counselor named Drew, loved riding horses, swimming, playing carpet ball (kind of like shuffle board on a table with pool balls), going to chapel, and he even took another kid under his wing that was struggling with missing his mom. What a stud!

Finally, we had the annual Hayes family camping trip. This year it was four days above 10,000 feet at Turquoise Lake near Leadville, CO. The weather was perfect, we all had a great time, caught three fish, four wheeled up Hagerman Pass to 11,725 feet, rode bikes and just enjoyed being together again.

(This picture is of Jonah and myself at the summit of Hagerman Pass looking to the west towards Basalt, CO.)

Now we're trying to adjust to what "normal" used to be like. The summer interns that were living with us have gone home, there are no more trips planned, Jonah's baseball season has only one game left, and school will be starting before you know it. Where does the time go?

Reflections

Many things to consider and reflect on as the 4th of July is upon me.
Last night I was once again inspired by the president of Kingdom Building Ministries, Dwight Robertson, to live a Plan A life. It's what Jesus did....stopping to pay attention to people who's lives intersect with yours, even if for only a brief moment, because every life counts. When God created you, he had a plan for you. In fact, "I am the plan". God wants to use ME to be His hands and feet to the people and places I intersect with. I've heard Dwight deliver that message many times and still it inspires me to push forward and not become comfortable in my faith. It seems like the forces of the enemy are continually pulling me towards complacency and being comfortable. I must fight against it! I must follow my saviors lead to places of discomfort, challenge, and complete reliance upon His strength and not my own. I must fight for the Kingdom which will not be taken by complacent, comfortable people who are satisfied with occupying a pew for one hour a week and checking "being a Christian" off the list until next week. God's plan is to us ME and YOU to carry His truth with us wherever we go! God help us all to be in the game and not comfortable on the sidelines!
On that note, with tomorrow being Independence Day, I'm reminded of those past and present who served our country in the military. Were the freedoms of this country taken laying down? I think not! Things that are good and noble have to be fought for. I tip my hat to our service men and women; past, present, and future who've dedicated themselves to fighting for freedoms that I enjoy every day. God Bless America!