How Fast Am I?

I'm sitting in a teleconference and a simple phrase was just thrown out - "The speed of the leader is the speed of the team". Wow - now that explains alot about how I am feeling at this very point in my journey. If I don't feel like things are moving fast enough or maybe even at all...the issue is the speed of the leader, which may be ME!

Will you be watching or listening?

I have always been a BIG Yankees fan! This has been such an up and down year. When I left for our missions trip, the Yankees were 14 1/2 games out of first. But while in Kenya, one of my friends informed me that they had gone on a winning streak and had closed to within 9 games. I appreciated that email! They got as close as 3 games but have since lost some ground. Well, this week is a big one, as they go head-to-head with the Red Sox and try to cut into the current 8 game gap. So for the next three days, I will be giving some of my attention to this. What about you?

Strength vs Fear

I'm reading in the Psalms this week and have been reminded of the strength that God has. This strength is there for me to lean on during the difficult days that I will face and that brings confidence and removes any fear.

My son's favorite verse is Psalm 27:1 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

Why should I be afraid? I am on this journey...God is directing me...God is by my side...I have no need to fear. Rather, I will take Psalm 27:13 to heart - "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord".

Planning Ahead

I blogged before about the importance of getting away. Well, something unique has happened in the last couple of days...we actually have two weeks of our vacation for next year already booked!

This is an extremely new thing for us, but also a good thing. One week in the spring at a resort in Florida and then another week in the summer at the Word of Life Family Campground in the Adirondacks.

I'm looking forward to it already.

Charleston Lake Camping 2007

What's Going On?

This past Sunday, a friend, who I have not seen for a while, asked me this question. "What's going on in your life? I sense that God is doing something in you."

I answered "Yes" because, as always, God is at work in my heart, even though at this stage in my life it is quite a unique thing. I have been thinking on this throughout this week and still have to ask the question, "God, what are You up to?"

There has been alot leading up to this point in my life...most significantly, our recent missions trip to Kenya. I am still sorting through many thoughts and impressions from my two weeks there...many of which I plan to share here in the future.

I guess that I am encouraged by the fact that someone else has sensed that God is working in me and that I am changing along the journey. I also appreciate the sincere concern of this friend to pray for me as I continue down this road.

Mottos To Live By

Here is one from one of my favorite blogs by Mark Batterson:

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion."

(http://www.evotional.com/2007_06_01_archive.html - scroll down to June 23rd)

Here's another one my wife just saw in a catalog:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, latte in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, what a ride!'"

Time Away

Nothing is better than some time away.

I can get so busy that I forget the importance of stepping away from the fray and being refreshed. Well, we did that this last weekend. Our family, along with some other friends from our church, headed out on Thursday morning for some camping at Charleston Lake in Ontario, Canada. What a great time. The weather was perfect...the campsites were great...the time together was fun and at the same time relaxing. No formal schedule to follow, just time to sleep, eat, read, talk, walk, play, swim and whatever else we felt like doing.

The nights were gorgeous and we enjoyed some of the most spectacular views of the heavens that our God created. The stars were so bright and clear, you almost felt like you could reach out and grab them. What an awesome site!

The other great thing was the opportunities to pray together. We prayed for our kids who were headed off to New Orleans on our church's missions trip and then we prayed for one of our friend's family members that is going through a very difficult time.

I am again reminded that this is what life is all about as we journey together with God. Seeing His beauty and handiwork and then seeing the Body of Christ in action as we hold each other up to the throne of grace in prayer.

Getting Started

Well, here I go in the new world of blogs...and I will attempt to be consistent in this endeavor.

The thoughts expressed may be serious or they may be funny, but no doubt they will be random thoughts from the mind and heart of someone who is on a journey. This journey that God has placed before me and He asks me to move forward with Him.