Sacred Spaces and Places

On our vacation this past July we traveled around the great state of Oregon.  Crater  Lake, Salem, and Brookings were all beautiful but we ended our epic journey with camping at Big Lagoon near Trinidad, California.
Big Lagoon is where Amy's family has gone for many years to escape the summer heat of Redding.  It is a place for family, peace, friendship, and renewal.

I was quickly introduced to the joy of Big Lagoon when we were newly married and since I have adopted the sacredness of yearly pilgrimage to this amazing spot near the ocean and Redwoods.
All our other stops along the way for vacation were amazing.  We made great memories, and enjoyed family.  We had big adventures and embraced the wonder of exploring new places.
When we arrived in familiar Big Lagoon I noticed my internal response was so different.  Not better or worse just different than our other stops.
 I immediately sensed calm, peace, and anticipation for connection with God, family and friends.
The smells and sights brought back past memories but also created anticipation for new memories to be made!

I have grown to believe that sacred spaces and places exist for those who have the hunger to identify them.  I think God loves to create in us awareness of His presence and alertness to His work in our hearts that can be triggered by sights and smells that are familiar to us.
I used to think that the magic of Big Lagoon was the persistent fog, the wild ocean, and the warm campfire but in reality the things that have made it sacred have been related to connectedness.   Huddled around the campfire sipping camp coffee with people I love and taking long walks along the beach where prayers seems to flow easy to heaven leave me feeling connected to both God and others in a way that is more profound than what I can find in my daily rhythms of life.
Repeating the campfires and walk along the beach year after year conditions my soul in such a way that when I see the driveway into the campground I begin to expect connectedness, prayer, and renewal.  The sights and smells create a sensitivity to Him that opens up my awareness and allows me to press in to hear Him and hope for new sacred moments.

I am reminded of Joshua 4 where Joshua builds a monument of stones with the people after crossing over the Jordan river.  This was a sacred space for them because it was a place where promise was fulfilled and a new season began.
Genesis 28 gives us the account of Jacob having an incredible encounter with God and a dream of promise.  His response is to actually name the place "Bethel".  Giving it a name identified this place as sacred.

Do you have a sacred place?  Is there a particular spot of inspiration for you where God has spoken or encountered you?  I would love to hear about it!

Surprise!

Surprise…five inches of snow in Redding!  It never snows like that in Redding!

Surprise…on the same day it snowed, Amy was able to purchase tickets and hotel for our family to make a trip to Disneyland.  The best part is that our children don't know!  We have been saving up and dreaming for many years about taking our kids to Disney.  And finally…we are going!  Tonight we will tell them …and Wednesday morning we will drive south.  We ARE SO EXCITED!

Yesterday, Nathan (pastor at The Stirring in Redding) taught about being "Given".  He shared how we mush give ourselves, our possessions, and finances to God because He gave us Jesus.  It was moving and powerful to consider the generosity of our giving God.
And then I wondered….
I am so excited to tell my kids about the reality of our Disney trip…having planned and prepared and dreamed about it for years…I wonder if God gets as wound up excited as I over the MANY gifts He has given me?  Does He feel the joy and anticipation?  Does He plan in secret for the moment when it is right to release gifts to me?  Wow.
I am sure my enthusiasm about my children's joy is a reflection (most likely a dim one) of Father's heart.

I sat for awhile during the sermon and simply let this idea sink in.
How wonderful to comprehend the Father's joy when I receive good things from Him.  How amazing for me to comprehend the Father's excitement and joy when He gives them.
Surprise!
How many times this week will I be on the receiving end of some small token of the Father's love?  Will I see Him in these gifts?  Will I know His heart?
I pray today you will see clearly…all the wonderful surprises He has in store for you.  May your life be overflowing with grace to experience His love through the big and small gifts that come from Him.

Torrents

I love water…lakes, rivers, oceans, waterfalls…..etc.

Often I think of how this water will one day find its way to the ocean.  I like to imagine the journey from stream to river over waterfall into the ocean.

This morning I was reading 1 Peter 1 & 2 "…who have been chosen …through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience…" I always enjoy the reality of being chosen by God.  Who doesn't want to be chosen??  It is even better when paired with the concept that He (the Spirit) is working hard at my obedience and my sanctification.
Somehow I find myself forgetting I am chosen and wandering into the idea that it is my hard work that will get me sanctified.  It is a sneaky forgetting…a quick silent wandering away from truth that snags me.  I don't recognize it fast and I seem to "slip" into a lie that I have to do the work, forgetting that He already decided I was His and He already sent the Spirit to guide me into obedience.

Water just runs to the ocean.  It does not work hard…it is simply in its nature to find the lowest point and rush there.  Given time it will naturally journey to the ocean.  I wonder today how much more peace I could live in if I trusted the work of the Spirit and the choosing of God?  If I recognized that I am just like the water…rolling, falling, running towards the ocean not because it is my nature but because He chooses me and He leads me…He sanctifies me.

The truth of His choosing and His working can release me to be at peace and to trust.  The reality of His active work sets me free to cooperate with Him.

When it is about Him I believe Jeanne Guyon who tells me that I am to rest in His spiritual torrents of love.  I can relax as He draws me ever onward towards the oceans of His presence. It is not about my work but about His work.
I did not choose me.
I do not sanctify me.
I rest and I rush.

May you relax in His choosing today.  May you rest in His working.  May you find yourself in the torrents of His love running down the hills and rushing over the cliffs of life towards His presence.
May you rest and rush today!

The Road

A friend of mine in Kansas City said something profound to me:

"Jim, the road always straightens out behind you!"

I thought it was good when he said it but as time passed it became a statement that would not leave me alone.  It was like an annoying pet that follows you everywhere …always in your shadow.

The road in front of me is always obscured by curves, too much light, the lack of light, etc.  It never seems to be straight forward, it never seems to make sense from this place in time and space.

However, when I look behind with a grateful heart I discover that the road is simply not as crooked.  It actually makes me think…"That was not that bad and it actually seems to make sense!"

When it comes to following Jesus the road always takes unexpected turns that leave one wondering what Jesus is thinking, planning, and doing.  He always keeps some form of mystery…I think he actually prefers the mountain curvy roads over the flat lands.

Does the road in front of me threaten me or give me an opportunity?  I think the point is for the curves and unknowns give me a great opportunity to offer Him trust and hope.  When I can see the curves in front of me as opportunities for growth and development they are much easier to navigate.  
The curves in front of me create opportunity to give Him my faithfulness, my heart committed to hope, and my trust.
The straight road behind me gives me peace and confidence to look ahead with a renewed sense of adventure and it helps me call my heart to faith.

May you look forward with hope and look back with gratitude!

TRUST

I know…I know.  Not the topic of trust again!
It is one of those that we all have to return to again and again…and again.  Sigh.

I was challenged this week by something I read.  Thank you Madame Guyon!
It was about how our soul has a natural hunger for God.  A God placed desire for intimacy with Him.  She suggested that if we surrender to that hunger, our souls will be like the water that falls on a mountain and subsequently finds its way down…down…down..and eventually to the ocean.
This inspired me.
It gave me more hope.
I hunger for God.   I long to walk with Him…to know Him…to be touched by Him and when I die, I hope people will say this one thing, "Jim really walked with God.  He really KNEW Him."
Too often I find myself drowning in my hunger for God.  Honestly allowing the hunger to drive me to work harder…DO more…read more…pray more…and simply drive myself more towards Him.  Most of the time this can be helpful but sometimes (like this week) I need to be reminded that in His great love for me (and His great wisdom) He gave me a hunger that flows down towards Him just like water flows towards the ocean.
I work to know Him and that is good.  More than that…He has done the work by giving me a longing that can't be filled anywhere else.  A longing that keeps drawing me into the depths of who He is.
If I can trust Him…He will lead me into the depths of intimacy with Him because it is what He designed for me.  TRUST.
Not only His work…but trust His work in my life.  Trust that in my own life He has created me to flow downstream to the depths.
Trust…gravity was His idea and His creation.
I will cooperate and I will DO all that needs to be done but ultimately gravity will have its way.  Ultimately I get to trust.

Clutter

Clutter

I recently taught a class on "Prayer".  

I love prayer, love to talk about it, love to do it, and love to learn more about it.  

Still, there are so many times when prayer is confusing! 

I have found that so many times when I go to pray there is so much clutter in my heart and mind.

Like the leaves in Brandy Creek, my prayer life swarms with do do lists, questions that don't have easy answers, imaginary conversations, and normal life concerns.  When I finally get to a place where I can pray…the leaves swirl around and clog the flow of the river!

Today I am reading "A Short Method of Prayer" by Madame Jeanne Guyon.  She is inspiring and what I would call and expert on prayer.  She writes  "in animating the will by affection, rather than fatiguing the understanding by study…" distractions are defeated.  She also says "a direct contest and opposition only serves to imitate and augment them."

Thank you Madame.

How many times have I wasted hours and days trying by my own will and mind to clear the leaves from my streams?  Yet on a day when my heart is burning with love the leaves in my streams suddenly disappear. Love wins.  Love cleanses and love moves things out of the way.

If only I can learn the fine art of animating my will with affection rather than trying to use my frail mind to force transformations of my heart!

May we all learn the great joy of a heart, mind, and will that is animated with affection.  

Finding The Brakes

Two weeks ago my friend Bobby came to visit.  
We planned a few days to camp, hike, and spend time seeking God and enjoying friendship.
Our second day we drove down from Castle Lake and suddenly noticed the golden sun streaming through the trees that were adorned with fall color.
The amazing gold and yellow stunned us and I had to stop the car to take this photo.
So many times I don't stop the car.  I see a sunset and just keep driving.  I notice something in a moment and am to busy to capture it.

Today I was reminded that this is also how I relate to God's presence.  While He is with me all the time and I believe He is always working to reveal Himself to me I don't always stop the car and grab the camera.  I get too busy...too many demands and too much to run off and do.
His glory and His presence are all around us all the time.  Sometimes we need to apply the brakes, find room on the shoulder, grab the camera and enjoy.
May you find the brakes, may you not miss the glory and the Presence.