Walking in God's Woods

  My favorite poem includes the phrase "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep." This year, I have experienced much of the darkness of God's woods, along with its loveliness and depth, but one thing has remained true: Jesus is my light shining in the darkness. I may not be able to see what might be around the next turn, but the darkness will not overcome my guiding light. For the past few weeks, I have not written as much as when I started recording this journey, and part of the reason is that I have wandered a little too much in the darkness. Once again, things have not gone the way I would have planned, and I have allowed the twisting path through the woods to cause me to become scared and anxious, instead of looking where the light shines. Today, I feel like the woods are a little less dense, and it is easier to see where I am supposed to be heading. I am not out of the darkness of the woods yet, but it feels like the trees are spread a little further apart. All I have t...

  I first encountered this verse on one of my walks in early May, and even though I knew it held meaning for me, I was not quite sure what it was yet. I started this blog post and let it sit for a couple months. This morning, I have finally come to a realization of why this verse is so important in my life. I have always been in the habit of ending a phone call to my family with "I love you" before hanging up the phone. It occurred to me a while back that if I make sure to tell my family that I love them after talking to them, then why wouldn't I tell God the same? Since then, I have made a point of ending my conversations with God by thanking Him for loving me and my family and responding with "I love you, too." (As a side note, a long time ago, I had this idea of the most important/powerful things you can say to another person. The second most important is "I love you," but the most important is "I love you, too," because the word "too...

Over the past several days, this verse has truly disturbed me. As I have said in previous posts, when I read the Word on my walks in God's woods, I try to listen for what that verse is telling me about myself. The book of Ezekiel is another one of those prophets near the end of the Old Testament that I usually have a hard time reading, and the main theme of this particular chapter is God condemning the false prophets who have led the people of Israel astray. God speaks through Ezekiel and calls these false prophets jackals and says they will not enter the land of Israel, but he also says that he will release his wrath on them so the people will know that he is God. What disturbs me about this passage is the question of when have I been a false prophet. When have I declared that I am doing God's work when I am really doing what I choose? When have I followed my own spirit and seen nothing? Over the past several months, it feels like I have seen no progress in my life, and this v...

Yesterday was the first day of classes at both Appalachian State University and NC State University, and I spent a large portion of my day thinking about and praying for both Rayne and Abe, our two sons. Both of these young men have overcome some major obstacles to make it to college, and I am beyond proud of the work, both academic and personal, that each of them has done to make it this far. I feel truly blessed to know that both boys are starting on the path to adulthood, and even if they don't need me by their side at all times, I pray that they know that I am right behind them, cheering them on. Truthfully, yesterday was a very hard day for me because it reminded me of the contrast between the two boys' situations. I sent a text to both boys to remind them that we love them, we are proud of them, and we are praying for them. According to my phone, Rayne read his text a little before he went to his first college class. Unfortunately, it appears that Abe has blocked my text ...

  Very recently, I wrote about how Psalms 46:10 is my favorite verse because of its reminder that we need to be still, then I came across 1 Samuel 12:16 that, again, reminds us to stand still. This verse made me curious about how often those type of phrases show up in the Bible, so I tried to do some research; however, it is nearly impossible for me to pin down an exact number because there are so many variations of this reminder throughout the scriptures. One thing that did begin to stand out to me as I read multiple verses was the similarity of things connected to these reminders to be still: Be still and know that I am God... (Psalms 46:10) Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. (1 Samuel 12:16) The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet. (Exodus 14:14) Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him... (Psalms 37:7) Let all people be silent before the Lord, for He is coming from His holy dwelling. (Zechariah 2:13) B...

  In August 2002, I became a math teacher because I needed a job, I had a math degree, and Freedom High School needed another teacher. I took the job, not necessarily expecting it to be a long-term career, much less realizing that it was a calling from God. I quickly found out that I liked teaching math, but I also found out that I enjoyed connecting with students. In particular, I began to develop some very important relationships with young men who didn't have a positive father figure in their lives. Even today, I am still connected with many of those young men, and it always brings me joy to watch the progress they have made in their lives. In February 2024, I found a completely different career path, and since then, I have a much better perspective of my calling. One night, just after I had started my new career, I was walking with several of my new colleagues, on our way back to our hotel in New York City. We were getting to know one another, and one of my new colleagues compl...

  Our pastor referenced this verse in the last sermon of his "Trust the Process" series. Truthfully, it was not the main verse of the message, but for me, it was one more reminder that God sees me. He knows my deepest pains, He knows my deepest desires, He knows my deepest fears, He knows my deepest anxieties, and He knows my deepest needs. When I really focus on this verse, I am reminded that those pains, desires, fears, anxieties, and needs are really not mine to worry about. God tells me to be still because I know that He is God. For a long time, I have said that this is my favorite verse. Now, it not only reminds me that I need to approach life's challenges calmly, but it also reminds me that I am not God. I am NOT the one to be exalted. For most of my life, I have been a very easy-going person who doesn't let much worry me. I used to think of this verse as my kind of "motto" in life, explaining why I didn't worry about things--I was just being still...