Life on the Vine

I've got something on my mind this afternoon and thought I'd do a quick blog about it.  Curious what you all think. Looking at the arts - literature and film - there is an endless fascination and countless stories to be told about the years surrounding World War I and World War II, particularly, I think, World War II. Seventy and 100 years later there are still new books and movies coming out every year.  Right now I'm reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which tells the story of a young girl in Nazi Germany.  I also read City of Thieves by Daniel Benioff this year, which is about the siege of Leningrad during World War II.  Tatiana de Rosnay's book Sarah's Key is a haunting story about a Jewish family in Nazi-occupied France, which I read when I was still living in Germany.  And one of my all-time favorite books is Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place , which tells the true story of Corrie's family hiding Jews in their Netherland's home during W

Around the Labor Day holiday Tom and I took some days off from work.  Our original weekend getaway plans had to be canceled due to some unavoidable circumstances but we decided to make a quick overnight trip up to the White Mountains.  I've heard a lot about the White Mountains but I've never been to that part of the state.  It's about a four/five hour drive from our house.  We took the scenic route and stopped several times along the way so it took us a bit longer.  So, Monday morning we packed up the car, grabbed Colt and away we went.    Tom's co-pilot keeping an eye on the road. The scenic route was a big loop taking us east into Willcox and then north to Safford.  Our overnight destination was the Pinetop/Lakeside area but we drove through Clifton, Morenci, Alpine, Nutrioso, and Eagar in order to get there.  This had us in Apache National Forest for a good chunk of the trip.  The National Forest is basically the border between Arizona and New Mexico.  Our

To the north of the temp house is some vacant acreage that has some dirt paths crisscrossing it.  Bikes, dirt bikes and quads are out there sometimes, as well as horse riders and folks just out for a walk.  Colt and I walk on these trails almost every day.  It's a nice open area where I can let him run around without being on a lease.  He chases after quail, rabbits and lizards and we see the occasional hawk and deer.  I keep a close eye out for rattlesnakes and thankfully haven't seen one yet. Road to dirt trails - our property is in the foothills of the mountain On one of our walks A couple days ago I noticed a tent set up near one of the areas we normally walk through.  We skirted around the area.  Yesterday morning we passed by the area and found a mass of trash left behind.  Clearly the campers have never heard of the concept of leave no trace.  It made me really angry.  I don't understand how people can just leave their trash laying around like that and not f

Ever since elementary school, reading has been one of my most consistent favorite pastimes.  I'm usually always reading something.  While listing reading as a favorite hobby doesn't carry the same awe or inspiration as say rock climbing, ballroom dancing, archery, Iron Man competitions, or surfing, it is one of my favorite ways to relax and unwind. I've read a pretty eclectic mix of books so far this year.  Here are their covers.   Hands down one of my favorites this year was Cheryl Strayed's Wild .  Excellently written, engrossing, and incredibly, a true story. So, because of my love for books, whenever Gospel for Asia staff offer to send me a book to read and review on my blog, I gladly take them up on the offer.  Most recently I read K.P. Yohannan's book, Touching Godliness .        The book was originally published in 2008 and has been republished in 2013.  The book is about a topic that seems almost taboo in today's culture - submission.  I