Intentional

The beautiful view of Beaver Lake from our cabin.

Our last couple of hours here at Winterwood before heading home to face the real world again. A three day getaway is almost just a tease. It's just long enough to get unwound and back in tune with yourself and then it's over. There simply isn't enough time to truly appreciate your unwound self.

More than anything I want to go home and remember to BE in the moments. Luke and I talked a lot about being intentional - about living in the moment and not flying through life. About intentionally making time for God, each other, and other people as well. About appreciating each moment while you are in it. That night we happened to read Ephesians 5, where it talks of paying attention to your walk, being wise and not unwise, and making the most of every opportunity. I don't want to zip through life (or even zip through my day) without even having done one truly intentional thing. Sure, I may have gotten the laundry done, or cooked dinner, but was I intentional about my approach to anything? Did I give anyone my full undivided attention despite always having my own agenda and to do list? Did I notice someone else's needs and purposely help them? Did I intentionally make the time to sit and read God's Word, with open eyes and an open heart, to allow Him to show me what HE had planned for my day?

Mike Mains and the Branches will soon be releasing a song on their album "Calm Down, Everything is Fine", which speaks of just that - slowing down. When I heard that song I felt like it struck a chord with me. "Slow down, slow down. Grab a coffee here with me and take a second to breathe." Let's just relax, and enjoy each other, life, God, nature... All the things that God made and that are good.

Without intention there is very little purpose to life. I want to be "careful, then, how <I> live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity..."

All Ears, All Eyes

"If You wake me each morning with the sound of Your loving voice,

I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in You.

Point out the road I must travel;

I’m all ears, all eyes before You."

Ps 143:8

‘I’m all ears, all eyes before You.’ When I read this, I realized I feel a bit more like a giant mouth. I run at the mouth, talking to God, asking God, telling God… My ears are full of the things I’ve already heard, and my eyes only see what I want to see. I feel like I’m always wearing some kind of color-tinted glasses. All I see are things tainted by that color. Things that are shaded by my experiences, my thoughts, and my limited human knowledge. The idea of being all ears, all eyes before the Lord would require me to stop talking, to sit still, to listen, and to allow God to shade my view with Himself.

It’s easy for us to think that if we were indeed awoken to the sound of God’s loving voice each morning, we would trust, we would feel peace, we would know that He is there. But the thing is, in order to hear His voice, we must first listen.

And if He would make our paths undeniably clear to us, tell us the direction in which we should go, then we could be confident in knowing we were on the right track – but in order to see His hand leading us, we must first look. We must ask Him for guidance, and the ability to see His ways. Usually when we are confronted with a decision, or put in a tough position, we weigh our options and make our decisions accordingly. But if we don’t ask, much less sit and listen for an answer, how can we know His will?