Tag Archives | Sabbatical

Bend: At the Intersection of Miracles

The intersection of these three groupings (worthless property, disposable horses, and forgotten children), blended with love, provides healing on so many levels. It truly is an amazing equation. It is not one that is haphazardly thrown together but with great intention and bathed in prayer. It is not always guarantee for healing. The numbers of […]

Bend: The Forgotten Children

The stories of Kim also reflect stories of children that are equally as inconceivable to comprehend. How could anyone hurt a child that way? How could a child survive such loss/tragedy? These are children who have been forgotten, ignored, or so injured that indeed it was forgotten they were children, not objects for the expression […]

Bend: The Disposable Horses

I read Kim’s first book, Hope Rising, on the plane heading to Oregon. (This book is on the reading list and I highly recommend it.) I found myself wowed, awed, and in tears on many occasions. The stories of each of these horses and children touch deeply into our souls with the inconceivableness of their […]

Bend: The Worthless Property

Kim and Troy purchased the Ranch when it was viewed as useless cider dirt and rock property and transformed it over the years and through a lot of hard work and dedication into an amazing facility. They had a God given vision of what this property could be and held many jobs to subsidize the […]

Bend: Open to the Moment

The staff were intentional and always willing to take time to discuss history, answer questions, provide information, and all the while seeing each person they came into contact with as a person of value and worth. If it was devoting a couple of hours to talk with us, taking us on a tour, or just […]

Bend: Welcome to the Ranch

Crystal Peaks Ranch is owned by Kim and Troy Meeder. They have several staff and a multitude of amazing volunteers. The moment your boot steps onto the ranch, there is a warm greeting and a hospitable extension from staff and horses alike. It is a bright, happy, beautiful ranch with surprises tucked away in every […]

Bend, Oregon

Well we traded in our snorkels and fins and pulled on the boots and jeans and headed to Bend, Oregon. Several of you know I travel to Bend for an annual gals weekend with friends from Los Angeles. Bend, Redmond, and Sisters are in a triangle position to each other and they lie in the […]

COTH Guest in the Pulpit, Diane Prevary

Church of the Hills welcomes Rev. Diane Prevary, our guest preacher for the month of August. Her sermon series “Ascending the Mountain of God” will correspond to Pastor Dee’s trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Reverand Prevary will serve as Session moderator for the month of August as well. Following is a brief bio: Diane Prevary is a cradle-roll Presbyterian, […]

Bimini: Embraced

At the first sighting, we lowered ourselves into the water with a pod of spotted Atlantic dolphins. As I started swimming I found myself going in a direction other than where they had directed us to go. Looking around for others, I found myself seeing images of six dolphins coming at me. They swam on […]

Bimini: Friends, Friends, Friends, and more Friends

I thought I would send along a few pics of the people of our human pod on this journey. We had people from the Czech Republic and Great Britain; there were Canadians, Germans, Dutch, South Africans, and several from the States. As we got to know each other and played with the dolphins together we became […]