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Pressing Forward: Embracing Life’s Journey

Have you ever attempted to drive by only your rearview mirror? Ever try living your life by only looking back at what’s already happened?

Driving across country early, early one morning, I saw a most beautiful sight in my rearview mirror. It was a sunrise. A glorious sunrise. It’s always cool to me to see the sun burst over the horizon. Getting to see those first few rays followed quickly by a full sun shining is something that never grows old to me. Initially, there was darkness; subsequently, a shade of pink became visible. A beautiful dance followed, with the clouds swirling by, sharing their purples and reds. A brilliant golden glow began its rise above the horizon. Anticipating that first bright ray of sunshine, I drove the next couple of miles while basically looking only in my rearview mirror.

Just like that, it was there. A sunrise! Good morning, Lord! I’ve been driving for a few hours in the dark, kinda getting sleepy. The light wakes me up and motivates me to drive for several more hours. But I won’t be looking in the rearview mirror anymore.

  I’m looking ahead. Looking ahead so I won’t hit anything for sure, but looking ahead so that I won’t miss anything either. Now, the light behind me, which supports me, is guiding my path.

Philippians 3:14  GWT  I run (press on) toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.

I want more out of this life. More out of work, my play, my marriage, my family, …. more out of myself. Not a greedy more. However, I desire more regarding God’s promise. He promised abundant life. Abundance is coming when I arrive in Heaven, but I also want it now! That doesn’t mean a fancy car and lots of money. Life won’t be free of hardships or devoid of painful experiences. No, God’s heavenly call means believing in Jesus. Trusting in a God who supports you. This belief and way of life gives us an authentic way to PRESS ON and continue our spiritual journeys. Isn’t His providing and protecting us a source of His giving us abundance?

We frequently long to go back in time and dwell in the past. Times spent with friends and family members, times to be cherished, good times in the past. The “good ole days” seem far superior to our current situation.

Driven by God’s promise, I move forward. His light shines the way for me. I know lots of time in religious talk it’s said to “keep your eyes on God”. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”. I get that. Stay focused on Him. Don’t we try to stay focused on Him by “looking in the rearview mirror”? We think, “God, why can’t it be like it used to be?”

Nope, let’s press on. My friends, let’s keep going on our journey. Know this. Even on the darkest of nights, the sun is about to rise over the horizon. Sure, it is a glorious sight to see the sunrise in your rearview. However, observe future developments and see where the light guides you. 

Because God’s Son supports me, I am inspired to keep going. It’s a heavenly calling that you and I can receive even while still in this earthly human body. A relationship between little ole you and a Most Awesome God. Wow! And you thought a sunrise was a thing of beauty.

Sunrise, the all-day sunshine, and the sunsets provide us with light to see our path during the day. Even at night there is artificial light, as well as natural light to help us continue our journey.

These beautiful experiences you see in your rearview mirror. Cherish them. Use them to grow closer to God. Whether a spiritual high, a beautiful family experience, or even just a pleasant day, it’s great to relive them (in your rearview mirror).

But realize God has promised us abundance! Press forward on your journey. The illumination of the daytime reveals the view forward.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Beautiful sunrises in the rearview mirror are astounding. But having hope, joy and peace provided by God gives me and you high expectations for our future.

Our spiritual view on this journey is accompanied by rearview mirrors(memories of past spiritual encounters) and full view windshields (full views ahead filled with hope, joy, and peace). Press on!

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher

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God in Every Fiber: Lessons from Nature and Buckskin

It’s been said that embellishing the truth is one of my superhero traits. My wife says about my storytelling that “He flat out lies”! A good friend of mine, who knows me well, knows that I must show a picture to prove the truth of anything I say in private or public.

So, in three weeks, you can follow along on a hunting adventure. No need to worry about my stretching the truth or whether I’m flat out lying. An experienced cameraman is tagging along with me to record what happens on this wilderness excursion. It will be a blast. Frankly, knowing I’ll have a video to confirm my experiences is a relief. Trying to explain the unbelievable events that tend to follow me can be as exhausting as the 5-mile climbs occurring on this hunt.

So, in three weeks, the vast, majestic mountains of Colorado are my destination for a muzzleloader elk hunt. The year 1825 meets 2025! I’m using my old traditional muzzleloader rifle. Yep, they used a Hawken 50 caliber, just like mine, 200 years ago!

I’ll be wearing my buckskin coat I tanned from deerskins tanned the way the Native Americans did, 200 years ago! It’s called brain tanning. The brains of the animal contain enough oil to tan the hide, turning it into clothing. Lots of time, labor, and stretching, pulling, and softening to turn a skin into clothing that will last for years. I’ll share more on a future blog.

My buckskin coat. That truly is what connects the two years 2025 and 1825. It’s actually a great functioning piece of clothing to wear into the mountains. It is warm and soft, like a flannel jacket. But what if it gets wet, or snowed on, or I have to crawl over sharp rocks or plow through thick jagged limbs? These are all elements that must be withstood to bring success to my adventure. The buckskin can handle it.

The buckskin coat goes through several steps to change from raw animal skin to a finished piece of clothing. One of the important steps to making buckskin able to withstand the elements of the outdoors is to “smoke” it.

Smoking the buckskin involves building a fire that produces lots and lots of smoke, but very little heat. The smoke infiltrates every fiber of the skin. Here’s how best to describe this process.

The smoke molecules attach to the fibers of the buckskin. It exists within every single fiber. Each fiber now becomes waterproof from the protection of the smoke. When wearing the buckskin, if it rains or snows, the clothing will get wet.

Here’s the amazing part. As it dries, it goes back to its soft, pliable, clothlike texture. If someone hadn’t smoked it and completely covered all the fibers, the buckskin would become hard and brittle. Just like your dog’s rawhide chew toy.

Apply this important step to your Christian journey today. You have to “smoke” the buckskin to make it waterproof. Position the skin above the fire, avoiding fire yet within smoke. The longer you leave it in the smoke, the darker it becomes. Why smoke? The smoke particles cling to every fiber of the buckskin, both inside and out. This “clinging to every fiber” allows the buckskin to remain soft, even when it gets wet. If the smoke is not in every fiber, then when the coat gets wet, it will become hard as rawhide (you know, like your dog’s chewbones).

Is God in every fiber of your being? Otherwise, contact with this world we live in will produce a hardened self. Things of this world rob you of God’s Love. Your hardened heart robs you of the chance to share God’s Love with others. Let God permeate your entire being, much like smoked buckskin. He wants to be in every part of your life.

I don’t want to have a hardened heart. How can we prevent this?

Mark 12:30    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Jesus must be in every “fiber of our being” for us to keep from turning hard-hearted.

Let your desire for Him to be in every part of your life become the most important step in this journey. His assistance is required. Ask Him, see what happens!!

What does the world “throw” at you to make you hard-hearted? What makes it difficult to let God in every fiber of your being? Leave a comment.

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth

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Finding God in the Flames: Spiritual Reflections on Fire

What is it about a fire? We stare at the dancing flames. Whether an inviting warmth yielding campfire, a crackling fireplace, or even just a cozy, comforting candle, the dancing of the flame draws and invites our eyes to share in its existence. We staringly gaze without thinking why.

You ladies find comfort in the small flame. The candlelight dinner, with 3 or 4 candles, sets an ambience nowhere to be seen in a fast-food joint. A hot bath with scented candles takes your mind (and your thoughts), on a journey somewhere peaceful and calm. An ordinary match transforms the candle into a light giving, mood changing instrument used to induce feelings and comfort that are anything but ordinary. Though it’s just for a fleeting moment’s escape from your busy world, the flame invites you to join in. I’m picking up a smell of the vanilla cinnamon aroma.

Men, we like enormous fires. Bar-B-Que fires. Fires that will cook, burn, smoke, and grill. These are a start. Give us a chance. We’ll set the woods on fire, burn trash piles, or even set abandoned buildings ablaze.

That grill will operate fine at a temperature of 400 degrees. Men need grills offering more than basic operation. We want the grill to elevate! C’mon BBQ grill! Produce enough smoke so the entire universe can see and be jealous. Heat that joker up to 650 degrees! Then we can pour water on it just to see the steam dash away. A bonfire elevates the concept of a men’s gathering. Put a match or lighter in our hands, it’s gonna be lit!

If you want to watch our human nature at work, watch when a man creates/builds his fire. Whether it’s in the fireplace, or a campfire, or BBQ, he takes pride in how it’s started. He wants to impress everyone (especially himself). It has to be just right.

Ladies, if you want to stir up something (and I don’t mean the ashes), just go poking and meddling in HIS fire. Tell him he’s not doing it right. Uh Oh! Sparks will soon fly from more than just the actual fire!

With the fire burning, the arguments over its construction forgotten, we gaze. The dancing of the flames catches our eye. Heat from the glowing coals warms us. The smell of an actual fire and hearing the crackling and popping sounds gives our senses a way to connect with this flame. We connect in some primitive way with this fire. Our senses of sight, hearing, touch, and smell are in high gear. Shucks, sometimes we even taste the smoke from the fire. Perhaps the coffee’s aroma and flavor, or perhaps the gooey s’mores roasting over the fire, captivate us. We watch and, without even noticing, our eyes go into a trance. We stare.

One thing I’ve noticed also is how a fire brings out honest and REAL communication between people. Wish open conversation with friends? Build a fire. Such a simple task, yet it creates a desire from deep within to be real. Maybe Congress ought to have campfire meetings, instead of committee meetings.

On your spiritual journey, maybe you can stop for a moment. Take a break from everyday life. Be still, and maybe even stare.

Our scripture verse for today. Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

We can use the fireplace example of fire to help us see God as the consuming fire. God is a God of unending Love, mercy, and forgiveness. He also is a jealous God (He doesn’t want you to be anywhere else, only with Him). He is a just and righteous. His Holiness is pure. His Fire will consume the wicked and sin itself. He does the “dirty work”. We just follow/stare. We focus on God’s flames of love and mercy.

God loves us. We need to show our love to Him by avoiding sin. That same fire that comforts us can also burn us if we don’t give it respect. I’d rather receive God’s comfort and warmth than his wrath.

So ask God to help you with the sin that comes between you and Him. Throw another log on the fire. Let that log represent the sins that come between you and God. That log represents the things in life that steal our joy. Giving God our ‘sins’, our problems work better than being burdened with carrying them around with us all day long. Let the sin burn; don’t join it.

Now stoke up the fire a bit. Throw another hickory log on the fire. Share this warmth and comfort with others.

How is a fire comforting to you? Tell me your thoughts. Share this with others.

See Ya!