wounds

I really loved the section, "Out of our wounds, comes our glory" in Wild at Heart. Everyone has wounds, hurts, failures, pieces of a broken heart. It's only when we face those things and except that we need the Lord in our life, that we can finally overcome them. This is especially true for "strong, secure" men.

"Until we are broken, our life will be self-centered, self-reliant, our strength will be our own. So long as you think you are really something in and of yourself, what will you need God for? I don't trust a man who hasn't suffered; I don't let a man get close to me who hasn't faced his wound."

In my own life, the lowest times are the times that God becomes real and powerful to me. If everything was rainbows and lollipops all the time, God would never get the close, intimate relationship with us that he so desires, because we would believe our own strength is enough.

"To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do-- to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at his harshest and worst-- is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed." (The sacred Journey)

Wild at Heart

I finally finished Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. The book was amazing. There's so much "meat" in those 220 pages, that I don't feel like I could ever give a thorough recap. So, what I am going to do is share some of my favorite pages, paragraphs, sentences, with a brief explanation of what I learned from it. Men and women alike should read this book.

Eldredge explains how deep down to the core of every man is the desire for a battle to fight. Whether it be for his woman, his family, freedom, personal rights, career, etc. And the enemy wants nothing more than for every man to fall, to lose the battle. And often times a real man, with godly principles, and a love for morality is looked upon by the world as odd, different, uncool.

"The world of posers is shaken by a real man. They'll do whatever it takes to get you back in line-threaten you, bribe you, seduce you, undermine you. They crucified Jesus. But it didn't work, did it? You must let your strength show up. Remember Christ in the Garden, the sheer force of his presence? Many of us have actually been afraid to let our strength show up because the world doesn't have a place for it. Fine. The world's screwed up. Let people feel the weight of who are you and let them deal with it."

Wild at Heart

I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences

I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences

Don't fence me in

-Cole Porter

I am reading "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge, who also, cowrote "Captivating". This book is fascinating. It was a gift to Jake a couple of Christmases ago, but he's not much of a reader, so I decided to read it, and then "teach" him as I go along:)

So, I am on a journey to Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul...

wish me luck!