February 3, 2008

What a trip. I saw about as much snow as one could hope to see. Deep snow, slippery snow, wet snow, crunchy snow, white snow, muddy snow and even some yellow snow :). The winter time is magical for me because I live where there is no snow. I think the reality is I love the crisp, coldness of the winter. It's stark and beautiful and I drank deeply.

The trip I just dragged you on was relatively unplanned. I try to get away to focus my year in January and find some beauty and snow to enjoy but I didn't think it was going to happen this year. I had convinced myself I was already too busy to consider it. Then as if I were summoned by God a window opened in my schedule. I can tell you for certain that I got my heart back on this trip. I re-learned once again the importance of walking with God daily and allowing Him to order our days.

So much of what I read everyday in the Bible shows us how central our hearts are. Proverbs tells us to guard our hearts with everything we've got because out of it comes our very lives. That's pretty clear but what does it mean to live from the heart? When Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 he outlined his main mission, "To heal the broken hearted and set the captives free." I have come to believe that the busyness of our culture and the craziness of life work against the central mission of Jesus. If we're ever going to find true healing, real relationships and an authentic walk with God we have got to get our hearts back. Ironically this seems to be what Jesus primary mission was about. We have to SLOW DOWN. We have to wake up each morning and spend time with God and then simply ask Jesus what the day is supposed to look like. Ask Jesus this week what your life is supposed to look like. After all Jesus said that He came that we might have life. What does that look like for you?

Onward Comrades,

Brian