Vision Quest 2017 did not go as planned. I got to the woods where a pastor friend was going to meet me and pick up my vehicle. He had a previous engagement that had run later than expected, and since the sun was starting to set I wanted to get moving. I put my keys under the drivers seat, texted him the door code to get into my vehicle, and headed into the woods. I found a spot, set up my borrowed camping hammock, and started to settle in for the night, when panic over my vehicle began to set in. I hadn't heard from my friend yet, and so I decided I would wait for him by the car. I zipped up the bug net, took my headlamp and flashlight, made a mental note of where I was in the woods, and went to wait by the car.
I waited for about 15 minutes, and when he go there, just after 9 pm, the light was really fading from the sky. We arranged for the pickup time the next day, and I headed back to my campsite. Twenty minutes later I called him and told him I needed him to come and get me because I couldn't find my hammock. It gets really dark in the woods, and I had my cheap headlamp. I headed back to the trail, and as I started to head back to the parking lot, my first thought was "Well this is shot", but immediately I realized that this was all part of the quest. Somehow God was going to speak.
He picked me up, and we went back to his house and talked for about an hour. I went home, got up at 5:15 am, and was back in the woods at 6:00. I found my hammock very quickly in the daylight, and then began hiking. God spoke, using the events of the previous night, and helped give me focus as I move forward. It didn't go as planned and that's ok. God used the whole experience, especially the parts that didn't go as planned, to reveal things to me about the identity He has for me.
After getting back, I went to a local coffee shop and began to process some things. I have a journal that I am tracking through this process of healing/initiation/identity claiming, and I began by reviewing my notes from Vision Quest 2016. As I did I picked up on a theme that has been repeated over the past year, and as I sat there with my 3x5 cards and my journal I began to piece things together. Over the past year a concept has continued to pop up, and it is the idea of the journey.
Life is a journey, and the journey is the point. Too often we focus on the destination, making that the goal. We want to get there, but when we do it isn't all that we thought it would be, it doesn't satisfy us like we think it will, and that's because it isn't about the destination, but the journey to get there. I was walking my dog that evening and when I'm alone I talk to myself, it helps me think. As I talked through the idea of the journey I thought of a memory from my childhood that captures the reality that it's about the journey.
In elementary school computer class I was introduced to one of the best computer games ever, The Oregon Trail. You start in St. Louis, form your wagon party, buy supplies, then hit the trail heading west. Along the way you trade, hunt, collect wild edibles, cross rivers, and try not catch a disease or get attacked by animals. Do you know when the game ends? There are two scenarios, you either die of dysentery, a bear mauling, or drowning in a river, or you make it to Oregon. The game doesn't continue because the point isn't the destination but the journey there. It's called The Oregon Trail, not Oregon.
Where we are going is important, I'm not saying that it isn't; we need a destination otherwise we are just aimlessly wandering. Proverbs 29.18a says, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained". The destination matters, we have to know where we are trying to get, otherwise we end up no where.
I've found that I've lived my life to this point in one of two extremes. I've either been so focused on the destination that I've sacrificed the joy of the moments getting there and wound up unfulfilled when I've reached the goal, or I've set out with no real plan and just hopped I'd figure out something along the way and everything would just fall into place. One way misses out on the process, and the other is chaotic randomness that goes no where.
We have to have a vision, a destination we are heading towards, but we cannot make the destination the full focus. The destination was never meant to be the point. It's the reward at the end of the process, but in our culture of instant gratification we don't like process, and because of this, the destination never satisfies us, and when we reach one, we quickly set out for another one, hoping it will make us happy. It never will. The other option is the millennial approach, of "I'll figure it out later, I'll worry about it when the time comes." This approach has no plan, no direction, and just ends up wasting time because it aims at nothing but the moment.
The point of a journey is to get somewhere, but the somewhere is just a small part of the journey. Life isn't about the destinations, but about the journeys that get us to them. We have to be going somewhere, the destination is the goal that keeps us focused during the trials of the journey, but we cannot focus on the somewhere at the expense of the process.
I don't want to spend my life longing for someday when I arrive and everything falls into place, I've done that, and it's miserable. You get discouraged that you aren't where you want to be, and you just hope something happens to fix it. I don't want to live with no vision and just hope everything works out in the end, I'm not wired to function like that. But I don't want to wait to live for when the ideal arrives, because simply waiting for it makes no progress towards it.
You only get to Oregon by leaving St. Louis. You only make it to Oregon if you're willing to cross the rivers, climb the mountains, and face the dangers of the trail. But you only appreciate Oregon if you've endured the hardships of the trail to get there, and you're only prepared to make a new life in Oregon by surviving the trials of the trail.
I've spent too much time wanting the journey to be over, and thinking life will be perfect when everything falls into place. I haven't wanted to embrace the journey, and so I've gotten no where. When I have tried to venture forth it's been with no plan or direction, and so I've circled around and ended up right where I started, getting even more frustrated and not wanted to set out again. There is a destination we are meant to arrive at, but it is only accessible if we undertake the journey to get there. We will only appreciate the destination if we embrace the journey.
This is the model that Jesus set for us. He came ultimately to be the atoning sacrifice who died and rose again; that was the destination. Jesus was focused on it, everything He did moved Him closer to it, but Jesus never sacrificed the moment to get there. His journey to the cross modeled obedience, service, and unconditional love. In the garden as He prepared for His arrest He prayed, "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17.4). He was always moving towards the cross, but He was fully immersed in the moment, embracing the journey.
That is how I want to live, intentionally moving towards the destination with focus and purpose, but not sacrificing the moment at the expense of the goal. I want to embrace the journey so that I can appreciate the destination when I finally arrive. That is how life is meant to be lived.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Friday, July 28, 2017
Vision Quest, by Will
The practice of the vision quest is one that goes back for millennia; cultures all over the world have their different traditions. The idea of a vision quest has been one that I've been interested in for years, not along the lines of Native Americas connecting with their spirit ancestors, but in getting alone with God in the wilderness to hear from Him. I've heard people talk about spiritual retreats, or even sabbaticals, where they take a break from ministry and life for a while, to rest and refuel. While these are good practices, I feel that the vision quest is something different, and it's a practice that has been lost in our modern culture.
Vision is one of the most crucial elements of life. The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained" (Pr. 29.18a). Vision is the thing that guides all that we do. It gives us direction during difficult and uncertain times. It focuses our efforts to make sure we continue to progress towards the ultimate goal. Vision helps us to pour our efforts and resources into what matters. And for us as men, vision guides us into the mission we were created for by God.
We can waste our entire life, going through the motions, without vision. By the world's standards we could do very well, get the big house, fancy car, promotion, kids through college and on to successful careers, but life is about more than just getting to the end with some money left to leave as an inheritance to your kids and grandkids (though that is a Biblically commendable aspiration, Proverbs 13.22). I've lived that way, and it sucked the life out of me. For a long time my goal was to work, buy a house with some land, put my girls through college, help people along the way, and die an old man. And at this point, that idea terrifies me. I still want a good piece of ground, I'm working towards becoming a professor, in part so my girls get free college, and I want to help people before dying as an old man, but recently my life has become focused on more than that.
Last year I took what would become my first vision quest. It started as a sort of Survival excursion, putting myself in a tame version of an episode of Les Stroud's Survivorman. A pastor friend dropped me off in the woods with minimal supplies, tarp, paracord, my knife, and some water, and I was going to spend two nights alone in the woods. I built my shelter and settled in for the night, and then God began to speak to me.
The next day I got up and began to walk. I found a place to sit and thought about what God had said the previous night, and after processing it, I started walking again. I would walk until God gave me a place to sit, and then He would reveal something else, and the process went on all day. I have the 3x5 index cards still of what God revealed to me during those hours alone with Him in the woods.
In just a few hours I'll be headed out for my second vision quest. This one is going to be shorter than last years, last year was right around 24 hours, this one is going to be less than 20. I've been looking at the ancient practice of the vision quest, and they put my feeble efforts to shame. They involved 3-4 days of preparation, involving a total fast of food and water to cleanse the body. After this you go alone into the wilderness for three days, and then there are practices and rituals for when you return. The entire process was over a week long. Right now I'm lucky to get these few hours, but I hope to one day be able to take three days each summer to get a vision from God for the upcoming year.
I feel that I have a big picture idea of my mission, and where God has my life going, partly the result from last year's quest, and from the journey with my brothers since then. However, the vision is vague in terms of the details on how to get there. God doesn't reveal the entire journey all at once. I think He gives us the destination, and then reveals small sections of the map at a time.
I think all men need a vision quest, and you need to get alone in nature, there are things that cannot be learned anywhere else, and allow God to speak to you about your life, identity, and mission. I'm headed into the woods tonight, the brother I am calling this month is headed out next Friday. There are things God wants to reveal to us that He will not unless we take the time to get alone with Him.
A few thoughts that I've found, though I am by no means an expert:
1) A vision quest needs to involve a fast. Giving up on something your body needs in order to more directly focus on God is important.
2) A vision quest needs to happen in nature. You have to get away from people and technology, all of the distractions, to be alone with God and really hear from Him.
3) A vision quest needs to be approached with an open mind. Go into this expecting to hear from God, but don't have an agenda for when or what God needs to say. Last year I was going to spend two nights in the woods, but God let me know that we were done earlier than that. God spoke to me about things I had never realized, and began a work of healing in my life that has helped me to focus on the real vision.
The practice of vision questing needs to be revived. If we would be the men God called us to be, we have to get His vision for our lives, and that only happens through intentionally seeking Him. The Bible is full of accounts of men going off into the wilderness to hear from God, and returning with their mission to undertake. Let us follow their example.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Vision is one of the most crucial elements of life. The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained" (Pr. 29.18a). Vision is the thing that guides all that we do. It gives us direction during difficult and uncertain times. It focuses our efforts to make sure we continue to progress towards the ultimate goal. Vision helps us to pour our efforts and resources into what matters. And for us as men, vision guides us into the mission we were created for by God.
We can waste our entire life, going through the motions, without vision. By the world's standards we could do very well, get the big house, fancy car, promotion, kids through college and on to successful careers, but life is about more than just getting to the end with some money left to leave as an inheritance to your kids and grandkids (though that is a Biblically commendable aspiration, Proverbs 13.22). I've lived that way, and it sucked the life out of me. For a long time my goal was to work, buy a house with some land, put my girls through college, help people along the way, and die an old man. And at this point, that idea terrifies me. I still want a good piece of ground, I'm working towards becoming a professor, in part so my girls get free college, and I want to help people before dying as an old man, but recently my life has become focused on more than that.
Last year I took what would become my first vision quest. It started as a sort of Survival excursion, putting myself in a tame version of an episode of Les Stroud's Survivorman. A pastor friend dropped me off in the woods with minimal supplies, tarp, paracord, my knife, and some water, and I was going to spend two nights alone in the woods. I built my shelter and settled in for the night, and then God began to speak to me.
The next day I got up and began to walk. I found a place to sit and thought about what God had said the previous night, and after processing it, I started walking again. I would walk until God gave me a place to sit, and then He would reveal something else, and the process went on all day. I have the 3x5 index cards still of what God revealed to me during those hours alone with Him in the woods.
In just a few hours I'll be headed out for my second vision quest. This one is going to be shorter than last years, last year was right around 24 hours, this one is going to be less than 20. I've been looking at the ancient practice of the vision quest, and they put my feeble efforts to shame. They involved 3-4 days of preparation, involving a total fast of food and water to cleanse the body. After this you go alone into the wilderness for three days, and then there are practices and rituals for when you return. The entire process was over a week long. Right now I'm lucky to get these few hours, but I hope to one day be able to take three days each summer to get a vision from God for the upcoming year.
I feel that I have a big picture idea of my mission, and where God has my life going, partly the result from last year's quest, and from the journey with my brothers since then. However, the vision is vague in terms of the details on how to get there. God doesn't reveal the entire journey all at once. I think He gives us the destination, and then reveals small sections of the map at a time.
I think all men need a vision quest, and you need to get alone in nature, there are things that cannot be learned anywhere else, and allow God to speak to you about your life, identity, and mission. I'm headed into the woods tonight, the brother I am calling this month is headed out next Friday. There are things God wants to reveal to us that He will not unless we take the time to get alone with Him.
A few thoughts that I've found, though I am by no means an expert:
1) A vision quest needs to involve a fast. Giving up on something your body needs in order to more directly focus on God is important.
2) A vision quest needs to happen in nature. You have to get away from people and technology, all of the distractions, to be alone with God and really hear from Him.
3) A vision quest needs to be approached with an open mind. Go into this expecting to hear from God, but don't have an agenda for when or what God needs to say. Last year I was going to spend two nights in the woods, but God let me know that we were done earlier than that. God spoke to me about things I had never realized, and began a work of healing in my life that has helped me to focus on the real vision.
The practice of vision questing needs to be revived. If we would be the men God called us to be, we have to get His vision for our lives, and that only happens through intentionally seeking Him. The Bible is full of accounts of men going off into the wilderness to hear from God, and returning with their mission to undertake. Let us follow their example.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Monday, July 24, 2017
Muscle Memory, by Aaron
Have you ever started working out for a month and then stopped working out for like three months because of being busy? When I was in high school and college I used to work out faithfully 3-5 times a week. After I graduated from college I started to work out a little less, more like three days a week. Once I got married I started working out more like 2-3 times a week. When my wife and I had our first child, I started exercising as I had time (which was not much). If some of you are in my same boat, it does not take long for our muscles to decrease in size and strength. The good news is that there is new research showing that even though a person stops training, they still exhibit the same amount of muscle memory (myonuclei).
Without getting too nerdy, I’m going to try to explain the concept of myonuclei. Every muscle is composed of multiple muscle fibers, which are composed of multiple nuclei to keep it simple. Think of a nucleus as the heart of every cell, it is basically the control center of the muscle. As we train our bodies (especially resistance training) there is an increase in muscle fibers, as well as an increase in myonuclei. Basically, the more myonuclei we have the stronger those muscles will become. So this research is showing that as we stop our training (for whatever reason) even though our muscle fibers decrease in strength and size, the amount of myonuclei we have stays the same for up to 1 1/2 to 2 years after our last workout. That means that for those individuals that have stopped training, once they start training again they will gain their max strength back quicker than before. So if it took a person 4 months to bench press 225 pounds and then they stopped for two months; when they start up again maybe it would only take them 1 1/2 months to get back to that 225 pound bench press.
So you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with God? The concept of myonuclei has everything to do with God, it is oozing with the Glory of the Father. I’ve written about this in the past, but the complexity of the human body shows me how much detail God put into His creation. The crazy thing is that it only took Him one day to create Adam. I just recently learned of this new research behind muscle memory. As I further studied this subject, I began to reflect on my faith and how it correlates to the human body. There are many seasons when I feel like I am closer to the Lord, because I am getting fed in the Word or am continually in prayer with the Lord. There are also seasons when I feel like I am not as close, because I am not in the Word as much. I feel like my faith is not as strong because I am not in relationship with the Father as much. My strength begins to decrease as I continually avoid making time for the Lord. Usually my busyness includes making plans with friends, watching television, playing games on my phone, and the list goes on.
Luckily our Father has given us grace. This grace that God has given us comes from his immeasurable love that He has for each one of us. Even as our faith begins to decrease, the Lord does not leave us alone. Many times the Holy Spirit will begin to nudge my spirit. He is saying to me “Aaron I really miss you” come talk to the Father. As I begin to get back into the Word and get back into prayer my strength comes back quicker than before, similar to the concept of myonuclei. But the best part about our faith compared to muscle memory is that no matter how long we go away or how off the deep end we go, God is still going to be there for us. There is nothing we can do that God would turn his face away from us. In scripture Hebrews 13:5 reads "Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you". We started a series at church last week about different seasons in our lives. There will be good seasons, great seasons, bad seasons, and maybe even devastating seasons. Hebrews 13 is such great news because we do not have to travel through these seasons alone. The Father will be right there with us including; smiling with us during the good seasons or holding us during those rough seasons.
So just remember when you are working out, if you skip a few days (or weeks) it is okay. You may not start where you left off, but you will get back to where you were a little sooner than before. The goal is never to skip a day, to take any shortcuts, to sin in life. The reality is that we will fall short every single time, but never forget what you have learned about the Father. Use your muscle memory when you are struggling with your past sins, or about to speak to somebody else about the Lord. Remember that scripture that you have read over 100 times, so that it will help you speak to others about the Lord. Use all those personal experiences you had in your alone time with God to keep your faith strong, so that when a close friend or family member that passes away unexpectedly, you do not question whether God still loves you. Use that muscle memory when your feel like your Faith has hit rock bottom, so that you remember how much joy you had just a season ago. Use that as motivation to get back into relationship with Him. It is never too late to ask forgiveness, and to just cling on to Jesus. Myonuclei, such a complex concept that God created, but it so awesome to think about. God you are an amazing creator!!
Peace and God Bless!!
Without getting too nerdy, I’m going to try to explain the concept of myonuclei. Every muscle is composed of multiple muscle fibers, which are composed of multiple nuclei to keep it simple. Think of a nucleus as the heart of every cell, it is basically the control center of the muscle. As we train our bodies (especially resistance training) there is an increase in muscle fibers, as well as an increase in myonuclei. Basically, the more myonuclei we have the stronger those muscles will become. So this research is showing that as we stop our training (for whatever reason) even though our muscle fibers decrease in strength and size, the amount of myonuclei we have stays the same for up to 1 1/2 to 2 years after our last workout. That means that for those individuals that have stopped training, once they start training again they will gain their max strength back quicker than before. So if it took a person 4 months to bench press 225 pounds and then they stopped for two months; when they start up again maybe it would only take them 1 1/2 months to get back to that 225 pound bench press.
So you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with God? The concept of myonuclei has everything to do with God, it is oozing with the Glory of the Father. I’ve written about this in the past, but the complexity of the human body shows me how much detail God put into His creation. The crazy thing is that it only took Him one day to create Adam. I just recently learned of this new research behind muscle memory. As I further studied this subject, I began to reflect on my faith and how it correlates to the human body. There are many seasons when I feel like I am closer to the Lord, because I am getting fed in the Word or am continually in prayer with the Lord. There are also seasons when I feel like I am not as close, because I am not in the Word as much. I feel like my faith is not as strong because I am not in relationship with the Father as much. My strength begins to decrease as I continually avoid making time for the Lord. Usually my busyness includes making plans with friends, watching television, playing games on my phone, and the list goes on.
Luckily our Father has given us grace. This grace that God has given us comes from his immeasurable love that He has for each one of us. Even as our faith begins to decrease, the Lord does not leave us alone. Many times the Holy Spirit will begin to nudge my spirit. He is saying to me “Aaron I really miss you” come talk to the Father. As I begin to get back into the Word and get back into prayer my strength comes back quicker than before, similar to the concept of myonuclei. But the best part about our faith compared to muscle memory is that no matter how long we go away or how off the deep end we go, God is still going to be there for us. There is nothing we can do that God would turn his face away from us. In scripture Hebrews 13:5 reads "Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you". We started a series at church last week about different seasons in our lives. There will be good seasons, great seasons, bad seasons, and maybe even devastating seasons. Hebrews 13 is such great news because we do not have to travel through these seasons alone. The Father will be right there with us including; smiling with us during the good seasons or holding us during those rough seasons.
So just remember when you are working out, if you skip a few days (or weeks) it is okay. You may not start where you left off, but you will get back to where you were a little sooner than before. The goal is never to skip a day, to take any shortcuts, to sin in life. The reality is that we will fall short every single time, but never forget what you have learned about the Father. Use your muscle memory when you are struggling with your past sins, or about to speak to somebody else about the Lord. Remember that scripture that you have read over 100 times, so that it will help you speak to others about the Lord. Use all those personal experiences you had in your alone time with God to keep your faith strong, so that when a close friend or family member that passes away unexpectedly, you do not question whether God still loves you. Use that muscle memory when your feel like your Faith has hit rock bottom, so that you remember how much joy you had just a season ago. Use that as motivation to get back into relationship with Him. It is never too late to ask forgiveness, and to just cling on to Jesus. Myonuclei, such a complex concept that God created, but it so awesome to think about. God you are an amazing creator!!
Peace and God Bless!!
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