Today is
Tuesday, January 2, we have been in Matamoros for two days now. Today has been full of seminars, so my brain
is fried. These seminars have been full
of details on finances, budgetting, blogging and computers….so we are feeling
a little overwhelmed once again. These
seminars have filled my head with the stuff we need to be worried about, and I
am pretty happy to have the team we have.
Our team’s name is Nessa. Nessa, as far as we understand, is the hebrew
word for ‘miracle’. Nessa has seven members:
Shawna, from Canada who sat in the sun too long and got a glowing burn on her
face with sunglasses lines (and then found yellow aloe to put on it); Tana is
from North Carolina; Stephanie from Iowa; Amanda from Wisconsin; Tim from
Florida; and then Linnea and I (so check out their blogs at the world race home
page).
Linnea and I are the only couple on
this race, and I am beginning to understand what kind of challenge we have
gotten ourselves into. I realize that
these younger adults (young keeps getting older these days) will be watching
our relationship, that we will be modelling marriage for many people. I believe we are modelling what a marriage
relationship is supposed to be in God’s eyes.
That the two of us were brought together to better serve God than we
could separately. So being the oldest
man and the only married man is responsibilities I have to step up to, so it is
good I have such a great wife to make these responsibilities easier.
I have been reading John Eldredge’s
“The Way of the Wild Heart”, which is his sequel to “Wild at
Heart”, where he examines the stages of a man’s life. The stages of a man’s life are Beloved Son,
Cowboy, Warrior, Lover, King, and Sage.
I love reading Eldredge’s stuff, and I believe that reading W @ H completely
changed the way I viewed what God had planned when He created us. I believe that where I am now, scared to
death and in way over my head is right where I was meant to be. In “W@H”, Eldredge says that every
man desires three things to be fully alive, these things are written in our
souls: An adventure to live; a battle to fight; and a beauty to rescue. At this moment, I can say that I am living
it- I have no doubt that I am totally alive (and scared to death).
In “The Way of the Wild
Heart”, Eldredge says the Warrior is hard wired into every man, but there
is also the warrior phase every man must go through. This phase seems to begin in the early 20’s
and extends well into the late 30’s.
This warrior often lies dormant in a man and must be called forth. Ideally a man would be led through these
phases ( it is called DISCIPLESHIP, for examples watch Luke Skywalker train
with Yoda, or the Karate Kid), but in our american church we have generations
of men who have been taught to kill this spirit. Eldredge believes we can begin to develop
this spirit by testing ourselves (like the Cowboy phase). As I sit here and type, I realize I am in
training, to fight this battle we have all been born into. To preach good news to the poor, to proclaim
freedom to the captives, to comfort those who mourn….(Isaiah 61).
As we pursue this world race, I know
we will face hardships of every kind, as was reminded today, and have been
meditating on Isaiah 50:7: “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will
not be disgraced. Therefore have I set
my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.”
