Can you still wonder?

 Picture from the International Space Station over Great Britain, also catching a view of the Northern Lights on the horizon.

What about wonder?  We can talk truth and philosophy all we want, but wonder is the backdrop that draws us.  It binds us into the search.  Don't you think?  I am not primarily a logician, but I love logic.  I'm not primarily a rationalist, but I love rational.  

I'm primarily an intuitive.  I subconsciously reel in toward the conscious clues of time, space, reality, nature, society, people, all into a cohesive band of thoughts and perceptions, systematizing into my prefrontal cortex, as a worldview.  Is that you?  

Modern Christianity has been described as dogmatic.  Fair enough.  Perhaps it has become that.  R.C. Sproul wrote a book on the importance of the arts to Christianity, which suggests to me that perhaps we have abandoned the arts?  Listen to some Christian rock and you'll be in full agreement with me on that one.  Blah! 

In addition, Ravi Zacharias wrote a book titled "Recapture the Wonder."  To recapture something must mean, in the general sense of a movement, that it has somehow been lost. 

I can see why.  The theological bullies out there are pretty intense.  The orthodoxy.  The fear in my mind as I write sometimes, wondering if I might get pinned as a heretic if I don't phrase something in just the correct theological way.  It damages the ability of the believer to creatively and wondrously interpret the scriptures.  

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to put together a systematic theology that isn't at least somewhat contradictory or very often it doesn't seem quite, quite right?  Do you know why?  

I think I know why.  Point one, maybe it was never meant to be systematized.  Point two, the startling coalescence of contrarieties, the mystery of the wide, deep depths and finely tuned breadths of the message of the Bible, the cross, the gospels, is so powerful, so mysterious, so groundbreaking, so variable, so multifaceted, and multidimensional; and so truly the revelation of the divine architect of the universe that it cannot be understood fully on a purely rational systematic level.  It must be invibed on an intuitive level.  That takes wonder, and imagination.

So here are two videos that may just capture some of the wonder of the world we live in.  Enjoy.   

(Click play on the video, and then in the lower right corner you can make the video full screen if you'd like)

1. The North Lights



2. Fly on wings like Eagles



3. Time Lapses of Natural World



4. Formation of a Snowflake



5. Time Lapse of our Home from Orbit at International Space Station


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Ten Years in the Desert, Two Years in the Wilderness

In five days I'll be celebrating two years clean and sober, in the care of Jesus Christ.  It's been an amazing and challenging ride thus far.  I'm sure it'll be constantly changing, as it has been since day 1 of hope.

There are so many memories over my life.  Yet they fade, slowly, until I can hardly remember any of my life.  I live in the present.  Yet I tend to project myself into the future.  Is that you as well?  I tend to imagine and write about who I'd like to be, and without even realizing it, I tend to project my ideal self into the future and see it come to fruition.  I live by my core values, and try to see them translated into the physical world around me to my satisfaction.  That is the core of being a dreamer-idealist (INFP).

I remember a book my mother read me as a child.  It was called "Owl Moon."  It was the story of a father and son traveling out into a winter night, into the woods, to spot owls.  The Owl Moon story captured my curiosity in describing emotion through writing.  It captured my imagination.  Later I began writing, putting together novels and studying the classics. 

Fast forward fifteen years, and I was dreaming of chasing an owl into a dark forest.  I was searching for a meadow of golden sunlight.  The peace I felt there in the dream was the most real sensation of my life.  I've always had the clearest dreams.  Often I'd write about the dreams I had.  This time I wrote an entire book about that journey, into a beautiful, dangerous forest.  I called it Jacob and the Meadow.  Perhaps the forest in that dream was drug addiction.  Or simply a description of my own inward spiritual journey.  Or maybe something else.  It's hard to say.

Naturalists think all reality can be described in purely physical terms.  But that is not what I've seen.  That is not what corresponds with reality.  Instead I see a world rich with symbolism.  We live in a world filled with allegory, metaphor, and foreshadowing.   

So it's been nearly two years.  It's also been a constant struggle.  But no one said it would be easy, least of all, Jesus himself.  Jesus said count the cost.  Because it ain't easy.  But wow, is it worth it.

Transformation!  Power!  Intense, gritty, real struggle!  Moments sublime with intervals hilarious.  Can we make it?  I believe we can.  I can, with some divine charity.  Perhaps the first story has ended, of Jacob and his search for the Meadow.  If so, has the second story now begun?  I wrote three books in those delusion-filled, sleepy times of my life.  I was lost on the road, asking questions like "Where do I go from here?" and "What is the meaning of all this?"

The second story began in a floating city in the clouds.  Certainly indicative of the mind caught up in the altered states of dissociative hypnotics.  The first chapter climaxed with the main character leaping from the city in the clouds and breaking his shoulder landing on a broken wasteland below.  Below an angel appeared and healed his shoulder.  The barren wasteland below, was, as Morpheus from the Matrix movies might put it "the desert of the real."  Inevitably when the drug addict comes clean of the drugs, he must face the reality of what has happened to his own life and his own self.  Entire sections of the mind have been ignored.  Others have grown out of control.  Chemicals are off balance, and the outworking is a terrible sight to behold.

The second story really cataloged the story of an estranged man from a different place discovering a tattered, broken land full of chaos and trouble.  The land itself with a sickness upon it, the various settlements and cities broken and corrupted, divided and leaderless.  Add to that, also facing an inevitable onslaught from the powers behind the floating city, a kingdom called "Rem."  

It was really a double allegory similar to Tolkien's middle earth books.  The city in the clouds and the broken land below represented the shattered mind of a drug addict, my own, and the journey to escape that.  Yet it also represented an external situation I was beginning to perceive in the world around me, a powerful elite across the Earth keeping populations in a dumbed down state of servitude, whether directly or indirectly.  Yet in a third sort of "inverse allegory" the main character was in the city in the clouds dreaming about the real world below.  That is another reference to drug addiction, in that once a drug addict is securely placed within the world of delusion and lie (the tripping, high state), the previous life of sobriety and normalcy becomes the far away dream world that doesn't seem real any longer.  And once far enough within, hard to even remember.

The second story chronicles the journey of David aka Jacob (in each of the three stories the same character receives a new name) as he stumbles about from city to city, encountering people and places he half remembers from his dreams.  The main character works to improve the settlements, instill hope in them, and help them to unite together.  Ironically this is similar to the journey of one lost in drugs and delusion, to put together his life again.  

In the past two years I've slowly rediscovered who I am, traveling from area to area of my own interests and goals, beliefs and ideals, gathering them together to recreate who I am.  The toll of drug addiction and alcoholism is unspeakably terrible.  One might wish for pity sake that you just let the poor addict have a quick death from the start.  

Because the addict loses everything, slowly, painstakingly, himself divided, part of him wanting to stop and try to recover, but the greater majority insisting on more drug, more drug, more drug.  It's like slowly losing a war.  Piece by piece your outer life is destroyed.  Car gone, on probation, off probation, in jail, new charges, lost job, family starts slowly backing away, one by one friends disappear, 1, then another, two more, and soon all.  People start to hate you for your behavior.  Especially when they loved you deeply.  Piece by piece, life itself slips away.  

One by one, I saw myself violate my own deepest held convictions.  I saw my own strength fail time and again.  I would be able to quit for a month, relapse.  I would quit for another week, relapse.  I would get into recovery for 4 months, relapse.  Then even a full year, relapse.  Probably the worst part was wanting to quit, but at the same time not wanting to quit.  Or put another way, wanting to quit but not quite enough to convince myself to take an action or make a change.  And knowing, painstakingly knowing that there was no way out.  Expecting and even looking forward to death.  Then when death wouldn't come through the addiction, attempting suicide through more direct means.  And failing.  Ending up in a mental hospital.  Watching your own dad testify against your ability to take care of yourself in a court room.  Being raped by a drug addict.  The insults and injuries never ended.  The icing on the cake of course, is the look in the eyes of counselors, nurses, doctors, family, and friends.  The look that says "you're bad, you're evil.  just stop already."  I remember a nice Catholic lady once said "damn you" as I pleaded for mercy from a grocery store owner who had caught me shoplifting.  

But occasionally there were people like Father Marion, displaying the love of Christ.  You could search his eyes and there was not even a hint of judgment.  Just love.  And they reminded you, pointed you directly to Jesus Christ himself.  

I had tried so many times on my own power and my own strength.  I had failed.  I had wanted to show God I didn't need him.  But the truth is, I need God.  Just as much today two years later as the first day of my new life.  When I finally called out to Jesus Christ, in earnest, brutally crying out for help, at the bottom, he suddenly made the impossible possible.  

At the outset of the 3rd story, the main character was given a new name, Joshua, and the angel who was protecting him and guiding him through the wastelands gave him a suit of armor, shield, and sword.  Much like a Christian receives the imputed righteousness of Christ at his moment of believing.  So the third book began the story of a redeemed young man, with united armies to take on the evil he saw around him. (Side note: If you want to read any of those three stories click here, but I can't vouch for how coherent that reading experience will be.)

And so in my own life, in the past two years I've seen myself grow and change, from a broken, lost, hopeless young man, to a soldier of Christ, encouraging a world to love Christ with a radical love and defend the truth that we can so admire in the books of the Bible.  That is the literal, substantive transformational power of Jesus Christ, who is really, truly, God. 

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Pain/Suffering in the Christian Life
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Quick Fact Sheet: Four Points to Consider

Apologetics are wonderful!  Here are some quick facts with intriguing quotes from great minds across the ages.  Feel free to share and use this "expert testimony" to any and all uses.

10 Answers to Common Questions Raised by Skeptics

Have you ever been puzzled by the objections raised by skeptics in regard to Christianity?  Or maybe you are one of those skeptics?  If so, I'm glad you're here. 

As Dr. Ravi Zacharias would put it, "Apologetics is the seasoning, but the gospel is the main course."  I love apologetics, I find it absolutely fascinating.  I also secretly wish I had come into contact with apologetics sooner.  Because then maybe I wouldn't have had to go down so many dark holes looking for answers.  I dismissed the Bible and Christianity very quickly when I was young.  I didn't think there was a reason in the world to believe any of it.  I had a practical view similar to that of Richard Dawkins, that belief was considering things to be true that were in direct contradiction with reality.  

I've now found that the really gritty down and dirty truths of reality are indeed best explained in Christianity.  No other worldview can adequately explain why the world is such a messed up place.  No other worldview tells me so many things that I don't want to hear, yet I know deep down are true about me and those around me.  I respect Christianity immensely for that.  That's the intellectual level.  Yet I could not follow it simply on the basis of hard truth.  

I found myself in love with Christianity on an emotional level, a heart level, because of the incredible love and forgiveness in the message.  It all comes together beautifully in my view.

But there is no reason to be afraid of objections to Christianity.  I firmly believe that we ought to respectfully answer any objection or question raised.  Assuming it is raised politely!  I can't stress that enough, that it's important to be polite when both raising an objection, and answering an objection.  This is not about winning an argument.  It can't be.  Too much is at stake.  It's about speaking the truth in love.  Even a Christian apologist who wins a "battle argument" often ends up losing the person.  

We want to win the person to Christ! (That's the imperative to keep in mind).  So give ground at times, find ways to agree with points and parts of their position.  Identify with their position.  Grant fair points when they make them.  Be kind and compassionate, and very patient.  Develop a friendship, a relationship.  If losing the argument will mean bringing the person a step closer, so be it.  The person raising an objection may not be listening to the argument as much as he or she is listening to the attitudes and mannerisms of the speaker.

But very often people have legitimate concerns and reasonable questions to ask.  Many have had very negative experiences with Christianity.  They need to be reintroduced to the radical love in the Bible.  The job of the defender is very often simply clearing away all the barbed wire, bushes, garbage, and mud so that the cross of Jesus Christ can be seen unobstructed.    

So here are ten answers to common questions raised by both the honest skeptic, and the upset former believer.  Enjoy. 


1. All the ridiculous stuff in the Bible has been disproved, hasn't it?
Ravi Zacharias Answers:



2. How do you know objective morality is based on God? 

William Lane Craig answers: 



3. Am I unloving for not affirming same sex behavior? 
Frank Turek answers:



4. How can a good God allow evil?
William Lane Craig answers:



5. How can a good God send me to hell?
Frank Turek answers:



6. Why is Christianity the one true religion?
Greg Koukl answers:



7. Is there Evidence for God's existence?
Frank Pastore answers:



8. Who created God?
William Lane Craig answers:



9. Isn't all truth relative?  Is there such a thing as truth?
Frank Turek answers:

10. But Why Jesus?
Ravi Zacharias answers:


Related Posts:

1. Philosophy, Science, Logic, and History
2. Nine Documentaries & Presentations
3. Modern Christianity & Apologetics
4. A Vital Spiritual Experience, an unparalleled Adventure
5. Believing in the Miraculous: The Work of Jesus 
6. Using Youtube for Spiritual Health (Three Videos) 
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Modern Christianity & Apologetics: Some Intriguing Lectures & Discussions

 I really enjoy intriguing and entertaining presentations regarding Christianity, Apologetics, and Science.  Don't you!?  I really, really do.  So these are five gems I've scraped together for your viewing pleasure.  My goodness, we have such a rich movement of Christianity taking form in this country today.  Don't you think?  

First off we've got an interview by the sarcastic, brilliant Eric Metaxas.  The interview with Canon White is absolutely fascinating, and funny.  It's simply astounding to hear about the work of the Holy Spirit, angels, miracles and such happening in Baghdad.  You wonder about what it's like to be a persecuted Christian from time to time, it sounds truly terrible, yet wonderful at the same time.  2nd is a presentation by Frank Turek, revealing some very intense and scary information about college professors and atheism on campus.  3rd is Eric Metaxas again, sarcastically interviewing the founder of the intelligent design movement Stephen Meyer. Fourth again is Frank Turek discussing the fossil record, intelligent design, and the cambrian explosion.  Enjoy!


1. Eric Metaxas interviews the Vicar of Baghdad Canon White
Topic: Being a Christian in Iraq
 

2. Frank Turek discusses Intellectual Predators on Campus
Topic: Atheist bias on college campuses


3. Eric Metaxas interviews Stephen Meyer / Socrates in the City
Topic: Intelligent Design



4. Frank Turek discusses Intelligent Design, Evolution, and the Cambrian Explosion
Topic: Fossil record/Cambrian Explosion 


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A Vital Spiritual Experience, an unparalleled Adventure

The Christian journey is a magical, incredible, powerful adventure.  It is simply the highest and greatest undertaking possible for any one man or woman to set forth upon.  The Pilgrim begins at the cross of Christ, and sets out upon a heroic journey unparalleled by any other on the face of the Earth.  

Ups and downs, highs and lows, devastating tragedies, joyous victories, and everywhere in between.  It all awaits the pilgrim on his passage.  Autumns skies, swaying woods of yellow, gold, and red that bring about such unspeakable emotions.  Winters so deep and unending one feels like the only creature in a thousand miles.  Springs of lush green and pouring rains.  Summers of golden rays set against valleys of green and endless oceans blue, that remind you of lost loves and childhood moments of indescribable emotion.  The adventure is beautiful.  The Christian faces down a deep wilderness, brilliant white angels dancing in the sunlight for a moment you might catch a glimpse, and in the shadows mysterious and terrible creatures lurking, temptations outstretched so sweet to the mouth, yet so bitter to the stomach.

Comraderies with fellow travelers.  Breaks in the trail that lead to dead ends.  Broken fellowships fleeing the woods.  The sounds of bombs falling in the distance.  Cloudy skies crackling thunder.  Quiet moments of home and hearth around dinner tables breaking bread in joyous communion.  Moments of clarity when the clouds part and God himself in shining light shows himself in sovereignty.  

 
And so much more.  So much more.  So many twists and paradoxes, ironies, synchronous moments, joys unspeakable, moments of pure adulation interspersed with moments of hope and holiness, dwindling amongst regret, fear, and lingering disappointment.  Days of war and nights of love, peace of heart amongst the powerful love for God, and for fellow travelers.  On and on it goes.  

This Christian life is a indeed a great and epic journey of spiritual power and growth.  Jesus Christ at the center, Holy Spirit working in our heart, and God the Father overhead guiding the way.  One day at a time, remaining steadfastly firm in the commitment to never give up, to always stay loyal to the God who saved us, one day at a time, learning, growing, falling, and getting up again.  All thanks to Jesus Christ, all through him, to the glory of God the Father.

Take the journey, begin the adventure, experience the power.

Mental Illness, Awareness, and Jesus

#BlessedAreTheHurting

Anxiety?  Worry?  Depression?  Insomnia?  These are things many people struggle with on a daily basis.  Of course there is a lot of stigma surrounding these issues.  

What do you say when someone asks you how you're doing?

"Hey Justin, how are you doing buddy?"

"I'm doing good."  

But what I'm really thinking is.. well, I'm kinda sad right now and I'm not sure why.  I'm tired too.  Super tired.  I keep thinking about things from the past and feel depressed, and occasionally I think about things in the future and feel anxious.  So I'm really kind of a mess today.

Of course I would not say that out loud.  Why?  Because I don't want any advice.  I don't want a pep talk.  I don't want my friend to "worry about me."  And I don't want to make him uncomfortable.  But it's there.  Sometimes I need so badly to tell someone, but I can't. 

A lot of the time, that's a snapshot of what it's like with mental illness.  Everyday can be a struggle. 

Mental illness is a very real concern for many, many people today.  It's a silent struggle.  Because in our "5 step to success" style consumer society, we all put on shows.  We play pretend, and the game is "I'm perfect."  We all pretend like we have no problems, and suffer in secret.  And that leads to loneliness.

Well I refuse to play games.  I have issues!  And it's ok to have issues!  I struggle with mental illness.  Big deal.

Sadly the perfect mask often occurs in the church as well.  When people play righteousness, or holier than thou, a church rapidly degenerates into nothing more than a weird social club.  Sin is hidden.  Secrets abound.  No one can be honest.  And effectiveness in ministry drops by leaps and bounds.

Mental illness is real.  Sadly, in some churches if you bring it up you'll get the "it must be hidden sin in your life or you'd always feel great."  That is entirely false.  The Psalms show again and again, Christians will struggle.  The entire New Testament is full of mentions of Christians having to endure trials and suffering.  

The Old Testament as well.  Consider the story of Elijah and his victory over the false prophets of Baal.  He had just achieved an incredible victory over the false prophets.  Yet he received word that someone wanted to kill him, and it was like the straw that broke the camel's back.  He fled and endured depression.   Yet he had done nothing wrong, he was simply struggling with the ups and downs of life.  

1 Kings 19:3-9 ³ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴ while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
⁷ The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” ⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.


Sometimes I've had enough!  Just like Elijah.  Sometimes I'm depressed.  And I go to my cave and feel sad.  Worry, anxiety, difficult feelings...  Probably the most important thing someone with mental health issues needs is a loving friend.  They need someone to listen without judgement.  They need someone to acknowledge them, listen, and tell them that they are understood.

One last thought on mental illness.. I'm an introvert.  And being an introvert is a wonderful thing.  Unfortunately my introverted style of life, wanting to write and read and spend time alone was misinterpreted by my dad as a mental health problem when I was 10.  I was put on Prozac.  That mindset of "take a pill to fix a problem" and "there is something wrong with you" spiraled.  One could say Ritalin was a major contributor to my parents divorce a few years later, as my dad pressed to experience the cures of psychiatry.  Then after, I looked to doctors and pills to solve my mounting problems.  I became addicted to Ambien.  And I continued to throw pills of all kinds into my mouth, to solve my mental health pains and troubles until 10 years later I'd destroyed my whole life and had overdosed twice and been declared a danger to myself and/or others by the legal system.

Thankfully, Jesus Christ saved me from that.  It's all about Jesus.  It's all about God.  Christianity.  I had been prescribed over 30 different medications over those years.  I had been in outpatient counseling, in-patient facilities, over and over and over.  But all the psychotherapy in the world was useless without Jesus Christ and the words of the Bible to make recovery possible.  That was the problem all those years, I tried to overcome those issues with the very best meds and therapy.  But it was all useless until Jesus Christ changed my heart, and filled me with power to truly seek out and put into practice the solutions out there.

It was a nightmare to be in that repeating loop, that repeating disaster.  I wish someone had told me during those years that I needed Jesus.  But then again, I probably wouldn't have listened anyway.

Mental illness is real.  It affects millions every year in this country.  It's not sin.  Though we all do sin.  It's illness.  And it needs treatment.  Therapy is useful.  Some medications are useful.  But unless the spiritual life guided by Jesus Christ is present, it's often wasted effort.  

So during this month of mental health awareness, hug a depressed guy or gal.  Listen and learn.  Simply be there.  Don't worry about what to say, just listen!  Support someone will mental illness in your area.  And if you're like me, someone who struggles with depression, anxiety, and sleep problems, I have a message for you: You aren't alone.  God loves you, I love you.  I get it, I really get it!  Your pain has meaning, and I know you're of a special few to our Heavenly Father.

Amen.

 

Books I Recommend for Mental Health & Addiction:

Freedom from Depression Workbook by Les Carter

The Lies We Believe Workbook by Chris Thurman

Love Hunger Workbook by Frank Minirth

The Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson

Love is a Choice by Robert Hemfelt

Happiness is a Choice by Frank Minirth, Paul Meier

Pain and Pretending by Rich Buhler

Worry-Free Living by Frank Minirth

Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book by Bill Wilson

Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous

Celebrate Recovery

Every Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn

Healing for Damaged Emotions by David Seamands

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

Has Christianity failed you? by Ravi Zacharias

Support Groups I Recommend: (no cost groups)

Celebrate Recovery Group Locator - for support with addiction, mental health, sexual health, eating disorders, etc.

Alcoholics Anonymous - for support for people struggling with alcoholism.

Al-Anon - support groups for those affected by alcoholic family or friends.

Narcotics Anonymous - support for people who struggle with drug addiction

Others include Nicotine Anonymous, 1-800-QUITNOW (for tobacco), Overeaters Anonymous, Emotions Anonymous, Smart Recovery, and many others!  Inquire locally.

Related Posts:

Encouragement & Rest 

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Encouragement & Rest: Give yourself permission to be at Ease

I'd like to encourage you today, to rest.

Rest in the place of rest, which is our place in the spiritual connection we have to God the Father, through the wonderful light of Christ Jesus.  

The message, the grace, the light we live in is so multifaceted.  It's all about Jesus Christ and his work.  Yet it's also about our response, the kind of life we live, and remaining in the love of Christ.  There is the work.  Then there is the rest.  Forgiveness and Judgement.  Mercy, Grace, Love, Hope.  Mighty king yet Humble servant.  All harmoniously strung together.  

Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV) Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

Jesus welcomes us into fellowship with God through his rest.

Mark 6:31 (ESV) And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 

Psalm 37:7 (ESV) Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 

Isaiah 30:7 (ESV) For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

Paging through the Bible, or clicking through chapters on Biblegateway.com gives me a lot of joy.  The Bible is such an incredible piece of work.  It's all there.  Encouragement, teaching, warnings, poetry, songs, stories, histories, prophecies and so much more.  It's stunning.  I feel a lot of warm anticipation as I look over the chapters seeing which I would like to read/listen to on any given day.  

Why not the book of Daniel to hear of the captive Israelites?   Or the Psalms to hear the passionate, powerful, raw meditations of David, and others.  Or the gospel of John, the gentle poetic message of the deity of Christ, or Matthew or Mark, with the harsh teachings of Jesus regarding sin and salvation, or page through Luke and Acts to read the precise writings of a physician.  Revelation, Daniel, prophecies.  Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Samuel for the powerful messages of repentance from the prophets!  There is just so much.  It's a joy to discover the stories and interpret them.  There is a lot to love in God's book.

 I encourage you to fall in love with the many books of the Bible.  I encourage you to fall in love with God through prayer.  I encourage you to take some time, give yourself a pat on the back, and relax in his loving presence.  Just relax, pause, be silent and rest. 

Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV) Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.