Shout with joy in the valley what you hear on the mount.

I have lots of unfinished blog posts.
So it's not that I haven't been blogging, I just haven't been posting...

God is opening lots of doors, not always in the material, but really deep inside of me. He's been showing me who I am through new things, people, adventures, and new questions I ask.

What does it mean to love not the world?
What does it mean to be a child of God?
What does it mean to put every ounce of trust in Him?

They are about the practicalities of life, living out the Lord's commands. The Lord takes me up to the mount and shows me something really extraordinary. He grants me knowledge and simplicity of a child. Then these things reach the valley and are put to the test. The fires. The storms. The tribulations. I'm learning an aspect of Christian life that is often lost to those who hunger for the extravagance of God.

Life isn't always extravagant.

Life happens in the valleys, and it is among the demon-possessed and duties and drudgeries of life that the real Christian life is lived.

Descending into the valley has been a huge eye opener. I find myself crying out for wisdom more than anything. Burdens and expectations are placed upon me as I take on more adult roles in life. I have a job. I go to school. I am an athlete. The challenge is embracing these things as they become more routine, not expecting the actual things to fill me, but expecting God himself to show His face in each and every one of the simple things.

That is what keeps me alive. His face, His eyes, His smile--His beauty. On the days during a hard training week, walking to the gym, I stop to examine a leaf with dew drops. There are roses, I smell every single on of the them. At the gym I smile at the face of each and every one of my clients. Even the ones who are hard to love because their beauty is so covered by brokenness. But God sees their beauty, so do I.

Simple pleasures keep me going. It's like God, while putting me in this drudgery, shows me that though the extravagance of life is gone He is still there. He was there on the mount, He is there in the valley. That is the only thing that does not change. Nothing separates me from His Love or His Touch.

God has begun literally opening the floodgates of Heaven. It seems that every abyss in my nature has been filled. I have been instilled with simplicity, so life is vibrant and full and it all looks like a great adventure. My mind is pliable and in a state of constant change. There is no shame in approaching God and being intimate with him, because I am a saint in his eyes. This life is meant to be lived in abundance and I am beginning to understand what that means. It has much to do with being entirely reliant upon Him, and being undazed by circumstances. There is no loss. There is no sacrifice. Everything is done out of Love-Passion.