September 17, 2011

As I have been spending quite a bit of time reading and studying and writing as part of my Masters journey, there has been some music that I have been listening to that has inspired, shaped, helped me along. I will periodically put up the songs on here that have struck a chord with me for one reason or another. The first one is Mumford & Sons song, "Sigh No More".
Here are the lyrics:

Serve God, love me and mend
This is not the end
Lived unbruised, we are friends
And I'm sorry
I'm sorry

Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea and one on shore
My heart was never pure
And you know me
You know me

But man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing

Love it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be
There is a design, an alignment, a cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

The truth behind the last "section" of lyrics is so penetrating. Often times humanity refers to sin as the complete freedom, but in truth it binds you, hauls you down, and ruins you. To quote N.T. Wright from his commentary on the 5th chapter of Ephesians, "In that world, as in ours, many people saw no need for restraint. If it seemed fun at the time, why not go ahead? Avoid all cheap imitations – Casual sex is a parody of the real thing – like drinking from a muddy stream instead of fresh, clear water, or like listening to a symphony on a damaged record or tape player when a world-class orchestra is playing in the theatre around the corner. It promises the earth and ends up killing you – if not physically, then certainly emotionally and spiritually.
Christ's love for us will never betray us, dismay us, or enslave us. How freeing and liberating to step into that way of life. 

September 16, 2011

One of my "assignments" this week was to spend 2-3 hours in a retreat type setting, thinking about how God has shaped me over my life. Specifically the times, places, events, people that helped in my spiritual transformation.
I decided to go for a nice long run in the high desert outside of Kemmerer for my reflection time. I love running in the desert because after just a few miles you can no longer see any sort of real civilization. It is so open and remote here that I can feel like I'm completely off by myself in a short period of time. In fact I only saw one other person the entire time I was out, and it was a hunter on a 4 wheeler.
This was a really good time for me in more ways than one. The last few weeks have been incredibly busy and I hadn't really had a chance to just "get away". Before I left I actually felt a little bit of guilt try and creep its way in saying, "You have so much other stuff to do, how can you just leave for 3 hours?"
But I knew that I needed to get out and do this and spend some extended time in creation and with my Creator.
I won't share all of my details on here since I am writing a paper on all of my thoughts. But I will share that this part of my week has been the best so far. I had a blast running and thinking about my life with God so far. I ended up running a total of 12.5 miles, but the best part was recalling all of the ways that God has shaped me into who I am today.

September 13, 2011

 Re-posted Blog From Donald Miller

What to do with Pain

The older I get, the more I appreciate pain. I’m not a masochist by any stretch because I don’t like pain any more than the average person. And yet I’ve come to appreciate it.
In years past, when I’d go through a hard time, I’d run from it. I’d try not to feel it or deal with it. But these days, I’ve learned the only way life can actually get better is if I face reality, face my mistakes and liabilities and somehow correct or at least acknowledge them.
In stories, characters only change in crisis. Characters never, ever change when the story is going well. And of course the same is true with life. Pain is always an invitation to grow.
Sadly, pain also has the opposite affect. If we cover over our pain with coping mechanisms, it’s as though we are going through a workout without gaining muscle. Some people do this for years and never grow. Ever met a 50-year old who is still making the mistakes of a 19-year old? It’s likely because he never accepted pain and allowed it to change his character.
Here are some ways we can grow through when we are in the midst of pain:
1. Accept it: We need to sit with the pain and not run from it. This means we can’t drink it away or make ourselves busy or “start the next chapter” before we’ve wrapped up the previous one.
2. Gain perspective: If we lose a loved one, it likely has nothing to do with us. And yet, we can still ask ourselves what really matters in the face of our pain. We can ask ourselves how we want to live differently because of the pain.
3. Take inventory: There are other kinds of pain, though, that bring us into self reflection. We’d be wise, then, to do some self reflecting. If the pain is relational, I’d encourage going through Henry Cloud and John Townsend’s book “Safe People” and making an inventory of how you are unsafe. This inventory may help you reorganize your life so you don’t find yourself in the same situation again.
In stories and in life, pain is our friend. It’s an unwelcome friend, but a friend nonetheless. The good news is if we make friends with our pain, it won’t stay long and it will leave us with a gift. But if we avoid pain, it will chase us down until we finally accept the gift it has to offer.

September 11, 2011

21. Bacon
22. Sleeping In
23. Guacamole
24. Supportive Parents
25. Recovery Tights
26. Coffee Shops
27. Living In Wyoming
28. Pizza After A Long Run
29. Sunglasses
30. Racing
31. The Wind River Mountain Range and Specifically Big Sandy Trail Head
32. Freedom
33. Brothers And Sisters (my family & my Christian family)

September 7, 2011

Continuation of Thankful List:

11. Redemption
12. My Family's Legacy
13. Sunshine
14. The Smell Of Evergreen Trees
15. A Good Pair Of Running Shoes
16. Good Health
17. Fresh Fruit
18. The Ability To Stay Connected With People Halfway Across The United States
19. God's Provision
20. Stickers

September 6, 2011

"Soul Training" Exercise: Start off with at least 10 things and by the end of the week try to reach 100.
Thankful List - Things that I am thankful to God for. (In no particular order!)

1. Audrey
2. Forgiveness
3. Running
4. Coffee
5. Mountains
6. My dogs (Maya & Mountie)
7. My own bed
8. Laughter
9. Small Towns
10. Close Friends

September 4, 2011

The "Soul Training" exercise for this past week in "The Good and Beautiful God" was a little bit harder for me to do on a daily basis. Compared to the first one of sleep, which if I don't do I can tell very easily, the act of sitting in silence focusing on who God is and listening to His voice is more difficult. I don't have to try to sleep, I do have to make a conscious effort to stop whatever it is that I am doing in my day and take the time to be in silence with God.
Also, with this exercise it is not relatively apparent when it doesn't happen like sleep. But I believe that it is subversively apparent. Let me explain. This past weekend has been a blur. Audrey and I left for Colorado on Thursday to officiate a wedding for the daughter of some great friends of ours. On the way down, we took a wrong turn and ended up 150 miles from our destination through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. You can't make up 150 miles very easily in the middle of the Rockies. Friday was another rushed day trying to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park and make it to the rehearsal on time. And then the wedding on Saturday.
Needless to say my alone time with God during these past few days has been non-existent. I have shared moments with God; thanking Him for keeping us safe with all the driving we did; marveling at the gorgeous mountains; seeking His blessing for the marriage ceremony. But the alone listening time just hasn't been there.
Here comes the subversively apparent aspect. I still went about my days, got things accomplished, and did what I needed to do, but there was this anxious feeling present. I wasn't tuned into the Holy Spirit as much as I could have been. My frustration with the fact that we got lost, had a massive detour, had to spend money for an extra night in a motel kind of spilled over into other areas.
I think that in the busiest times of life it is the most important to stop, be quiet, and listen to God. Looking back I believe this would have helped me just to feel more sane about the whole situation.
This morning laying in bed I was able to just "be" with God. It felt great. I wasn't rushing off to go do something, and I could just reflect with God on the past few days and see how my situation could have been better.