Fern Hollow Loop Trail – Deep Thoughts & Little Happenings

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020

Tripping on the Trail

Key Verse:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

Something I’ve discovered while hiking is how impossible it is to take pictures and enjoy the beauty around me WHILE watching where I walk.

One example, Fern Hollow Loop Trail was riddled with rocks and roots hidden under layers of leaves.

We had to keep our eyes on the trail or risk a fall.

BUT

We had to stop to see all the opportunities surrounding us.

The pictures below give you a tiny glimpse of all we would’ve missed if we didn’t pause along the way. We experienced beauty and history and people. There was so much more we experienced together, but there’s not enough space or time to share it all here.

Our hikes have all taken longer than the trail guides tell us they will. Why? Because we do so much stopping along the way. We take hundreds of pictures on every hike. There is so much to see and enjoy. There are so many people to speak to along the way.

Every trail finds us caught between the need to keep moving forward and our ability to experience each opportunity we encounter along the way.

I’ve mulled this over a lot. I’ve struggled with the contradiction of it.

I will never get anywhere if I just stop moving, but I will miss so much if I don’t ever stop.

I’m coming to realize there’s a life altering lesson here. A lesson I suspect will transform my understanding of the daily application of what it means to follow Jesus.

His word is very clear about our need to keep our eyes on Him. But He’s also clear about us being aware of our surroundings. How do we do both?

Jesus never went off mission. He came to seek and save the lost, but He was always willing to be interrupted along the way. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and take note of all the times He stopped what He was doing or where He was going and interacted with people on a personal basis. There was nothing distracted or generic about those interactions!

I must learn from the LORD by reading and studying His word, the Bible. I must spend time communicating with Him in prayer. But, I must also act on what I learn from Him and of Him. I must allow Him to renew my mind and transform the way I think. I must also practice living what I learn.

So, as scary as it feels, I’m asking the LORD to point out any misconceptions I have about what it means to follow Jesus and walk by His Spirit. I have no idea what this request is going to bring, but I do know…I’m desperate for Jesus to help me unlearn my own ways of thinking and doing, so I can learn to live my life according to His ways of thinking and doing.

I want to keep my eyes on Jesus and follow Him closely. I also want to grab with both hands every opportunity He has for me. To live alert to Him and others. To live with and love Him and others well.

I know following Jesus requires me to move when He moves and stay when He stays. Easy to say (or write). I’m wondering where I’m holding back. I’m wondering what I’m missing because of my own understanding of what it looks like to live my life following Jesus. Living free of any preconceived ideas of what it means to follow Him.

I’m convinced Jesus is wooing me to a place of deeper understanding. I’m equally convinced He’s prepared opportunities of unspeakable joy for me (and you) if we’re brave enough to follow Him into new, uncharted, and unknown places.

Doing one without neglecting the other. Pausing and moving. Being still long enough to hear His instructions, but also acting on them immediately. Learning and living with diligence and discipline. Staying close and going out into the world all at once.

LORD, we’re so thankful to be citizens of Your Kingdom. We’re thank You for the privilege of being your representative in the foreign land we live in now. Help us to grow in our relationship with You, so we will represent You well. Give us compassion and courage and teach us to love those around us as You love them. We want to love as citizens of Heavens and not citizens of this world!

Digging Deeper:

Psalm 46:10, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 16:5-15, Romans 12:2, Galatians 5:25, Hebrews 12:2

If you have not yet met Jesus, you can meet Him today. He created you. He loves you. He wants you to be a part of His family. I encourage you to step into the life He created you to live. You will still have the troubles of this world, but you will no longer be facing them alone. I’m praying for you! https://peacewithgod.net/mobile/?utm_source=Microsoft&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=HowToGoToHeaven&utm_campaign=USPWGMobileSearchMic

Word’s I’ve been hearing the LORD whisper as I’ve struggled to learn this lesson, “Trust I’m able to teach you, Barbara. Be humble. Be moldable. Learn from me. Allow me to take the lead. I’ll show you My way for you, give you joy in the relationships I’ve given you, and use the opportunities I have for you to bring blessing to you and others.”

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

October 22, 2020October 22, 2020

Growing Through the Hard Places, Wicked Winds, and Broken Places

Today’s Scripture Passage:

Jeremiah 29:4-14

Key Verse:

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)

I’ve always been fascinated by trees. It doesn’t matter the season. Full of leaves, bare, green or decked in an array of colors. Trees are beautiful. They grow in all sorts of climates and terrain. Their differences are beyond numbering (for me anyway).

Trails are a great place to see trees and witness just how tenacious they are when it comes to living.

Lost Mountain Trail in Sky Meadow State Park – September 15, 2020

Trees are unbelievably persistent in their efforts to reach the light and water they need to live.

Thornberry Loop Trail in Manassas National Battlefield Park – September 27, 2020

Some are clinging to the soil, others reaching into the water.

Fern Hollow Loop in Bull Run Mountain Natural Area Preserve – October 9, 2020

Some have faced destructive disease or pestilence.

Stoney Man to Little Stoney Man Loop Trail in Shenandoah National Park – October 15, 2020

Some twist and turn their way toward sunlight while others push their way through and around huge rocks.

Thornberry Loop Trail in Manassas National Battlefield

Each of these trees are a beautiful example of how I can be spiritually healthy no matter my circumstances or location. First, I must remember:

Jesus is the Light.

Jesus is the Living Water.

Just as trees need water and light, I need Jesus. He’s the Light and the Water I need. He’s the Giver of life to all of us!

In today’s scriptures, Jeremiah is talking to the people of Israel about how they are to live in bondage to Babylon under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar. He was a cruel king and there was nothing wonderful about being taken from their homes and made to live in this foreign land under his rule. They were facing adversity!

The promise in verse 13 requires participation. We’re to look for the LORD wholeheartedly. Not for a little bit or halfheartedly. We’re to be as tenacious in looking for the LORD as a tree is in seeking water and light.

What’s the promise for those who wholeheartedly look for the LORD? We will find Him. It’s the old testament equivalent to what Jesus said, “Seek and you will find.”

I think these trees perfectly illustrate the wholehearted looking for described in these verses. They persevere in their search for water and light. They know they need both to live and they don’t let anything stop them from finding the light and water they need.

So, although this is not a new verse for me, it has me evaluating my life. I’m asking some tough questions of myself and I invite you to ask them of yourself as well.

—What do I spend my time and energy trying to find? Am I wholeheartedly looking for Jesus?

—Who or what am I expecting to sustain me through the difficult times of my life? Am I placing unreal expectations on someone in hopes they’ll give me what only Jesus can give?

—Am I making excuses for not following Jesus and His ways? Am I blaming my locality? My circumstance? Others? Am I pointing to the adversities meant to strengthen me as a reason for not living the abundant life I’m created to live? Do I compromise and miss out on all the benefits?

—When the struggle gets intense, do I turn to Jesus, cast my cares on Him, and allow Him to help me through the struggle? Or do I turn to the distraction of busy-ness, eating, exercise, mind-numbing entertainment, or something else to make me feel better or give me the illusion of control?

—Do I see and acknowledge the beauty emerging from my struggle? Am I learning to release my worries and receive His peace? Am I growing in the joy of living and trusting Jesus through it all?

Digging Deeper:

John 1:1-5, John 10:10, Romans 5:3-5, Philippians 3:7-16, James 1:2-4

October 15, 2020October 15, 2020

I Was Just Trying To Help!

Today’s Scripture Passage:

Matthew 7:1-5

Key Verse:

How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Matthew 7:4 (NLT)

I started paying extra attention to the numbers of downed trees on the trails after reading these verses in Matthew.

Notice how these trees are cut at both sides of the trail’s edge to create a passageway.

Pictures taken by George on the Bull Run Mountain Fern Hollow Loop Trail – October 9, 2020

These were left uncut and create an obstacle course.

Picture taken by George on the Hawksbill Gap Loop Trail – October 2, 2020

Jesus was talking to the people about what happens when we try to help others before letting Him remove the log of sin from our own eye.

Jesus created a vivid word picture of terrible pain, struggle, and abuse with His words!

Read the key verse again…

How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?

This verse is what prompted me to take the following picture during a hike on the Thornberry House Loop Trail. I wanted to “see” what it would be like to have a log protruding from my eye. I set my camera on the cut end of the log and snapped the picture.

Imagine with me…

This log is lodged in your eye. It’s protruding outward. Imagine the pain. Notice how little you can see. Consider the damage you inflict on everyone around you.

Sin fills our vision and hinders our ability to see and follow Jesus.

Sin creates division and distance between us and others.

Sin grows when left unchecked.

Every relationship is affected when we have a log of sin painfully embedded in our eye.

Digging Deeper:

Psalm 51:7-13, Psalm 139: 23-24, Luke 11:34-36, John 3:17-21, Romans 12:1-5, Galatians 5:14-15 & 24-26, James 1:13-15 James 4:17, 1 John 1:9, 1 John 5:17,