No Man Is An Island

I often reflect back through my life and take inventory.

I see the person I used to be and the person I am today. I want to insure there has been progress & growth. I want to insure that hard lessons learned are not merely memories of the past; rather, lessons applied to build new character and gain new ground - today!

If someone asked me to define myself in a short phrase, I would always reply with a passionate, "I WANT TO LIVE, NOT JUST EXIST!!" You see, there are plenty of people in this world that breathe and take up space... but how many people really LIVE? Webster's definition of 'live' - to have a life rich in experience. Mr. Webster and I agree. Now, I'm not merely talking about 'doing' things; rather, experiencing them with all of who you are, your essence, your heart – your being. This can mean anything; scaling Mt. Everest, being a mother, a friend, a student, a pastor or even a CHRISTIAN. Hmmm , how can I say it? I guess it's pushing ourselves to do things that seem impossible for us to do; challenging our lives to experience pain or passion others will often avoid, and finding joy in accomplishing things others will never accomplish – because they’re never willing to try. (Not only in the mere physical realm, but in love, self-sacrifice, prayer and our passions... the core of what makes us who we are or who we could be.)

I was raised by a father and mother who never learned the word, CAN'T...Hmm.. I guess that word may not have existed in Spanish when they were growing up… they didn’t get ‘that’ memo. (Confirmed: it does now) From early childhood my dad would have us turning soil, digging trenches, hammering, handing tools, hunting, fishing and just down right workin' hard. While my mom, on the other hand, would make us wash the same dish 6 times, if that was the only way to get it clean and cooking to the taste (seldom using measuring cups and NEVER using recipes). I would sometimes tell them emphatically, "I can't do that," then my dad would say, "How do you know? You've never tried," and to this day those words still resound in my mind and have been one of the greatest assets to my existence. I've learned, not only skills (many of which I was unaware I possessed), but life long lessons and LIVING itself. “Whatsover thy hand findeth to do, DO IT with ALL thy MIGHT.”

The irony of this... haha... is that these days my dad would prefer I be surrounded or maybe even enveloped in BUBBLE WRAP because of the things I enjoy doing (which he thinks are extremely dangerous, at times). I soooo enjoy flying and would do it daily if I could (which he hates, so even when I go home to visit, I can't tell him until I'm at the airport and I need to be picked up, haha!!). I plan on skydiving - looks like a trip in September may finally realize this for me. The list goes on... haha. I seldom tell my dad what I am doing and only call him, often filled with adrenaline, after-the-fact to tell him of my excursions. He hates it!! Hehe!!! Thanks dad for teaching me to challenge life. =) Maybe it's for this reason that I am involved in so many different things.

I see things as challenges, things to be conquered, life lessons to be learned, passions to fill me and most of all, growth - not yet realized.

Some may say I'm different, weird or maybe even CRAZY, but the one thing I'm NOT is BORED!!! So, that's 'ok' with me!!

This brings me to my next thought (yikes, am I preaching.... haha, naw :-s)... the scripture says, "He came that they would have LIFE, and have it more ABUNDANTLY!!" I am convinced that 'easy, lackadaisical, comfortable, isolated living is not pleasing in God's eyes. A life of ease and comfort is not one of a soldier preparing for battle (or in battle for that matter).

II Timothy 2:3-7
3. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4.No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
5. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
6. The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
7. Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

We were not meant to live this life alone, we, ourselves, were made for companionship - for the Almighty. So many of us, shut ourselves up, absorbed in our own world, unaware of others, their lives, problems, hearts desires and emptiness. How can we live this way... how can I?

“No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…”
(John Donne)

I Corinthians 12:12,14
12. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
14. For the body is not one member, but many.

Ephesians 4:16
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

I was recently told by someone that I, 'care about others too much,' and that sometimes I should put myself before them, "you know, take care of number one, if you don't who will." Hmmm, this came from someone very close to my life, at the time, and it was then I realized, I do not live this way and by God's grace, I don't ever plan to. I realize that “…unto whomsoever much is give, of him shall be much required (Luke 12:48b),” be it gifts, talents, compassion, time, money, FAITH... whatever our resource, or however small, we've been blessed - freely it's been given, freely we MUST give. It's essential to our existence, to our growth -- to OUR LIFE!!

But in all of this, one reality remains…

“In dreams begin responsibilities.”

(William Butler Yeats)

It’s one thing to dream it,

it’s another thing to DO IT!!

God on the Mountain pics 7.10.09 reposted

Photo:

1. Squaw Peak, Dreamy Draw on my way to work just hours after our 5 1/2 mile hike.
1. Slippery Slate, the stuff I slipped on a few days before.
3-4. The sun is waking up & casting it's morning hues over Phoenix.

(pics are a bit blurry, my camera was MIA) :)

God on The Mountain 7.10.09

***This post is acting up, so unfortunately I cannot include the pics I was going to add.. I'll add them to a separate blog. ***


4 A.M came early this morning... but if you plan on hiking in Phoenix, you have to wake up before the sun gets up... Haha, and even then, you just hope it's sleeping in that day. :) My neighbor Kathy has been the biggest blessing I could have ever wanted. She will often take Jake to the park in the evenings while I'm at work and in the mornings we'll hike together. This morning we decided to get up earlier than normal since it was going to be EXTREMELY HOT.

We started our regular hike, which might I mention begins with a pretty tough incline. Uh, not the easiest way to warm up. Well, as always, I was ready to turn back when we completed the initial climb.. and, AS ALWAYS, Kathy didn't care. Haha!

She decided to go easy on me by taking a different route, uh-huh. This only meant a longer route. The 'alternate trail' literally began with a small mountain... hello?? Yes, it was straight to the top before the sun woke up. I laughed and she laughed and then kept going. Grrrr!! I kept laughing and telling her she was CRAZY and that there was NO STINKIN' WAY I was going to climb that first and then hike our regular route. She kept saying... "You can, come on."

Well, I finally made the ascent. Wow! At the top of the 'hill,' as she would call it, I saw the sun beginning to peak up behind the McDowell Mountain Range, it was so serene. I was glad I kept going! SShhh.. don't tell her that. :)

We then began our regular hike and about 2 miles into the hike, on a routine trail, my right ankle gave out. OUCH!! I tried to stand on it, enough to get on flatter ground, but it would not cooperate - AT ALL! I hopped over to a large rock and sat down. I could not touch my ankle without feeling an unbelievably sharp pain. Well, we had previously talked about people that had been rescued off the mountain. And when I say 'RESCUED,' I mean by MediVac! The mountains are steep peaks, with extremely narrow trails which can only be reached on foot or on a mountain bike. We sat for a few minutes and then Kathy realized I was probably not going to make it the rest of the way back. She offered to go 'GET HELP.' I told her to wait.. I then looked up while holding my ankle with my right hand and said out loud, "Lord, I need you to touch my ankle, right now, please help me, please." God heard me, while most of the city still slept.

I stood and gingerly began to put weight on that ankle. I then added a bit more until I was standing with my weight perfectly distributed on both ankles. I walked a little and found that all the pain was gone. I told Kathy it felt fine... she said we'd take a short cut back to the car. We continued our hike and about a mile later she said I seemed to be doing well. She decided to add a few more inclines to the end of our trail. I told her to lead the way... 3 1/2 miles after I hurt my ankle, we arrived at my car. It felt fine, actually it almost felt stronger than it had before I hurt it. I knew immediately, the Lord had heard me. Praise God for His faithfulness. His child's faintest cry resounds 'LOUDLY' in His ears. "Our walls are continually before Him."

A couple days before, I slipped on one of the trails and have several bruises and a few scrapes as souvenirs from that day. Haha... up to that point I had not even slipped, musta' been 'cause I was so 'proud of myself.' :) Oops! :) Some of the trails are pretty steep and many of them are covered in slate. The slate is smooth, so it often slides over itself causing hikers to lose their footing. (You can see the slate in the pic, this IS NOT one of the steep inclines - not even close) People are rescued off these mountains all of the time... they're beautiful to hike, but one wrong step and off you go (literally). Yikes! :-/



We logged about 5 1/2 miles today, for a total of approx. 18 miles this week!! Yippee..I feel great!!

Psalm 63

1O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

2To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

3Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

4Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

6When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

7Because thou hast been my heltp, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

8My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.