The Valley

The valley is defined in landscape as a 'low place' between the hills or mountains.

We all have walked valleys in life, either physical or spiritual.  If you are an outdoor person, you know that valleys are typically places where streams or rivers flow, where greenery flourishes, and where 'waste' can gather.  The mountains and hills 'deposit' water, melting ice caps, and waste from living animals and  humans, into valleys.

However, in certain places, the waters flow clearly and the green grass is continually renewed by the Creator for the grazing animals.

Spiritually speaking, if you have experienced 'the valley', you know that there is no experience quite so excruciating as the dark place.  You feel alone.  You feel rejected.  You feel overlooked.  You feel defeated, depleted of energy, and completely overwhelmed.

The valley is a playground for the enemy.  Like the little cartoon character devil-with-pitchfork sitting on your shoulder, the enemy of your soul whispers the most insidious lies and deceptions in order to keep you down, to keep you defeated, and to completely sabotage your relationship with God.  It's what he does.  It's who he is.  Liar. Deceiver. Father of lies.

In the 1970s, my sweet Mama taught me a Gospel song written by the legendary songwriter Dottie Rambo.  "In The Valley (He Restoreth My Soul)" has become one of those cherished songs that takes me back to wonderful memories of God's amazing and sustaining Grace during the valleys and dark moments in my life. Mama knows Grace.  She's seen God's Hand move miraculously in her own life.  Many times.  She's lived it.  She's walked it.  She ministers Grace to everyone she possibly can.  I love that she taught me Grace at such a young age.

The most popular church hymn that we've all sung at some point, "Amazing Grace", says it best,

Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come
'Tis Grace hath brought me safe thus far
And Grace will lead me Home

I love the new version of the old song that Chris Tomlin has introduced to the Church as well,

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, My Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood
His mercy rains
Unending Love, Amazing Grace

I don't know what you might be facing today.  Maybe you are on a mountaintop and life is Good.  You are winning.  All is well.  The bank account has plenty, the business is progressing, the investment portfolio is performing well, all the loved ones are healthy ... life is Good.

But, maybe ... you are in yet another Valley.  The days are bleak.  The nights are horrifying.  Sleep will not come.  Rest is nowhere in sight.  Layoffs and job loss have sidetracked you.  Terminal illness and Death have visited your house.  Bill collectors are calling on the hour, every hour.   You have made terrible decisions in your moments of weakness and now the consequences are completely overwhelming.

There is Hope.  There is Peace.  There is Light at the end of the tunnel.  As cliche as it sounds, God is right there in the Valley with you.  The Holy Spirit's Presence is a prayer away.  Jesus, your Redeemer and Friend, has paid the total cost for your sin, for your freedom, for an abundant life on earth, and for your eternity in Paradise.  Whether you 'feel' that salvation, healing, restoration, and freedom ...or not.

Pray. Worship. Listen. Wait.  He is here.  He will touch you.  You can be healed.  Tomorrow will come.  Joy can be restored.  Let the LORD restore you ... today.

Your Opinion Really Does and Does Not Matter

So, it's been a while since I posted here.  LIFE has been very difficult for the past year or so, but I won't bore you with the sordid details here, since these are mere #firstworld problems.

That said, why post a blog today?  Well, as an aspiring writer, this forum seems to be the only way I can truly discipline myself to journal my thoughts with any semblance of normalcy.


My doctors all say that I struggle with Adult ADHD, anxiety disorder, and random panic attacks.  Medications help; but not really.  They just make me feel worse, most of the time.  Still, God shows great mercy to those who struggle and so I am grateful.

As a believer in Christ, and as a vocational minister of the Gospel for more than 30 years, I find that midlife gives me a much greater perspective on the world in which I live, on my personal beliefs and convictions, and certainly on the purpose for which God has put me here on this ball of dirt and water.

OPINIONS. Everybody's got one.  Like belly-buttons. You've heard that silly adage before I'm sure.  We ALL have thoughts about life, about beliefs, about customs, about traditions.

Most of our thoughts are based upon the existence we were born into -- our home life.  From infancy through early adolescence, most professionals in modern psychiatry and general medicine will agree that our thoughts are formed from the earliest experiences and conditions we encountered from conception.  Well, at least the pro-life advocates will agree on that concept.

As a Christ follower and believer, of course I choose to adhere to a Biblical worldview, but I find myself also grappling with the views and opinions of those who do not choose to agree with me.  I can choose to debate, argue, and stand-down those who disagree with me.  And many of my peers in Christianity do in fact choose that position.

Or, I can choose to listen, to understand you and your existence, your thoughts and opinions.  I can still choose to disagree with you, but if I follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as I say that I do, then it behooves me to hear you out, before I choose to reply, rebut, and certainly, if I am going to choose to rebuke.

I read ... a lot!  Many of my peers poke at me because I choose to read almost everything I can get my hands on.  With the internet and much of the world's intellect at our very fingertips ... my hunger for knowledge is now limitless!  Right!?  Of course, everything on the internet is true ... right?!

*insert tongue-in-cheek sarcastic look*

My true desire is to better understand and simply engage in a variety of streams of thought, opinion, and even, debate.  In my specific little world of Protestant and Catholic preachers, ministers, and church leaders, I am considered by many in my circles as a theological #conservative and as a social #moderate.  Well, that is, if we're picking sides, or teams.  Which, by the way, I despise.  I always have shunned the 'my team' versus 'your team' approach to Christianity.  Yet, it still exists.  Oh how predictable we are as humans.

So, my opinion then, is going to reflect my early childhood experiences along with the opinions and beliefs that were taught to me during adolescence and the teenage years.  But then, something amazing occurs ... adult life.

Whether you had opportunity to attend college and university, or were forced by either your will or your circumstances to enter the workforce ... Adult life became your window to the world as you had not previously understood it.  As the little Disney song goes, " ... a whole new world ...".

You now have the opportunity to think, opine, believe, and express yourself as YOU choose.  Of course, family beliefs and opinions will still weigh into HOW you choose to think, belief, and express yourself.  But, at the end of the day, it's YOUR opinion.


In America, we value our Constitutional rights supremely.  We have built our entire form of self-government around our Constitutional rights.  The Law of the Land is designed to assure every natural born or naturalized Citizen of these United States of America those rights.  But, there is a Higher Law.

The Bible speaks of a Higher Law which rules at a higher level than even that of the U.S. Supreme Court.  Of course, if you choose not to believe in Biblical creation and God's supreme existence above and in charge of humanity, then you are left to your own system of chaos, disorder, and calamity.

So, back to OPINIONS.  Does my opinion matter?  Does your opinion matter?  Yes, and yes.  And ... no.

My opinion matters most to me, because, after all, it's MINE.  It originated in my mind, in my soul, and I express it from my spirit.  Or ... do I really?  The Bible teaches me that I am 'not my own', that I have been 'bought with a price', that Jesus Christ actually 'redeemed' me from the eternal death that I was rushing towards in this life, and the hereafter, without Him.

So, if I choose to allow the Holy Spirit to teach me, to inspire me, to give me the God-thoughts that He would prefer that I think, believe, and express ... then, my thoughts, opinions, and beliefs ... really should be ... His.  They belong to Him.  They came from Him.  They are expressed into this world, through me, as an 'agent' or 'vessel' of His very own.

Your opinion matters most to you, because, after all, it's YOURS.  And just as my opinion is formed by my birth and early childhood existence, the teachings of my parents, as well as those who influenced my life through teen years and early adulthood, so is yours.  And, just like I have the freewill to choose whether I will allow my thoughts, beliefs, and expressions to reflect a Biblical worldview ... so do you.

You can choose to formulate your opinion, your belief, and your stated values around a self-centered worldview.  Or, you can choose to formulate those ideas and expressions around a God-centered worldview.

I know ... that's just too dumbed-down and simplified for the intellectual who simply must know it all.  Surely, there is a Higher Order of things.  Surely, it's not as simple as ... 'blind' faith.  Really?

Well, in my OPINION ... yes, it's that simple.  It's not easy.  But, it's really that simple.

This life as we know it, is going to be filled with many seasons.  Seasons of great joy.  Seasons of great suffering.  God-moments.  In it all, we are free to formulate our opinions, based upon a core value of experiences, systems of belief, and an eternal worldview.

I pray that I will continue to formulate MY opinions on a Higher Law than those which govern us in this very small universe that we now know.

To quote the great prophet Isaiah:

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9

More opinions ... later.

April 2016 Podcast

Join me for about 10-minutes over a cup of your favorite blend ... and THANKS for your support!

April 2016 Podcast