I would like to start this new blog with words from a man named Asaph as recorded in Psalm 78:
1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old- 3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
The primary purpose of this blog is to share some of the good things God has done in our family both for others and for our own kids and grandkids to be able to read someday! We have family members (AKA proud grandparents and uncles and aunts) in various parts of the country and friends spread around the world (Chile, China, italy, Thailand, Russia, Bosnia, Germany, New Zealand, and Mozambique - to name the ones that come to mind), and we’d like to be able to share more of our lives with them as well. Our lives are full of adventure and fun, not to mention plenty of challenges too, so here goes…
I’d like to dedicate this blog to my wonderful wife of six and a half years - Jessica. We were engaged 7 years ago on September 9, 2001. I still remember driving back from Colorado with her that Sunday, pulling off I-25 in northern New Mexico, and proposing to her while we watched the sun set over the mountains to the west. That was one of the best days of my life, trumped only by a special day that followed six months later.
Right before we were engaged. I used a Cadbury egg picnic as the excuse to get her out of the car.
Right after I put the ring on her finger and kissed her for the first time :)
And here we are seven years later - about to have our third child. Jess’ mom, Bernice, just flew into town from Virginia today, and she’ll be with us until October 14th. We’re thankful she’s here and that baby Sarah is still in the oven - an answer to prayer. Bernice was here two weeks for both of our boys’ births but arrived one day after Jonathan was born and left a few days before Benjamin was born. We told her this is probably our lost shot, so she’s here for three and a half weeks this time 
September 9th was also the wedding anniversary of two different couples that are good friends of ours. Cody and Jennifer Phipps celebrated eight years (and just moved to Italy as missionaries - you guys rock!), and Courtney and Dave Lynch hit number two (if you ever need a good photographer for anything…). Both weddings were a blast to be at, and we’re thankful for these quality friendships which began during our years at UNM and have grown since then.
Then came 9/11. Jess and I were engaged two days before the world changed dramatically. I think that day had the significance in my generation that the bombing of Pearl Harbor probably had for my grandparents and the assassinations of JFK and MLK had for my parents.
This year I happened to commemorate the 7th anniversary of that fateful day with something much more pleasant - the beginning of my sabbatical from Intel. This eight week vacation (which employees are eligible to take after every multiple of 7 years of working there) is one of the best benefits in the world, and I’m thankful for the huge blessing of being able to spend it with my family during this exciting time of transition in our lives. My friend Milt pointed out the interesting similarities between the
sabbath rests in the Bible (
people resting on the 7th day of the week based on the model God established of resting on the 7th day of creation and the
land having a year of rest every 7 years) and the
sabbatical from Intel. It’s a bit more than coincidental, and I like it
When I got home from my last day of work Wednesday evening, Jess had prepared a wonderful celebration dinner. She and the boys had also made a fun cake for me - also worth celebrating:
Sabbatical Cake Makers
I got to spend a good portion of my first day off hanging out with family during the morning and evening. Thanks TJ - the boys sure had fun playing with Kenny that evening:
The 3 Amigos
I headed to the foothills for the afternoon to spend some time with the Lord enjoying his beautiful creation. I planned on hiking up the La Luz Trail (something I’ve wanted to do for years) from the base of the
Sandia Peak Tramway and then riding the tram down. Through a humbling but good set of circumstances, no doubt orchestrated by my loving Father, I ended up hiking around the base some and then riding the tram up and back. After I had parked and strapped on my daypack, Platypus, GPS, Treo, and Leatherman (I was quite the nerdy looking but prepared hiker), I started walking up to the tram entrance to buy a one way ticket down. A woman approached me and asked if I would be interested in buying a round trip ticket for $8 since she had an extra one. Considering that was $1 cheaper than a one way ticket, and around half the price of a regular roundtrip ticket, I said sure, wrote her a check, got my ticket, and was off. Never mind the fact that 12:30 PM is not the ideal time to start a strenuous 9 mile hike when one needs to be home at 6 PM - especially when I was hoping to also have time to read and journal some along the way. To make a long story short and honest, I couldn’t follow the trail 0.8 miles north along semi flat terrain, and ended up getting an hour long lesson is using a GPS and map to get back to the trail. Note: I was not lost, just temporarily off the trail that most people would use. After an hour I was back on track but less than a mile from where I started and still on the easiest part of the trail, but only 0.4 miles from meeting up with the La Luz. After a minute of doing some quick distance divided by time calculations, I realized my current velocity would place me about half way up the mountain at the time I needed to be home. Oh man, talk about disappointing.
The next four hours were nothing but a blessing. I decided to climb up to an outcrop of rocks to eat lunch and read the first chapter of my new book - The Calvary Road by Roy Hession. (
free ebook from Project Gutenberg). I enjoyed my sandwich and opened up to the first chapter - “Brokenness”. How nice - an object lesson.
“Whatever may be our experience of failure and barrenness, [Jesus] is never defeated. His power is boundless. And we, on our part, have only to get into a right relationship with Him and we shall see His power being demonstrated in our hearts and lives and service, and His victorious life will fill us and overflow through us to others.”
Being humbled is never fun, but it can be good. It depends on our response to it. I decided to hike back to the tram - along the trail this time. Since I “happened” to have a round-trip ticket, I was able to ride the tram up and hiked along the lower ridge trail to a neat spot where I camped out for an hour and was able to truly relax, journal, and take some fun pictures - see them online at
http://picasaweb.google.com/jcwoods1/SandiaPeakTramAndHiking. I rode back down, made it home by 6 PM, and was able to enjoy the evening with my family with TJ and Kenny. I was actually getting over the tail end of a chest cold, and there’s no way I could have made the whole hike that afternoon. As it was, I was soar the next couple days. My goal was to have time to journal, read, relax, and hike; and that’s exactly what I got to do.
Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
Praise God for His goodness! Next time I’ll get an earlier start and actually plug in the waypoints in my GPS in advance.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I stayed up way too late making this first blog entry, but I’m glad I did since our baby daughter girl Sarah Michelle was born less than 6 hours later
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Awesome first post, Clint, and what fortuitous timing, eh? Good times, good times.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Love it.