I\u2019m on vacation this week, so there are no promises. \u00a0I might post some photo essays of the North Cascades (vacation in the mountains\u2026surprise!), or some thoughts on reading this week (Tolstoy, Rob Bell, Richard Austin, St. Matthew), but who knows.<\/p>\n
Last night though, as Donna and I pulled into our resting spot for the week, there was some music playing that had me thinking about the past 31 years of adventure my bride and I have shared together:<\/p>\n
1. youth ministry in Los Angeles with all the joys and heartaches that come from lives woven together.<\/p>\n
2. a supposedly short stay in Friday Harbor as the interim pastor of a church, which turned into a six or seven years there and included morning walks \u201cpreaching to the whales\u201d (because our services were in the evening, so I\u2019d practice), and life changing learning from both friends and neighbors. \u00a0Our children were born there. \u00a0I bought a motorcycle and rode the perimeter of the island for mental health, stopping on the west side sometimes to watch whales. \u00a0I saw bald eagles mate, and baptized people in November Puget Sound waters.<\/p>\n
3. six years in the mountains, which developed into a rhythm of travel \u00a0(teaching with Torchbearers Missionary Fellowship) and hospitality (as our family hosted weekend groups). \u00a0There were backpacking trips, and thousands of feet of rappelling. \u00a0There were northern lights, and a dinner with friends one night which consisted of freshly killed bear. \u00a0There were atheists, and fundamentalists, Europeans, and Southerners, people easy to love, and people less so. \u00a0There was a house church, where people raised their hands in the middle of the sermon with questions. \u00a0They were good days. \u00a0Our children learned to love creation there, and we read books together by the woodstove.<\/p>\n
4. We\u2019re coming up on fifteen years now, in the city, at a church I love. \u00a0More has happened here than I have time to write about (because, after all, it\u2019s vacation). \u00a0Suffice it to say, that we consider ourselves privileged to share life with one of the greatest congregations anywhere, ever (OK, I\u2019m biased). \u00a0I often feel as if I\u2019ve received more than I\u2019ve given; learned more than I\u2019ve taught; and have seen, nearly every day, the truth of this line from a great hymn: \u201cAll I have needed, Thy hand has provided.\u201d \u2013 encouragement, rebuke, direction, strength, resources? \u00a0Yes \u2013 always there, at the right time.<\/p>\n
Along the way, we\u2019ve raised our children. \u00a0My father in law died. \u00a0My mom sold her house, moved into a retirement center, and is now, at 90, in assisted living. \u00a0My sister died of a heart attack. \u00a0A Bethany Associate Pastor, and dear friend, died of cancer. \u00a0I\u2019ve had struggles and doubts at times, clear personal failings at other times. \u00a0The journey\u2019s not been some sort of walk through Disneyland.<\/p>\n
It has been good though. \u00a0I\u2019m profoundly grateful to be able to look back and see God\u2019s guiding hand along the way, because the truth is that I didn\u2019t plan any of it. \u00a0When I graduated from college, I thought I might write music for a living, or maybe work in the field of church music. \u00a0Seminary, Los Angeles, Bible teaching in Alaska, India, Nepal, Costa-Rica, England, Germany, Austria, and some places in North America, mountain ministries, living on an island, being a pastor, teaching with Torchbearers, and living the big city of Seattle \u2013 none of these things were goals.<\/p>\n
I was reflecting last night on a profound moments that happened back in 1976 when, at a ski retreat, a speaker challenged me to make \u201cknowing God\u201d, not the main goal, but the only really big and central goal in life. \u00a0He said everything else would flow from that. \u00a0Whenever I get confused and overwhelmed, right down to this very day, I know that a return to this central pursuit will be life giving and foundational. \u00a0It seems that everything good has flowed out from this \u2013 seems that this is the best place to be.<\/p>\n
The life God has given, the story God has written, is better than anything I could have made up! \u00a0That\u2019s when I pray: \u00a0\u201cThank you in advance for the adventure that awaits us as we follow you\u2026\u201d \u00a0I believe it\u2019s true, and as this vacation begins, am filled with gratitude for the journey Donna and I have been privileged to take together.<\/p>\n
What do you think of goal setting? \u00a0What is it\u2019s place in the grand scheme of building a life? <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m on vacation this week, so there are no promises. \u00a0I might post some photo essays of the North Cascades (vacation in the mountains\u2026surprise!), or some thoughts on reading this week (Tolstoy, Rob Bell, Richard Austin, St. Matthew), but who knows. Last night though, as Donna and I pulled into our resting spot for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-questions"],"yoast_head":"\n