A nice day in Colorado 

In the jungle, the mighty jungle... 

Sweeping meadows 

Small sunflowers? 

Its all uphill from here 

Evergreen

Evergreen in Colorado is a great place to bike. Lots of evergreen trees and aspen trees. The park service puts it this way: "A wonderful mix of hiking scenery: Ponderosa Pines, granite boulders and the open meadows of Alderfer Ranch." It was a fun morning on Saturday biking this part of the state. I never realized how out of shape I was. I really need to start working out if I want to enjoy the great outdoors of Colorado. It was a huffing and puffing sort of a time. It was good to get some exercise. Got to maintain my lean 13% body fat ratio. Tomorrow that great American holiday called Memorial Day kicks off the summer season of fun. All state/national parks are fully open between Memorial Day and Labour Day (early September). I have my pass for the Rocky Mountain National Park so I plan on checking out the lakes on the other end of the park sometime this summer. Have two bbqs to attend and I plan on playing some horseshoes. Never played this before, but I believe the idea is to toss a horseshoe at a small pole some 15 feet away. I know it sounds silly. Going to see if I can get tickets to see the band Seventh Day Slumber. Tickets are inexpensive and it should be a fun time. The lead singer beat cocaine addiction and is living his life with a purpose.

Rest in the shade 

Tired  

What flowers are these? 

Wildflowers 

Evergreen Biking 

What is Equine Therapy?

The Answer:

Equine-Assisted Therapy provides a metaphoric experience with horses to promote emotional growth. This experiential therapy teaches people about themselves, allows recognition of dysfunctional patterns of behavior, and helps define healthy relationships. Horses are typically non-judgmental and have no expectations or motives. Therefore, a patient can practice congruency without the perceived fear of rejection. The horse assists in making patients aware of their emotional state as the horse responds in reaction to their behavior. Through working with the horse, patients can gain insight into their feelings, behaviors, patterns, congruency, boundaries, and stumbling blocks to recovery. The process can be a very effective adjunct to the primary group experience.

I had fun taking one of my clients to experience equine therapy for the first time. The client had to get the horse to get over an obstacle which represented a goal the client wanted to accomplish in his life. This was to be done without touching the horse. Two helpers could be used to accomplish the task. The helpers would only do what the client wanted them to do. The client accomplished the goal but learned a lot about his style of behavior in the process. The beauty of equine therapy is that it helps the person learn a new skill and apply it at the same time. Highly reccomended for you therapists to experience and use as well.

Summer in full force

The summer is here and it is the time of year when those afternoon naps look real tempting. Ode to the summer...so warm and bright. Been thinking a lot about the beauty of nature lately. Those stars that hang up there in the sky so solidly. What if the stars lay under the ocean. What would that underwater city look like? Actually, maybe a little like Macau. This city in South China is planning on building an underwater city.

Here is a good poem from the Irish about the wonders of nature.

I rise today
in heavens might,
in sun's brightness,
in moon's radiance
in fire's glory,
in lightning's quickness,
in wind's swiftness.
in sea's depth,
in earth's stability,
in rock's fixity.

May the Three who are above me bless you.

Horse Riding Cowboy!

Boy am I sadle sore! Ouch! Why? Because this is only my second time riding and I ain't got those horse legs yet! Plus the saddle was a little small for me. Still it was a good time. Nightstar is such a copy cat of a horse, but great for a beginner like me. Nightstar has a real calm disposition and is not easily distracted. When am going to enter the Kentucky Derby and win a million dollars huh? Maybe, one day I'll be jumping hurdles with horses.

Picked up some Vietnamese food today. On the menu we have kingfish fried in steak style sizes and we also have fatty bbq sweet pork. This stuff is just the best! Picked up some East Indian sweets as well. Now these are Indian sweets which mean they are really sweet and sugary. We like our extremes when it comes to food. I had some Vietnamese spring rolls for lunch today and they were just the bomb!

All this talk of food is making me hungry so I'm going to grab me some sweets and munch away. All for now.

Whoa Nelly! 

Say cheese Nightstar 

Go Nightstar Go! 

Out riding with Equine Therapist Jo Ellen 

Joe graduates! Left to right: Joe (Buffalo, NY), Meseret (Ethiopia), Nikolai (Kyrgyzstan) 

Graduation

Well, I attended graduation and what a spectualar affair. One can't help feeling excited that more individuals are going to involved in ministry. Years of hard work in seminary finally gets paid off with that wonderful piece of paper. My pastor from Hong Kong Dr. Rev. John Illsley came over. It was good to reconnect with the memories of Hong Kong and life on the other side of the globe. It was a good opporunity to send 2 photo cds to my parents and brother in Hong Kong. Plan to go horse back riding tomorrow with some friends. It should be a blast since I've only gone riding once before. I never thought I would be riding horses in the suburbs of Denver one day. Crazy for a city boy like me. Enough said about that. You all have a good day.

Friends 

Nikolai graduates. Yeahohh! 

St. Vernon Grounds 

Hooded with a Doctor of Ministry Degree: Dr. Rev. John Illsely 

Class of 2005 Denver Seminary 

Tom from Sierra Leone 

Reading

As you can see I have a bit of reading to do to expand this sponge of a brain. These books should give a better understanding of how churches are planted, organized and run. The book Christ-centered therapy will used in supervision for my counseling licensure requirements. After you get your Masters in Counseling there are 2 years you need to be under supervision and practice counseling to be licensed in the State of Colorado. Seems a little long to me, but what can you do?

Well tomorrow a bunch of my friends will be graduating from their respective programs at Denver Seminary. How exciting! I remember wondering what all the fuss was about during my own graduation last May. I plan to play photographer again and take a bunch of pictures at graduation. It has been a quiet week. Thanks for all the comments and please keep them coming.

Intergration of Christianity and Counseling 

A Global Movement 

Planting Churches 

Bedside Reading