"Choose a girl who reads..."

“…If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at two a.m. clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.“

- Rosemarie Urquico

Title: Lacking inspiration for a title

I was once told you could tell a true lover of reading, by whether or not they re-read books... this made so much sense to me, and in that moment reading took on a whole new light. I already enjoyed reading, but it almost felt like a harvesting effort, rather than simply for the enjoyment of picking the fruit offered between the rows of words.

I'm re-reading a book currently. Mountains of Spices, by hannah hurnard. It's an allegory which in it the "King" has just taken one of his transformed daughters named "grace and glory" up to the mountain of pomegranates, or rather the mountain of 'love'. The pomegranate here represents love (duh?). Without going into my crazy appreciation for the colorful combination of words she uses to describe this place's beauty, I want to share some thoughts I had drawn from reading this chapter...

I think actually I'll just type my maybe sloppy notes i jotted after finishing it.. then touch on a few spots..

"Love... Love is giving of oneself to others.. Others over ourselves.. As we've crowded out love with anything contrary to perfect, fruits stop growing, and the disparities in wealth only continue to widen. He came as the complete expression of love, his appearance glowed with the love we can only anticipate one day being reunited with. But as evil makes haste, and disparities widen, a cleansing is on its way, the uniqueness of our time is obvious.. and Jesus will return and we will feel that love once again, true life.. but first comes birth pains. Living a life (every aspect) of love is what we're called to, for others to enjoy and crave our fruit, and ourselves to experience true joy and gladness. That feeling, love... ever felt it, how? Now imagine perfect love free from the tics of pain, anxiousness, fear, or any other lovesucking creature. That is what awaits, but if what awaited you, we're already here, would you choose to wait? Heaven is now, earth in all its beauty is where we all as one can claim citizenship, and one day, under our creator, it will be so... free from evil.. which lying at the root of every species is the love of money.. 'The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.', blocking off healthy growth with whatever will break soil being the root...

Don't love it, free yourself from the lust for it, give it freely as the spirit guides, and in your giving you will be blessed, you will have manna for the day.. that's the promise.. and apparently manna was the bomb"

So...

I truly wonder if we have a clue just how unique this sliver of human history is that we are able to experience. I sit here, in a perfect chair made of a cow, relaxing behind four panes of glass enjoying the stars and moon, free from the wind & rain. I have music in the background, music that on my demand can be from any culture, time period, genre... anything.. should I choose. On my lap (also in my pocket), sits a device that can instantly tell me just about anything I want to know in the world... if I just ask siri nicely.. not to mention live-stream revolutions happening on the other side of the world. I could go drive to the nearest city and choose food from just about any significantly populated country. I could go downstairs and instantly have boiling water (no kiddin), cubes of ice by the dozens, a box that with a few buttons heats anything.. I mean comeon...

I could go on longer than you could hold your pee in.. my point.?.. try and understand that we live in an extremely unique period of human history... with that device in your pocket or on your lap - like all things i believe created by man - it is capable of equal amounts of bad as good. With it we aren't allowed to hide from knowledge of the disparities in the world. Wider and wider they grow...

The requirements of love for me are i struggle for... i've learned i'm not good at it (i'm human). So when I stare Love in the face, learning it's definition in reading the life of Loves expression made in the likeness of a man, i'm reminded, & recentered. He walked this earth, for three years, and every single first impression of people who believed in what he had to offer (love), was one not of the usual substance... and those that stayed near him grew comfortable in his offering, and themselves went out to share that love... 'taking nothing with them'... he was enough.

I'm trying to figure out a creative way of saying that me writing this, I'm writing it to myself (truly)... nothing.

I don't know why I'm so blessed to have such comfort.. really. And I'm daily soaked in a new world of work where those 'disparities' are about as unobvious as maybe three hovering humming birds... right in front of your face... wearing cowboy hats.

You know it's there...

i live suspended in this balance almost every day, and while I'm suspended I believe for the cause of good, it means too that my own weaknesses are magnified as I scramble for strength amidst the suspension. In ways I feel stronger.. in ways - even in the process of growth - I don't..

But what I read tonight in allegory - the story of love and it's unique supremacy of the ultimate good among man - I saw the purity in Love and it's offerings, and my insides shrunk in humble thanks for knowing the God of love. And Jesus, the living, and then dying, but then living manifestation of that Love. He's a gift for us...

It's a damn shame thinking of all the ways the name of Christ has been used, abused, jammed into unwilling ears.. instead of simply offering the expression of that which we say we believe in... love...

It's a beautiful thing meeting a person who doesn't make the same claims to faith as myself, maybe they don't even have a faith, but they love genuinely those around them... I always learn something from these people.. and find myself craving more..

So, I guess the thing I'm struck with tonight, I'll leave you with.. I'm thankful in new but familiar ways for an example to look to in Jesus, the example I can glean eternal wisdom from as I live in a suspended world of such obvious disparity.. in an age that is undeniably unique. And as ever growing evils battle evergrowing love for the right to exist on this planet... i'm locked in imagining the new earth, that which awaits those who will one day experience the wholeness of that which they struggled for on earth... and I see the purpose of love, to bring that earth to bear, to bring the love of our eternal dwelling down into the suspension... and free from fear of death, free from ourselves, we grow fruit who's source of nourishment, whose roots are founded in eternal virtues... the greatest of which is love. I imagine our existence in eternity is merely where we find ourselves locked into that which exists only in the roots of our lives here on earth.. the roots don't lie.

So if love is chosen, the source of love which we experience in glimpses on earth, we'll walk alongside existing wholly in the direct path of that Love... for always..

Anyway..

Choose Love people..

Over n out

The new job -- on ma way to Chicago

Back on a plane heading east, I once again find myself with one of life's pages in hand, turning it with excitement towards what appears to be a new chapter... how in this coming chapter will the one holding the pen make sense of my past (the ups & the downs... He always does), while bringing new questions, new hopes, new possibilities for the unwritten future.

The new job. So ya, i'm on this plane heading to chicago with plans to dive in headfirst for round two with Warm Blankets Orphan Care. Starting with a completely random (riiiight..) phone call while in the middle of our road trip, Craig (boss @ wb) presented me with the possibility of coming back on the team with a newly defined objective... analyze the water quality of our over 200 orphan homes, become more educated on the many different water solutions available in the third world, go after donors to get the program underwritten & the wheels rollin, find solutions for homes in need of better quality water, then forming teams to take across & do the installations (if necessary). The water guy.. So much more to come here...

My month on the road I've explained was in many ways a month of healing, as well as a month of epiphany... a month spent shedding my own foggy self interests to see clearly His desires for my life. I've always found unique peace in being on the road, and always will. The epiphany was this... I'm ready.

In no way would I take back the last four years of misadventures, in fact I can't imagine where I'd be without them... they've proven vital to my developing into.. well, me.. the today me. I encourage everyone... if there's an itch, itch it.. if there's a curiosity, explore it... but throughout keep your ears open and your spirit raw to the touch and guidance of His voice... and "whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'this is the way, walk in it.'" Is 30:21 The spirit which confirmed my place while on the river, on the road, and wherever, is the same spirit that when I listen now, is calling me to a new direction... and in shedding my selfish desires (the tree farm, maui in the spring, another summer on the river etc...), I was brought through into a field of vision for the next three to five years of my life that I hadn't even imagined before I let the other things go... healing.. epiphany... I'm learning to trust Him more and more each day..

So...

To the right, or to the left... it don't matter. Do you get it? It's not important which direction we go, just so long as we follow the voice of God's spirit... we are in the right way. The voice? "great.. luke's a wacko" Ya, voices (sort of)... a spiritual realm exists amongst us, don't fool yourself. Spirits feeding us lies about ourselves, about others impressions of ourselves, about our capabilities, our past, our appearance, our future... everything. Then there're spirits of truth... & asking of the Holy Spirit - the one which resides above them all, the spirit of our Lord - to come in and fight on the side of good, for you, for me.. for all who seek to know, and believe in Him and his promises.. this is 'the way'. Promises of freedom, of life, of joy, of community, of abundance, of generational blessing.. not free however from suffering, persecution & the likes.. they exist together.. joy in suffering.. it's real.

I'm still learning this.. I would hope to never stop learning this i guess...

I got this visual about a month or so back, it was on the river & I was having a discussion with someone where the physics of the river and the movement of water came up... I learned in this conversation that the fastest place on the river is... where? The eddy-line. The eddy-line is where the current meets the eddy (eddies are usually created by rocks in the water, causing water to go back up stream behind the rock, creating a nice break from the current), creating swirls of water accelerating along the convergence of the two... the eddy-line. The fastest place isn't where I'd've imagined... no, it's not the thick of the current.

While my left brain is learning these new things, my right brain seemed to be simultaneously painting a beautiful image of my life made sense by this new understanding... It's not in the current of society where I've found life, but near the eddies. In the current we're fooled into believing everything is okay... The failing economy, our tortured ecosystem, the manipulated media, poverty & riches.. lied to (opening that box soon). Nearing the eddies we're exposed to all sorts of people. Whether it's Haiti, Peru, the river, the tree farm,... anywhere on the road and in-between I've sought to be near those who challenge me, those outside the current. I don't want to imply that allll i've met along the way have been 'lost' in the eddy.. not even close. In fact it's in these places where I've found myself, it's in the people, the ones I've met and grown close to along the way... But it's where I've been called to shine my light.. and it's in these places i've been met by many different forms of 'light' - as well as new n different forms of darkness - but mostly light.. I'll spend my whole life learning the uniqueness of people's light and still not fill the whole of the spectrum which i'm convinced can only be found in the face of God ..

Anyway, the eddy...

With this new understanding of water, and the painting still working itself out in my right brain, my left made immediate sense of it's interpretation... living in the eddy-line is good, it's where you meet those in need - those going back up stream - with your light, your hope... the risk here (i've learned) is getting swept into the eddy, and then yourself being pulled back upstream. I've found myself in-n-out of eddies.. and more and more I find myself pushing away from the main current. the eddy-line, this is where I aim to be... Forgive me for speaking in such general terms... it's just that each journey is unique, and to each it's own eddy, eddy-line & current. Imagine for yourself where the eddyline might be in your life... just a touch outside your comfort zone.. aware of the risks.. risks of the eddy as well as the current.. and then finding life swirling between the two, touching both, moving faster and with the kinda purpose that keeps ya on your toes... and remember, "where there are two." This is important..

We begin work tomorrow on defining this new position... please send me your prayers/good thoughts as I go forward... The plane has been circling over O'Hare for about half an hour now.. apparently Air Force one and el presidente are making a quick pit stop on their way back to the White House... so obama can cast his vote... for himself... no kiddin... but now we're landing, so i've gotta run.. more soon

be well friends,

luke

Ending a month on the road... a glimpse

So I'm home... well, back in the NW at least. After over a month on the road, it feels good to be in a place where 'being still' is really the only thing on the short term agenda. I'm in Lake Oswego currently, living with my parents in their new home... it's beautiful.

So real quick, for those of you who might be interested in the train of events i'm currently riding.. skip to next paragraph for more 'meat'. Anyway, the river season finished up well despite the low water... our season ended with the passing of Labor Day weekend and then the fun began (like working ON a river isn't fun enough??). Our company treated those who stayed to the end of the season with a four day float down the colorado river, the section is called Westwater and begins in CO, ending a short ways into Utah... it was beautiful. Three days of no bigger than class I, then a day of rowdy class IV, the river getting narrower as we carved deeper into the canyon... my first overnight trip, it was unreal. We finished that trip up, got our lives together, and it wasn't more than a day or two before my good buddy Mark (fellow river rat) and I hit the road to begin what we had planned would be two months through Tennessee and the east, hitting all sorts of rivers along the way, eventually finding work in East Tennessee on the Pigeon river working the late season on into November. Fate, as it turned out, had a different plan... the trip was condensed to almost exactly a month, and with the condensing of duration, the experiences of the trip it seems were reduced down to incredibly rich nuggets at each corner. Nashville, Knoxville, Hartford, Summersville, Roanoke, Asheville, Brevard... everywhere we went we were met with nothing but love, warmth, and kindness.. southern hospitality defining itself through our experience. I want to share each and every experience... but how? over blog? It just doesn't seem right... over coffee maybe:) but every day was perfect, every day I felt the Spirits hand in our moving 'blindly', the people we met, oh the many people, and the life-long friendships we made... Kt, hannah, willis, bob, barb, coco, michelle, gabe, caleb, salmon, clint, TENNESSEE LIZ, paul, and others.. people with spirits that stuck to ours like velcro, and within seconds of meeting these new people at these new places, we were home, with family... raft guides, UT hippies, Older couples, younger ones too.. providence was our guide, and lives were changed in the process.

My reasons initially for going to tennessee were very different than what I eventually got out of the experience... in fact the collapse of my original intentions, and the pain which followed, were quickly restored and a new vision for the trip was formed, one we lived out in color. It was a month of healing in many ways for both Mark and I. And as my cousin Amy put it, on my last day in knoxville, "fate" would gift me the closure I needed from the previous collapse, the perfect cap to the whole experience.. so obviously I'm alluding to a whole lot, and I hope to share more later on this.. it's just better that I wait.. the story's still being written i guess...

I've had about 20hrs of solo road time this past week, lots of time to think... and our experience i realized can be summed up into one day. Towards the end of our time in Tennessee, Mark and i took some time on the AT (app trail), and on day one of our trip we at one point found ourselves seriously lost in awe of all the beauty surrounding us... just staring at everything from the forest floor to the canopy mosaic above,, each leaf a different color contributing to the whole of the picture... we were overcome with feelings of contentment, feelings of being in a good 'way', of - during this month - finding our place among created, and for me at least, more and more faith in the Spirit as guide... see, to some we appeared lost, but to others we were anything but, and our trusting that at each corner we would be met with a purposed environment, led our open hearts & minds to people who - as it would turn out - were in need of the light we offered, as we were too in need of theirs... in faith that our journeys path was one paved with providence, lives were changed, lives were enriched...

My old roommate mimi and I are obsessed with the golden ratio.. ever heard of it? Other names for it are the golden mean, the Fibonacci numbers... Anyway, if not, watch this short clip and let your mind be blown (http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=U2bAlIK4KkE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DU2bAlIK4KkE).. but basically the golden ratio is in everything, all creation it seems, from the way a flower blossoms to the way galaxies are formed, all exist according to this ratio... on the AT I felt the weight of this as I saw this perfect pattern everywhere, in nature and in myself... with much time on the road to think and give thanks, to sink deep into my experience, I saw life - life as I've grown to understand it - as one large picture, one that with the dimension of time extracted (so hard for us to do in flatland, but a very real thing.. eternity), our lives as a whole will offer beauty, color, and light to others, according to how we walk within each experience, within time. Living each day in love, each experience when looked at individually (like each new place we found ourselves) may not make a great deal of sense, but it just felt, it just feels right... and so zooming out, our experiences - if guided by love - create a whole picture which only makes sense to the one painting it, but shines its beauty to the world. Confused yet? me too... but back to the golden ratio, god's perfect number found throughout... I suppose I believe that in the spiritual world, if we allow ourselves to be led by love we are allowing God (God is love... thats it... if it's love, it's God) to design in and through us something more beautiful than is in our control, the golden ratio in existing in our lives... and because he who engineers this beauty is extracted from that dimension which binds us in the moment... time... only He can make sense of it and it's purpose. The past four years of my life, the past eight really, are fun to look at as a whole because of the evolution of my spirit as I've learned more and more to lean on these good things.. it's spiraled me into, well, this place.. a place of new understanding, of peace, each day a new journey, one that only He, only love can make sense of, a place that in the moment may seem confusing or difficult (i've negative $$$ to my name, and am back at my parents for the time being.. haha), but are filled with hope because of this understanding that our stories exist outside of time, and He, Love, wants to create something curiously beautiful in us for the world to experience and glean from, then in observing, learn to live in a way which makes sense of their lives outside of the day to day confusion, outside of time... the golden ratio, it's perfect.

Anyway, I go in thursday to the Doc to have my shoulder checked... may or may not need surgery... pray for this. Soon, depending on what my pt needs are, I'll be starting what seems to be a dream job, again working for Warm Blankets, but with water... Another beautiful story I plan on sharing more of as it unfolds in the coming weeks... More to come on this, but know it's good, all is good, life is beautiful, and love it seems is truly the only answer...

I plan on writing more into the fall... so many stories to tell... the past month has left me with pockets full of nuggets, and I feel led to share. Thanks for reading (supposing you made it this far.. haha)...

Be well, friends...

luke

Journey Through the Thorns

It's been a rough few weeks in many ways... each day it seems I'm still able to find my pocket of Light, but I've felt the weight of the fog resting more heavily on my shoulders.  My reasons for going to Tennessee - while I still plan on and am excited about going for different reasons - have definitely changed, and while I don't feel the need to go into it online, the process of this evolution in my spirit (the past 12 months really) has jaded me in ways, and made it more difficult to connect in a pure way, a way I've felt before, with my Maker.  

I came down to the river today, in need of rest.  My body found it - rest - hovering near the river in my hammock, and my spirit tiptoed back into the word, seeking it.  I went to look up the word 'rest' in my concordance, but before I found it I stumbled on a word I'd never really learned the definition of, but sort of knew what it meant.  Precepts.  I felt drawn to read scripture on this, as I felt like I should... Psalm 119 was where 5/9 references led me to...  

119 is the longest of the psalms, and rarely will I jump to it for a quick psalm fill, simply because it's so long..  But I decided to... and it might now be one of my favorite.  I was meant to read these words today...  Twenty-one sections, each it seems is written by a different person with names like 'Ayin, Resh, Taw & Kaph to name a few.. each person laying out their heart for their Lord, seeking to 'find wonderful things in His law'.  The word precepts, I counted later, and 17 times it is used in this psalm.  The word means: 'a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct.'  All there for guidance, that we might experience joy contrary to what the world has to offer...  

And if it's not the word precepts, the words 'statutes' & 'decrees' were both used equally if not more in this book of the psalms.  Each author of the 21 different sections it seemed was at a unique place in their walk, some are 'laid low in the dust' with 'soul(s) weary with sorrow'.  Others asking the lord to open their failing eyes, and give life to their spirits which are dried up like a 'wineskin in the smoke'.  But they put their hope in the Lord, seeking to learn his decrees, and live up to his - their Father in Heaven's - precepts, because they know and have felt the life and freedom which is promised, the blessing poured over those who walk in these ways has and continues in their journey on earth to annoint their heads.

I read each of the 21 different authors intimate moments with God, as if they were my own.  I journeyed into the souls of men who truly lived according to His word, men who lived into, and each day found Freedom in His promises, men who like me feel "laid in the dust" at times.  

I came for rest, and what I found was an intimate moment with my Maker, a dripping wet moment of confronting his precepts for my life, confronting the ways I've turned my heart and taken it upon myself... and I can't do it.  I dove deeper to the raw roots of that which has led my spirit on paths which - with time - have become encroached by the poison ivy of selfish desire, and thistles of fear and doubt.  It seemed some of these 21 authors had experienced at some point a similar path, but all found their freedom in observing his precepts, keeping his decrees, seeking to understand his statutes and live according to His will.

The thing about having a real encounter and engagement with jesus, then learning through time in His word (guided by the spirit) the heart of our God and His pure call on the lives of those who choose him... is this word becomes burned on your heart in ways unique to you as a person, growing uniquely in your faith, and those precepts which you know lead to life (because you too along with so many others in n out of scripture have felt the freedom of the Spirit) become the 'cost of discipleship' we have at one point joyfully accepted, and are called to live into.  

I haven't been taking the best care of myself; my eyes, feet and hands all have gone down their own path, and only in encounters such as mine today with my Lord, is that burden lifted, and I can feel the angle of my path turn towards the upward slope. Every day, there's that pocket of light.  The Lord has preserved - like those 21 authors - my spirit, and longs to lead me out of the thistles and ivy to a more beautiful path which leads up to freedom and sanctification.  

The Tennessee changes of these past several weeks - both in my spirit and future circumstances - have indeed led to my seeking this broader more scenic path, where I'm free again in His hope for my life.  This walk through the thorns & thistles to His path for my life, a path 'lit by His word', isn't promised to be easy, but good.  But with that weight of the upward journey, there's equal promise in his helping me (all) along the way feeding me assurance of His love throughout.

So many good things I'm blessed with... each day on the river, my cup overflows.  It is with joy that I dive into the raw places of my heart and seek cleansing from His spirit, and with thanksgiving that I approach the day.  

I'm not really sure why all this is worth sharing... maybe it isn't.  But I know that throughout my journey sharing whats on my heart with y'all, it's the valleys which come with the peaks, and in all things we ought share and give thanks.  Peaks are always ahead, and the light shines today a bit brighter through the ivy.  And as the 21 responsible for the psalm I read today brought me light in their stories, may we all learn and grow from each others, and turn our eyes to the Maker of that which colors our world above, below, all around and within us.  

I found that rest, and after 119 I went to Matthew 11 where Jesus promises in His 'gentle and humble heart, rest for your souls.  For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.'

:)

I think I'll rest well tonight..  Company super-hero party tonight in Cañon City (I'm going as quail man!!), then back in the hammock, under the stars, resting in His promises, learning and inviting his precepts.  

Rest well, friends..  

Onward

Red letters & Tennessee

Writing again...  It can be intimidating.  This first paragraph is for you...  re-familiarize yourself with these keys...  open the stream of consciousness, let your fingers flow freely, and encourage their exploration of new places...  this is a place where you ought feel free, where you ought freely drop the murmurings of your spirit... today... now.  Always.  I want to write again, I want to inspire, I want to be inspired, I want to be re-centered in my own understandings, and find new footing through digging into scripture, seeing it in new ways, observing and recording its flow as it - a living word - pierces me in new ways, making raw my spiritual flesh to His calling on my life.  My journey through scripture this summer, while I haven't shared much of it, has been nothing short of raw...  And as after a long season on the river my body longs for the healing powers of the ocean, my spirit too longs for cleansing as - after a long and very different summer - it stares at itself in the mirror with evolved eyes to see where it falls short...   

In my journey cycling through the gospels I found myself in Mark the other night...  I had my hammock hung down by the river and I got all warm in my sleeping bag, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the nearly full moon over the mosquito mountains.  I called it in early that night as a small group of us were waking up at 5 to go do a sunrise kayak down the upper sections of the Arkansas..  we did, and it was glorious.  I laid there in my hammock, turned on my headlamp, and opened to the gospel of Mark.  Now, I don't usually use the red light setting on my headlamp (it's intended for reading), but this time I did.  As I started reading with this red light, I got a paragraph or two and realized that with the red light, I couldn't make out even a hint of the words of Jesus (they're in red letters).  How interesting... I read on a bit like this, only reading the words surrounding the words of Jesus...  I didn't enjoy it much...  

So I thought about something...  I thought it might be interesting to just read the words of Jesus, and nothing that surrounds them.  So I turned my normal light on a dim setting, and I began reading just the red letters from about chapter four, on until the end of the book. What I read, was beautiful... And while having a basic understanding of the surrounding stories helps, the words of Jesus, will meet anyone.  "Let us go over to the other side... Quite!  Be still!... Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?...  Come out of this man, you evil spirit!...  What is your name?... Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."   For me, reading it this way was nothing more than an interesting experiment, but what I got out of it was pretty rich.  In reading it this way (and again, having a basic understanding of the stories surrounding his words helps) I found myself putting my own character into the stories, it was more natural, it was as if in the stories, Jesus was talking to me.  And in dealing with the teachers of the law, the priests and people who thought highly of themselves, it was also a very real experience in hearing Jesus talk directly to me in pointing to the areas I hold back from God.  But in reading only His words - the words in red - I felt throughout as if I were floating on top of an unimaginably deep & swift current of love which we are gifted the opportunity to experience, if we give our lives to Him...  and what he tells us is, it's worth it.. and with even the slightest amount of faith, the word comes alive.  So hang a hammock, watch the full moon rise, and wonder...  It's worth it.  

This summer's gone by fast.  Guiding low water has been tough, but a far better experience from what I had imagined.  My love affair with Anha (my kayak) has only grown deeper as I explore new and tougher sections of whitewater.  I couldn't be happier about the people I work with, each completely unique and necessary to create such a beautiful family of guides.  As the summer closes, I have now just a few weeks left on the river, and it seems my nose has sniffed out a desire to explore more rivers in the east.  I'll be pointing my nose towards tennessee come labor day... just for a few months.  It's good:) 

I plan on writing more, as reading often times seems empty afterwards without the discipline of exploring it at new depths on paper, slowing the brain to the confines of the hands.,  I've much I could use writing about...  

But if you're the praying type, pray for me these last weeks... I hope to finish with a healthy spirit, and a healthy body, tying up summer relationships here with sturdy knots that will last on until next summer when we all come back yet again (high water!!).  Pray my spirit would bloom in these next weeks, that the light would shine, and I would respond and align my life to reflect that light.  

I'm in my hammock now, and it's just startin' ta rain... I'm gonna be off to bed now.  more to come...  g'night.  

Why are titles so difficult? I wrote a blog...

April 18, 2012


It's been a week and a half since my return from Africa..  I have lots to share, but I haven't felt led to share any writing just yet, until today, and what I felt led to share was not about Africa.  Soon, I hope...

Driving from Salida to BV last night, I became so thankful for the beauty I call home.  The collegiate mountains - more 14,000ft peaks to keep any one man busy exploring for three lifetimes.  Beautiful...  I got to thinking how lovely it was that in scripture, God time after time tells his people that He cannot be found in the temple, in man-made creations.. His glory is not to be bound, and the path to his heights it says are not of stone shaped by man.  It's what's in my backyard, God's temple.. it's all around :)  

And so... in relatively modern human history, the world has become extremely small.  The globe was not complete until only just over 500 years ago... but it has not been until inventions like the airplane and BlueRay discs that we've had the ease of which to travel and experience first hand the glory of all beauty which exists throughout the whole earth... or, for those not so fortunate/interested, modern technology has also allowed us to sit in our lounger and watch programs like planet earth, or the human planet (my favorite)... minds being blown everywhere...

We have the privilege of experiencing the globe in ways humans have (relatively) never been able... with this great understanding comes great worship...  worship as unique to the individual as their fingerprint... each connecting in a different way... 

We know what is out there... 

And this is the God I worship.  This is the temple I stand before.  All created things truly bearing witness to the unfathomable greatness of its creator...  This God, is God of all.  

For those struggling to open themselves up to a specific religion... at least allow your soul the opportunity to open itself up to this God... and the God of your understanding will begin to reveal Himself in your life.  

And with this, it's my warmest belief - your soul now open to the God which takes your breath away through nature, the universe, the eyeball etc.. - that the courier of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, will meet you on that journey, and reveal His pure love to you.  And if not in this life.... in the passing.. (lots lots here to discuss theologically... it's my hearts conclusion)... and "mercy triumphs over judgement"... So at the very least, open yourself up to God, the engineer behind it all, and you will be given eyes for eternity, and it will change your life... it'll change everything.

See... Jesus came to give those who had hearts desirous of oneness with their maker, freedom.  The gift of the Spirit... 

This is my belief, it is also my experience... 

This love affair really started for me (on my early twenties journey) with the opening of myself up to the God who created all my eyes were being blessed to experience...  

And everything changed...  so the journey continues, living each day a day in eternity... 

Consider this God :)

Be well friends!!

Be encouraged... From Africa.

**dont have time/energy for an edit... sry for misspellings/grammar woes :/**

Jambo friends... I write this from Kitali...  Today was one of the more difficult for me... my spirit dealt with some very difficult things, the rocking from which I have faith will sink my foundation to an even greater depth, a more sturdy place for my spirit to rest with His.  Difficult nonetheless..  

We've to this point visited three orphan homes, all of which have their own unique and beautiful experience attached to them....  I want to share about today though.  

We left yesterday on a five hour journey up the Rift Valley (runs all the way to Israel.. beautiful history here) to a village inhabited by the indigenous poqout people.  I cannot possibly describe those I encountered here, on the drive to here, in all of Kitali for that matter... the poverty/oppression they wear on their sleeves (if they have any), the intensity of which rivals the poverty our culture experiences on its inside... it's not pretty.  I could tell you of their joy, their smiles, their kindness, their laughter... I could share with you of the many fruits I've picked off of these peoples low hanging branches... the diversity of flavors/colors/nutrients which exist in experiencing each one individually.  I'm tasting good things...  I'm touching tough things.  Touching people who are obviously not well.. a handshake, a hug, a warm gesture they aren't to be denied...we learn this in scripture.  I won't attempt to describe the conditions these people call home... photos later will have to tell that tale.  

Haiti prepared me well for this trip... the spirit has reached to touch some newly sensitive areas in my life this time 'round.  

I've the chance to speak with many people, men, boys, children, in these conditions about our mutual love for Jesus Christ.  Brothers who share in the vision of one day dancing in heaven together, a place described in revelation as being a new eternal home to those who "never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.  The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." rev.7:16

Sink in this please... but first sink into my shoes, if you can.  I have written next to that verse in my bible "i am too comfortable"... yes, it is true.  If these are who are to inhabit the kingdom one day.. gosh.. so much there.. i move on.

Arriving at the poquot village, our goal was to register a small handful of the children who were to be placed in the orphan home once it is constructed..  While pictures were being taken and names/birthdates recorded, all the while dozens of children and tribesmen/women hovered around the shaded area where we met the elders of the village... a scene I won't soon forget.

Michael Silitei... my brother.  I sat down next to this man, and to my surprise, he spoke fairly good english.  I was gifted this relationship by the spirit, because at a very tough time for me (I have become increasingly disgusted at the westernization of these places, and how it is to blame for the poverty and destruction of beautiful cultures rich in tradition and one with the earth... one of many crushed by the west, capitalism, the love of money... a whole other blog), we were able to share in these sentiments.  We sat together looking out at the valley, painting the vision of what it must have been like to be a Poquot tribesman thousands of years ago, before colonization, before money... We dreamed about heaven together, and in his broken (but well understood and felt) english, I had him read the whole of revelation 7... tears escaping all four eyes looking on, although I would imagine he felt them at a much deeper level than I can possibly imagine, being that he will truly be freed from these things in this place we read about... free from hunger, thirst, scorching sun... 

He told me how he was raised in the catholic tradition, and in school they weren't allowed to have a bible, that it was expected they would rely on the priest for scriptural guidance (I won't share how I feel about this.. here at least), and when he finally did was once he was an adult and out of the church... reading scripture on his own he found jesus.  He told me how he discovered Jesus was/is not religion... but love.  He shared with me how upon reading the story of zacchaeus, he could relate.  Raised having misunderstood the gospel, he crawled up and above the crowd of "judges" (as he called them, and while it doesn't call them that in scripture, it's the message), he could now see Jesus... and He (Jesus) came through the crowd, and called to him.  He has been healed, touched by the spirit, brought above the crowd - the law - and given freedom...  "zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he..."  bla bla bla... a catchy tune the church taught me and so many others.. the message Michael gave to me about this passage came in power, and from the spirit... I saw it in a new way, with new eyes.  He told me how he was a volunteer teacher with the children... and not once did he ask me for anything (so refreshing you don't even know), but our spirits connected and in sharing scripture together he said he was "given new courage", while I was given new hope... the body of Christ at work.  After a long while learning eachother and resting in a nest of spiritual encouragement together, we wandered into a shaded area outside of where everyone was communing to pray together...  In the middle of our praying, the children were roused by something and dozens ran by and through where we were standing yelling joyfully in a playful manner like kids do all across our beautiful earth.. it was perfect, and the prayer needed it as we were praying at that moment for 'faith like children...'  eyes closed, it was surreal to in this moment hear these children running by all around us - it seemed they didn't even know were there, but the spirit knew, and He knew we needed that.  

I could go on, go on, and go on some more... but I leave you with that... 

As my spirit processes this, that, and so many other new relationships/revelations... pray for me.. pray for them... pray to feel the power of prayer in your life, to feel how REAL it is... for faith like a mustard seed is not about how much you can do with so little, but how with faith - faith like a mustard seed - we 'know' how grand the gift is which awaits us as we exist now, a seed in soil, faithfully awaiting life which will soon spring forth up and out of the s(t)oil into an existence which cannot possibly be imagined, but with faith.  

Off to bed... on to Lodwar tomorrow... be well friends :)

Next Stop, Africa

-- Africa --

March 23, 2012

So, I'm on this plane. My third plane today, fourth this week, eighth in the past three weeks...  Oh, ash wednesday :) This particular plane is something special however, as it will be landing on the continent of Africa in just under five hours. 

Somehow in my lifes journeys - both as a duckling following behind my travel hungry father, as well as on my own adventures - I've never stepped foot on this rather large chunk of land.  Africa. I wish to learn the power behind this word, this culture, its people, its pain, its depth, its beauty... I know it's there, and I can't imagine finding it will be that difficult... in fact, even just hovering over this land in a big metal tube I feel some layer of unidentifiable substance being peeled back, exposing a blended mixture of emotions for this elusive land.  It's SO BIG!  I'm a fool to think that in touching just a fragment of Kenya & Uganda that I'm experiencing, 'Africa'. I know better... Soo much to explore :)

We will be landing in Nairobi, hoping around Kenya for ten days, then off to Kampala where we will spend five days enjoying Uganda.  Our time in Kenya will be spent - for the most part - gathering information on the orphans in four of the homes Warm Blankets supports, putting the children in a newly created database which will be shared with the UN.  See, if these orphans are not registered and properly identified, they are liable to being stolen, sold, moved into different forms of slavery etc... and with no way of tracking them, they become lost. Terrible things. Happening to little children. ALL OVER the earth.  Seek justice, receive life... 

So I was just in the bathroom a minute ago, and after watching several TED talks on the perilous status of our floating rock, earth (The truth in the messages being: "The economy will fail...", "Environmental concerns are real and dangerous..."  "The earth IS full..."  "Change MUST happen..." etc..), I found myself with a smile on my face and that liquid joy rolling down my cheeks as I FELT at my core a deep appreciation for the things my Lord has brought near to my heart... the things I have become passionate about.  I looked at my life and said "if for the rest of my brief stay here on earth, I can seek justice (it comes in SO many forms..), and enjoy creation in the ways I am currently (rivers, mountains, people etc etc..)... I will never be lacking.  Joy always.  Glory to Him.  Selah :)  A warm feeling... 

I wondered too how will my fingers glide over this keyboard on my return trip... what words will drip from my heart..  Crazy.

I want to share a brief story I came across as I journey now through Judges... A story which has touched me, like if a person were to come up to you with an extremely sharp spear and prick you on your exposed chest.  I feel it... I know it's sharp... I know there is power in it.  I know too that with time, I will feel the PIERCING power of this spear living it's truth in my life... and hopefully yours too :)

Gideon. Judges 6-7

This story, I cannot do it justice in a summary, although I'll try..

Gideon was just working the winepress one day and an angel came to him (we now have the spirit which speaks to us and gives us power in this way.. thanks to Jesus :)) and said "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."  

'Umm... okay?' -Gideon

And he doubts... so much so that three times He asks the Lord to prove his power over his life in really strange ways.. He doubts.  Wouldn't you?!  The Lord is asking him to SAVE Israel, to defeat the Midianites who have soaked them in oppression... impossible things He is asking him to do.  

So he seeks confirmation that it is the TRUE Lord guiding his steps, his words, his spear, his people...  and the Lord was patient with him, all three times He delivered what he asked (which surprised me to be honest, but made me glad that the Lord was patient with his servant of whom he asked seemingly impossible things.. so glad as I feel shades of doubt too).  

Here's the tip of that spear I was talking about... stay with me...

About to attack the Midianites, Gideon has found his power in the Lord and with troops numbering over 32,000 behind him, he is ready to do some serious battle...  But his ear and his heart, they are still faithfully in tune with the Lord's, and what does he hear?  The Lord says 'that's too many... anyone (soldiers) who tremble with fear may turn back...'  

22,000 men left.  10,000 remained.

"Still too many" - Lord.

He tells Gideon to take his 10,000 down to the water, and those who lap the water with their tongues he is to seperate from those who kneel down to drink...  those who lap the water, these are your soldiers.

300 remained.

"Umm...  Crap." - Humans
"Yeaaa... now I can show them my POOOWER" - God

Strange?  Sure...  What's the point?  Earlier when there were still 32,000, the Lord said this to Gideon... "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into your hands.  In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her..." ... I will sift your troops down to an impossible 300.  "With the 300 men... I will save you" says the Lord.

Okay, so read the story (PLEASE), because obviously Gideon and the 300 go on to defeat the midianites and it's awesome (If you're a dood who loves Jesus, and you don't love the old testament, you crazy!).  

God wants to deliver us..!.. and he wants to do it in a way that only HE can receive the Glory... He will take the humble, and through impossible circumstances raise them up in their kingdom pursuits, bringing glory to His name on earth....  

I cannot express in words the depth to which this story has hit me...  

"He must become greater, I must become less." is a verse which just burst into my mind outta my heart...

It doesn't mean 'great things won't happen'... It means that in making ourselves less, we are widening the gap for Him to show up in Glory, fulfilling the impossible, making great things happen as we give the credit back to Him... as Jesus did time after time... why are we surprised he was able to do such great things??  He was the only earth walker who came down from his eternal dwelling right next to His maker in Heaven... He had faith more than ANYONE in his true citizenship... and all the glory went to His father.  

So we do the same... we learn from Gideon, we listen to the spirit, we seek impossible things which bring glory to Him...  and by sticking the nose of our compas in scripture, we trust the spirit to guide us on a true path which leads to that place in eternity which He is preparing for all who live in love with Him and with others... take me today, tomorrow, or eighty years from now.. just deliver me, and use my life (or death?) :)

So, what will this story mean to me in two weeks?  Will that tip have pierced my flesh?  

If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with my most recent journies and how the Spirit has undoubtedly hovered over it all.  This new job... I'm reminded daily of the gap I am trusting the Spirit to fill... I have faith in the impossible things becoming reality as myself and those in this ministry seek to do good for these orphan children... and now as I sift my own being down to 300 units of whatever from 32,000... I put my trust in Him, and struggle through doubt to proclaim His glory through it all, whatever may come :)  

There is power in the Word.  Life in the Spirit.  And in my own broken flesh, I will tell you that He wants to use you too in ways impossible to our understanding..  put your trust in Him... listen, and act :)

I crawl over the sleeping Kenyan next to me and look down... There she is :)  Africa :)  If you're the praying type, I would appreciate your joining me on this spiritual journey, being here with me in the spiritual realm, pleading to God on our behalf that he would give us impossible power to do impossible things :)  It's real, so very real.

Be well friends :)

The New Job.

3 . 2 . 12

"For my father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life... I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will NEVER die. Do you believe this?" - Jesus (jn6:40/47/11:25)


Chicago went well. Extremely well. :)

Allow me to share...

Craig (president of Warm Blankets) greeted me at the airport and took me directly to HQ where we would - after meeting the handful of incredibly warm spirited, extremely driven & obviously compassionate staff members - sit down in the 'think tank', mapping out what his vision was for me within the organization.

The job will consist of me helping to develop a strategic approach and establishing a foundation of consistent donor support... going first after specific niche industries (PT clinics/real estate groups etc..), we'll give them the opportunity to come alongside an orphan home within the Warm Blankets network, giving the children consistent financial support, over time building relationships with the orphans and widows in the homes, and even getting the opportunity to visit, and feeeel the weight of the impact of their support. Mutual benefits abound.!.!. both the orphans and the groups domestically who'll be committing to support will have much to gain through this relationship, both in the spirit & worldly realms... the Lord wants to bless those who bless others. And I get to help deliver these blessings to both groups! What a blessing :) God is goooood...

So, growing these - soon to be - many new donor streams of financial support, the big picture is that Warm Blankets would realize a more stable foundation where the reliability of month-to-month support would grow from many little streams flowing into one big, deep, fast moving river of support to deliver our God's hope and love - in the form of care - to these children who have been pulled out of war torn regions of SE Asia and Africa, and giving them (orphans & widows) a family & a home above a church where the goal is to transform and give life, making disciples for the Kingdom...

It's funny.. these homes are in some real sketchy, sometimes extremely dangerous environments where I'll get to go visit... and my roommate Judd when I was telling him about the details of the job (He's SO excited for me and wants to be a part of this work somehow.. praise god :)) he at one point paused and said, "so, it's like you're a soldier for the Lord?"

YES! Exactly! :) Glory...

Mmmm.. moving on... the job would allow and encourage between 3-5 (+/-) international trips/year where I would be a part of a team leading these new donors through the Warm Blankets network, giving them the opportunity to prick their finger with the end of the spear they've grown sharp over time with their faithful support...

My first trip is on the 22nd to Kenya for ten days. :)


Working from Salida (although I'm going to CHI again monday for a week, and will probably 1-2/mo), we're going to get it done... The Lord is in this process, and good is the goal... it will be (is being!) blessed. Rafting - of which I had grown a peace in my mind about not being a part of because of pressures from the spirit to move towards this kind of work - as it turns out is probably going to be an option :) The river is life.. and these people (raft guides) are dear friends... and it appears (based on our strategic timeline at WB) that another summer on the Ark is as good a possibility as any... working out so that come August I'll enter back into more of a full time role with WB. Right now I am considered a 'consultant', but we have hopes and plan on me becoming a full-time salaried employee... Glory :)

Warm Blankets mission statement... James 1:27.

Couldn't ask for anything more :))


So much more between the lines here where the spirit has just 'shown up' and made it so obvious this is a good fit, I could write a book on it... but I won't :) just yet anyway.. ha.

Last, and certainly not least.. before I go... Thank you, thank you, THANK you for your prayers those of you who lifted me up after my last post asking for you to join me in prayer.. and thank you, THANK you to those of you who were lifting me up even before then after my second to last post on ash wednesday where so clearly the spirit wanted to move, wanted me open and acknowledging His power in new and beautiful ways.. and I did.. and you prayed on my behalf.. and He is good, he is faithful, He is 'the resurrection and the life, that he who believes in Me shall realize everlasting life... life given on earth in the form of our God's spirit, sent to comfort, and guide us through this world on our way to eternity.' :) glory.

Be well friends!

If you're interested in hearing more about the organization, check out the website or shoot me a message... would love the opportunity to share more :)

In-n-out of the desert... He is faithful!

2 . 26 . 12

Happy Sunday friends :)

I wish to bring to the eyes and hearts of those who might be reading this, a request for prayer... These last few days have been crazy, the spirit is on the move... like the wind. Please read on...

Last week - on ash wednesday - I wrote about the season of lent, the cleansing it represents, and discipline it requires...

Re-reading my words, I thought I should copy the end in this post. Remembering the condition of my heart on wednesday is now such a gift as the events which would follow are just too much to ignore... Here's how I ended the post, followed by my account of the days following (feel free to skip on ahead if you've already read it...):

"...the gift of God which awaits those who present themselves as faithful in pursuing the sometimes difficult commands of the spirit(Jericho). Then in a pure light being cleansed from unrighteousness (Achan) where the Lord can now hold you warmly in His perfect hands, giving hope for today, and eyes for tomorrow…

And of course,it all comes back to Jesus, the Son which cleanses… delivering through his death & resurrection the gift of the spirit which will hover above and within as I journey this next week, learning new discipline, leaning on the spirit to give power in moments of weakness & temptation…

The whole purpose..?. its my gift (so small but so significant) to my maker … a display of my affection for Him and a way of saying thanks for all he has blessed me with. It's a pouring out… a re-throning of the Spirit in my life, giving His touch - the same touch which delivered Moses & Joshua with glooory - authority and creative license over my life and it's direction."


After this day of ash, the spirit was given new freedom in my life...

So Thursday I got an email from the president of an organization called Warm Blankets International, a group I'd been working with this past year, struggling to get a Sunspring unit to a community in Burkina Faso (W Africa) where it would provide safe water to over 1,000 impoverished individuals, who just. don't. have any.

This process has taken over a year.. a year to recruit and gather the $$, ship the unit, break out of customs, properly educate on set-up, and eventually install... at each step there were moments of "is this going to work"?

Anyway, Thursday he sent me this email with the pictures of it's finally having been installed. In the pictures I saw the unit pumping water with community members surrounding it full of joy, for now they can drink... Glory!!:)!!

Selah.

In the email he asked if I was interested in doing consulting work with Warm Blankets, and said we should talk soon... we spoke friday for an hour.

Walking through what his vision was for me within the organization, tears rolled down my cheeks... my spirit could not have been more glad... ash now gone, i felt 'warmly held in His perfect hands, given hope for today, and eyes for tomorrow'.

This guy Craig, we've never actually met, but apparently our conversations on the phone regarding the Sunspring and how it was handled were enough for him to reach out. He candidly told me that his spirit felt my name come into his mind wednesday as discussions of who they might recruit to fill this position were beginning. Coincidence? :)

The hour conversation was not enough... He told me he wanted to fly me out to discuss the job further and actually meet me. Tomorrow I'll be in Illinois, Tuesday night I'll be back... I wonder what my 'eyes for tomorrow' might see as this journey only gets more interesting...

The job: It's framework - as I understand it - looks like this... building relationships with high net worth donors, sharing the story of Warm Blankets (whose mission statement is James 1:27... gahh love it!), and then leading these people around the network of orphanages in over a dozen countries throughout SE Asia & Africa where their $$ has touched so many... first trip would be to Africa in two months. I'll find out more soon... tomorrow actually:)

So pray for me. Pray for it to be a warm introduction... that if this is the direction the spirit is wanting to lead me, that I would respond and move... move my feet towards His good work.


"Why are you planning all these great things for the fall; plans to do work which you know makes your heart pump with passion, work which you know you were created to do... when I may want to use you now to do these things??"

This is what I felt as I drove the 1400 miles from Seattle-Salida... having a firm grip on this summer being a raft guide again, I felt the spirit pressuring me to - in my heart - open up this space for Him to move... If rafting is not meant to be, I want to be okay with that... pray for this. I love the river... so much. The people I work and the community we've built... even more.

Moving on...

Equally significant and definitely worth a mention are the other ways the spirit moved in the days following wednesday. Two Sunspring units I've been waiting on since October, the money has finally come through... all in His perfect time. Shoutout to Rotary International and the good work they're doing with clean water for the people of Northwest Haiti... Glory!

And one more I'll share, thursday I got a call from a person I know will become a dear friend here in the valley... Mallory Mccall, calling to give me the classic YL welcome, inviting me over sometime for beergharitas and burgers at their home where she lives with three other YL leaders, all who work just next door at the Salida Hostel... Just perfect. It now has a scent of 'home' this town...

Judd and I went over there last night and met her as well as her roommate Katie, both just a year or two outta college... what beautiful spirited women who clearly love jesus and have such beautiful vision and hope for how the Spirit wants to move in this valley, where in many ways darkness reigns..

Did I forget to mention too that the methodist church I've gone to these past three weeks (wherein grey heads full of wisdom outweigh youth like myself at least 20:1.. ha.. love it) has just last week shown interest in me speaking to the congregation about the possibility of having a raft guide dinner in Salida, like the one in BV where over 150 mangy guides come each week for a warm, home cooked meal and a shower... could be my first time behind a pulpit.. where is this meant to lead I wonder?

Gosh... So much more to share about each of these crazy happenings... that should do for now.. join me in praying for each, please:)


I write these things, not for myself... i know it, I feel it, I relyyy on "it". I write for you... that the warmth and perfect guidance of the Holy Spirit might touch your life today... that you might have your very own 'ash wednesday', today, tomorrow, whenever... a day for your spirit to give up that which hinders, and touch life, re-connecting with it's source, giving the maker of you, the maker of your eyes - your most beautiful, complex eyes - which read these words, authority over this life, delivering new hope for a life offered us all in eternity.

Ending with some meat to chew on... this morning in scripture I found myself nearing the end of the story of Joshua. His journey... just crazy. Without the hand of God, it's nothing... But His plans were to bring Glory to His name, and freedom to His people, through the spirit led leadership of Joshua, and before him Moses.

It hasn't been an easy journey for Joshua and his people... anything but actually. However, he remained faithful... and his people are now settled in the land which was promised them long loooong ago... a place they could only dream about as they journeyed forty years in the desert, manna falling from the sky, they knew and trusted (most of them..)... even in the desert, sand and suffering stretching as far as the eye could see.

And now the journey is ending... and "the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give... they took possession of it and settled there. The lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."

Beautiful, no?

We are all promised beautiful things... if only we'll let the Spirit be our guide. We know this from scripture.. we feel it, and in desert moments, we do our best to remember our own 'exodus', the ways in which the hand of God has touched our lives, and maybe those around us.. and as we munch on manna and dream of a future bedded warmly in eternity with our maker, we can then be used, our joy which overflows bringing life to those in need, theirs then overflowing to those longing to overflow...


Be well friends! Thank you for your prayers! I'll hope to be back wednesday with an update :)

Gods mind changed?

11 . 5 . 11

**a good song to read to**

2 kings 20ish

Today I read of a man who had a heart for the Lord, and how that man’s prayer changed the mind of God.

The section I’m writing on is the beginning of 2 kings 20... but to understand the story of this man, Hezekiah, you should read back a few chapters to learn of his devotion to his God. I could’ve written a dozen blogs on this section from what I learned, but I chose instead to just read it, and let it soak. It soaked to the point of saturation today and what drips from my spirit I want to share with you...

Please stick with me... :)

Starting in chapter 18, we learn that Hezekiah is 25 when he takes the throne (an interesting story for me, having one more day of being 25)... he rules for 29 years, and we read that “he did what was right in the eyes of the lord, just as his father David had done. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him (it continues beautifully)...”

He loved God, maybe even more than David (this is important soon..)...

So in chp 20, Isaiah enters the picture.. a young prophet who will go on to write his own book in the bible. He approaches Hezekiah and tells him that he’s gonna die... that he should “put his house in order”... he would soon die.

God had decided this, and told Isaiah to deliver this message...

Hezekiah’s reaction? He turned his head to the wall, and said this with dry eyes...

“remember, o lord, how i have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.”

... and then, he wept bitterly ...

This man, with a heart that felt, and eyes that saw the glory which awaited him in the kingdom of HEAVEN... this man spoke with God, and heres the thing...

... he didn’t ask for his life to be spared ...

Why would he?! He knew what awaited him... the glory, free from pain, suffering, evil... he knew what awaited him, and ya know what, I don’t think you find a devout follower of God in the bible who asked for their own ‘lives’ to be spared... in fact, I think quite a few times they ask for their lives to be taken, their spirits lifted...

Hezekiah said “remember o lord...”... and the Lord saw that he could use him more. It says that through Isaiah, God told Hezekiah that he heard his prayer, and he felt each of his tears, and he was going to add 15 years to his life... among other beautiful things.

What a beautiful story, where the heart of God in a man shone through...

I’m heavily reminded of another story just a couple books back, a story very, very important to know in order to understand this guys heart... A couple generations back in Hezekiah’s lineage was David. (if u have a minute or two, read this story..)

David. The ‘man after God’s own heart’... David, the author of the psalms...

... david, the same guy who had a similar experience confronting God.. His young son (who he had out of god’s blessing.. verrry important) had become sick, and the lord said he was going to take this child, this child who came as a result of David’s sin.

David fasted, he wept bitterly, he laid by his sons bedside through his sickness pleeeading with God... but wow... upon re-reading it now, it doesn’t say that David asked that any lives be spared... it just says he wept, fasted, laid in his tears at his bedside ‘pleading’ with god.. for what?

The kid died on the 7th day... and almost in the same breath as the news he was about to hear of his sons death, he got up, put some oil on his head, wiped his tears and worshiped his God.

He worshiped.

So, maybe his ‘pleading’ was answered, maybe his child was with God in heaven..??. I’m reading this section in a completely new and beautiful way. :)

He worshiped.

Hezekiah “reminded”... and then he wept bitterly... he was to stay on earth, seperate from where he knew he would eventually reside. But he continued for 15 years, a heart for the Lord, doing the work of the Lord...

... walking in the way of goodness ...
... with a hope for what was to come...
... spreading that hope to His people..

Soak in these two stories today...

Hezekiah, and David... their worship, their tears, their circumstances, and their common residence in eternal communion with GOD...

We all have this same invitation, the invitation to reside with them, and the invitation to have in us a spirit that gives peace in ALL circumstances because of a steadfast faith that GOD is in control.

Ask.. and it will be given. Then learn about it in his good word... a gift. His spirit then guiding... a gift.

Gifts i’m eternally grateful for... eternally.

Check out my view below :) Also, if you clicked that song, and liked it, you might enjoy this :)

Be well friends!

# 68

2.21.12

I sometimes hate thinking of titles... Inspired by DMB, I went with #68 as it's my 68th post… boring title ≠ boring post… hopefully :/

aaanyway...

Lent. A discipline I know/knew far too little about...

Five minutes on google, and I found basically that it's not anywhere in the bible, but rather it was a tradition formed several hundred years after the formation of the church and was originally meant as a 'cleanse' of sins for those who would be baptized forty days following ash wednesday on Easter. Church tradition wrapped itself around this practice, and eventually whole communities were partaking in this 'cleansing' in support of those who were to be baptized… ya ya… stick with me:)

I love the discipline tho…

It comes at a perfect time for me. As did the section of scripture I read this morning… Going now through Joshua, I found myself living in chapters 7 & 8 as I sipped my coffee and ate my morning banana…

So a little background… Joshua has just taken the reigns from Moses, and like Moses he too crossed a dried up river (during flood season)with the power of the lord, delivering His people yet again. He - in an incredibly beautiful act of faith - marched seven days around the walls of Jericho... their faithfulness rewarded as the walls would topple on that seventh day, trumpets sounding, the Lord would give Jericho over to them… after forty years in the desert, the faithful are being delivered.

So Jericho topples, and they're told by the lord to avoid the 'devoted things', for 'all the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred..' (6:19)…

Basically… 'Don't take anything valuable for yourself… but still act faithfully and do what I have commanded you, take Jericho' - God


So, I'll give you the nutshell of what I read this morning because I wanna get to the point, but if u have time, check it out (joshua7&8)..!.

Joshua and his forces are defeated in attacking the city of Ai, he proceeds to tear his clothing and pleeead with God for deliverance, asking him why in the world he would dry up a stinkin' river, move His people across it, tumble Jericho… do ALL these things and more, only to be defeated/demoralized at the hands of Ai and its people.

Legit question really. Better answer tho…

Someone in the Israelite camp had gone against God in taking plunder for himself at Jericho, and had hid it. God knew… And with this infection present, God tells Joshua that this "is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction." (7:12).

Whew…

So what now then? There must be a cleansing…

The Lord walks Joshua through a process whereby the culprit is revealed, given the chance of repentance - and by the lords command - erased from the earth along with what he stole.

Greed man… its all over…

With Israel now cleansed, the Lord tells Joshua he will deliver Ai over, giving the israelites what he had promised. Here's the crazy part, the lord tells Joshua "You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves.!!." (8:2)

"Your gift for being faithful… and not driven by greed, but by My commands, My goodness" -God


In light of Lent - in light of my life - this story was the perfect gift this morning…

There are things in my life I know I need cleansing from, and in my most intimate - 'to thine own self be true' - moments, I knooow this…

Joshua & Jericho… painfully walking round the city seven days… it was delivered and the walls tumbled just as the Lord said they would, but 'don't take anything!'.

Ai, do the same exact thing… 'but this time enjoy the plunder… a gift for being faithful, enduring, trusting'

If only Achan (the guy who stole from Jericho after its defeat) would've known the importance of heeding the Lords calling, that he too might now enjoy the many riches which instead drew his heart from his God, leading to his destruction…

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow… and again I was curious…

Well… turns out its the first day of Lent where ashes are often mixed with some sort of holy water or oil, and then drawn on the forehead in the shape of a cross. I read too somewhere that often people will write on paper what it is they need 'cleansing' from, and then burn that paper, spreading those ashes on their head dwelling in fast throughout the whole day on what it is they will experience deliverance from in the coming Lenten season.

Anyway… might be boring stuff to most people, and it was to me before just recently too…

But seeing how Joshua was instructed by God to purge the Israelite camp of its filth before they could be used by God… this made me curious about taking part in a similar cleanse…

So, although Lent isn't anywhere in the bible, I want to - starting tomorrow morning with ash, oil & prayer - spend a period of time in cleansing… I'm hungry and in need of this… in the best of ways. I don't feel the need to go into what it is I am intimately giving up to the Lord, but I would encourage - if you've read this far - to spend some time thinking about these stories, this season of lent, and the gift of God which awaits those who present themselves as faithful in pursuing the sometimes difficult commands of the spirit(Jericho). Then in a pure light being cleansed from unrighteousness (Achan) where the Lord can now hold you warmly in His perfect hands, giving hope for today, and eyes for tomorrow…

And of course,it all comes back to Jesus, the Son which cleanses… delivering through his death & resurrection the gift of the spirit which will hover above and within as I journey this next week, learning new discipline, leaning on the spirit to give power in moments of weakness & temptation…

The whole purpose..?. its my gift (so small but so significant) to my maker … a display of my affection for Him and a way of saying thanks for all he has blessed me with. It's a pouring out… a re-throning of the Spirit in my life, giving His touch - the same touch which delivered Moses & Joshua with glooory - authority and creative license over my life and it's direction.

Important disciplines. Discipline, important.

Ha..

Really… SOOO much between these lines theologically as well as personally… would welcome any questions/discussion as there really is sooo much more…

Be well, friends!

Spiritual Cud

2.16.12

The Son of man.

Jesus. The one and only to ever come down to earth from his dwellings in Heaven.

Continuing the journey through John today, I read the famous verse, 3:16. I read it a bit differently however...

“for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, for whoever believes in him... (goodness).. Whoever does not believe in him... (perish).”

The subscript in my bible for the verse “one & only son” reads “only begotten son...” This makes more sense. For Jesus was speaking of heavenly things which he’d seen... if then when he speaks of earthly things & we do not believe, how will we believe when he speaks of Heavenly things(3:12)?

Thus began his ministry of bringing the power of Heaven by means of the Spirit (3:5) to the eyes & hearts of those dwelling all across the earth. Jesus was the begotten Son. Sent from Heaven, to “begot” an ailing humanity in need of salvation... hope, purpose, comfort...

This fresh understanding has helped me to see different truth in our being ‘sons & daughters’, for Jesus is the only begotten “Son”. And sure, Jesus was able to do such great things with this Spirit because he was the man most certain of his everlasting citizenship in Heaven that ever walked the earth... He came from there. We - although we’re given the gift of access to this same Spirit through His death & resurrection - struggle... I’m believing more and more that growing these eyes for eternity is the most powerful way to be effective today...

So ya... Verses like “you will do even greater things than I...”, I wonder if he is speaking in a timeless dimension where yes, one day when we finally find ourself in that most Heavenly dwelling, our spirit is for the first time in perfect unity with the Love source, it’s creator... if it is then that we will do ‘even greater things...’ for at that time, our connection to the Spiritual would be similar to Jesus’ when he left to come to earth.. even greater things.. one day.

Our earth journey then is one of bringing more & more ‘Spirit’ to those who are thirsty for goodness... freedom... healing... hope

In the 3:16 section it also makes the distinction between what awaits those who ‘believe’ or do ‘not believe’ in Jesus, Son of man. I’m glad the distinction was between ‘do not believe’, & not just simply ‘the rest of you...’. This is good for me to read because it doesn’t touch on what awaits those who do not hear of Jesus in their lifetime... And verses like ‘I am the way, the truth & the light, no one gets to the father except through me(jesus)...”

These tooootally work together, how I see it. Jesus meets us when we die, I wholly believe this. A handful of accounts of near death experiences I’ve come across this last year (one in particular) have all attested to experiencing a ‘jesus’ figure who welcomed them upon their passing over.

There to welcome us, with warmth & love like we cannot possibly imagine...

So yes, ‘no one gets to the Father except through him.' Either on earth, we meet Jesus & upon encountering the gift of his grace, we either believe, or we don’t, & our lives reflecting these beliefs, we know from 3:16 what awaits both... Glory vs. perishing.

Or on earth, bretheren strewn across the globe living well loving God, the earth & others, having never heard of Jesus, this man will one day feel that warmth, that love... I must believe this. Scriptures such as these, as well as one of my favorites in Romans 2, these and many others touching on the same idea... they help confirm what my spirit knows as truth, as pure grace, perfect love.

Later in Chapter three, John the baptist acknowledges the great things Jesus is able to do by saying ‘the one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen & heard.”

Beautiful.

Jesus gets his powerful testimony, because of ‘what he has seen & heard’, heaven. The same place which awaits us.

Accepted today, the spirit gives freedom from the sting of death... it gives a hope of things to come, and is a source of comfort in the many moments where life presents itself unfavorably... in pain, suffering, loneliness, fear.. in so many ways, it comforts.

For those who never encountered the Son or feel the power of the spirit here on earth... Jesus will meet them too... one day. And their life’s account will either ‘accuse or excuse’(rom2) them on this day.

“What did you do for your fellow man...”

Jesus... the way, the truth, the light... meeting them on their way to the Father.

It really is too bad - beautiful also - but love doesn’t always win. It must be chosen, when presented with Jesus’ perfect love & the cost of following... chosen.

When floating through life unaware of the powerful Spirit offered by his death... love must still be chosen. Living well, for others, the straight & narrow... 'mercy shall triumph over judgement' for those such as these. And a 'land of milk & honey' awaits...

Chosen. Choose Love...

And like the servant boy in 2 Kings chapter 6, the boy who fearing the enemies chariots surrounding them had Elisha pray that he might be given - but for a moment - eyes to see the powerful angels, “the hills full of horses & chariots of fire all around Elisha”. He was given eyes to see God’s glory all around them... comforting.

Eyes to see the glory all around, the glory which awaits those who choose love.

God. Is. Love.

Love your God. Love Love, love others.

Transitions.

2 . 14 . 12

They’re tough.

In the middle of one right now in fact.

It’s important to say that as it has had it’s share of tough moments, the moments are great, tough or not. He has shown up in the past, and time (which doesn’t restrict in God’s world 2pe3:8) is all that stands between soon understanding how all the pieces which now just hover overhead, will fall into place.

Having recently finished going through Luke, i’m now two chapters into John where he tells of Jesus’ first miracle; turning water into wine.

It was this, ‘the first of his miraculous signs’, which ‘revealed his glory’ and caused ‘his disciples to put their faith in him’ (jn2:11).

The miracle in and of itself is a beautiful story, from which many beautiful truths can be wrung and enjoyed.

I read it today, and what I felt was an overwhelming sense of comfort knowing that in scripture, this was just the first of many miraculous signs which would reveal - to those with an open ear - His glory to the world.

Crazy miracles he performed... things that can only be attributed to the hand of God. Jesus was able to perform these because he was the embodiment of the Spirit, and upon his death, we were given the gift of that same Spirit.

My life’s recent history has seen it’s fair share of transitions. SD-vail-peru-seattle-denver-haiti-denver-buena vista-seattle-salida. Each representing a significant chunk of time, the coming and going - while at times has been extremely exhausting - has brought me nothing but blessing. Getting into the details of each transition and how at each step the Spirit has led my steps could take up a whole book. It’s so important for me to remember these, just as Jesus’ disciples would, just as the israelites before them and many others in-between... ‘these’ being our perfect reminders in scripture, and in our own lives, of how the Spirit has - when asked to - purely orchestrated beautiful circumstances and interactions which produce fruit that quenches the longings of the soul. :)

With each miracle, the disciples’ faith and submission to the perfect authority of God - his messenger in the spirit, and his son sent to deliver the messenger to the world - must’ve only grown in glory. I feel a similar ingredient floating around in my own spirit, bringing life and hope in the midst of looming darkness, light is allowed to pierce through, and hope springs alive sprouting it’s fragile head through the cold and dry terrain.

Transitions are still tough, although I've grown to look forward to this ‘tough’, becoming excited - in the midst of all sorts of uncertainty - to witness the Spirits unfolding of what has and always will be a far more interesting and fruitful path on which to tread.

So as David says... ‘Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... sing to the lord... declare His glory among the nations! Tremble before him.. let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad.. let the sea resound and all that is in it.. Give thanks to the lord for He is good, His love endures forever.’ 1chr16:8-36

Remember the hands which hold you... :)

Be well friends!