The Garden of the Gods

One Cute little hiker!

Another cute hiker---little Moe!

Greetings from Colorado!

My education has had many gaps.  There were tremendously important events which I was only vaguely aware of, or completely unaware of, which have shaped my life in dramatic ways.  Being in Colorado on the 4th of July after living the past 2 years in a foreign country, has given me new perspective and appreciation for my home soil.

My learning, much like the pattern of my life, often follows a pendulum-like path.  As children, we start as something of a blank slate, but that is a very short period.  For immediately the ideas and perspectives of others begin to shape and form our own.  We might say that we all come from somewhere, not just physically, but in how we view and interpret our world.  But as so often happens, when we first find a gap or inconsistency in what we first learned, we tend to swing to the opposite extreme.  (Just think about most college students--myself included).

California Wedding!

Ez is geared up for James and Anne's Wedding

Ez hanging with Uncle Bunky (sorry Chuck, I had to)

Hence my own thinking about my country started as something of a naive idealism, then transitioned to an equally, though different, naive cynicism.

But if the pendulum has time to keep swinging, it can come back to center; something of a more realistic, more true perspective.  Because I am a apprentice to Jesus, I advocate for Truth in all things because I believe that the truth sets us free.

It is a search which must never cease: to find and hold what is true, in all of life.

And it is not a task for the faint of heart.

I readily confess in many things, the truth may have become so mired, it can seem impossible to find. But the only way to find is to begin seeking.  And because I believe the truth is not merely a proposition, but a Person, I also believe if we seek honestly we shall find.

Grandma and Liesl watching attentively

Aunt Bethany and Ez getting some snuggle time

Ez and Aunt Pam were quick buddies

America may or may not be the greatest nation on earth, but it is one of the greatest ideas.

GK Chesterton once pointed out that he would never allow anyone to tear down a system, however bad, until he was convinced the reformer understood what he wanted to destroy.

You cannot criticize what you do not understand.

Nor can you truly praise what you do not understand.

And I am convinced that much of the criticism and praise of America is, like much of my own, based more on ignorance or misunderstanding than on reality.  I do not have the time or wisdom to try to set all that straight, but I will try to share some of my changing perspective as an inside-outsider.

We love these incredible friends who have 'passed through the waters' with us and still love us

Dr. Sam, one of my good friends from high school came to visit Chiang Mai... he may be returning soon to help with a video project for Faithful Heart Foundation

Claire (or should I say "Annie"?)  loving on Ez.  We so love this family.

Observation about America #1:

Growing up in America is one of the greatest blessings anyone on earth could have.

If you doubt that, you need only ask someone from another country.  He or she may dislike many things about America, but they will endure a tremendous amount of discomfort and dislike for one simple, incredible thing: opportunity.

Opportunity for them and for their children to do and be something they desire.

I share this observation not to make those of us who were born here strut or puff out our chest, but to give us pause to be grateful.  There are millions of people who are brighter, more intelligent, and more hard working than I am; who suffer from hunger and poverty and will never have the opportunities in life that I take for granted.  Men and women who will never get to travel and see the world, or have the access to the treasures of learning in books that I have.

Those thoughts should do two things to us:

1.  It should humble us that we have been so incredibly fortunate based on no merit of our own.

2.  It places a burden of responsibility to make some return to those who are not so fortunate through no fault of their own.

The opportunity of America is not simply the opportunity to make a better life for yourself (though it is that) but the opportunity to make a better life period (for everyone).

That is perhaps the greatest secret to America's true greatness.

Ez loved the Carousel

A quiet, Jesus-like man who was like another father to me growing up, loving on my son

An incredibly generous gift of climbing gear had Ezra and Dad really excited

Observation about America #2:

The built-in design for argument and disagreement is America's great strength (not weakness).

One of the great dangers I have observed (and experienced) recently in my own faith community (Christianity) is the growing desire for uniformity.

We want everyone to think the same way, speak the same way, hold the same creeds, worship in the same forms.  We tell ourselves this is important because these things are important to get right.  But of course when we ask who is right, everyone is quick to assume it is their own tradition (whatever that may be).

But the true danger is not in diversity, but a false unity.

When we use pressure and fear to coerce people into 'getting in line with the group' and when we drive out those who are different, we have weakened our community, not strengthened it.

America is only a larger community and the same truth applies: our diversity, our disagreements, and radically different perspectives are what make us strong.  Just visit a nation where criticizing the government is cause for imprisonment and see the difference.

I am concerned that many Americans have become so polarized in their views that they are coming to believe that if only we could 'get rid of all the people who disagree with my group,' everything would be much better.  But that kind of thinking is what leads to dictators, despots, and tyranny---the very thing I nation was formed to escape from.

Ez loved our hosts George & Peggy Metz's house!

Ezra and Grandma Sheri (Honey)

Ezra's new best friend, cousin Annie!

Observation about America #3:

Our own success can kill us.

There are many things I love about Thailand and there are many things I love about America.  There are many stages of development for a nation and Thailand is often categorized as a 'Developing Nation' (as opposed to a third-world nation, or developed nation).  In some strange ways, Thailand sometimes feels like how America must have been 50 years ago.

Whether you are an individual or a nation, success can be a blessing or a curse.

Life may become more prosperous but less happy.

Jesus's words about life being much more than what a man possesses are poignant here.

A nation may prosper to the benefit of the its people.  Better health care, access to affordable healthy food, better education, more programs to assist vulnerable populations, etc.

But there is also a point where prosperity becomes a curse instead of a blessing
(look at Hollywood stars).

The book of Proverbs in the Bible has a wise perspective on this:

"Give me enough food to live on,
    neither too much nor too little.
If I’m too full, I might get independent,
    saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’
If I’m poor, I might steal
    and dishonor the name of my God.”