Geeze, I'm a crappy blogger. I didn't even say anything about Christmas. I should have at least posted some pictures, or something. Well, I'll just say, we all got Tebow shirts. Actually no... everyone but Roxanne got Tebow shirts. She didn't seem disappointed though. The real reason I haven't been a reliable blogger is because of my dang poor decision to cover the church bathroom walls with pennies. If you were to replay a video of my life, during the scene where I say, "hey how about we cover the bathroom walls with pennies", there would be dark scary music playing that foreshadows the impending doom that is to come. I've actually finished gluing pennies, but tomorrow I will start the grouting process, and I don't know how long that will take. I will be posting mounds of pictures when it is done.
What I came to write about today is about Salvation Mountain again. When I visited the mountain in October, Leonard seemed frail and old, but healthy. I had coordinated my meeting with Leonard through a man in his forties named Kevin, who was taking care of Leonard at the time. Leonard had always lived at the mountain, but as he got older, Kevin noticed that he needed more assistance and decided to dedicate his life to helping Leonard live out his mission. Kevin helped Leonard by driving him to and from the mountain every day, and also connected him to the internet by reading him facebook posts and fan emails. Kevin was my connection to Leonard because he would read him anything I communicated online. Well. Just before Christmas, I became informed (through the internet), that Leonard had become confused and delusional and had to be hospitalized, which is worrisome. Then a couple days later, I read that Kevin suddenly and unexpectedly died. I can't say I was emotionally close to this man, Kevin. But I haven't dealt with much death in my lifetime (I've only been to one funeral ever), so it was shocking and disturbing to me. Then Leonard was transferred to an assisted living facility. It makes me glad that he will have good reliable care now that Kevin is not here, but it also means that he is a few hours drive away from his beautiful mountain.
In October, as you might recall, right when I started blogging again, I felt somewhat unsure and guilty about my trip to California. I was worried I was forcing something that I shouldn't. But looking back, I feel so glad that I did go when I did. I wouldn't have been able to meet Leonard at the mountain only a couple months later. October was one of his last times at the mountain. I am constantly looking for "signs" from God, or looking for ways that my life may have been altered because of God. I also pray a lot that I would hear God's voice, because a few people say that they've heard God's voice, and I wish that I had. Sometimes I wonder if that's a selfish prayer. I'm not sure. I'm not particular about what his voice would say when I hear it. A friend of mine heard him say "It's going to be OK" and that would be comforting. But I would also be content to hear him just say "peanut butter" or even something with only one syllable like "boom". But perhaps it was God that helped me get to see Leonard at Salvation Mountain because he knew I wanted that. Or because then I could paint it. Or for some other monumental reason. I don't know. Just maybe.
But since I can't communicate with Leonard via internet anymore, and I wonder if he is lonely and misses showing people his mountain, I decided to make some coloring pages. The painting is coming along, but a coloring page was quick and easy so I did it in the meantime. Then I printed up a stack of them and mailed them to him, so that if kids visit him at his home, he can give them a page to color and maybe it would be a good way for him to still be able to interact with people and tell them about his mountain. And I also posted the coloring page here. I think if you click on it, and have the larger version come up on another screen, and then right click to print, it should be the right size. But make sure your page setup for printing it is on "landscape". And if you print it up for your kids to color, be sure to tell them the story of the mountain. Tell them how a man wanted to tell the world about God's love, and his first attempt was a failure- a failure that God turned into something beautiful. And tell them that's what God can do with our lives, even when we don't know it. And be sure to use bright colors... like make sure your not using markers that are going dead.
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