Saturday, December 19, 2009

ANCIENT PATHS AND LEADERSHIP



I have been studying up on bears and their power and their mannerisms. Bears are so territorial. They will shred anything that tries to take over their property or that tries to hurt their cub. They allow their cubs to go off on their own and play and explore, but they watch and make sure the cubs are close still. All it takes is one cry for help and the parent is there devouring whatever it was threatening their cub. And when learning how to cross treacherous and potentially life threatening areas the cubs follow the older bears and literally step in the exact same places their leaders step. The strides of the older bears are much wider than the stride of the younger cubs. So it takes stretching and they don't always hit the steps right the first time. They have to learn the importance of following the wisdom and steps of the older bears, but its not until they are considered an older bear in the that they learn how to walk exactly right.

And as I sit here and study these ancient, majestic creatures I cant help but see the correlations between bears and our relationship with the Lord. We have a Father that is so jealous of His property or HIs cubs, us. And He will do anything to protect His cubs. He lets us go out and try and fend for ourselves. But no matter how far we stray He is right there when we need Him, devouring whatever is coming against us.

And just as the younger cubs have to learn to follow and walk in the same ways as the bears before them, we as young Christians go through treacherous times in our lives. But if we look to the older Christians that have been before us we can learn to find the safe path. No, we don't get it right the first, second or fiftieth time, but when we do get it right we realize that it has now become our responsibility to show younger Christians how to cross the treacherous paths safely.

T.R.A.I.L.

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Life of More



Langston Hughes once wrote," Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams for when dreams go life is a barren field frozen with snow." In each one of us there is a dream, a dream for more. This is not greed, but a yearning of desire that is set in us at birth. It is an unquenchable disassociation with the exceptance that this is as good as life gets. From somewhere deep inside there is a voice that is crying out, "There is more. Life isnt supposed to be this way."
What happened? When we graduate college, we believe that we can change the world, that we can reset order and right-living to the earth. But as we grow older and life lets us down, he/ she breaks our heart, best friends move away, we dont get the promotion we thought we deserved, or we go unnoticed by everyone around us and the voice crying out for more is slowly silenced into nothing more than a whisper that cannot be heard above the noise and rattle of the life that is not enough or constantly disappointing us. But every once in a while, when we are lying in bed at night or find ourselves day dreaming the "voice of more" has its way and controls our minds for just long enough to peak our interest in the life of more.
Hold fast to these moments. Hold fast to the fleeting dreams of being able to restore order and right-living to the earth.Those dreams and desires were not put there to give you hope in something that could never be achieved. A man without desire and without passion for the life of more is a man that has no hope. He is a shell of a man. Jesus calls to live life to the full. Letting the disappointments and letdowns of life control whether or not you pursue your dream is not living life to the full; it is limping through life. Disappointment is an attack of the evil one to steal your hope, joy, and destroy your dreams and hope for a life of more. Dont go down like that.

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The importance of slowing down

We are a non-profit ministry seeking to reconcile the hearts of men,
by seeking the face of God through nature.

Our desire is to partner with other ministries and offer men an
opportunity get away from the hustle and busyness of their lives and
connect with God in the beauty of His creation. Our trips aren't only
for the personal growth of every individual that comes with us, but
also for the growth and connection of the brotherhood of men within
each ministry.
We live in such a fast-paced society where we have forgotten the
importance of slowing down to take it all in. Even in our relationship
with the Lord, we have forgotten that quiet times/ solitude with our
Father is essential to our hearts growth and development and essential
to having His guidance and direction. God longs to Father us. The
relationship God desires to have with us is so much more intricate,
unconditional, pure, open, Adventurous, caring, shared, sacrificial,
intimate, free and perfect than any other relationship that we have
ever experienced that we don't even know how to acknowledge it, much
less accept it. Our Father wants to walk life with us and wants to
mentor us through the ups and downs.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

"Marked Trail"

" One of the most haunting experiences I have ever had as a man took place on an early summer day in Alaska. My family and I were sea kayaking with humpback whales in the Icy Strait, and were stopper on the shore of Chichagof Island for lunch. Our guide asked us if we wanted to go for a hike into the interior of the island, to a clearing where grizzlies were known to feed. we were all over that invitation. After a twenty mile walk through a spruce forest, we came to what appeared to be a broad, open meadow about four hundred yards across. Being middy, and hot, there were no bears to be seen. ' Their sleeping now, through the afternoon. They'll be back tonight,' he said. 'C'mere I want to show you something.'
The meadow was actually more of a bog, a low-lying jungle of brushy groundcover about two feet high, barely supported underneath by another foot of soaked moss and peat. A very difficult place to walk. Our guide led us to a trail of what seemed to be massive footprints, with a stride of about two feet between them, pressed down into the bog and making a path through it. 'Its a marked trail,' he said. A path created by the footprints of the bears. 'This one is probably centuries old. For as long as the bears have been on this island, they've taken this path. The cubs follow the elders putting their feet exactly where the older bears walk. That's how they learn to cross this place.'" - John Eldredge, The Way of the Wild Heart




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