This past week I spent a few days at a cabin my parents have in the middle of nowhere. I worked on organizing my tax information for my accountant for 15 hours straight! Then I spent the rest of the time hiking, taking pix of some Turkey that were eating outside the cabin, reading my Bible by the fire and just enjoying the peace and quiet!
It was great. Can anyone say? "You need Quickbooks!" It was on the top of my list for getting it rolling when I returned home.
The first day was spent with my boys at the cabin playing games, reading, doing puzzles and more. Grandpa came down and we had a really great hike through the woods with the boys. Then he took the kiddos so I could spend the next little bit of time focusing on the taxes. Lara was home designing some really, great albums. I posted one of them on our site, it's one of my favorite albums to date.
While at the cabin I always have some time to reflect. I try to get up to it a few times a year to just enjoy a couple days of solitude and reflect and pray about God's will for my life. While I was gone I just kept hearing the letters AIV. AIV means All In Vain. My friend Mike Colon shared with me while we were in the Amazon that he sees this bumper sticker on a guard rail on his way to his studio. He said he realized while on this trip that so much of our lives can be AIV. I have to ask myself is what I am doing AIV or is it unto God. Will it last? I have so many ideas, goals, plans, thoughts and more and yet so often that which gets the most attention deserves the least. Anyway, I spent some time in prayer and said "God sometimes I feel much of my life can be all in vain and I often don't seem close to you or intimate in any way. Everything seems to take priority over You. I feel condemned at times." At that I heard a voice in my mind (not audible and not wierd, just a clear thought) it said "How do you expect to feel close to me if your not close to my Word?" At that I felt compelled to read a book in the New Testament called Romans and chapter 8 was impressed on my mind, guess what it read? "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ." WOW!!!! What a crazy cool quick answer to prayer. I continued to read it and it really made me want to just live all out for God from the way I love Him, seek Him, love my wife and kids to the way I serve my clients, friends, family and the way I lead Thirst. Anyway, it wasn't as mystical as it might sound but it sure was cool.
Praise God!
