SOUL CrossTraining

For me, journaling is one way I check in with the state of my soul. It helps me take stock of where I am, what I am thinking, what I am feeling, and reminds me of where I want to be headed and mostly of who I want to be. Often, I begin by bringing my thoughts and feelings to the surface -- then begin inviting God to shine a light on what and where he would like for me to focus my attention. Sometimes my entry finishes with an "aha moment" where I clearly see something I hadn't noticed before -- and sometimes my entry finishes with a prayer that simply says... Lord, help me... Either way I sense God reminding me that he cares about me and understands what ever I am going through at that time. I like to start writing what's on my mind.  What I am thinking?  What am I feeling?  Why is this bothering me?  How am I responding?  How do I want to respond?  What do I sense God is asking of me? Sometimes I write pages and pages.  Other times I may on...

What does a canary have to do with the health of your soul? Great question. One of the earliest systems for coal miners to detect poisonous gas included these little creatures. The system was rather low-tech and not very animal friendly, sorry. Keep in mind, canaries are very sensitive to carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases that can be found in a mine. Here's how it worked. Coal miners would take a caged canary into the mine with them. As long as the air quality was good, the canary would chirp and sing all day long. However, when hazardous gases were present, the canary would begin to have trouble breathing and start to sway awkwardly on their perch. This abnormal behavior was a warning for the coal miner to leave the pit. Again, what's this have to do with my soul? A canary was used as a warning signal that the coal miner was in danger. So, here's the connection. What warning signal can you point to that indicates something is not quite right in your soul? Is it yo...

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?

Whether I am reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to someone share -- I absolutely love a great story. I love watching the plot develop and I especially love the possibilities surrounding each new beginning. I hate endings. Closing the page of a book I've loved, the screen fading to black and the credits rolling after I've enjoyed a good movie, and a chapter in my life coming to a conclusion that has been life changing. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us . Ralph Waldo Emerson My daughter and I are in the process of turning the page of an incredible chapter. The details are too many to describe. Yesterday, we said goodbye to Tiger's Edition, affectionately known as Eddy, our 12 year old, thoroughbred. Today, both Chelsea and Eddy begin a new chapter. In the spring of 2006, Eddy was adopted by us through New Vocations -- a race horse adoption group located in Ohio. He came to us very green with little experi...