The Keener Way

  So, to continue from the last story, how did we manage to walk ourselves into a spectacular view of sunset over Nipple Mountain, while wandering around in the Pueblo downtown? Well, after exploring Garden of the Gods and touring Glen Eyrie Castle, we headed to Cave of the Winds Adventure Park. The first agenda was to take some pictures from the parking lot, because the view was still as breathtaking as ever. Step two of the adventure was to do some rock wall climbing, Geronimo's leap, and a high ropes course. But wouldn't you know it, an afternoon thunderstorm rolled in, closing all the attractions right before we started. So we strolled around inside the visitor center, looking at the gift shop, watching the rain and lightning, and talking about life, till the storm finally blew over and we stepped out on a balcony to take pictures of the canyon below us while waiting for the attractions to re-open. Thirty minutes after the last lightning, the adventure park activities final

    The third blessing of Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount says that the meek will inherit the Earth. In a Greek transliteration, this comes out to  "Happy are those of willfully surrendered strength, because they are allotted heirs of the land." Matthew 5:5 The Greek word for meekness is "praeis". Countless articles have been written, which compare this to wild horses which have been tamed and turned into warhorses. Which isn't entirely untrue. But digging a little bit deeper into the antiquity of its usage, praeis really doesn't seem to actually implicate any kind of strength or military origins, either in Scripture or in secular sources written in contemporary. But it doesn't imply any sense of weakness, either. It is neither. It is simply its own thing. When used in a people context, it is generally associated with a gentle, regulated temper. When used in the context of beasts, it is simply "tame", whether a broken warhorse or a domestic

  The sight you are beholding is the last colors of sunset, lighting up Nipple Mountain, 38 miles northwest of Pueblo, Colorado. It is also not my picture. My phone camera is terrible. Credits go to the hosts that invited me out to Colorado in the first place. At the time of viewing this scene, I assumed this to be Pikes Peak. However, some calculating on Google Earth would later confirm this to be the wrong shape for Pikes Peak, and 14 miles too far south. So how did it come about that I lucked into this breath-taking gorgeous view of our Creator's majesty? It all started when I woke up on Monday, June 10, 2024, on my friends' couch, mildly confused as to what I was doing there. As I started working out the cramps in my neck from being curled up on the couch, I slowly remembered. Massive storm. Flash flooding. Encouraged to sleep on couch instead of trying to get to my campsite. It was early enough that none of my friends were awake yet. I considered driving up to camp and ma