A Desert Soul.

So it took me a while to crank out these last few things on the list....but I didn't forget! It's a new year, new blog post...that's a good excuse, right? Ok, good.


33. Don't be afraid to talk about God and what He has done in your life. 

This may seem like a no-brainer to some of you, but let's be honest, there have been moments where you just kept your mouth shut when you could have said something about your faith, however small and passing. It's just so much easier to pretend it will make things more awkward or complicated to mention it. But God should come just as naturally to our lips as news about our family or something that happened to so-and-so the other day.

The good works he performs in our lives are His Divinely wise way of communicating His love, not only to us, but to those we come in contact with. That is why it is totally normal to want to tell the whole world when our prayers have been answered or when we have received some amazing healing experience. This should not and cannot be suppressed. It wells up within us because it is meant to be shared.

Also, we probably have more in common with the people around us than we think.

Austria became a time of sharing stories, experiences and encounters with the Lord that carry on, even now, months later. I still find myself getting fired up to share stories about what He showed me that semester in life-changing places like Auschwitz and Assisi.

34. I am a desert soul without God. 

"Like a deer that longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, O God." [Ps. 42:1] This thirst for God is only satiated by one thing and one thing only. The endless torrents of living waters that flow from His wounded side. THAT is our source. Without it, our souls would be barren, dusty places, and we would be parched and weak. A deserted place is not fulfilling, useful, or interesting. So why not choose to live where there is an abundance?

And yet God leads us through deserts sometimes. Why? We always want to know why he does this to us. Well, folks, I have the answer so listen closely.

He leads us through the driest and most miserable of deserts, because he's our Shepherd, leading us to the next patch of fresh green grass and the cool, blue lake in the distance. In the land where Jesus preached and called himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), there ain't no "verdant pastures." It was cracking, dusty land with lucky patches of grass. The shepherds of the region lead the sheep (or goats as the case may be...) through the dryness to the place where they can be nourished and refreshed, as they still do today. So it is with our Divine Shepherd. It's our own fault if we get lost in the desert part in between.

If you don't believe me yet that that's the answer to the eternal 'why', that's just because you'll know I'm right when you get to the refreshment part. Austria was one of my pastures. Lots of dryness at times, but my soul has been given refreshment that it will not easily forget.

The Holy Land. 

I'm desperate for a desperate heart.

All that I am is dry bones, without You, Lord, a desert soul. 

I am broken but running toward you God, You make me whole. 

[from Desert Soul, by The Rend Collective Experiment.]

This song was my theme song for a while....good stuff.

35. Be who the Lord wants you to be, not what others want to see. 

It's much easier said than done, but oh, so freeing when it is accomplished. And as it turns out, all people really want to see is God, so that helps. That's all I have to say about that.

36. Study in the sunshine.  

Something I have always loved doing, this habit reached its apex in Gaming. The last two weeks of the semester brought the most beautiful weather in the world to that little village in the mountains, but they also coincided with preparation for and taking of final exams. So we made the best of it and brought our flashcards and study groups out to the courtyards of the Kartause and basked in the warm sunshine that had been so absent for so long. There were always one or two people strumming their guitars for a little studying accompaniment and everyone put down blankets on the grass and set up camp. Peace. I wish it was always possible.

Not studying but...sunshine!