Sundays in Malibu

Weekends are WONderful things. God wasn't kidding around when he established the Sabbath. I've learned my lesson about that the hard way, and let me tell you: take a day off. You need it.

It is becoming a weekly tradition for me lately to spend my Sundays in Malibu, my old stomping grounds. My home church, Malibu Pres, is there, and a handful of my old friends and Pepperdine acquaintances still attend. The worship is great, and the teaching gets me thinking. Plus I get to spend the rest of the day enjoying Malibu without the former pressures of student-responsibility (i.e. Mass Comm Law reading). My friend Amanda has joined me in reading (for pleasure!) at the beach or in a coffee shop and then taking a hike through Solstice Canyon. This trail follows a creek up to the remains of an old house from the 50's that burned down some thirty years ago. It feels like something out of Swiss Family Robinson... Huge palm trees, the stone foundation and fireplace, a shrine to the Virgin Mary all speak of some life that was there before.

Anyway, the rest of the trail winds in a loop up through the hills, opening up a magnificent view of the bluffs sloping down to the ocean. Each time it reminds me of an Eyvind Earle painting, though I admit, Earle's work is often prettier than the thirsty landscape we have right now. If you haven't heard of this amazing artist, check him out here and here. He did the illustrations for the old Disney Sleeping Beauty, and did a lot of paintings of the West Coast Big Sur area. Gorgeous.

I doubt every Sunday will be like this, but it sure is a blessing when one is. :-)