Well, it's late and I'm beat!  I've been working a bunch, and painting the inside of our house when I'm not there.  In fact… I've been "too busy" for the first time since we moved to the Island.  Scary really cause we came here to change that on as many levels as possible.  The fact is that since my sister passed away in June life has been very full.  The largest draw back has been the loss of rest and time spent doing the things I love to do.  What I'm realizing in the midst of it all may sound redundant, but it's the message is fresh for me to day… Live Simpler.  Live Slower.  Live Fuller!

I am reminded again today that God has spoken to me with clarity.  I know what He is asking of me, and it is simply this:

Be who you are (who He's made me to be) Live life with people and love them.

I've really been chewing on this call and what it means.  I'm struck by challenge of 'being who I am' while 'living life with others'.  Who I am is Christ in me and it is sometimes hard to work that out in day to day life.  Who I am is not a Starbucks employee, a husband, a musician, a pastor, etc… I am all those things in part, but ultimately I am 'Christ in Me'.  This means that I need to take a deep breathe and surrender to Christ.  I need to let go!  I know rest and life will come when I do, because that is God's promise.  Tonight I pray for a release and a deep peace in the core of who I am.  I pray that God is truly free to breathe life into dry places

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This song by Tim Hughes has been a huge part of my worship lately because it allows me to really express this prayer.

Well, it's been a really long time since my last post.  I hate excuses, but I have to say I've been a little busy (not to mention the fact that my computer was in a box for a week+.)  The truth is that this past month and a half have been filled beyond my liking with car purchases, new jobs, moving, house purchase… all surrounded by the sometimes wonderful but always harsh realities of grief.  That said, I am really settling into my job, we have a great house, and we're very quickly re-discovering the Comox Valley as a place of rest and refuge for our souls.  Just the other day (Sunday AM to be exact) we had breakfast and a time of worship here at our new place.  At one point we had good food on the go, Kiara was loving the tire swing that hangs in our HUGE tree, and I was relaxing in our hammock, coffee in hand. 

During our first six months here, God so beautifully taught me deep truths about rest.  I learned to slow life down.  To listen, to imagine, to interact with my community, my surroundings, and my loved ones in simple yet life changing ways.  I'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a firm grasp on the basics (something I couldn't say even a year ago.)  The challenge now is to take the things I've learned about rest, and apply them to everyday life (my job, church, friendship, music, etc.)  I have definitely found that hard, but I'm determined to figure it out.  It is in this place of true rest that 'life' is really lived.  It's here that we see with different eyes, and have the time it takes to hear what we should be hearing in any given moment.

I have a simple prayer right now… but it is a prayer that has been on my lips many times over the course of my life.  Today I simply ask that God would help me to "remain in Him".  I know that in Him I will find all that I need… rest, comfort, guidance, wisdom, peace, etc. 

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.  John 15 5-8

PS – Our house is quickly becoming a home, and I'm incredibly excited to live here a long time.  I'll get pics up next week (once things are a bit more unpacked.)