We wind around a thousand mountains and canoe up a river of gold to find him.

To find the boy someone named Jonathan.

Gold panners, they run the whole throat of the Amazon through their boxes, through their bare hands, looking for gold flakes flashing…

Jonathan, he just stands by his shack on toothpick stilts and barely flashes a smile.

Continue reading at A Holy Experience »

I ducked my head and crept to the back of the long canoe. It dipped to one side and I squealed like a little girl. Steadied now, I scurried to the back bench and took a seat next to our videographer. I exhaled in relief and opened wide eyes to take in the scene around me. The river was bordered by banks of smooth, round stones and it flowed quietly. River banks were hugged by thick belts of greenest trees. Monkeys, snakes and birds hid beneath a million leafy umbrellas that formed the tree canopy. We were in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador.

The canoe carried us downstream toward our destination. The majesty of God´s creation stole my words. The One who can read my mind and heart heard my joyful song. My God, you brought me to this place I have longed to see since I was so very young. I never even asked for this. I never dreamed it was possible. You are so good. Thank you.

I had prayed before my trip that God would open my eyes to His goodness. I knew what the enemy would whisper to me when I saw the poverty and misery. He would tell me that my Father is unjust, that my Father is not good. This I know: this world is broken by our sin and my merciful Father sacrificed His only Son to redeem it. Psalm 145:13 says “The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.”

Continue reading at Baby Bangs »

One of my boys, Gresham, is a bit obsessed with Troy Polamalu. Mr. Polamalu in the star of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense at the moment. He’s a game saver – frequently sacking quarterbacks, intercepting passes and being a general thorn in the side of the opposing team. And he’s my boy’s hero.

Continue reading at ShaunGroves.com »

Well. I have been to the jungle.

OH YES MA’AM. I have been to the jungle.

But sadly, Axl Rose was unavailable to welcome us there.

And listen. I totally thought about making another map of our route from Quito to the Amazon, but I think that I’d need carpal-tunnel surgery after drawing that many swirly loop-to-loops in a row. It was sort of like riding a roller coaster, only it was a bus ride and way more bumpy and went all the way up to 12,000 feet above sea level and then lasted for five hours.

Also, it would seem that double-striped roads are more of a suggestion in Ecuador than any sort of hard and fast rule. I’m grateful that our bus driver got us to the jungle and back again, mind you, but he executed several passing maneuvers that were Talladega-worthy. To the point that I almost put on some cut-offs and a tank top and sat on somebody’s shoulders.

Continue reading at BooMama »

Well. I have returned from the Amazon jungle, mis amigos. And am simultaneously relieved and yet strangely disappointed to report I did not see a single monkey or a snake. However, I do think I heard a band of monkeys off in the distance while I was trying to sleep last night.

When Shaun Groves and Patricia Jones first began to share the details of this trip, I was a little intimidated by the part about the Amazon and the canoe and pretty much Ecuador in general. But the detail that struck the most fear in my heart was the part about a “six hour drive down to the Amazon.”

Because I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it, but I sometimes struggle with the carsickness. (Anyone who has ever ridden in a car with me is nodding their head right now. I am a little – how you say? – high maintenance when it comes to automobile travel.) I felt fairly certain that the six hour drive wouldn’t be like driving on I-35 to Dallas or something. And I don’t even do that well on good old American interstate.

Continue reading at The Big Mama Blog »