Join us on another adventure as we explore the Sierra Nevada mountains of California! We are excited to introduce Episode 2 in the Ad-Venturos series. We hope you will be inspired to get outside and make discoveries in God's incredible Creation. © 2025 by Anchor & Fish Ministries. All rights reserved.

One of the joys of our backpacking trips (see here, here , here , here , and here ) is studying a book of the Bible together. On a recent trip to Joshua Tree National Park, we studied the book of Titus. Paul had left Titus on the island of Crete to “put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town” (1:5). After giving qualifications for elders in Chapter 1, Paul turns his attention to instruction that Titus was to provide to other members of the church. Paul d

Want to Watch a Desert Hairy Scorpion in Action? ©2025 by Joshua Venturo The Mecca Hills of Southern California are dry, dusty, and hot. Each day, the sun beats down, parching the ground until only a few shrubs can survive. Down in the wetter washes and canyons, there are catclaw and paloverde trees. Higher, on the rocky slopes and ridges, there are creosote bushes and spiky ocotillos scattered here and there. Once in a while, there is a branchy cholla cactus bristling with s

It is a nice but anxious dinner. The slightest sounds cause us to turn our heads in nervous anticipation. We sit outside in our gazebo, enjoying the cool night air and the Christmas lights that we’ve hung around the ceiling. Suddenly, a louder sound throws us into confusion. I whip my head around, peering into the darkness and seeing a row of lights on top of what appears to be a tall vehicle. “Dad . . . I think that’s it!” Dad vaults from his chair and tears open the zipper

“Will they be ready for The Wall?” - TV announcer When I was growing up, we did not watch sports on TV. At least not typical sports. We watched bike races. While other families I knew got together to watch the World Series or the Super Bowl, we gathered in the living room watching the Tour de France. We knew people who would drive to the city to spend, it seemed, a fortune to eat a hot dog and sit in a gigantic stadium for the big game. We drove to a small, grassy parking lot

Over the past few months we’ve viewed the Resurrection of Christ from multiple angles, covering both its crucial place in a Gospel presentation  and its present comfort  for believers today. What happened, though, after Christ rose from the dead? What is His place and role now? The Bible teaches that Jesus ascended into Heaven after being raised alive from the dead, where He took His rightful place in an exalted position at the right hand of the Father (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:

Yellow eyes shone out of the black forest, just outside the half-circle of white light our headlamps made. One winked out, then they both disappeared. Moments later, the eyes shown again, this time a few feet to the left. We summited this small Nevada mountain on a nice afternoon hike We had to do something . It was winter in the northern Nevada hills. The days had been getting shorter, and we were out later than we expected. The eyes, and whatever creature they belonged to,

Have you ever stepped into another world? I’m sure most of us have entered another world at one time or another in our imaginations during our childhoods. But there are times even as we grow older, if only we are willing to step out of our own busy worlds for a moment and look closely, when we find ourselves in another world. This past month, our family had just such an experience on the Oregon coast. The Oregon coast is made up of rocky shores, crashing waves, and tangled bu

Chapter 5: A secret about bread; the story of Bundt the baker In the middle of the Cranberry Village, there is a tiny, barely noticeable shack that sits by the street in the middle of a long row of shops. And hanging over the door is a crooked sign on which, if you look closely enough, you can barely make out the words “Bundt’s Bakery.” For Bundt the groundhog is far too busy making the best bread in the country to worry about making the outside of his shop fancy. He doesn’t

Have you ever wondered to yourself, “What if I sin after I become a Christian?” The Resurrection of Christ plays a role in helping to answer this question. Whereas last month  we studied why the Resurrection of Christ is such a crucial part of a Gospel presentation, in this devotional I hope you will be encouraged by how that historical event of over 2,000 years past affects you personally today. When Christ died on the Cross, He atoned for your sin and became your propitiat

This year we were blessed to spend several weeks on the Oregon Coast, and we are excited to publish our first video in what we are calling the "Ad-Venturos" series! Join us in a hilarious--and sometimes death-defying--adventure among the rocks and tide pools of the southern Oregon coastline! We hope you will be entertained and challenged to explore God's incredible world.

He knew we were in the water. On the four different occasions that Kelly and I came to swim in the sheltered cove on the coast of Oregon, we saw this same seal. He was watching us carefully. He would poke his head out of the water to peek at us, and when a wave came he would stretch his neck so that he could still see over the crest of the wave. Back and forth he went, popping up on one side of us and then the other. Maybe he was curious? Or maybe he was irritated that we wer

©2025 by Daniel Venturo It was a nice evening on the Oregon coast, and we had decided to take a tide pooling excursion before cleaning up and having dinner. We climbed through the rocks and started finding things—mammoth green anemones, orange and purple starfish, and spiny sea urchins. We called each other over to see tubeworms , new kinds of starfish, or strange gelatinous blobs. Then, as we peered under a large boulder, we saw a lemon! As we gathered around to examine the

“It will let up any minute now!” – a statement we now view as more of a joke Bivouac. Or bivy, for short. Because few of us can actually pronounce “bivouac” properly. Either way, it is just a fancy word for waiting. And yet, it is more than waiting. It is waiting on steroids. Take normal waiting, say, before a doctor’s appointment or standing in line at the DMV, and add wind, rain, mosquitos, hail, or snow. Or all of the above. Lower the temperature to a level that you can ba

What is it this time?” When we arrive at a new campsite, we never know what surprises await us. After over three-and-a-half years of traveling, we still have not encountered all the surprises one might consider. A few weeks ago, the surprise was a major invasion of caddisflies. They were everywhere. Apparently they had just emerged from the nearby Snake River in their adult form, and now they were coating the outside walls of our trailer and doing everything they could to get

Have you ever taken the time to notice the treasures under your feet? Whether you’re walking on the beach, along a trail, or in a gravel parking lot, there are interesting and sometimes spectacular rocks you can find—if you’re looking for them. The sun smiled down on the glassy surface of a lake high in the mountains. Jagged spires ringed the sapphire pool, reflecting their massive outlines into its dark depths. At odd intervals, a chunk of rock came loose on one of the pinna

Chapter 4: The secret to courage; the story of Fenton Frog Fenton Frog is a mailman – or a mail-frog I should say. His job every day is...

Want to Read? Snow. Many people, even those living in warmer areas, have seen it at least once in their lifetime. While few of us enjoy...

In I Corinthians 15:4, Paul lists the Resurrection as a necessary aspect of the Gospel. So far, we have studied Jesus’ death and all it...

Dense forest thins. Views of jagged peaks become unobstructed. A glassy lake appears over a rise, reflecting each patch of snow that...

It is inevitable. The slog, that is. We can’t avoid it. It is part of every hike, every backpacking trip, every climb, and even every paddle. If we want to go on expeditions – if we want to experience all of the summits and sunsets – we must endure the slog. One of our most memorable slogs happened months ago, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We wanted to complete the Presidential Traverse, which is a challenging twenty-some-mile hike that climbs up and down thirteen

The hot spring in this area was part of Sawtooth National Recreation Area, outside of these beautiful Sawtooth mountains. As usual, we...

Chapter 3: The fisherman's secret; the story of Paul the mole There is a pond on the Cranberry Island. It is in a remote, quiet place...

In my last series , we took a long, glorious look at the sacrificial death of Christ and all it means for believers. Yet as you may...