“There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature” (Henry David Thoreau).

Of all the choices and decisions I’ve made of late, precious few were any better than returning to Radnor Lake for a hike.

It’s been way too long since I last had a good long hike into nature and away from the things of man. I relish the quiet calm of nature, listening to my own thoughts, but more often listening to the still small voices of nature.

It almost seems like to speak would be to profane the sacred silence around me, so I often keep quiet and try to pay attention. Those two qualities work well not just on a hike but in any suitable occasion.

I counted 11 deer, plus countless squirrels, some turkeys, a swimming muskrat, and a busy little woodpecker. On the whole, the hike lived up to my expectations.

I often wonder if this current culture isn’t allergic to silence. You never hear dead air in any media format. People will fill any kind of silence with inane talk and chatter. It’s like we’re (me included) addicted to noise.

But there’s something curative and refreshing about peace, silence, quiet, and nature. I’m sure Thoreau was onto something with Walden Pond.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive (Howard Thurman).”

You may feel as insignificant and unimportant as that one drop in the ocean, but you never know how far-reaching the effects of the ripple caused by just one drop can be. You may never know how many lives might be impacted by your small acts of obedience for Jesus done with great love. You may never know how many people will be in heaven because of the smallest act of obedience in your being faithful to share your gospel story with one person.

“It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people . . . . At the centre of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth . . . . It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that ‘As you reap, so will you sow’ stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff. That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep shit. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity” (Bono).

“God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.” (CS Lewis).

I’m more and more convinced that in the life of every believer, God will bring him or her through a season where there’s absolutely nowhere to turn and absolutely nothing to lean on but God.

God will kick out all the props and idols out from under you in such a way that you fall on your knees before Him.

The purpose of all this isn’t to humiliate or demean the Christian but to remind us that we are at every moment, waking or sleeping, completely dependent on God. Whether sunshine or rain, good or bad days, we need God for all of it.

We were designed to need God, to be always dependent on His mercy and grace and power. Apart from that, we can’t sustain our existence. Or as Jesus put it, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

For most, criticism comes easier than gratitude. When the week gets long, it’s more natural to complain and grumble than to give thanks.

Sometimes, familiarity breeds contempt. Sometimes, it just breeds complacency and taking for granted those family and friend who are in your life.

What I’ve learned is that you can never wasted time in gratitude for your life and the people in it. You and I should tell people what they mean to us while they’re still around to hear it.

Remember, if you lose your job, you can get another one, but if you lose your health, it’s much more difficult to get back. You can spend all your time making a living, but you’re better off investing in people and leaving a legacy. In your last days, you won’t ask to see your paycheck stubs or your work awards. You’ll never lie on your deathbed and wish you could have spent more time at the office or worked more overtime.

Spend time now with what matters. Or with who matters. The memories that will matter most are always the ones with people, not things.

“The great paradox of life is that those who lose their lives will gain them. This paradox becomes visible in very ordinary situations. If we cling to our friends, we may lose them, but when we are nonpossessive in our relationships, we will make many friends. When fame is what we seek and desire, it often vanishes as soon as we acquire it, but when we have no need to be known, we might be remembered long after our deaths. When we want to be in the center, we easily end up on the margins, but when we are free enough to be wherever we must be, we find ourselves often in the center.

Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human arts. This will gain us our lives” (Henri Nouwen).

Those are some wise words by a wise man.

Life isn’t a possession to be guarded with tightly clenched fists but a gift to be held with open hands. A wise woman once said that God gives the very best to those who leave the choice with Him.

In an age where we’re praised for how much we can achieve, possess, and hoard, Jesus said that those who strive to be the least will be first, and those who seek to give their lives away for the sake of the Kingdom of God will be the ones who truly find their best and truest lives.

I’m too tired to be creative or insightful tonight.

So I thought I’d share a meme that amused me greatly.

Hope you enjoy.

It’s hard to be joyful at 5 am.

It’s hard to rejoice before that first cup of whatever that first cup of coffee (or whatever caffeinated beverage of your choice maybe).

It’s hard when despite all your best efforts and intentions, you find yourself slipping back into old and unhealthy patterns of behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. You try really hard to be positive and encouraging only to end up being annoyed and sarcastic at the end of the day.

I still stand by the notion that Mondays are rude. They come barging in, interrupting a lovely weekend and the requisite Sunday nap. They don’t ask for permission to enter your life. They just come on in.

But when you have no joy in yourself, you can always go to God and find that His inexhaustible and unending joy can be your strength when you have none.

You can rest in God’s “eternal appetite of infancy, ” as G. K. Chesterton put it, where God never tired of the monotony of sunrises and sunsets and daisies. His joy never grows old or gets tired or runs out. His joy is always where your strength lies.

Tomorrow’s Tuesday. It will be challenging and frustrating at times. You will be tempted at some point to quit. May you find the joy of the Lord to be the strength that carries you through.

I distinctly remember as a little tyke going over to my grandparents’ house. I remember vividly that my granddaddy had several pairs of boots, and one of my favorite things was to put a pair on and walk around in them.

I don’t remember exactly how little I was, but I’m pretty sure those boots came up to my knees. For me as a kid, my granddad had some big shoes to fill.

Fast forward about 30-ish years to me being a Nashville transplant. I decided I’d go all in and buy me some cowboy boots of my own to make the Nashvillian status official.

I looked at countless boots in countless places in just about every pattern and brand out there. I ended up picking the very first boots that I had looked at when I first started.

As I found out after I shelled out the $228 for those Dan Post boots, those were my granddad’s favorite kind. It was a kind of a God-wink moment for me, linking me back to a legacy of my family.

Recently, I bought another pair of Dan Post boots. These were a secondhand pair I picked up at a vintage store. I like to think that, however remote the possibility, my grandfather might have worn these boots at some point. It’s an extreme long-shot, but I suppose it’s possible.

Every time I wear my boots, I can be thankful that I came from a good family and can carry on a legacy of faith and love to the next generations.

On a whim (and with the help of a $30 Amazon giftcard), I picked up a collection of early gospel recordings. It’s called Waxing the Gospel: Mass Evangelism & The Phonograph 1890-1900.

The recordings are extremely primitive. The technology was still in its infancy, and I imagine the wax cylinders that held these recordings would have deteriorated to a degree over time.

Still, you get a crash course in history. You hear the old hymns when many of them were brand new. Additionally, you will hear recordings by Dwight Moody, Fanny Crosby, and Ira Sankey (who partnered with Moody in many of his crusades during the 19th century).

You will probably need the book with the printed lyrics to decipher many of these songs. Still, that didn’t stop me from enjoying what are probably the earliest recordings of sacred music we have.

If you’re in the Christian music industry, you can think of this collection as a sampling of the very beginning of gospel music. Or if you’re just a big music nerd like me, you will appreciate where we’ve come from in terms of recording technology.