Solitude Picture Truth 3 by Gary Fultz

Solitude

 Auras of mystery surround places of solitude. The very word fills pages of novels, entices the busy, and secretes fear into the lost. Solitude hides a secret ingredient in the discovery of inner peace. She whispers of fulfilled longings and whisks sweet fantasies into the souls of dreamers.

Solitude begs the wilderness to conspire. "Let the open places call and the forests invite the seeker". No answer is heard as nature awaits it's own peace.

Seekers reach for solitude. I slid the canoe into the water quietly at 4:30 am in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness. Getting away from camp for my own sense of solitude. 3 portages, a river, and part of a floating bog later I was met by the early morning sunrise on Sema Lake. Crystal clear calm water looked like I was floating on air 40 feet above the rocky lake bottom. It was that moment when I realized that being totally alone without anyone knowing where, did not give me the solitude I was seeking. Only God knew where I was and only His peace could fill me. Of all the places in the world to discover the place of solitude was on the inside. How ironic to find one must be still and get alone when they are already alone. Even more to find out one can be still in the middle of a busy street or wherever you are in whatever you are doing.

     Solitude is not found in the rocks, trees, skies, or seas. She hides in plain sight while we are distracted by all that surrounds us.Just the fact that we are searching is a seductress. Could it be that solitude is always there waiting for us to slip away from all our distractions into the quiet place of our own heart?
    Tim Wiebe has a good handle on the discipline of Solitude. Psalm 46: 10 Be still and know that I am God. Could it be that easy?

                  You don't have to get to the mountain top to find solitude

Get alone anyway

  
For in depth information on the discipline of solitude read Jan Johnsons writings and her sources she uses on this little used but necessary ingredient for growth in our spiritual formation.

how do you get alone? Please share in the comments at the bottom

Gary D

A Case for...Outdoor Adventures By Gary Fultz

                                    46" pike... Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
    I'm a thrill seeker in the outdoor arena. Adventure stirs and wakens brain cells my teachers thought were missing. It's not enough for me to to read adventure stories and fantasize surviving the "call of the wild" lifestyle; I want to live it and tell the stories. I love to take people with me and share the adventures as well. As competitive as I am I feel a greater glory when someone else catches the monster fish, takes a great picture of a cow moose with her calves, or gets to chase the bear away from the campsite. Raw rugged adventure... and it's great! So let me build a case for seeking an outdoor adventure.

   
    I realized early on that everyone's quest on these adventures I was leading was often quite different. Some wanted to see as much country as possible while others wanted a nice view and contemplation time. From spiritual revival to competitive fishing, the individual quests often form as the trip progresses.
   
     Some gain what they don't seek
      Self confidence, outdoor chef training,  muscles, a reality check, and our smallness in an indifferent environment take some by surprise. Perfect weather and no mosquitoes can become killer storm and black fly hell in a matter of minutes. I have concluded one must die to become one with nature (dust to dust). Black bear often feel entitled to your camp food and may invite themselves at any time (my experience is they really dislike rocks thrown at them). No trip is even close to predictable...therefore...it's an adventure! Why would anyone not do this?
  

    So why go to all the work of having a wilderness adventure?
    I realize some people have their adventures in the mall looking for deals, while others sense of adventure is on par with going to the other end of the hall for ice. The answer for me is a compilation of many things. I want to know myself when all pretense is stripped away, I want to know my creator and experience His living artwork, I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie (high on the Richter scale),  and I love $100 plates of food (trust me you would pay it) at the end of the day around the campfire.
Bottom line: These kind of adventures began to morph the boy into a man of character and a girl into a woman who can hold her own anywhere.
    Another Bottom line: Honesty
    That lake (15 portages and 35 miles in) you wanted to get to? No short cuts, or any other way to get there; you have to do the work to get to those lake trout. Forgot your matches? Oh well! Weatherman said five days no rain? So much for sleeping under the stars (it's you and a zillion mosquitoes under the same canoe). You thought God was magically encountered in nature? Guess again...God is a person and not a rock, tree, beaver, or storm (a very good place to see his art work and experience Him in person however).

    Bonds: A worthwhile quest
    While nature works through a balance of give and take, people work better through relational bonds.
I've watch the father-son, husband-wife, family bonds grow. Poor relationships, selfish behavior, and personal discomfort bring out the worst and best in people. When the storm hits, when the wind blows high waves, when the bear walks into camp, people tend to work together. 
     There is plenty of talk time in the wilderness. plenty of bonding time for your relationships to grow.
Sitting around the camp fire one evening a teenager shared how she had met with God while sitting on a rock looking over the lake. She had never talked with God informally(and out loud) before. Another teen talked about getting to know his dad "I didn't know my dad was so cool"! A dad gave his son a hug and said "son I've been protecting you too much, you are carrying the canoe tomorrow!"
    I leave you with one more reason for taking a wilderness adventure...

           Five minute exposure from an island in crooked lake BWCAW


Gary D
  
   

Food for thought By Gary Fultz

                               Scrambled eggs, coffee after a good Time with God by the fire this morning
I heard it....I heard it again...then again....
    How I start my day has become important to me. I have had to discipline myself to listen to all the voices vying for the days attention starting now. E-mails, weather reports, morning coffee, breakfast, and reading my bible jockey for position while I wander around in PJ's or less wondering where to start.
Me first...
    As I sat up to the computer to read Kirsten Lamb's Blog so I can learn how to blog.
Me first...Again..It was distinct and I didn't need to look around. A couple of months earlier I had heard the same thing, same voice, same request, not urgent but a compelling..."Me First".
    No coffee, no breakfast, or fire in the fireplace; just getting alone with the creator of the universe who whispers "Me First". I have to admit the other voices are louder and more demanding. I guess I let them do that to me. So I read and wonder if God can communicate to me this morning. Does God need some backround music to set the tone? Do I need the backround music to hear God's voice? "Me First"...guess not!
    What do you do when life seems like a barren  wasteland or frozen lake...dead but for the springs?  Can I really hear Gods voice?

   I had been rereading the passage from last sunday's sermon from Isaiah 55

Invitation to the Thirsty

 ¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty,                                      
   come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
   come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
   and your labor on what does not satisfy?                                     
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
   and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
   listen, that you may live....
    I never realized how many times we are told to listen and how many ways God talks to people. I am going to spend a season of time in study on the subject but I already get the sense that God feels we don't listen very well. I guess the "listen, listen" is a clue. I feel like I'm a four year old being talked to.
    So this morning I listened, spent time with the amazing creator, talked a little myself, and then my parameters were reset for the day. Planning my next adventure fishing, reading and exploring the social networking world with the latest greatest book on the subject, and of course making a fine breakfast (pictured top still steaming hot).
    In what ways does God call you? Do you listen? Let me leave you with a song that often comes to my mind...Whatever it takes...Is quite a call...yet probably comes as a whisper.
    So find a spot, take a walk, get alone, listen for God's voice in his recorded word, Listen for his voice in your busy world, Then invite Him into the rest of your day.
Gary D

Looking forward to 2063 by Gary Fultz

    I spend an appropriate amount of time looking forward. The year 2063 will come fast enough. I'm fairly certain I know where I will be and where I won't be. I am just enjoying the shortest daylight day of the year. Officially winter! I look ahead instead of in the past as I need perspective for today.

    
  I am living through an odd day when the sun is shining through a thin cloud layer while it snows. I am sipping on some strong (just right) coffee and soaking in the beauty of last nights sprinkling of another five inches of white crystals outlining everything in sight. My life is like the snow in many ways and I have had my glimmering moments as well as my meltdowns. I probably have a few more of each ahead of me.
    In a short time the snow will fall off the branches, melt or evaporate. In a short time it will be 2063.
I was in grade school in 1963 and that was a lifetime ago but yet it was yesterday. How time gets compacted can be explained by people who study the brain and it's perceptions I am told. I sidetrack easy so...whatever!
    2063 gives me an eternal perspective as I look out the window of both our house and my life. I have traveled long enough to know that 2063 is a few bends in the road ahead. Somewhere on one of those bends I will probably change addresses.
    Make no mistake, I absolutely believe that I will be more alive in 2063 than I am now. I have all my chips on Jesus Christ who came as God in human form to bring us back into a relationship with our Creator God.
Because he conquered death, I will live with Him! Far-fetched hope? I don't think so. That's the true meaning of Christmas and the hope for all mankind to know this ever lasting God personally.
    I read this morning in Isaiah 40:28 "do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God. The creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom." Then in verse thirty "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint."  
    In my glimmering moments and in the mud puddles; today -- headed for 2063 I can hope in the Lord. Thus I have the parameters and proper perspective for living each day of my life into eternity. I have an eternal promise from someone who can already see 2063 and beyond.
    2063 looks bright even from this distance!