-The Invisible Realities-

The wildness of the land here is invigorating. The Bering Sea, visible from our front window, constantly changes. A few days ago, it was a solid mass of chunky white ice. overnight the ice began to separate from shore and move out towards open water. Currently there are large chunks of ice that float, iceberg-like, past town. Sometimes the sea is churning with them, and sometimes there are hardly any. It's beautiful.
We went out for a long ride the other day and saw a herd of around 50 reindeer right outside of town.

Nathaniel and Carlee, my cutely pregnant sister... :) They are so perfect for this area of the world. They love the "wonder and wildness of life" here. We were amazed by the power of the swollen rivers, churning with the excess water and ice chunks melting from the tundra around them.
The snow banks on either side of the road were nearly 20 ft. high in some places. It was spectacular!
Little Wessy charmed us the entire drive. What a sweet, delightful little fellow he is! I am so blessed to be his auntie.
Karate chopping snow banks has been an Alaskan Inuit tradition for over 500 years. It builds muscle tone and strengthens the walls of blood capillaries flowing through the bottom of your feet. Just another one of my skills.
Ah... quote of the day comes from Nathaniel, a few minutes ago: "A bowl full of jelly helps the honey go down."

And by the way, have you every tried Cheddar Jack Cheez-It's? They're perfect.

I've started into a new book; Drawing Near by John Bevere. It promises to be good and I'm looking forward to it! From my preliminary perusing it looks like he speaks a lot about the Holy Spirit, and even (lowering my voice to a whisper...) tongues in this book. Lately I've been praying a lot about the Holy Spirit. As in, how does one know if one has received the Holy Spirit? Does He give us the Holy Spirit when we simply ask for Him to, or is there a battle sometimes which has to take place? Will he give manifestations of gifts such as tongues, dreams, visions, healings, etc. to anyone who asks, or only to those whom He chooses? Interesting thoughts, and very pertinent ones, (I think,) for Christians today. I wonder if Western Spirit-filled Christians as a whole do not receive these manifestations of the Spirit simply because we don't seek them. Maybe they're a little "radical" for us so we don't pray for them. "You have not, because you ask not," our Master said. Once I figure out the answer to these age-old questions, I'll let ya know. (wink) Please, add your insights if you want to give a comment. I love, love, LOVE reading people's comments!

While on the topic of the Holy Spirit, another related verse that's been coming to my mind a lot: "Quench not the Spirit." A short verse, but so packed full of power. How do I live my life without putting out the fire of the Holy Spirit in any way? A person "quenches" their thirst; pours water down their throat so the feeling dissipates. Do I pour anything into my mind or heart that dissipates my desire for God???

"Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God!" Jim Elliot wrote that, and it's been running through my thoughts a lot. The picture at the top of my blog, by the way, is a picture of a page from one of Jim's journals. :) You guys, I'm realizing how ordinary I am. Not in the shallow "Oh, I'm not an individual!!!" sort of way. But in a desperate way, I sense my lack of power.
I claim to know the God of the universe.
I should be changing the world.
or at least, at very LEAST, the part of the world I'm in.