Mountains, Valleys, and Places In Between

"Ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low" are the words belted out in 60's soul song.  But the truth is there are mountains high and there are valleys low.  And many days we trek through them.  A mountain top is that pinnacle, peak experience of jubilation and joy.  While the valley may be summed up best by the psalm "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" primarily because a valley feels like dying. 

Yet, while we climb mountains to great moments and we fall deep into desolate valleys, the majority of our lives are spent somewhere in between.  Caught between your wedding day and that first big fight are all the days of living.  Smashed between your first day of college and the anxiety of your final finals, is four years of living.  Sandwhiched between a baby's first breath and an old man's last are all the days of the in-between.  While the mountains and the valleys are usually the easiest memories to pull from, don't miss the moments in-between, otherwise you might just missed the majority of life as it happens. 

So many times our focus sets on the big moments - whether big wins or big losses - and we lose sight of all the moments that are found in between ascending and descending hills. It is often the places in-between where we are shaped the moments.  I have found in easier in life to worship on the mountain top in the Moses' moments of God's glory.  In the same I have found prayer easier to come by in the depths of personal hells.  Where we have to tough it out is when life is life.  When life is not throwing a curveball, but giving us our daily dose of the every day.  It is in those moments where instead of being without option and sensing the necessity of going to God, that we have to "chose" who or "what" it is we will worship or pray to. 

The toughest roads are not the climb to the top or the tumble down, oftentimes the terrain that requires the greatest navigation is the road in-between the two!  Keep climbing the mountains, surviving the valleys, and navigating all life's moments in-between!

Tuesday's Tune Warren Barfield

Singer/Songwriter Warren Barfield may not be on the radar of most Christian music fans, but once you have heard Warren you know it!  I met Warren at a youth camp some 11 years ago.  Back then he was driving a beat up Ford Mustang with two guitars, a headset mic and a box of self-recorded cd's. 

Since that point Warren has released three studio albums and traveling with my childhood hero Kirk Cameron promoting healthy and godly marriages. And now Warren is headed back to the studio to cut new music.  But this time he is doing it old school, the Warren Way!  Warren has asked his fans and listeners to make an investment into the project.  For there investment they get something in return -- from a pre-release cd to their name in the liner notes.  He is setting out once again to self record an album cutting out all the red tape of the music industry that as he puts it "gets to pick which songs he records."  Here is a link to the kickstarter project.

Until Warren drops new music, here is the break out hit that was featured in the powerful story-telling movie "FireProof", Love is not a fight.  So Warren if you read my blog -- can't wait for some new school, old school WB music!!  Best of luck on the new project!

When The Tank Is Empty

The most difficult place to be is when you feel like you need to give out but have nothing really to give.  Writers call it writer's block.  Athletes call it a slump.  In the church we call it a "desert".  Suddenly the white space of the document becomes your enemy.  All the sudden the lines of the field or court become intimidating.  And everyday spiritual disciplines such as reading your bible, prayer, even church attendance can feel like daunting tasks.  No matter what the title or category of life it comes from, it is all the same -- unfulfilling.

I have this horrible habit of driving my truck not just until it dings and flashes the miniature orange-lit gas pump on my dash.  No, I push it to the limit of watching the needle dance with the letter E as if it was the Seasame Street letter of the day.  "Today's stall on this 4 lane divided highway is brought to you by the letter E."  Well thanks Elmo, like I needed to hear it from a Muppet!

Sometimes life feels like that gas needle.  We watch the mojo of our life slowly and gradually lessen, knowing all along we need to fill the tank up with what keeps us going.  Writer must continue to read and write, baseball players continue to swing, and followers of Jesus, continue to follow.  While filling my truck is easy, yet incredibly costly, re-filling our tanks in life is not always so.  When I pump 10 gallons into my truck instantaneously the needle climbs up over the 1/2 marker and comfort is restored.  But re-filling our spiritual tank does not always  yield the instantaneous results of a stop at the Shell Station.  Sometimes we pour in bible reading, pour in worship, pour in prayer - yet we still feel out of gas.

So my best advice -- keep going to the station and topping off the tank.  In plain language keep doing the things that keep you fresh both emotionally and spiritually.  The writer James in the bible said it so profoundly simple: "draw near to God and God will draw near to you."  If we are honest with ourselves a spiritual empty tank is simply the feeling that God is distant.  Oddly enough, God promised never to leave us.

When the tank is low frequent the station more often.  My mom tells me that my truck will get better mileage if I keep it filled up.  Maybe life is that way too.  Maybe we are better served when we never get to the point of "E".