Facebook Post--May 26, 2013 "But Mary treasured up all these things and PONDERED them in her heart." Luke 2:19 NIV. 'Pondered'--I love that word. I love the look on the face of a pondering child. I love the words from the mouth of a pondering grown-up. Isn't it interesting that God chose a pondering heart in which to do such a mighty work? Is His Spirit searching the face of this earth right now for a pondering heart in which to do some mighty work? I suspect so. Could He do a mighty work in my pondering heart? I hope so. I need Him to. My God pondering goes on. Is that part of what God uses to see us through the heartbreaks of our lives--the ordinary? Is that how He brings peace and joy to a "peace and joy" starved heart--through the ordinary? Does He put us in a place, after putting us in THE PLACE where we can do something marvelous that we could never imagine of ourselves? I wonder how often Mary pondered the question: Why is this happening to me? Oh what a gift--a pondering heart. This is my story--my ponderings in script--my journey from the wilderness of an empty, pain-filled heart to the wonder even in the pain when I ponder the majesty of God, the mystery of God, and the mercy of God. Do come and ponder with me

SET YOUR HEART ON APILGRIMAGE INTO THE GLORIOUSFUTURE GOD HAS FOR YOU.

NPR Best Book of 2017 Los Angeles Times Best Fiction Pick Refinery29 Best Book of the Year BOLO Books Top Read of 2017 “Destined to be a classic L.A. novel.”—Michael Connelly When a teen runs away from his father’s mysterious commune, he sets in motion a domino effect that will connect six characters desperate for hope and love, set across the sun-bleached canvas of Los Angeles. From the acclaimed author of Visitation Street, a visionary portrait of contemporary Los Angeles in all its facets, from the Mojave Desert to the Pacific, from the 110 to Skid Row. During a typically crowded morning commute, a naked runner is dodging between the stalled cars. The strange sight makes the local news and captures the imaginations of a stunning cast of misfits and lost souls. There's Ren, just out of juvie, who travels to LA in search of his mother. There's Owen and James, teenage twins who live in a desert commune, where their father, a self-proclaimed healer, holds a powerful sway over his disciples. There's Britt, who shows up at the commune harboring a dark secret. There's Tony, a bored and unhappy lawyer who is inspired by the runner. And there's Blake, a drifter hiding in the desert, doing his best to fight off his most violent instincts. Their lives will all intertwine and come crashing together in a shocking way, one that could only happen in this enchanting, dangerous city. Wonder Valley is a swirling mix of angst, violence, heartache, and yearning—a masterpiece by a writer on the rise.

"American Forests is an interdisciplinary collection of essays that explore the impact of forestry on natural and human landscapes since the mid-nineteenth century. It has two main goals: to present some of the most compelling arguments that have guided our understanding of the complex and evolving relationship between trees and people in the United States, and to point out those aspects of this tangled interaction that we have yet fully to understand or to articulate."--Preface, ix.