SOUL CrossTraining

Today, I've been around 16,425 days(not counting leap years). Besides being the beginning of a new decade and now it's my birthday... I'm in one of those pondering moods where my mind wanders around asking questions. Who do I want to be? What do I dream will come true? How do I want to be remembered? How will I spend my time and energy? What mark do I want to leave on the world? For now, I am thinking two things... I want to laugh more and enjoy the journey. (I can be a bit too serious!) AND I want to celebrate those I love by pointing out the unique contributions they make in the world! Hopefully, along the way people might notice a bit of Jesus in me. What are you hoping for in the days to ahead? Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Well, today is the day. I am digging into the hallway closet. The one that gathers all the things that we don't want to carry upstairs to our bedrooms or downstairs to the basement. Those things that we are not quite sure can be thrown away. Those things that we just can't quite let go of. As I sorted through the contents, I found evidence of our life. Pictures I had be given by my mother of family members from earlier decades. Mementos of my childhood. I found more recent items from our summer outings watching Calvin, our oldest son, as he pitched in a summer collegiate baseball league. I found hats and gloves we had rushed to put on to play in the snow a few weeks ago. All of these items reminded me of snapshots of our combined life as the Gunter family. I also found a bag full items that needed to be thrown away as well as things that we've outgrown. As I sorted through the contents, I was able to gather the cookbooks that had accumulated in the kitchen back on the shelf...

good morning! thanks god for the beauty surrounding us. nice choice of blue sky this morning with the compliment of the orange sunrise and wispy clouds. nicely done and thanks!

Through prayer, scripture reading, worship and other spiritual disciplines, ordinary humans who seek to know God and his desires are opening themselves to the story of God being carried forward in and through them. As we step into 2010... How will you live with intention? Will you set aside time to be with God, to listen to his heart, to respond to his promptings? Will you invite others into your journey with God, encouraging them along the way? For me, I picked up a daily devotional by Philip Yancey called Grace Notes . I am planning to begin my days with a short reading from this book. I am counting on God to have much to say and much to do in and through ordinary people, just like you and me , these next ten years! So, what's your intention this year?