Category: journey

Journal: A Record of Experiences, Ideas & Reflections Kept Regularly

 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7 The Message)

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On a monthly basis, a group of tender hearted women meet after church. We journal in community. Our faithful mentor, Mary Ann, asks God for a prompt or devotion to prime our conversation with God and each other. Each time we meet, we marvel at how God tailors the topic to our current needs.

Today was no different. Mary Ann pulled out photocopies of an article from her Insights for Living newsletter. Chuck Swindoll reflected on “What Journaling Can Do For You.” (You can read it here.)

We started reading the article and conversing over it, commenting on how timely, and encouraging his thoughts were regarding the discipline of keeping a journal.

After reading the article, we each furiously scribbled our reflections about what journaling meant to us. We arrived with various concerns on our minds, but this respite from the daily grind gave us time and space to reflect on the spiritual act of writing.

I started out this way:

What can journaling do for me? It’s a place, a practice, a playground, a personal space, a retreat with God, a sorting out time for thoughts, ideas and emotions. I can go back and read and recall conversations that I’ve had with God. It shows me God’s goodness and faithfulness. I can write Scriptures, praises, confessions, thanksgivings and ask for things. I can listen with pen in hand.

I continued to write about how my journal gives me space to plan and consult God about His desires for me. I thanked Him for the journaling group at our church and other journalers I know, like Lynn Morrissey, Kelly Greer and Dawn Paoletta and the RJD ladies. I wrote down a couple quotes from the article by Chuck Swindoll.

“I want to keep a journal because it is an intimate conversation with God.”

“Journaling is worth the discipline it takes to cultivate the reward of intimacy with the Almighty.”

“I want that [intimacy] for you. Deep roots. Journaling will help make that happen.”

Besides having a great record of my spiritual journey, much of the time God clarifies His love and purposes for me through the written conversation.

By taking the time to write with my journaling companions, I came away with a renewed vision for my blogging schedule. (I thrive on variety. Notice the new theme on this blog, that’s me needing something new and different to inspire me. While journaling today, a new schedule surfaced for my blog posts.)

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So with the unveiling of my new look, I wanted to introduce you to the new schedule and topics du jour.

Monday will be a Sabbath day for me, so no blog post.

Tuesday will be getting back to my roots; a “Defining Moments” devotion. (The word “root” may be the theme for a few weeks.)

Wednesday will be a link to my souldare blog, where I will be posting creative, artsy inspiration.

Thursday will remain Thrilling Guest Thursday and I will be looking for guest contributors to add to the weekly schedule.

Friday will be dedicated to the topic of journaling (which may include guest contributors, prompts, tips and/or links to inspiring articles about journaling.) On the first Friday of the month, of course, I will be posting with the Random Journal Day ladies.

I was going to pursue hosting an online book group for Bonnie Gray’s, Finding Whitespace, but feel I need to put that idea on hold for now. (I still highly reccomend reading her book, and may include some of her prompts on Fridays.)

I like trying new things. I hope you will join in by following, reading, commenting or even guest posting.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to comment or email me at kelrohlf@souldare.com

Here’s to living the life we know God has given us!

 

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Quest: To Go on a Journey to Find Something


Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; 
knock and the door will be opened to you. 
(Matthew 7:7 NIV)


Did you ever notice that the word question has quest in it? Ever since, my friend, Lynni, pointed this out, I have approached questions with a whole new zeal. I love journeys, adventures and quests. Especially quests that involve words. My favorite kind of quest is searching a trail through the dictionary. I start out looking for the definition of one word, and that leads to another and then another and another. Sometimes, I even get sidetracked by a word that I wasn’t even looking for!

Questions lead us in a quest for deeper knowledge and deeper intimacy with Christ. Asking questions helps to sort out what we believe, and searching for the answers prepares us to give a reason for our hope.

In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam Farrel invites us to ask all kinds of questions during our quiet times with the expectation that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the answers. She advises:

Spend a quiet time writing out a list of theological questions that you’d love to know the answer to. Which doctrines do you need to learn more about: eschatology (end times), the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit, baptism, sin or sanctification? 

After you’ve written a list…go to a Christian bookstore to buy a book that will help you study…try asking your pastor what theology books he or she had to read in seminary or Bible college. 

Think of questions  people who don’t know Jesus ask. Make a list and research biblical responses…For example, I have answers to questions like: Why should I wait until marriage for sex? Why should I believe the Bible? What makes Jesus so special? What happens to people who don’t accept Jesus? What is heaven like? What is hell like? What does God have to say that will help me be a better parent?

Ask other believers: Why do you still believe, and what has held your faith together all these years? Listen for commonalities. 

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com

What question is burning in your heart today?


To find all the posts for 31 Days of Quiet, click here.
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Count: To Rely or Depend on Someone or Something {Intuition Diaries}

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 
(Psalm 90:12 NIV)

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”
(Exodus 33:15 NIV)




10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 . . . 1! We made it! We finished the Erie Canal today. We officially locked through forty-one locks, 34 on the canal itself and 3 twice on the Cayuga-Seneca canal and the first one out of Buffalo, the Black Rock Lock.

What an adventure we’ve had together. Truly we sensed God’s presence each day through His marvelous creation, the ingenuity of the locks and His tender care of providing food, docks, laundry, showers, companions along the way and even some interesting challenges.

Over the past two days we planned to go through Locks 10 through 2 and spend a couple days in Waterford. But the Tugboat Roundup is scheduled this weekend, so we weren’t able to stay on the wall both Wednesday and Thursday night. We regrouped and found a marina near Albany, which really ends up being very convenient to catch the train back to Buffalo, get the truck and trailer and then on Friday morning take the boat out of the water. Then we head to visit my sister in New Jersey and then home.

The last days of a journey are bittersweet. The last couple of days I felt like saying good-bye to each lock, enjoying the majesty of the doors opening and closing, the soothing fountain effect while the “tub” filled with water and the scenic waterways always opening up before us. 

Our last night on the canal (really the Mohawk River) was behind the south wall of Lock 7. The lock master at Lock 8 questioned our choice, because “there’s really nothing to do there, but you will have peace and quiet.” We tied off to the wall arriving around dinner time. We went over and met the friendliest lock master yet. A young man following in his father’s footsteps. His father had been a lock master for thirty years. We talked with him, while a sailboat locked up. They were going to stay on the wall, too. So much for a remote place. 

We shared our boating stories. They had been cruising and and sailing since the end of May, having left from Toronto, their hometown and were circling around down from Canada, Maine and now the across the Erie Canal up to Oswego and back across Lake Ontario to Toronto. They were traveling with their 13 yr old daughter, their dog and their cat. 

In the morning, I went for a run. I had wanted to do a 5K run one of the weekends we were out, if we happened to be in a town hosting one. Never did find one, so I made my own today along the Erie Canalway Bike Trail. (The trail follows fairly close along the route we took; it’s another fun way to see the canal.) We headed out to go through Lock 7 and then to the “Flight of Five” in Waterford, where five locks are within a half mile of the next one. It was a great way to end this trip. At the beginning of the day, we thought we wouldn’t get to see the Hudson River or do the last lock, but as I said, we decided Albany was the better place to take out, so this is where we say “bye” to this journey.

Until the next time. 

Photos of the last several locks and highlights along the way:

Lock 10

Dam next to Lock 9

Lock 8


Sunset at Lock 7
Moored with our new neighbors from Toronto behind Lock 7 wall
Good-bye, Lock 7!

Lock 6, first in the Flight of Five

Lock 5

Lock 4

Lock 3

Leaving Lock 3

Leaving Lock 2, looking out into Waterford

Lock 1

Good-bye Erie Canal!

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Enter: To Make a Beginning {Intuition Diaries}


Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him; praise His name! 
(Psalm 100:4 ESV)

Guard gate along the Erie Canal

During the time the trailer was in for repairs, we drove over to visit my aunt. We had a nice dinner and shared photos, but as always our time together was too short. We spent the evening in a town near the repair shop. When we got up that morning we had no idea what to expect. But to our surprise the trailer was ready to be picked up by noon that very day. And our keys had arrived. 


We picked up the boat and keys, and trucked our way over to Buffalo. We got to the marina just as the sun was setting. 

Thursday morning, we entered the boating phase of our trip. We cruised from the Buffalo harbor over to the Black Rock Canal, which bypasses the Niagara River in order to get over to the Tonawanda area, where the Erie Canal begins.

Buffalo Marina





We will be crossing the entire canal, which is 338 miles long. Part of our adventure includes going through 35 locks. We started with the Black Rock Lock. After stopping in North Tonawanda, where we visited the Carousel Museum, we went through the first lock system in Lockport, which is a double lock. 

Entering the Lockport double lock system
Leaving the second lock at Lockport


Looking back into the double lock



Going through a lock is like driving your boat into a huge bathtub, then securing your boat to the side while the water drains. Or if you are locking up the canal, the water fills while your boat bobs on the side. To get into the locks, you enter huge gates. As we enter and exit the locks, I marvel at the ingenuity of the engineering and the majesty of nature combined.

On the Erie Canal system also has Lift Bridges and Guard Gates. The bridges lift to let boats pass under. In the winter the gates are lowered to allow the canal to drain, and they also manage water levels during times of flooding.

Lift Bridges



Taking a journey offers many moments of wonder and surprise. And so the journey of faith. We never know what might be around the next bend. But God always provides, always care and always delights in us.


Plants growing in wall of Black Rock Lock

Lockport used to be a Five Flight lock, meaning five locks in succession. 

Good-bye Lockport!



A couple of surprises so far on this trip have been the trailer incident and last night we experienced the bounty of community. 

We stopped in a little town east of Lockport, where the city provides docking along the canal wall with free electricity. Next to each spot, someone planted a barrel of tomatoes, cabbages and herbs. This morning I clipped a bit of fresh rosemary and cilantro for future meals. 

Sunset at Gasport



For dinner we walked over to the Canalside Inn, a local establishment where we ordered Beef on Weck, a western New York delicacy. The table next to us ordered theirs, but were told they were out. That sparked a friendly banter about us taking their meal. We mentioned we were from out of town, and they forgave us. We asked about a place to get ice, and the offered to go get us a bag. They delivered it to us and admired the boat, swapping stories since they were fellow boaters. One of the couples own a marina on the other side of the lift bridge, and the other had traveled the canal several times, so they gave us some tips for the stops ahead. Companionship along the way is always welcomed.


Lift bridge closed for the night at Gasport





Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in!
(Psalm 24:7 ESV)



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Release: To Let Go

On Tuesdays, I post a picture to contemplate. I found these vintage needles at a thrift store and had fun arranging them for a photo. As I embark on this 40 day journey, I am reminded that I must release things in order to prepare for the next season of life. I need to let go of stuff. I realize that my expectations will be challenged, and potentially I will be asked to surrender them to a richer, deeper Sovereign will. 
 
 
In the story of the Rich Young Ruler, we get a glimpse at how difficult it is to let go. After you read his story, I’d like to invite you to go over to Redemption’s Beauty to read another story of release that has a happy ending. 
 
 
 


And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 

And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 
(Mark 17-27 ESV)

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