23 and fall.

there's a sort of spirit in the air as fall approaches. the leaves begin to change color, the grass withers, the flowers fade. an eerie solemnness settles all around. we miss the warmth of the sun, but crave the warmth of a hearth. you look back for a moment, then look forward to: crisp days and early nights, scarfs and hot coffee, oranges and browns. we welcome change quarterly. we cannot control or really complain. seasons are a part of life. as are our own spiritual seasons and generational seasons.

there is a time for change, growth, flourishing, vibrancy. there is a time for stagnancy, regression, dying, dullness. the terrain of a spiritual journey should be mountainous... ups and downs. twists and turns. surrounded by glory and inherent beauty all along the way... it's no wonder that we feel closest to God when we literally reach the top of a summit. it's precisely how our lives were meant to be lived. in the valleys and at the tippy top. smooth and rough. narrow and broad. it's an adventure.

you embark each and every day. maybe you reach the top in one and stumble to the bottom in another, but the story is being told and a trail is being blazed.

23. it's a number. it's a couple decades. it's an age. marriage, children, college, career. expectations come with the number. for once i'm beginning to realize, it's not worth my thoughts. to dwell in such sorrow and loss, looking back on days long since past, would be a waste. i am here. i am now. i am more than a number. defined by the range of God's love in my life. from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, He was there.

as i feel that first cool breeze of fall, i will honor my Creator. another season of change... another heart to be filled... another road less travelled. a journey simply begins with the first step. step one: today.

-k10

simply put:

Adventure. My life. These two things don't quite go together as I once thought.

Confusion. My life. Now that's more like it.

We all desire to have a grand life & to be somebody, right? Well, how many people end up actually embarking on such an adventure? Few. None. The meek. Those that know they need a Savior can fully release their life, hopes, & dreams to God, & fully become that "somebody."

Need -> Accept -> Change

It's that simple. Recognize the need for a Savior, accept Him as yours & boom: life transformation. God is a man of simplicity. Ok, He's not really a man, so that might be a little complicated, but that's beside the point.

LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE. The two greatest commandments. Everything else tends to be relative to this. Oswald Chambers says in his book "The Call," that the simplest of all messages to understand, but the most profoundly deep is that "all is grace." Love & grace, the two pinnacle points & concepts that shape our faith. The concepts that go the very deepest & yet, they are so very simple.

To lead this adventure that God has called us to we need to stop thinking. Thinking is really the enemy of doing sometimes. Thinking is mostly useful in studying theologies or filtering potential hurtful remarks. Don't let it distract you from the true purpose that resides in all of us. Don't get bogged down with trying to define things like love & grace. There's one easy/obvious picture of it: JESUS. You want a definition? Read about His life.

Now just because we see this example, Jesus, doesn't mean it's easy... There is love & grace abounding in each of us through a Savior, but showing love can sometimes be the most difficult thing we ever have to do. But I once knew a love... He was true, blameless. He died on a cross for me. Did what no one else could & saved us all. EVERY ONE OF US. You say you can't love that person? Having a hard time "dealing" with them? Just remember the cross & the man who died to deal with your sin first.

The people who are the hardest to love, we should try the hardest to love. It's that simple.

-Kristen