Category Archives: Steps Along This Journey

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The Prusik knot

The Harder I Hold On, the Faster I Fall

It’s the story of your life right now, huh?.  The more I hold on, the more that I fall (and fail).  Well pardner, you need to quit holding on with your own strength and put trust in something you don’t fully understand.

Take a look at this knot.  It’s a prusik knot.  IT WILL HOLD YOU and keep you from falling.  It’s a friction knot climbers use here in the mountains.  The knot will hold you,……….but you can’t hold it.  See it’s made to slide up and down a main rope.  Let go of the knot and it holds tight!  Grab the knot with your hand….. and careful, it starts sliding.  I know, I know, it doesn’t make sense.  My body and brain so afraid of heights is telling me to “hold on with all my might”!  So I grab around the knot……. and fall.  When I let go, I stop falling.  It’s very difficult to tell my “afraid of heights” brain to let go.  But that’s what it takes.

Well, here you and I are on our spiritual journey.  We fall by holding on instead of letting go.  Hard to tell our “afraid of heights” soul that we must trust God isn’t it?  I mean we feel that if we can hold on, we can better our situation.  WE can be better at handling our lives than say God Himself??  Whoa there!!  Did I just admit something?  I must be holding on …….and falling/failing.

Let’s go a little deeper here.  What examples can I give of holding on instead of trusting God and letting go?

Ever feel that you are not “good enough” to be loved by God?  You are holding on, better let go.

Ever think that God doesn’t have time for you?  Better let go.

How bout those times you think that Jesus wouldn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t die for YOUR sins?  Turn loose, or you’re falling.

Now here’s one……… you think that you’ve been “good enough” with your life so you shouldn’t get a disease, face financial problems, have stress.  In other words, God should be good to you based on how you’ve been acting.  Really?  You are holding on too tight.

It’s possible to hold on too much to our religion (our church activities, or our”good and great habits”) that we actually miss the true Christian relationship with Jesus.  The life filled with mercy, love, and forgiveness.  Better let go and let God.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  Matthew 22:37-39

I know that climbing to the top of a mountain requires a lot of energy.  I have to pull and step and climb one step at a time.  Little did I realize that getting to the top requires me to “rest” and stop and let go of my rope so I wouldn’t fall or slide back down.

It’s the same with our spiritual journey.  It takes energy.  We climb one step at a time, one day at a time. And………….we let go.  We let go of our own strengths (and weaknesses), so that we can completely trust our Lord and Saviour.  He keeps us from falling.  He keeps us.

Let go!

Lord, there is so much I don’t understand about You.  Shoot, I don’t even know how this stupid knot works!  But it does, and so do You.  Help me to let go.  To let go of how I try to live this life,…….. and to fully let You take over.  With my heart, soul, and mind I want to let go and let you hold me.  It scares me.  So help me with my doubts and fears. Thank You Lord!  AMEN!!

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher

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Walking In My “Bare” Feet

Train up a child in the way he should go!

I told my mother that I’m walking outside in my “bare” feet.  She scolded me and said, “get your socks and shoes on or you’ll catch ‘new moan’yer’.  (Hey, that’s how we pronounce it, so…. that’s how I’ll spell it!)

It reminded me of when I was 12 years old.  She said the same thing back then.  I hated socks and shoes.  Rather be barefoot anytime!  But in a Mother’s eyes, I’m just asking to get sick.  Playing in the rain, or snow, or in mud puddles for some reason didn’t seem like much fun to her.  But, to me….. yeehawwww!

There were many times my parents were “training” me back then.  I’m reminded of it almost every day, because I’ve “used” this training each and every day of my life.  It also reminds me of this……..

Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not turn from it.  Proverbs 22:6

I got my training from two wonderful parents.  I’ve given my training to two wonderful children.  So I’ve seen this “training” experience from both sides.  Funny how I’ve passed my parents training of me down to my training of my children.  Yeah, I’ve even told them that “they better quit that or they are gonna catch new moan’yer’.

I think you have got to agree with me that our Heavenly Father also is in the training business.  Least I hope He is cause I need a little help being His Child.  I even ask Him in my prayers for this “training”.  Most of my prayers include asking Him to lead,guide,and direct me.  That’s what I call TRAINING in a most personal way.  Thank you Lord!!  Pray and ask God yourself for this training.

Relax, Mother……… I was outside in the cold in my BEAR feet, not bare feet.  I’ve listened and learned from your advice…….and I thank you as well.

Now, about that “Don’t eat raw brownie mix” advice……………

See Ya!   Dan Ainsworth wildernesspreacher  a grown man, but still haven’t “growed up”.

 

 

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Don’t Let Your Heart Grow Cold and Bitter

How God Keeps Your Heart "Warm"

Merry Christmas!  And then you hear “Bah, Humbug!”  Well, that’ll just ruin your day.

My, my, you’ve got the Christmas Spirit.  You’re wanting to spread joy and good tidings, (and hot chocolate).  Then after a day of seeing scrooges, hearing all the bad, (spilling the hot chocolate and COFFEE!!) you’re ready to give up.

Your heart that was warm and toasty is now beginning to get cold, it’s turning bitter, it’s growing numb……… your heart is turning hard.   That’s what happens when exposed to the cold ,cold world.  You better find a way to “warm things back up”.

This is how I “warm things up” in the log house we’re building.  See all those pipes, tubings, pumps, electrical dodads.  Well, that’s infloor heating for ya!  The pipes are going through the concrete floors warming the floors up.  This radiates to me and you in the room.  It’s comfortable.  It’s warm.  It’s a pleasure especially when it was -9 degrees outside.  When Mike the plummer was explaining to me how it worked………… well, he must have seen my eyes glaze over.  He’s explaning how the boiler heats the water and the computer gizmo activates the valveamabob.  Then the whatchamacallit releases the thingamado………….shoot,….. my head is still hurtin’ from all the info.

So finally Mike says, “Just trust me, all you need to do is work the thermostat.  If you’re cold turn it up!”   Hey, I can understand that!!!  If I get cold, just turn it up.  Easy enough.

So, when you and I start feeling cold spiritually, do we “turn up the thermostat”?  Sounds easy enough.  But for some strange reason, (probably that we are human), we tend to stay in our own little world and grow cold.  Then grow colder.  Then grow bitter, then stone cold, then HARD!!

 

“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused;   they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,  understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Matthew 13:13-15

What Jesus is saying here is “I will heal you”.  He will make our lives better.  We hear but don’t understand. (Mike the plummer just as well to have been Jesus because I was hearing, but I sure ’nuff wasn’t understanding!!!)

Ok, how do we HEAR from God??   By Believing and trusting!  There are those two little words again.  Seems like they are always somewhere close by when it comes to taking a Christian journey in this world.  I can’t see or understand with my own eyes.  But, if I use my Heavenly Father’s eyes it gives me a whole new vision.  It restores my soul.  It warms my heart.  It gives me back my Christmas Spirit.  The true C H R I S T mas Spirit.

“Lord, I know sometimes these true stories I share with readers are really simple.  But you speak to me with these everyday happenings.  I’m asking that You speak to the one reading this prayer.  Give them the gift of seeing with Your eyes.  Give them a moment when they feel your presence in an everyday activity of their own.  Keep their heart from growing cold.  Let an opportunity happen today when they feel your “warmth” in their heart.  Amen”

See Ya!  Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher