OUR TRAIL GUIDE

My honeymoon trip July of 1977 consisted of a 45-mile backpacking adventure in the upper peninsula on Isle Royale.  Bruce had me in training by placing a heavy-laden backpack on my thin frame and walking in my newly purchased hiking boots for several miles a day prior to our wedding.  I accomplished this Isle Royale adventure with gusto and a few needed foot patches for my hurting feet.  "Let the adventures begin" was my motto.

Five years later, we headed off to Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii for a five week vacation.  Our longest time was spent in New Zealand where Bruce showed me all the places he had lived and the mountains he had hiked.  Needless to say - I was impressed.

We chose the Routeburn Track to hike.  Bruce had expressed an eagerness to hike this again.  I was in good shape to carry a backpack, climb over rocks and scale the mountain heights, looking forward to stretching myself with another challenge.  We hiked in the most beautiful places imaginable. From high peaks to the valley of the rain forest.  Our adventurous spirit was handed down to our girls, and as a family, we hiked many trails in the U.S. and British Columbia.

Haylee's first hike was in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee at age 7.  We strapped on our backpacks with snacks in tow and off we went on our family adventure.  Bruce had chosen a beginners hike, where the grade of steepness didn't fluctuate severely.  Of course, before this hike, she too had some little hikes to accomplish right here in Michigan.  Kelly was a pro at this time having had her first mountain hike with dad two years prior in Maine.

Not too far along the trail, Haylee began to complain of being tired and stopped way too much for my task-oriented personality. "Haylee, we need to reach our destination", having given her a time frame. What 7-year-old cares about a time frame when she is tired? Get a clue mom.

Sighing with a bit of frustration but not wanting to put any expectations or pressure on my little hiker, I prayed a simple, silent prayer: "Father, you know we need to get to the top at a decent time so we can get down before any weather change.  Please help me here.  I need to inspire Haylee to move forward. I'm out of ideas."

Immediately, I had an inspiration to give Haylee small destinations to complete.  "Okay Haylee, I cheerfully said, "see that big tree ahead, just up the hill?"  She reluctantly nodded her head. "Let's walk to that tree and see who can touch the tree trunk first. The first one to touch it can pick out a snack from our backpacks". With that encouragement and knowing a snack was involved, off she went like a trooper.....and yes, we did reach the top at the appropriate time.

Isn't God this way with us as Christ followers? He has sent the Holy Spirit to come along beside us in this great adventure called life, as Bruce did for me and I did for Haylee.

God is with us - urging us to press on, telling us we can make it, inspiring us to take steps forward that lead us towards our destination, saying to us "you're almost there - don't give up."

Whether you're in training, just beginning or an experienced "hiker" up the mountains of life, remember that you are not alone.  Our Guide is with us.

Think on this

For this God is our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:24 NIV 

HOW WE MET

God had such a grand plan in putting Bruce and I together.  Image....he brought Bruce back from living in New Zealand just to meet me. I, on the other hand, was done with dating and just wanted to get out on my own and experience life.

I was singing in a traveling group at the time and unbeknownst to me, our bass player knew Bruce and even went to the same church.  My high school friend and neighbor also knew Bruce and the bass player since she attended their church as well. So, you can see the picture forming here. Yes.  They did get together and come up with a plan informing Bruce as well.

Upon my return from a singing engagement over the weekend, my scheming neighbor had left a message with my mom for me to please call when I returned.  I called.  She invited me to come to her church that evening and informed me she had someone for me to meet.  

Having been on the road all day, I was pretty tired and just wanted to curl up on the couch with my favorite snack food and just chill out.  Not wanting to disappoint my friend's well-laid plans, I consented to the meeting with some reluctance.

As I entered the church that evening, I greeted people I hadn't seen in some time and got caught up on on current events.

I sat with Candy on the other side of the church from where Bruce was seated - probably sat here to not appear desperate or something.

At the end of service, I talked a bit with others around me and then noticed Bruce making his way over to me. He sat down beside me and said, "I think we are meant to go out with Candy and Brad after church to Walli's.  Do you want to ride in my car?"  I nodded my consent.

Now let me just press the pause button here for a minute.  I remembered meeting Bruce one year previously at Candy's house for a Bible study group she invited me to.  I wasn't impressed at all in meeting him there.  But now.....what a change had transpired. I noticed how good-looking and dark-skinned he was, pretty eyes, hair cut and slightly curly, nice rugged look, trim and fit.  The lights were coming on.

On to the story.  Candy and Brad at this time were engaged and planning a wedding next April. So during our late night meal at Walli's that's what they talked about.  I truly cannot remember what Bruce and I talked about. It's all a blur.

Upon leaving Walli's, Bruce drove me back to the church so I could get my car. He walked me to my car.  I got in, rolled the window down to say "good-bye", "had a nice time", when he spoke up and said, "I don't know what you think about all this, but we can give it a try.  If it doesn't work out, we at least have them off our backs."  I verbally expressed my agreement, which he told me later took him by surprise and started his interest in me.  I wasn't a clingy, needy 19-year-old woman.  I knew what I wanted in a dating relationship more now than when I was in High School, wasn't afraid to say this isn't working out, had a complete trust that God would take care of me, didn't need to have a relationship.  I had goals.  I had purpose.

Needless to say, we hit it off very well.  Some of our dating time was spent together on youth event trips, since he was helping out in the youth ministry.  We did get some time at For-Mar, Bluebell Ramp, Stepping Stone Falls to walk and talk.  Yes walk and talk. Bruce didn't kiss me until three months later for which I'm very grateful. 

Our dating began in August, engagement in January and wedding July 30th 1977.

I can truly say this was one of the best decisions of my life and still feel that way 39 years later.

God knew what He was doing.

MAXIMIZING GOD

Recently, my daughter Kelly shared with me an insight she experienced. She was sitting at her computer looking at emails one morning and decided to view another window, so she clicked on the button to minimize the email screen. The email screen, of course, was sent to the bottom of her computer screen in a smaller view with a choice to maximize it later.

Immediately, the thought came to her that this is what a lot of believers do in their spiritual life, including her.  She said, "mom, so many times that's exactly what I do with God.  I click on the minimize button and make Him smaller."

Unfortunately, I can relate to that very clearly.  When life gets complicated and messy, instead of keeping God on full screen, I sometimes minimize God and go about my busyness keeping God as a small icon. I eventually wake up out of my I'm-gonna-figure this-out mode and click the maximize button.

As believers, when we minimize God in our day-to-day living, then we will maximize our problems and complaints - making them seem bigger than what they are.

In Psalms 34:3, the psalmist is calling us to "magnify the Lord and exalt His name."  He is calling us to make a big God look bigger.

What will maximizing God do:

Give us a mindset for victory and not defeat.  When we begin to celebrate God's attributes and character, our magnifying glass is on God and not on our problem.  Confidence explodes. Our focus shifts from the impossible to the possible.

Change our view lens. We start to see a panoramic view of the greatness of our God instead of a view that is only at ground level.

Cause us to be more engaged in our relationship with Him.  We come closer to Him instead of standing at a distance.  We become dependent on God and move away from independence - trying to figure it out on our own.

Cause us to focus on His nature.  His nature is who He is.  He knows everything, has all knowledge, knows no limitations, is present in all places at all times, unchanging, holy, righteous, a loving God who shows mercy and lavishes His grace on us.  This is just a few.

As we walk through our daily life, let's remember to keep God in the maximized view - full screen, and not default to a smaller view. In doing this, our mindset changes, the view of our situation changes, our intimacy with God flourishes and we focus on His marvelous nature.

Memory Verse

Psalm 145:3 MSG "God is magnificent; He can never be praised enough.  There are no boundaries (your name here) to His greatness."
  

TRAINED BY CONSTANT PRACTICE

Hebrews 5:14 states "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil".

When I was 18 years old, my mother wanted me to take voice lessons so I could maintain my vocal quality and not abuse my voice by singing incorrectly.  I continued these vocal lessons well into my first years of marriage and even taught voice myself.  I learned to sing with control, increased my range, learned what chest voice and head voice meant, learned to sing by using my diaphragm, using my back muscles, how to "place" my tones, learning the appropriate stance, how to breathe correctly, singing consonants and vowels correctly, singing a variety of scales - the list goes on.  I practiced faithfully everyday. I learned how to sing phrases in one breath.  My instructor taught me how important vocal warm-ups were to opening up my voice. I learned to sing in many different languages and a variety of styles. My ear was being trained to hear correctly, my voice being trained to sing correctly. Through this training and constant practice, I became a mature singer who expressed emotion through my voice.

For those of us who desire christian growth, who desire to mature in our understanding of God and His word, who want to "distinguish good from evil", it is imperative that we train our spiritual senses. How do we train our spiritual senses?  How are we able to tell what is true from what is false? Simply by constant practice.

Practice These Things

• Personal Devotional Time.  We cannot neglect God and expect to become mature. Transformation comes and begins with time spent in His Word and in prayer.
• Obedience. When our desire to obey the Lord is stronger than our attraction to sin, we'll know we are making progress in our spiritual life.
• A Disciplined Lifestyle.  Lifestyle is the way we live.  We must discipline ourselves, as the scripture says, for the purpose of Godliness, having a focused vision. How we live shows who we truly are. 

Those who are mature in Christ, recognize their own inadequacy and rely on the Holy Spirit within them.

We have been given a choice in this scripture.

We can choose to remain immature and unskilled in discernment, or we can choose to press on to maturity and train our powers of discernment.

What will your choice be?