Well, the Arndt family is back in the saddle in CO after a really delightful week up in Wisconsin … now we’re ENORMOUS Colorado fans but I have to say that there is quite simply no finer place on earth during the month of June than Wisconsin. Green like you wouldn’t believe; mildly warm with nice breezes; gently rolling clouds, and copious amounts of family to boot. Ahhh… : )
Anyway, after driving for 16 hours yesterday, we absolutely CRASHED last night. I slept like a baby all night and since my body was on Central time, I woke up at about 5:00. A tad earlier than normal, but I decided to make good use of it and go on a walk. So I threw on a sweatshirt and some tennis shoes and went out.
As I walked, for some reason I kept thinking about Jesus’ words … “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and the outside will be clean for you as well.” I thought about how cluttered and polluted our bodies, minds, and souls get, and how good it is for us to “cleanse” from the inside out. As I walked and felt my body warming up, I imagined toxic things leaving me … not just physical toxins, but “soul” toxins … the things that pollute our lives and make them less than they could be
Fear
Worry
Anger
Envy
Regret
Doubt
Misplaced desires
Hatred
And while I did this I imagined the Holy Spirit coming in to fill my life up with good things … things that speak of and make for a little bit of heaven on earth
Faith
Love
Hope
Gentleness
Generosity
Clear-headedness
Self-control
Patience
That’s “good exercise”. Whether we realize it or not, we live “from the inside out.” What is in our souls comes out; for better or for worse. The wise person realizes this, and learns to “bare their soul” to God, who sees it all anyway. And the very wonderful thing is that God LOVES – I mean absolutely loves – to eradicate darkness in our lives. If we invite him to do so, he will. And our lives will shine with God’s glory.
I want a lot of things in life
The thing I KNOW that I want more than anything is that God would have as much of Andrew as he can possibly get … and that Andrew’s life would be bright and beautiful for that very reason. St. Irenaeus once said that “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” I like that. I might say it differently though. I might say that the glory of MAN is God fully alive in him.
May our lives be rich with God today. May you love and serve and hope and believe and endure and welcome and sacrifice and reach out and tell the truth and give away what you have … because of Jesus … who yearns to live his life through you.
Shalom.
