Vision Walking

About two weeks ago I bought a pedometer... you know- those little things you can clip on your belt that tell you how far you are walking? Well, I soon discovered, much to my surprise, that I walk an average of 5-6 miles per day visiting patients at the hospital where I work. "Wow!" I thought to myself- I really am walking a lot.

Then I discovered that the pedometer also has a feature that keeps track of the amount of "aerobic walking" that the wearer does throughout the day. They define aerobic as walking done at a brisk pace for a sustained period of at least 15 minutes. Much to my chagrin, despite walking nearly six miles a day I was not logging in any "aerobic walking."

I also realized that there are times in my life occasionally when I find I am busy but not especially effective, because I am constantly scurrying from appointment to appointment without taking time intentionally each day to get mentally, physically and spiritually prepared for the day.

I resolved to change this. I decided to come to work 30 minutes early, and walk completely around the hospital campus and through the main hallway, which takes 20-25 minutes if I walk briskly. I have been doing this every week day for a couple of weeks now and I love it!

On the second day that I set out for my morning "aerobic walk" I decided to use the 20 minutes to meditate and lift up my day and the hospital in my prayers and intentions. What I have found is that I feel much more energized and refreshed when I start my day, and I also feel spiritually recharged. I feel I am able to be more present and responsive to the needs of those whom I visit and seek to help, and also have a deeper sense of peace and confidence in God's greater purpose for my life.

Try making and taking time for a prayer or vision walk in the morning before you begin your work for the day. For me it has made all the difference!

Joy and peace on the Journey,

John

Righteous Rock

This past weekend I went an excursion that was a lot of fun and also quite interesting. A buddy of mine who I recently met at the church I attend invited me to attend a heavy metal concert. My friend Jay, is a hard-core rocker. He plays a screaming electric guitar, and even has a tattoo.

Jesus found Jay a few years ago, and his life has not been the same since. He has gotten involved in helping out with the youth group at church, he has begun attending a small group, and also mentors a few of the young men who are new to the faith. One of these young men, a developmentally challenged teenager named Wes, joined us on the excursion.

Jay invited me, Wes, and another of his friends to go to a Christian heavy metal concert with him. He bought the tickets for us, and wouldn't let me pay him for it, so I said thanks and promised that the "next one is on me." He drove us deep into the countryside on some back roads until we finally came to a medium-sized rural church.

When we arrived and parked in the gravel parking lot, there was a steady stream of teens and twenty-somethings streaming into the church... Out back a large tour bus and trailer were parked- engine running.

When we went inside, it was a typical church foyer of a modern church structure. We were guided down the hall to the fellowship hall/gym/multi-purpose room... When we entered, we were greeted with the buzzing-amp, over-driven distortion of a teenage garage metal band warming up and doing a sound check. They were all in grungy clothes, and a couple of them had a number of tattoos and interesting hair styles...

Soon the hall filled up, and after the teen-band played their set of crunchy guitar pounding, and microphone screaming, another teen band followed- then finally, it was time for the featured group.

The band called themselves Disciple. I soon found out that they are a nationally-known Christian metal band with a big record contract and national tour... playing in a church gym to 150-200 teens and twenty-somethings...

I was thinking- these guys could go mainstream and sell out venues holding a few thousand people, but instead they feel called to play to a few hundred teens- that is awesome!

It was a kickin' concert, and let me tell you, the guitar player could really shred it, to use the hard rock guitar lingo... They did more than just rock out (although they definitely did that too!), they reached everyone in that church gym and showed them Jesus' love...

In the middle of the a scorching set of frenetic rock, jumping up and down, shredding and pogoing, they quieted things down for about 5 minutes, the lead singer reached out to the kids and young adults that were there, and showed them that Jesus is real to him...

That was incredible! The Holy Spirit was at work! Everyone joined hands, and said a prayer with him, and then it was right back to rockin' out! It was awesome! It was awesome because they had dedicated their amazing talents to reaching people and bringing Jesus to them...

God's Spirit works in some amazing and unexpected ways, breaks down cultural barriers, and boldly proclaims Christ's radical message of unconditional love, acceptance and new life!

Keep on rockin' for the Lord!

Peace on the journey,

John