Open Doors

I just returned from an amazing vacation in the New Mexico mountains. There is no substitute for true respite. It is as necessary as breathing. I do forget from one mini vacation to the next just how much it is needed. I love traveling to new places. I have fond memories of trips abroad where I learned of other cultures and experienced history before my very eyes. Travel always opens my mind to new ideas.

Road trips, however, are a very different kind of travel. There is absolutely no anxiety of security checks, flight delays and lost luggage. It is the most freeing I ever feel to have the car fueled and loaded and simply drive away from the place I call home. The further I get away from home the more I begin to relax and wonder what experiences will come my way.

Such was the case last week when we took off to Santa Fe and Red River. A perfect location to unwind, breathe in the fresh air and notice again the world that God provides. For me it is as if the doors open and nature is there for me on the other side, calling me through the threshold and telling me that newness awaits.

I am reminded again that I have an abundant life and that I have enough. That blessings abound in my life and I have only to walk through that open door to discover what more life has to offer. When I returned home, the doors of my home welcomed me back, the doors of my office seemed wider to allow more blessings in, and the door of my heart remains open as I seek to keep the mountains and the gifts gained there ever present.

Hot Chili Days and Cool Mountain Nights

Very soon I will be heading west to "the mountains of New Mexico" to Red River for the "Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights" music festival. It is always a surreal experience to go from the

city, work and highways to this small town with a big fabulous view surrounding us where ever we look. It is strange how it works. When I get there, I become introspective, I breathe deeper, smiler bigger, gaze longer. I always say to myself..I am going to take a piece of this home with me. I then take the 9 hr drive home and almost by the time I get to the outskirts of my home I have left pieces of it along the way and "forget" those feelings when I get home. It is a shame because if I could hold on to that in my mind, heart and soul then the mountain air and the beauty of creation would be with me each day. This next week I will have another opportunity to take it all in again and with abundant effort I will hopefully bring more of it home to live with me.

This was the scene last year at the festival. It was our

first year to attend this particular festival. Mike had

his name drawn for a prize...two nights lodging in Red River!

Guess how we are using our certificate?

A true mountain top experience. We ride the ski lift

to the top of the mountain and the concert is on the deck of

the snack hut. You cannot create a background like this

in any mega concert venue. This artist is Richard Leigh.

Every time we go to Red River I get a picture like this.

I never get tired of it. We have so many like this in

our photo collection. There is comfort in knowing

that that mountain will always be there when I need it.

Chillin' and enjoying the music!

Abundance is..Hot Chili Days and Cool Mountain Nights!!