FOLLOW

This is something I wrote in the fall of 2010.  The first thing I ever wrote actually.  So, yes, it's out of season... but still wanted to share.

I am a hunter.  Some people think hunters must not care about deer… but quite the opposite.  Hunters typically are nature lovers who have a respect for animals.  Of course, there are certain people who will shoot anything that moves and not care, but those people are “killers”… not hunters.  So, that’s why when I shot an 8-point this week and couldn’t find it… it was very upsetting to me.  Seemed like a beautiful buck wasted… at my hand.

ANYWAY… brother Jon came out to help me track (thanks, Jon!! You’re awesome…), seeing how the rest of my “home team” was out of town in one place or another.  At first, the blood was very light (typical as they bolt) and we were searching hard for each spot.  Then it became very heavy… to the point of just walking along at a good pace next to the blood trail.  At that point, our spirits became optimistic and our conversation was something like “yeah!! This is what we’re looking for!!”… but when the trail got sparse again, I was getting frustrated and Jon told me that the tracking… the search…  was his favorite part.  Me??  I want to go straight from the shot to the prize.  We kept following and the trail got heavier again… then down to just a few small spots… and then it stopped.  We stood there with our flashlights… searching intently in the dark in every possible direction for a clue as to which way the trail led.  After a long search, brother Jon said “getting kinda quiet out here…” and I told him I was very discouraged.  We had followed the blood trail for 2 hours… and then it stopped.  We couldn’t find any more blood to tell us what direction this buck had gone… so we called it a night at 10:30. 

I went back yesterday and re-walked our toilet-paper-marked-trail… looking for any pattern in the trail that would give me a clue what direction he was heading.   As I was literally down on my hands and knees looking for the next drop of blood… searching every leaf and blade of grass for any clue as to which way the blood trail led to my “prize”… a thought crossed my mind very clearly that I want to share with you.  I asked myself how often I search THIS HARD for the path God wants me on in my life.  Do I put as much effort, intensity and passion into finding God’s will as I have in finding this deer??  Do I take time periodically to look back and re-evaluate the path I’ve been on thus far??  How often do I dig into His word… pray… study… keep my ears and eyes open to where he wants to lead me to the ultimate prize of hearing Him say “well done good and faithful servant”??  Life can be like tracking deer.  Sometimes the trail is very obvious and easy to follow… and other times, it’s less clear.  At times, it may appear to have no direction whatsoever and it can be very discouraging.  But during those times, do we get down on our hands and knees before God?? Do we search desperately for any sign of which direction He wants us to take??Are we willing to walk through the briars, the thick stuff, to crawl under, over and around anything in our way to find His direction??  Do we treasure the search?? Or just want to head straight for the prize.

9 hours later, utterly exhausted, scratched up, and bruised… I never did find that deer.  Breaks my heart.  Seems like this buck’s life was wasted then… but maybe not totally after all.   God works in mysterious ways, they say… I guess it’s true.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Additives and Preservatives

Ever wonder how much sickness, disease, and just plain ole’ feelings of lethargy/fogginess would go away if we simply lived on the foods that GOD gave us??

On a few occasions for health reasons, I’ve had to eliminate all foods from my diet that were not basically God given.  I lived on fruits, vegetables, meats and fish, certain grains, non-dairy milks, and water… for 6 months at a time.  Never felt better in my life!!  I could pile my plate FULL of these things, eat as much as I wanted, and yet was leaner than I’d ever been before.  My head was clear and my body just - “worked”.   I found myself choking on the sweet juice that bursts out a plump grape.  Colorful vegetables were exploding with so much flavor I couldn't get enough of them.   Diving into a delicate piece of fish was a savory sensation… why would I ever want to fry one??  And without worry about counting calories, I could even enjoy the simplicity of sweet cream and salt in a concoction we call... butter.  The grocery store became a new experience. I loved looking down into my cart knowing everything I had in it was for my benefit.   It wasn’t easy though.  I still craved the foods my body was used to.  The ones it became literally addicted to.  And it was hard at times to watch other people indulging in whatever looked good to them on the menu.   

Did you ever notice how all the “healthy foods” are typically around the perimeter of the grocery store??  It’s because they need refrigeration.  And why do they need refrigeration??  Because they don’t have additives and preservatives.  God given foods are meant to supply what our bodies need… NOW.   

After the 6-month elimination was up... I was "allowed" to add foods back into my diet.  I started slowly... trying a little of this and a little of that.  No harm done at first.  But it didn't take long until my body started craving those man-made foods once again.  Slowly the additives and preservatives entered my body... slowly my body started getting used to them... until slowly, the symptoms returned.


So the question is WHY.  Why would I trade the vast array of foods that God put on this earth for the ones that some guy is designing behind a computer screen??  "Whaddathink, Harry... do we need more orange #58 to make cheddar color look more real??".   Does it make any sense that I would put in my body what man makes to last on a shelf for years... when God's design of what my body needs is for NOW???

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Ever wonder how much sickness, depression, pain, and overall feelings of despair/desolation would go away if we simply lived by the guidelines God gave us???  

When we face the mountains, walk through the valleys, or are led into the deserts of life... we tend to go back to those basics.  It's what our souls NEED when our lives are no longer "working".  We long for the sweetness of His Spirit.  We sink our teeth into the richness of His Word.  We fill our emptiness with His presence and we feel FULL.  We are so HUNGRY for Him... we can't get enough.

But when things settle down and life starts clicking along again, it's easy to get distracted by the things of this world.  By the delicious offerings that distract us from the basics.   Every form of media tells us that where we will REALLY find satisfaction is in "adding" more of this and a little of that.  As we watch others around us indulge, the old cravings resurface. Our focus begins to turn from what made us well... to "preserving" the very way of life that made us sick in the first place.   We are left once again... feeling hungry.

So the question once again is WHY.  Why would we trade the abundant life... life beyond our wildest dreams... for what some guy in a marketing department is saying.  "Whaddayathink, Harry... if we tell them they'll be happier when they're thinner, richer, more famous, more accomplished.... think they'll buy it??".  Does it make one lick of sense that what "this world" says will make us happy eventually could even compare to what the CREATOR of the universe has for us NOW??  

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From the beginning of time in the garden and that first bite of "wanting more"... it has been human instinct to strive after it. But just like perimeter shopping at the grocery store, GOD has surrounded us with what we need. What we need physically. What we need emotionally. What we need spiritually.  Not only what we need to survive, but what we need to live life to the FULL.  When we examine those things God puts in our "cart"... we'll notice that what He's supplying is what we need right NOW.  He specifically tells us not to worry about tomorrow or next year.  He gives us what we need TODAY.  

No additives or preservatives.

Just HIM.

     

   

SIMPLE QUESTION

(The question is simple.  The answer may be life changing.)

Have you "added" Jesus to YOUR life?????

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is HE... your life.  

WHOA-HO!! What a ride!!

Jackson Hole.  Tetons.  Jenny Lake.

Man, I love that country.   To me, it's the true definition of “God’s country”. 

I had been through Jackson Hole a couple times before, but usually on two-wheels, so white water rafting was never an option…. until this past summer.   It was on my bucket list for this trip.  To tell you the truth though, I was expecting it to be about one step up from a float.  Apparently, “level 3” is a tad bit above that.  Okay, more than a tad.  I was nervous when I realized what I had gotten myself into.  I had one serious water-related incident in my lifetime… certainly didn’t need another.   When I found out it didn’t require helmets though, I calmed down and told myself this would be a good thrill, but safe.  “You can do this”.

Anyway, it was a blast.  The first rapids we came upon I thought, WOW!!  That was great!!  And then the guide said, “Okay everyone, our first rapids are coming up ahead”.   I looked down at my chest to see if ROOKIE truly was written there.   The first couple were warm-up and they got more aggressive as we went.  On our toughest rapids, we’d be looking UP the wave as we went into it… and at times, those of us who volunteered to be in front were completely under the water.   Whenever we approached the rapids, our guide would yell at us repeatedly to “check that your feet are secure!!!”…. “assume an athletic position!!!!”…. “keep paddling through the rapids at all times!!!”.  His instructions were clear… and they were for our safety.

There are photographers stationed at a certain point along the route.  Selling photos is a moneymaker for them.  But, it’s possibly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so who doesn’t want a photo to remember it by!!  So, yes… I had to order a few. 

Looking at the pictures, talking about the instructions, and thinking about the experience…. it really hit me hard how similar it was to life as Christians.  I was honestly a bit chocked up.  Tears welled in my eyes as I felt God showing me this message.   We will not be on a constant float trip, my friends… we’re going to hit some rapids.   Put yourself on that raft and picture yourself assuming an “athletic position”.  What does that look like to you??  I see perseverance.  I see claiming ourselves as children of God.  I see renouncing the evil one out loud.  Now hear with me your guide yelling at you to “check that your feet are secure”!!!  What does that mean to you?? To me, it means prayer… prayer… and more prayer.  It means a support system of Christian friends.  It means diving into God’s word.   What about the instruction to “keep paddling at all times”??  I hear “… and let us run with endurance the race God has put before us.” (Heb. 12:1)   

And yes, then there’s the guide.   Pretty obvious, isn’t it.  What actually struck me about this picture is that when we were battling what to us was this HUGE WAVE (albeit only a level 3)…  fighting to even stay on the boat at times…. doing our best to KEEP PADDLING in order to keep the boat upright… our guide was in the back doing just that.  Guiding.   He was in TOTAL control even though we felt so out of control.   At times he steered us around the rapids… and at times he steered us straight into them.  But at ALL times, he was in total control.    That, to me, is the picture of our one TRUE GUIDE:  The Holy Spirit.   We may not understand why He takes us where He does, we may be drenched, exhausted and sore... but He gives us the tools and instructions we need to get safely through the rapids.  

Don’t you find, though, that when you look back and reflect over this adventure called life….   you can see His Hand??  Can you see how He was there the whole time… in total control??   What a comfort that is.

I pray that for all of you, my friends. 

I also pray that in between the rapids, there will be plenty of beautiful times to just enjoy the float.   

What a ride, you know??

BURSTING

Bursting.

Literally.

How can I not be??

It's been a week of God revealing Himself.  Revealing His love.  Revealing His presence.

Over the past week, I've been reminded of times where God said "NO MORE" to disease and took home a loved one.  I've been reminded of times where God said "THAT'S ENOUGH" to evil and spared a precious life.  I've been reminded of times where God took unspeakable circumstances and said "I WILL REDEEM THIS".  I've been witnessed to by a friend about the amazing power of the Holy Spirit through healing prayer.  I've been renewed with visions of Him holding out His arms, saying "YOU are MINE".

All of these things came rushing down on me as I read a passage in my morning quiet time today:

"The Lord your God is with you, 

He is MIGHTY TO SAVE.  

He will take great delight in you, 

He will quiet you with His love, 

He will rejoice over you with singing".

Zephaniah 3:17

I hope as you go back in your mind and identify events that were at that moment tragic, painful, heart wrenching, not-the-way-you-wanted-them-to-turn-out... that you can SEE HIS PRESENCE in them.  Can you see how He redeemed them??  Ask Him to show you.  Then spend some time sitting quiet as He does.

I can't hardly listen to this song without singing at the top of my lungs... without raising my hands... without jumping up and down.  But seriously... why not??  He certainly is worthy!!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB-yX5p0p4I  

BURSTING... is a wonderful thing to be.  

Thank you God. 

I love you too.

AND the winner IS....

Mary, from Holland!!  Congrats, Mary and thanks for following.  I'll get the CD in the mail to you ASAP.

DECADENCE - cont'd

YUM.....

So there you go... Chocolate Pate' with Raspberries (recipe in prior post).  

While I'm not really "into" Valentine's Day... there are a few ideas I'd like to pass along.   

Tradition is important to me and I started one many moons ago with my boys.  I started giving them one of those HUGE Russell Stover Foil Heart boxes of chocolate when they were in... oh, I'd say middle school.  They are grown now and not at home, but still to this day... they will get a foil shaped heart just "from mom".   I always thought that was more important to me than to them... but one year when I was late in getting it to one of my boys, I got a "where's my heart"?? text.  He thought I had forgotten.  Don't underestimate the value of little traditions... and I encourage you to start some of your own. 

Did you know that dry erase markers work great on mirrors??? How fun to have your kids walk into their bathroom in the morning and see a big heart and message just for them on their mirror.

Nothing says love like chocolate chip pancakes.... yum (are you sensing a chocoholic here??).  I never was very good at "pouring" a heart shape with batter, but putting chocolate chips in the shape of a heart works great.  ESPECIALLY in banana pancakes.

Why not take a minute to go through your contact list on your phone... and send a quick text saying "I love _____ about you" to your closest friends.   Their smile?? Their spirit?? Their heart?? Their friendship??  Whatever... but a fun, low cost, low effort way to celebrate a day set aside for love.

One more idea.  If you made the recipe in the picture above and the prior post... I'd highly suggest you grab a plate and a glass of wine... and dig in.   Right now.  

Happy Valentine's Day everyone....