{On} the Beaten Trail...An Adventure in Pictures

That creatively adventurous man of mine made reservations at a stable...

 

Someone is almost more excited than I am about the prospect!

Beautiful. Just beautiful. Deep in the country, my heart is swelling.

Can I move here?

Checking the radar and waiting out the pouring rain!

Meet Willie, my new friend.

Ready to go!

P. and Abel bonding.

The weather provided a unique trail ride during the next hour
...an elusive mix of sunshine, dusk, drizzle, and mist. 

A country girl, a city boy,
and a great memory.

You Thought You Knew Him...

Mmmm. We may have just had our Indian Summer for the year. This past week was one of beautiful sunny days with temperatures reaching the high 70's. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

I put the top down on my convertible for probably the last time this season and left it down into the evening. I pulled into the driveway after a long day and stopped. The temperature was still warm and the sky was full of stars, so I turned off the engine and the lights and just lay there in the reclined seat. Star-gazing. Praying. Enjoying the stillness and the vastness and the beauty.

Then I had one of those moments.

Where you realize you're talking to the God who created all this. That you know Him, love Him, and live your life for Him. That you're talking to Him as if you know Him intimately...like He's a friend or a Father... but that you've never even seen Him. That all these planets and stars beyond your mind's grasp are nothing compared to His power and might and glory.

And all of a sudden...you feel pretty small. And you feel like perhaps you don't know Him at all.

So you sit in awe and wonder and a little hesitation. You ponder the stories of Creation and Redemption and try to wrap your mind around them...around Him, which is of course impossible. But you remember He became man--one of us--and helped bridged that gap. That He walked here on this earth so you could learn to be His friend, His child, His beloved.

You look back up at the starry night sky with gratitude, a humble trust. You realize...even though it defies explanation or comprehension at times...you do know Him.

And He knows you.

Can silence be a prayer? Because tonight...words just aren't enough.

Mind Running, Feet Running

I tossed the groceries onto the counter, slipped into some running shorts, and headed out the door. My mind had been running a mile a minute this week...maybe if my feet started running, my mind would stop.

The whirlwind of planning for the fall had me stressed and worried. Too many committments. Church, volunteering, relationships, responsibilities, pets. I had been there before...did I really want to try it again? Would my attempt to serve the Lord finding me focusing more on the service than on the Lord? Would my family see less of me? Would I have time for my boyfriend, time for strangers, time for...well, me? How do I find what it means to lay down my life, to pour out my life for God and others...without getting burnt out? Where does my strength end and His begin? Do I even need to know the answers to these questions?

Hot sunshine. Summer evening crickets. The sweet rhythm of my feet on the pavement. My heart was beating faster and my mind was slowing down.

I looked up to the heavens and met His gaze. Soft, beautiful clouds stretched across the blue sky, covering me. Sunlight peeked through the openings, reaching for me.

Instinctively I reached back, praising the One who created it. Hushed by His majesty, my focus remained on the sky above as I ran. Constant, unchanging blue as the rest of the world passed by in the blur of peripheral vision. Worries and fears began to release their hold.

Once again, creation was teaching me about the Creator (Romans 1:20). The One who is constant, unchanging. The One who covers me with grace and strength and mercy and love. The One who waits for me to look up and let my burdens fall as I seek Him alone. The questions in my mind dropped one by one along my path as I ran home.

I didn't need to know the answers--I knew Him.