Bloom Where You Are Planted

 

I was in a hurry.

 

I was going to be late if I did not make it to the time clock within the next three minutes and it was a five minute walk, so my pace changed from a brisk walk into a soft jog.

 

The hallway was full of people coming and going in their business and I moved to the left to dodge a family of four who were so engrossed in their conversation that they would have collided with me. It happened when I dodged left. I looked out a windowed section of the hallway and I saw something truly spectacular.

 

I have traveled the length of that hallway thousands of times in the last year going to and from departments for my job but had never noticed what I did today.

 



I saw this little guy (or girl because it really could be) and honestly, this is the first time that i have ever noticed this little flower. This is, in fact, the only flower in a very poorly maintained courtyard that no one walks in.

So here it sits, and here it blooms and it does so regardless if anyone ever takes the time to maintain it or notice it or appreciate it's beauty. It just sits here and does what it knows to do. It blooms. It gives off it's color and it's fragrance for the time that it is allowed by it's creator to do so.

Why?

The answer to this is so simple that it made me stop and really think. It does this because that is where it was planted.

There is a mistake that is taught in the Church culture that says "Success is measured in decades." In other words, "If you stay in one place long enough or do the same job long enough then you are a success in the eyes of God". King Saul had that same mindset and it turned out pretty bad for him.

The truth is, Father does move people to and from places. He places them in positions of power or within a church body for a season. Father plants people in the life of other people for a season and it is not up to us to decide how long or in what way He chooses to use them in that assignment. 

I was reading this passage this past weekend and all of the sudden, the little flower in the poorly cared for courtyard made sense.

I was reading a letter written by a similar plant.

The apostle Paul.

He was imprisoned and more than likely would be executed within a short time from when this letter was written to the church at Phillipi.

Here in a dirty, and poorly cared for courtyard if you will, surrounded by people whose lives resembled weeds and bitter plants there is a yellow flower.

It strains to take in the SON light and in turn processes that light into energy to emit a fragrance of sweetness and a color that honors it's creator.

Paul is giving off a powerful and beautiful fragrance to people who are in need and I cannot help but think about who else is within view of this courtyard that would be affected by the sight of a single flower just doing what it knew to do.

Blooming where it was planted. Inhale this fragrance with your eyes for a moment.

"But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." ~Phillipians 1:12-14



 

I have to ask a question here.

How many people would have gone into that prison looking to see Christ?

Now ask this question in light of the understanding that Paul had. God planted him there for a season.

How much love is being displayed from an insanely powerful God who would arrange Himself a flower bed (Prison setting) for His flower to be planted in. For the sole aspect of reflecting Himself to those who would normally walk right on by but had to stop to see this flower.

I LOVE this passage.

"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed." ~ Genesis 2:8

God plants a garden and places a man in it.

He did not stop back then.

Father still prepares places and circumstances (Let's call those flower beds) that He chooses to plant His flowers in. Father prepares these flower beds and even arranges other flowers to be planted in them. He arranges His flowers together for seasons to give off a particular fragrance and color pattern and as with everything that He creates, it is to give glory to Him.

Have you ever wondered why certain people were introduced to your life for a season and then suddenly removed just as if you had never met them? Why is that? Once you were close and gained confidence and strength through the color fragrance that they provided and then it was if you were never planted together.

 It was for a season. Father plants people together and moves them at His will. You grow with each other and then He digs up and replants in another flower bed. The reason is the same each and every transplant. Soak Him deep in order to display how He made you to display for those that only you can display for.

Look how David worded it.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."  ~Psalms 1:3

Here is the problem. When Father transplants us from one flower bed to another, we take it as a personal attack. We cannot just let it happen without assuming that there was a problem and ultimately we need to create a hostility to justify the transplant.

This is selfish at best and there have been a few times that I have needed to be reminded that it was Father who does the planting and it is Father who does the arranging and it is Father who knows what is best for me, His flower, as well as the mood He is creating with that particular flower bed in that particular season.

Some time back i was watching one of those gardening shows and these guys were way to into what they were doing. A really good landscaper plants with the intention of moving what he has planted after a certain cycle of seasons. He does this for the soil and for the general atmosphere he is looking to create.

Father is THE MASTER LANDSCAPER.

He is way to into what He does! He plants with the intention of doing what is best for the flower bed as well as for the general atmosphere He is looking to create.

So what then?

How do we "be ok" when He moves us to another flower bed or moves others out of ours?

We trust Him and don't take it as a failure on our part or create offenses against others, and we simply soak Him in and bloom the color and fragrance that He gives us to bloom and let the other plants do the same.

"Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." ~Phillipians 4:9-13

This is only done through Christ. We can only do this when we soak Him in and bloom through His strength and energy.

Easier said than done, but Life was never promised to be easy.... It was promised to be possible!

Bloom today and don't stop for anything or anyone because you were planted in the flower bed you were planted in to do just that. Don't focus on the flowers that have been removed or waste effort questioning why they left or how they left. Just bloom your color and fragrance so that other recieve the message that you were planted to give!!!

Planted with you,
~Dan



Father Time

 

 

It started in the lumber department at Lowe's.

 

I am not sure quite what it is about a home improvement store, but something captures you the minute that you walk inside  the store and between the apron clad workers asking if you are finding everything alright and the smell of construction material, you are hooked.

 

I always feel the need to start a project when i go into these kind of stores and I truly believe that a spouse would be far more successful if she were to burn a "Lowe's" or "Home Depot" scented candle around the house. I truly believe that it is the smell of construction that stirs the need to construct further.

 

I was in the home improvement store last week and passed the treated 4x4s. I was suddenly inspired to construct an outdoor exercise area to fit my more recent lifestyle change of physical exercise.

 

Before I knew what I was doing, there was a cart filled with supplies at the checkout and the clerk was giving me a total cost. After I recovered from that shock I loaded up the supplies and headed to the house to draw up what I was seeing in my head in regards to this new project.

 

 

This past Saturday I embarked on a very intensive yard work project. The work was not as intensive as trying to complete a yard project with three little “Helpers” who love to know “WHY” everything is done the way it is and “Why” Daddy needs to keep re-cutting the same board so many times.

 

As they “helped” my older two children found other things to draw them away from the work site but my two year old was locked in determined to “help” Daddy.

 

 

I loved it!!!

 

He was watching everything that I did with such intensity and trying to emulate everything that he saw and as we spent the time together I was very much aware of him.

 

Not because he was trying to work with me, but just that he was close to me and as we worked together I loved listening to him sing little made up songs about his daddy. That absolutely thrilled me.

 

 

Father God is the same way. He desires our time and meditation..

 

What is it that you enjoy doing with Father?

Walking in the woods?

Working out?

Listening to music?

Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning stillness?

Reading the Word?

Getting together with friends?

 

 

"Whatever it is, don’t pass up an opportunity to spend in the moment with Him, because it is in those moments that you learn to emulate Him."

 

 

By the way, the Cross-fit workout area turned out amazing and as I was able to use it at 5am today, it was cool and still outside and I took full advantage of the opportunity to hum some made up songs about my “Daddy” and just be close to Him!

 

 

 Seize the "moments" while you have them to take hold of, because today's "moments" are all that you have.


Climbing with you,
~Dan



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Listening to the Wind

"And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." ~Genesis 1:3

In Genesis, the Bible say that God spoke with Adam in the cool of the day and walked with him and I can remember that I would wonder as a boy what that must have looked like.

I used to picture a big guy walking with a little man, kind of like those old kibbles and bits commercials. You remember the commercials with  the big bull dog and little dog (If your old enough to remember those).

 

I was reading this passage recently and decided to really look at that picture and what I found was absolutely AMAZING!!!

The word “voice” was taken from the word that we use as “Wind". It is the same wording that was used in the book of Acts to describe the "Mighty rushing WIND".

Think about that for just a minute.

God’s voice in the garden was the wind and how big is that?

 

How much area does the wind occupy? A 5 x 5 block of space?

No!

His voice literally swept across the garden. It touched every inch of tree bark and rustled every leaf. It caressed every blade of grass and flower and it stirred every hair follicle on Adam’s body.

 

God’s voice, when He spoke, touched every single thing that He created!!!

A few mornings ago I was running some errands outside of the building where I work when I heard the most annoying chirping sound coming from the tree above me.

 

A tremendous rainstorm had just swept through our area and nothing was moving outside except for this little bird. It was just him by himself and i searched through the trees with my eyes until I could see him.

 

There he was.

A little grey bird.

 

Sitting there soaking wet and singing his heart out.

 He was singing so loud and strong that it was almost annoying yet he was so small.

I am not Dr. Doolittle and I do not talk to the animals, but my spirit told me that he was talking to and praising his creator.

 

"Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord." ~Psalm 150:6

" The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." ~ Psalms 19:1-4a

I took this video and when I played it back I saw something in the background that I did not know I was also catching on camera.

The trees behind him.

They were moving with the wind and all of the sudden I got goose bumps because I realized that I was eavesdropping on a conversation between the creation and his Creator. (If you missed it when you watched it the first time, please go back and watch it again because it is cooler than cool!)

Today, or sometime this weekend I want to encourage you to step outside and be aware.

Close your eyes and just feel Him. He is speaking and He longs so much for us to just listen.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." ~Matthew 10:29-31

I guess what came to my mind was that God saw this little bird, and that He values me and my insignificant and, even fickle at times, praise even more!!!

They say that the majority of the world is asleep and the small percentage of people that are truly awake live their life in total amazement!

Take advantage of His voice and every opportunity that He provides to hear Him!

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan

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The Risk of Color

 

  If you know me at all then you probably know that I have an obsession with Superman. (Ok, the point of this thought is not to reveal all of my obsessions to you)

 

Last night my 9 year old son Clark (Yes, that is really his name) and I were coloring at the table and of course it was a Superman color book. He had a box of crayons that had 164 crayons in it and before we started coloring, he carefully selected the "6 standard Superman colors" for his page and as soon as he started to color, I began to use every single crayon in the box.

We did what you always do when you color a Superman color page. We hummed the Superman theme song and talked about what it would be like to have super powers and what we do to the bad guys that threatened the safety of Metropolis.

As we talked and colored I could see him glancing at my reckless use of color and getting annoyed with me until finally he could take it no longer and burst out, “Dad!!! Why are you using ALL of the crayons? You are supposed to use these certain crayons if you want Superman to look right!”

 

What? Six colors? Use only six colors when there is an entire box that is full of crayons and they are screaming to be used!

 

Yes, I used all 164 on my picture even the silver, gold and white and of course the burnt umber (Not sure what an umber is or why someone would want to burn one) because I had them all at my disposal.

 

I said, “Son, you use all of the crayons because you have all of the crayons to use. Life gives you colors, why limit yourself because someone else has decided that there are only six crayons to make a picture complete?”

 

 

I honestly believe that we are afraid to use all of the colors in our crayon box of life because we are afraid of messing up the picture. We have been told that the picture is supposed to look just like one that is shown to us by another person and if we differ from their color selections then our page will not be "perfect".

 

So we cautiously select the pre-approved colors and we try to stay perfectly in the lines and we get upset if we smudge because the picture needed to be "just right".

 

Who convinced you that you were only to display certain abilities and that the picture would be messed up if you displayed all of them?

 

I want to show you something that came to mind as we colored and it is the thought that i was able to share with my son while we had the time together.

 

Most of us have heard this story in relation to what we need to be doing FOR God and it is rarely presented in the light of what I believe it was intended to be presented in. This is not a passage about doing FOR God as much as it is a passage about what we can now do FROM God.

 

"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 

Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents." ~Matthew 25:14-16

 

This "Kingdom of Heaven" is very much like that box of crayons. We ultimately make the personal choice to be able to experience this here while on earth.

 

 I believe it is speaking about out our life.

 

How much of Him do you want to experience? How much of what you have been given you do you want to bury because you are afraid of going outside the "lines"?

 

Can I make a suggestion?

 

Take an honest look at your box of crayons ( life) and look at the variety of colors that God Himself has given you to use on the picture.

In the end, it is no one’s fault but our own for leaving unused crayons in the box. God has given YOU everything you need to make a seemingly ordinary picture explode with brilliant and beautiful detail, so why settle?

(The Picture with every one of the 164 crayons)

 

It boils down to us being willing to take a risk.

 

Risk a mistake.

 

Risk making a mess up of things.

 

Risk the colors colliding and blending.

 

Risk even ruining the picture because great art is always born out of risks.

 

Don't think that the picture is about you. It is not about you as much as it is about the one that you color for in the first place.

 

(This was one that Clark colored for me. The colors are random and wild, and the picture stirred my heart because of the love that was put into it.)

 

 

Today, don’t be afraid to color with all the crayons and don’ be shocked to see something amazing take shape for you when you do.

 

 

Coloring with you,

~Dan

 

 

Lucky in Love

 

I want to share a passage of scripture with you that has deeply touched my heart since I felt Father begin to help me un-learn and re-learn about the relationship dynamic that I truly have as His child.

 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ~Romans 5:8

I attached the picture above  to this thought because I feel that sometimes we all make the mistake of thinking that God’s love for us was just a game of chance or just a stroke of freakish luck but that is simply not true.

 

His love is complete and deep and it covers past every stain, no matter how deep. It was in the time when we were yet still actively  moving in direct opposition to Father that HE MADE THE DECISION to extend that love toward us.

It was while we could care less about Him that He looked and made the choice to forever decide how He would always feel about you and I.

 It was not a game of chance to send Christ to the cross in order to restore that relationship between us and our Father FOREVER but rather it was a brilliantly planned out move that was made.

 

 

I remember one night a few years back sitting on a curb of a gas station in a very rough part of town.

 

Let me just say that I do not make a habit of sitting on gas station curbs in bad parts of town.

 

My phone had rung and by the tone of the voice on the other end of the line I knew that this was a priority.

They had called and by the way that they were distraught I knew that my Father wanted me on that curb. The person was crying and talking about being done with life, and as I drove to meet them I remember asking the Holy Spirit (I call Him Big Boy), “Big Boy, I need your words more than ever and I thank you for them because you arranged this meeting, not me.”

When I pulled up he was sitting on a curb beneath a single outside light. As I walked up to him he looked up and quite honestly I have never seen eyes that swollen from crying in my life.

I dropped down next to him and put my arm around him and he broke all over again. We talked for about two hours and I will never forget what surfaced in that conversation. “Dan, I let God down and that hurts more than anything combined.”

 

I stopped him and reminded him of this passage and explained something I have thought about many times since. “You can’t let God down because you were never at any time ever holding him up. In the relationship it is always Him that holds you up.”

 

Today, I just feel in my Spirit that there is someone who will be reading this that may need to be reminded that you are loved not because of who you are but because of whose you are. You did nothing to earn it and you can do nothing to keep it. Father has already decided before any event or mistake how He felt about you and he has NOT changed His mind.

 

If you are this person may i please recommend the post at the following link for further proof!

 

http://themanandthewall.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-day-i-defriended-god.html

 

If you were encouraged by this post, may I invite you to follow this blog on Tumblr for a shortened version of  what you are reading.

 

themanandthewall.tumblr.com

 

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan

 

If Ever We Begin To Think That It Is About Us

 

I saw this video some time back and honestly the image that it has frozen on here is a powerful picture and one that my mind has never quite released from it's grip.

 I noticed a few things right off the bat and I got chills as I watched it, because there is so much going on in this encounter that if you are not careful, you will miss completely.

I do not know the artist and had never heard any of his music but I will say that sometimes as someone is used as a vessel in the lives of others through talent that it becomes very easy to become more concerned with the appearance of a performance than with the object of the performance.

I saw a group of polished professionals who had went to a bad part of town to shoot a video that captured the transforming reach of a awesome God into the worst of the worst. There was a lot of concern put into the seating, and the lighting and the sound and then the group is approached by a homeless man named "Danny".
Danny was interested in hearing the artist sing and so he began to sing his song "God of second Chances" and that is when the bottom fell out.

Danny drops to his knees and begins to weep and then begins to pour his heart out to Father.
All of the sudden it begins to become apparent that "Danny" is being used to help remind the artist and everyone that watches the footage that the object of prayer is not the answer, but rather the object of prayer is Father.

Sculpture named "Homeless Jesus"

The object of praise is not to move other people, it is to an audience of one.

I think of the King Saul who got twisted up in his thinking to the point that the throne of Israel was about him. He fought for "his" right to "his" throne, and God used a humble shepherd boy to remind him that the object of the nation of Israel was in fact about Him.

It will forever amaze me that when we go through seasons where we tend to make a production out of ourselves and showcase our talents (Talents that were God given by the way ) as our own. That Father brings along the perfect reminder to us of why our talents were given in the first place. We were given the ability to express Him because His Spirit resides in us!

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." ~Romans 8:11

What has God given you the ability to do?

The object will always be Him and when we operate in that mindset, the finished product is amazing!!!

Climbing with you,
~Dan


The Man and The Wall is now on tumblr, and there are almost daily posts that take 20 seconds to read. Just a quick boost of encouragement in inspirations words, videos, and I am excited about this development.
Just click the link below and click "Follow" at the top of the page to recieve the updates.

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Love Notes From Father

 

The house was dark.

 

Dark and quiet.

 

The coffee was hot and it was blueberry flavored (my favorite) and for a parent of small children, this time of day is prime real estate. No one is calling your name, grabbing your legs, asking for refills, or in need of the wisdom of Solomon to answer the inexhaustible torrent of questions that begin with the word "Why?".

So I sat at the table and drank my coffee and I took a mental road trip. I looked around the empty table in the dining room and i began to think about each of the people that would fill those chairs in just a few hours.

Have you ever just spent time thinking about the people that you love? Amazing stuff huh?

 

No matter what that person has done, good or bad, your mind most often remembers a time that you shared with them that was amazing. Perhaps it was a vacation, or a reunion, or a conversation out by the pool over things that were not important?  Maybe it was just time that you spent not talking with your words but time you spent talking with your eyes?

Little mannerisms about them that could never be invented by someone on their own but were given to that person by God to make them truly unique.

 

I began to think of my child that sits the closest to me. My youngest child has, in my opinion, been given the task in my life to help me understand my relationship with God as my Father.

 

He loves cars, so I very quickly grabbed a piece of paper and began to scratch out a very simple love note along with a little picture of something that he enjoys.

 



 

Then I looked over to the place where my little girl sits and just began to think of how incredible that she makes life with her personality and the absolutely crazy things she finds humor in. She is so much like me in how she expresses herself it is insane and she is my main dance partner during clean up time in the kitchen after dinner. She wants to workout and run with Daddy all the time and her smile is absolutely infectious. She is the word "Hope" personified.

Her favorite movie is the cartoon "Frozen" and her main desire is to one day be a princess that lives in her daddy's castle forever. (Her prince had better come with his own castle)

 

So i found myself writing her a little note to explain my love for her along with a simple drawing of the things that I know she enjoys.

 

 

Then my mind went to the opposite end of the table where my shadow always sits. My oldest son and I stayed at that spot in the mental road trip for a bit.

This guy is incredible to me because he is my first born. I still remember holding him as he drew his first breaths and on that day all of the sudden everything in the world seem to take a new meaning. He was finally here, in my arms and ready for me to be a father to him.

 

I think there are several emotions that you will always remember in this go around in life and the feelings that come at birth of your first child will always be one of those moments. My oldest son loves being with me doing whatever it is that I am doing. The night before he and I were in the gym working out and he was doing his best to keep up with everything.

 

He asked if when he got to be my age if he would be able to lift the same amounts of weight and I told him, "No buddy. I am pretty sure that if you keep doing what you have done tonight that when you are my age you will be lifting twice the amount that daddy is lifting."

He surprised me when he began to cry and said, "Daddy, I never want to do more than you or be stronger than you." That moment will stay with me, and so as I wrote his note I included a simple drawing of that time together.

 

 

I guess as I wrote these I was thinking about a letter that my Father wrote to me long before I was born. His heart was filled with emotion as He held me and watched me take my first breaths.

 

He sat at His table as well and as He looked around the places at the table He began to think about the people who will soon be filling those chairs.

 

"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." ~ Ephesians 2:5-7

 

He thinks of you and He thinks of me.

 

His heart is overwhelmed with emotion as He thinks about those conversations that we have with Him in quiet times when we pour our hearts out to Him. It is all of those times that we look up at Father and just love Him for what and for who He truly is in our lives.

 

For Joshua in the Bible it may have been the conversation that he had with God before crossing into Canaan land.

 

For Moses it might have been on top of mount Siana or at the side of the way where he saw the burning bush.

 

For David, I believe one of those "Daddy I love you" moments would have to be found here;

 

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." ~ Psalms 8:3-5

 

Where are yours?

 

Where are those "Daddy i love you" moments that the Father remembers with you and smiles?

 

He leaves us love notes every day and they usually entail a created thing that we enjoy with Him.

 

For some it is a sunrise or sunset that burns the sky with color, or the affection we receive from a member of the family status pet. It could be the flowers that bloom beside your mailbox or the sound of little feet running through your house.

 

It might be that cup of blueberry coffee that you enjoy with Him in the quiet darkness of an early morning.

 

The crack of a bat against a ball on a lazy afternoon baseball game?

 

A hot relaxing shower or a drive home from working the late shift?

 

Whatever it is please know that you enjoy those things with the Father. They are His signature to a love note that He wrote through the sacrifice of His son and it was just for you!

 

 

Sometimes I will leave my oldest son a picture half completed in the mornings. I set the picture, and the main character and I will even set the scenario in the drawing, but I leave it up to him to finish the picture.

 

We decide what we do with the pieces that He has provided.

 

If the Father has allowed a pain or circumstance that hurts us then please understand it is our opportunity to do with the "Love note" what He made us to be able to do. We decide what we do with what we have been given.

 

I am always looking forward to seeing the story that my son creates with what I give him, and so does Father look forward to seeing us take life for what it truly is, a gift from Him to enjoy and create with Him.

 

As you look at the note that Father left you this morning, take some time to just love Him for it! It was written with you in mind!

 

 

This is the picture from my son that I found waiting for me this morning on the table. His returned expression of love to his father. This is what our praise looks like to our Father. It is not perfect by any means, but it is a pure love from our heart to Him!

 

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan