I Hear the Woods A-Callin'

I am packed and ready to go.

The woods are calling me.

Tomorrow I am going hiking in Pine Mountain, North of Columbus, Georgia with some guys from the church. I am giving up a Sunday morning at our church building to be with the guys and worship in the woods.

We are hiking in and camping overnight and hiking out Sunday around lunch time. I haven’t been hiking since I was in the Boy Scouts during middle school. I am looking forward to connecting with the guys and reconnecting with the Lord this weekend. There is something spiritually refreshing about engaging with God through nature.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not going to be totally disconnected. I am taking my cell phone, which will allow me to take pictures and upload them to my facebook account. I also signed up for ESPN Alerts, which will send a TXT message to me after each of the Kansas City Chiefs’ draft picks. It is NFL draft weekend and the Chiefs have 13 picks, 2 in the first round!

So I will keep one foot in the digital world and the other one will be in the woods.

God has made his invisible attributes known in creation (Romans 1:20).

The heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1).

Jesus often departed to a lonely place to pray (Luke 5:16). In Anne Rice’s Christ the Lord: Road to Cana, Jesus departs into a grove in order to reconnect to God the Father.

I will spend time in silence in solitude. I am taking my moleskine and a Gideon’s New Testament (NKJV). I am looking forward to a time of spiritual renewal. I am expecting God to show up in surprising ways. On Sunday morning, I am preaching a message entitled, “Finally Brothers,” from Philippians 4:4-9. I am going to challenge them to think through the Men’s Fraternity three-fold definition (reject passivity…accept responsibility…lead courageously). We will end our Sunday morning service with communion, receiving the bread and juice from a mess kit.

Pray for us!