Showing posts with label scripture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scripture. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Desert Bloom
Well, I am finally back to civilization. (Actually, I began my return Friday afternoon, but there was a lot of driving and flying thrown into the last couple of days--it takes a long time to get back to civilization!)
The desert was wonderful! There was so much going on in that place, I'm really not even sure how to begin to describe it. While I was away practicing solitude, silence, fasting, prayer, and simplicity (among other spiritual disciplines), I kept a journal though, and perhaps it might be good to share a bit from that.
First off, for the first 16 hours of my solitude, the Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree, and most of southern California received a record amount of rainfall. I believe in that little window of time they exceeded their annual rainfall. (And it's only january).
Among other things, what that rainfall means is blooms. Flowers that might not be seen for years finally get the strength to produce the most beautiful blooms. But the irony is that because the climate is so dry, the blooms only last a couple of days. I may be the only human being who sees the bloom featured above for a long time. What a rare treasure to find myself walking among these blooms in the middle of the desert on a cold winter day in southern california.
I found myself just reveling in the beauty and the fragility all around me in those blooms. And then I remembered this scripture.
"The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40.7-8)
Just like these flowers, we human beings are rare, fragile and beautiful people. Do we take time to fully appreciate that fragility as we walk through our day like I walked through the desert?
Furthermore, these flowers will be gone in a moment, but the word of our God endures forever. As I reflected on this scripture, I thought to myself, How much do I really treasure the scripture. What a beautiful gift! In the middle of a world of fragility God gives us something solid, and something enduring, and something even more beautiful than a desert bloom.
As you walk through your desert today, take time to consider the beauty and the fragility of the lives blooming all around you. Take time to consume the enduring words of God. And then, as you look upon this desert world around you, take time to share some of these enduring words of life to this fragile world.
The desert was wonderful! There was so much going on in that place, I'm really not even sure how to begin to describe it. While I was away practicing solitude, silence, fasting, prayer, and simplicity (among other spiritual disciplines), I kept a journal though, and perhaps it might be good to share a bit from that.
First off, for the first 16 hours of my solitude, the Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree, and most of southern California received a record amount of rainfall. I believe in that little window of time they exceeded their annual rainfall. (And it's only january).
Among other things, what that rainfall means is blooms. Flowers that might not be seen for years finally get the strength to produce the most beautiful blooms. But the irony is that because the climate is so dry, the blooms only last a couple of days. I may be the only human being who sees the bloom featured above for a long time. What a rare treasure to find myself walking among these blooms in the middle of the desert on a cold winter day in southern california.
I found myself just reveling in the beauty and the fragility all around me in those blooms. And then I remembered this scripture.
"The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40.7-8)
Just like these flowers, we human beings are rare, fragile and beautiful people. Do we take time to fully appreciate that fragility as we walk through our day like I walked through the desert?
Furthermore, these flowers will be gone in a moment, but the word of our God endures forever. As I reflected on this scripture, I thought to myself, How much do I really treasure the scripture. What a beautiful gift! In the middle of a world of fragility God gives us something solid, and something enduring, and something even more beautiful than a desert bloom.
As you walk through your desert today, take time to consider the beauty and the fragility of the lives blooming all around you. Take time to consume the enduring words of God. And then, as you look upon this desert world around you, take time to share some of these enduring words of life to this fragile world.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Running and Focus
Well, since that Clarksburg 10K back in june, I have really been focussing on getting myself in shape. So far, I have made it out almost every week since then at least twice a week. I am starting to feel the difference. I am starting to feel accustomed to exercise. I am recovering quickly. I am still slow as molasses, but that's ok. I don't have my sights set on the olympics.
This morning after I came back, I saw this picture on my desk. It is Steve Prefontaine running a race. "Pre" was a running legend in the late sixties and early seventies, and a few years ago, I saw a movie about him. One of the things that I liked about him was his focus and his drive. That quote in the photo haunts me when I think about running a race. It also creeps into other areas of my life as well.
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
As I ran this morning with my friend Mark, I felt like it was a time of focus, and encouragement for both of us. We get together every couple of weeks. We hang out. We share what's happening in our lives, and we dream.
As we ran this morning, I just felt so focused. In my opinion, life and running have a lot of similarities. You have good days and bad days. Slow days and fast days. Hot days and cold days. But through all of those days, one thing remains to keep you going, and that is focus. We are stimulated with all kinds of stuff on a daily basis that attempts to disrupt our focus. It is hard to remain undestracted. Running has helped me keep focused. Prayer and scripture also serve to help me focus. Without prayer and scripture, I think I would easily be distracted by all of the circumstances swirling around me.
When you are running through life, what helps you maintain your focus?
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This is yet another photo from Joshua Tree. This tiny flower is smaller than a penny, there was no visible stem. It was flush to the ground. I think that if I wasn't intentional about slowing down and observing while I was there, I would have easily walked by it, or worse yet, stepped on it and crushed it.
I'm currently at a conference for the ecclesia network, a church planting network started by a few of my friends in GCM and beyond.
Yesterday afternoon, a guy named Keith Matthews, who is a professor of spiritual formation at Azusa Pacific shared a devotional with us to start our time. He said, "We live in a culture that is moving at a speed that is very hazardous to our spiritual health. Hurry and Busyness appear to be the most dominant obstacle to our spiritual life"
The photo and his words reminded me of some words that the author Annie Dillard once wrote. Essentially she said that we spend our whole life rushing around on a search for grand treasures, but that our days are strewn with treasures that we hardly take notice of. Kind of like pennies on a sidewalk. She then said, it's a poor person indeed who can't stop to stoop for a penny.
When we rush around, not only are we missing out on treasures, but we are doing damage to our soul.
May you take time to slow down today, enjoy the treasures that are right in front of you, and do the important work of protecting your most important relationship.