Tag Archive - Going Places

Going Places: The Water In A Hurry

June 28, 2011 in Soul Food with 0 Comments

A mountain stream passed the house that we visited in rural Kentucky. This is the homestead of Grammy Ann’s family. I think it’s actually older than the hills. A very cool place.

Rachael and Allie, my “little girls,” love going there. It’s one of those special places where you can feel the heritage when you visit… the old house smell, a coal cellar, ancient artifacts from days gone by that seem a world away today… and a mountain stream that timelessly passes. The passage of water within the stream seems to continue irregardless of whatever else is going on in the world. Sure, there are seasonal changes in the water flow, and short-term bursts after a heavy downpour… but Rachael will tell you “The Water In A Hurry” is the same today as it was when we first talked about it when she was 5 years old.

I remember vividly walking down to the stream with her at that time… nothing really on our agenda, except maybe finding a cool rock or two, throwing stones into the stream to hear the ker-plunk as they landed in a deep pool carved by erosion in the streambeds’ sediment… and on that day I posed the question: That water in the stream sure does seem to be in a hurry, where do you think it’s going Rachael?

She pondered the thought…

I could tell that her childhood imagination was at work…

she could see that the water was obviously going SOMEWHERE…

but where exactly was it going?

and why?

whenever I think back to this I remember that the water in a hurry is more about the journey than the actual destination…

I explained to Rachael that day the journey the water travelled…

from the mountain stream that we looked at…

making a soothing sound as it rapidly passed by the rocks of time…

onward to a bigger stream, then adding its volume to a river that possibly meandered through an open plain…

onward again until it finally reached a destination…

the ocean…

but then it evaporated, became rainfall and the whole cycle started over again.

When I think back to that day, spending time with Rachael and Allie, I am overcome with the feelings of love…

how the water flowing within the stream is like the blood in our veins…

The Wellspring Of Life…

the nourishment of life that feeds our heart like the love of God that feeds our soul…

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters” Isaiah 55:1

To me, being thirsty for more God is simply about being in a growing relationship with Him. We’re all in a different part of the journey.

Can you say that your relationship with God is growing? What changes could you make today to make that happen?

This post is an addition to the Going Places series. Going Places is the blog series focusing on where God is leading us. It may include travel destinations, but doesn’t have to. This series is open to guest bloggers. If you would like to submit a guest post please contact me.

Driving In The Fog

May 26, 2011 in Breathing Deep with 0 Comments

We often confuse or project our comfort in the present with a sense of certainty or confidence in the future.

Looking out toward the future is sometimes like driving in the fog.

I used to snow ski a lot. My favorite destination was Colorado, but I learned on the icy slopes of North Carolina. I love Boone and the whole scene there. The first time I drove up to Beech Mountain to ski was a very foggy morning. It was thick… so much so at times I couldn’t see beyond the front end of the hood of my Subaru Forrester. I loved my Forrester, and recall the Subaru commercial where, emphasizing its safety, the host of a party announces on a stormy night that he would safely drive everyone home in his Subaru. That was very reassuring. (note to self… just having an Eureka moment that I can’t help but share… there’s something in that name… Forrester… heehee… it’s GUMP’s name :) … you know I love that dude!!).

Ok… back to driving in the fog…

The Forrester is one of the safest cars on the road. It’s also fun to drive, sure-footed, all-wheel-drive, light and peppy. But driving to the slopes that morning, on a road I had never driven before, icy and winding, was an ordeal. I remember going maybe 2 or 3 MPH, and never quite sure what to expect. The times the fog would dissipate were helpful… I could see the road… the windy, curving road as it hugged the side of the mountains… up and down… back and forth. And, of course, the road would drop off to what seemed like center earth on one side just past a guard rail that at times didn’t appear to have the strength to keep the Subaru from falling into the abyss… should I run into another thick patch of fog and need the rail to protect me.

I mention all of this because driving in the fog on that road in North Carolina was sort of like trying to live in comfort, without a lot of anxiety, about the future…

particularly when we’re not in the right place with God.

As a believer, it seems that our anxiety level about the future is directly tied to the strength of our faith.

If I can’t see very far ahead…

I’m more likely to be concerned about that IF I’m not putting my faith in His hands…

but if I am trusting in Him…

I can rest assured that He will provide.

Driving in the Fog of Life is really not a biggie when we’re right with God. Because of our belief and faith, we can rest assured that He will guide us, hold our hand, walk with us and talk with us on the foggy road of life… and that assurance is more than enough.

The only certain way to prepare for our tomorrow is by growing in our today, and knowing that the good Lord is with us.

This post is an addition to the Going Places series. Going Places is the blog series focusing on where God is leading us. It may include travel destinations, but doesn’t have to. This series is open to guest bloggers. If you would like to submit a guest post please contact me.

The Journey Home

May 4, 2011 in Breathing Deep with 24 Comments

I’m writing today as a contributor to the Christian Writers Blog Chain. Our theme for this month, in memory of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is The  Journey. Christianwriters.com is an excellent place to network if you’re a Christian writer or author.

The Austing Haus

One of the people who God used to sow the seed in my heart was a fellow University of Florida student, John Hall. As an undergraduate geology geek, summer field camp was a required course to graduate with a B.S. degree. We were loaded up in two heavy-duty maxi vans, or “rock wagons,” as they’re called in the Geology Department… gear, books, students, 2 Teaching Assistants, and a Professor made the journey. The cool kids congregated to one van… the remainder loaded up in the other, and off we went. The route: that desolate road known as I-10, past cows, swamps, bayous, tumbleweeds… to the chic-artsy community of Taos, New Mexico. Our temporary digs for the 6-week field camp was The Austing Haus. A ski lodge by winter, Paul Austing found summer occupants in vans filled with University of Florida, Florida State University and University of Alabama students. From our base camp at the Austing Haus in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish for “Blood of Christ”), we worked on a series of projects mapping faults, folds and sedimentary bedding planes; determining and describing the lithology of different types of rocks; investigating fossils; and other golly gee geo-technica. Our projects entailed field work by day, and creating maps and geological cross-sections by night depicting how we interpreted the geologic features.

We worked with partners as assigned by the professor. John Hall and I were assigned as partners for the last project. John and I had been in classes together previously but never really conversed past the casual “hey, what’s up dude?” level of conversation. My impression of John was that he was a nice clean-cut guy (and yes he rode in the nerdy-kid van).

The project at hand… 5 days working in a complex area within the Picuris Mountain Range. The professors saved the most difficult for last. The geology is basically a tight syncline fold, bound by ductile reverse and normal faults. The mixed soup of these mountains includes all three major rock types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. It was very confusing for us geologist wannabe’s.

Blanca Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

On the second day of our field exercise, John and I were a considerable distance from our drop-off point when an ominous storm approached. An arid part of the country, this was only the second storm we’d seen since our arrival. We were a couple of hours hike back to the vans, and given the terrain and threatening storm, we decided to try to find shelter and ride it out. Our decision to seek shelter was further solidified as the best option when we watched the dry stream bed that we were walking along suddenly turn into a raging rapid as a flash flood filled it in an instant. Shelter turned out to be quite pleasant, a comfortable and dry overhang of a way-cool cliff. We were holed up for a couple of hours, and John told me all about God during that time. He shared with me about Jesus and His journey to the cross, and what He did for me on that day we celebrate as Easter. John seemed like an expert on the Bible and I was impressed not only with his knowledge but also the strength of his faith.

The days that followed were equally rewarding… John was a gift from God to me. The seed was set, and I absorbed a considerable dose of God from him.

When we finished the project all that was left was a one-day “final exam,” a solo mapping project…

and then we were off…

heading for home on a 3-day journey back across I-10. Not only did our vans carry all the load that we took with us, but now each of us also had a fairly sizeable rock and mineral collection too.

Slight glitch making our way home…

As we hammered across I-10 through western Texas in the midday summer heat one of the vans had a blow out.

Guess which one?

Looking back on that day the reaction of every one of us in the cool kid van was “THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN US!!!” We were the crazy ones, the crew that carelessly raced in our van, up and down Taos Mountain every day under the fearless leadership of our Teaching Assistant Jose. We were also the ones who nearly wrecked days earlier on a dirt road, swerving to miraculously avoid a near-flip in a ditch. And, of course, we were just plain careless, invincible, cool kids who really needed a lesson in The Journey Home.

So instead of what we felt should have been our fate on that day in West Texas… we had the horror of vividly watching the nerdy kid van in front of us…

the blow out of the tire…

the swerve…

the van’s loss of control…

and then flipping several times…

spewing gear, rocks, books…

… and our classmates all over the pavement.

Time seemed to stand still that day. It took emergency personnel 45 minutes to arrive at the scene. One student was life-flighted to an El Paso hospital that was more sophisticated than the local one. God took John Hall to be with Him on that day.

I was devastated… having just spent the last week of our lives together… and loosing someone who I had grown to love and admire…

yes, I was truly devastated… and a bit confused…

Why would God do this to John?

Didn’t He love John?

Of course He did!

I think John inspired several of us on that trip. I know he had a very deep and everlasting impact on me… on my spiritual journey… and on my message and ministry. John is etched in my memory.

I readily share this story with anyone who will listen…

… and I very much look forward to seeing John again one day… in Heaven.

Do you have anyone who you would say drew you closer to God?

Christian Writers Blog Chain

Going Places is the blog series focusing on where God is leading us. It may include travel destinations, but doesn’t have to. This series is open to guest bloggers. If you would like to submit a guest post please contact me.

Going Places: What’s There To Like About Jacksonville, Florida?

April 19, 2011 in Breathing Deep with 0 Comments

hmmm, well I have quite a list of what I LOVE about Jax:

  • I love our beaches, they are flat and wide (during low tide). The sand is soft. They allow dogs (sometimes). We may not have mountains in Jacksonville, but I really dig our beach!
  • The St. Johns River and its numerous tributaries, estuaries and associated wildlife add an incredible diversity to our ecosystem. These are a part of our outdoor lifestyle here in Jacksonville.
  • The small community feel of many areas of town. I’ve spent most of the time living here in the community of Neptune Beach. My office was in Riverside for 4 years so I got to spend quite a bit of time there (though I’ve never lived in this area of town, I still enjoy going out with friends for dinner or meeting for coffee there). I also love San Marco and the Town Center area.
  • Our climate is temperate, we have some seasonality and can light a fire in the fireplace in the winter. I’m not a real fan of the heat so the summer can be a bit much.
  • I love the people here. It has been home to me for almost 20 years now and through time I’ve been able to make a lot of connections within the community.
  • Of course, I love my church and my friends there. I’ll leave it at that (as y’all know, I could write about God, Church and Love all day long – and some days I do!)
  • My family is here, and growing! I recently moved my mom to town from Pennsylvania, and have two daughters plus one grandson here, and a baby granddaughter on the way! Also, Grammy Ann, my first wife’s mom, is here, she’s one of my very closest friends and someone who I think of whenever I mention family. I spend most of my time with them!

How does this all fit into Going Places? Well, I have felt particularly moved over the past two months to start finding new ways to give back to our community, and have been doing a lot of searching through our local government and associations to find this special place where I can do more… not sure where this will take me, but I know that God will be leading me, in His way and time. One place I know that He is leading me is to connect with more and more people outside of my Church, and believe this is a healthy thing for any growing Christian and follower of Jesus.

Please share with us what you love about where you live!

Going Places is the blog series focusing on where God is leading us. It may include travel destinations, but doesn’t have to. This series is open to guest bloggers. If you would like to submit a guest post please contact me.

Going Places: The Glass Window Bridge

April 2, 2011 in Breathing Deep with 0 Comments

When I thought about writing at Going Places, The Glass Window Bridge kept coming up in my mind… though I wasn’t sure what I was going to write. The more I thought and prayed about it, God kind of planted the seed – I followed and came up with this post…

The Glass Window Bridge

I have great memories of this place. It’s located in a remote area of Northern Eleuthera, in The Bahamas. I’ve been there twice, and neither time could I put a finger on what it was about this location… it’s different!

The Glass Window Bridge is a natural bluff, a limestone relict of a former barrier reef from a time of a higher sea level stand. The bridge crosses at the summit, 80 feet above sea level.

This is a locale symbolic of strength and resilience.  

The Narrowest Place On Earth

For starters, it’s called “the narrowest place on earth.” This is where the mighty Atlantic Ocean, with all of its strength and majesty, meets the splendor and beauty of the Caribbean. The Glass Window Bridge sits at the eastern edge and the end of the continental shelf, and further to the east there is a dramatic drop off into the great abyss known as the Atlantic Ocean. The man-made bridge used to be a natural crossing, until the forces of nature eroded away and permanently removed the gateway. Looking through The Glass Window Bridge would symbolically offer much to learn… although the window is narrow, these two places are worlds apart… unique… and different… and they compliment each other in the most beautiful way… in a way that only God could create.

The best explanation is that this is a place of sharp and distinct contrasts.