This is one of the many prophetic and amazing songs that Rich Mullins wrote in his oh-too-short lifetime. Complete lyrics are at the Rich Mullins tribute website: http://www.kidbrothers.net/npp.html#tlog

The song has been echoing in my heart ever since I heard it many years ago, thanks to Darel for introducing me to Mullins music… Here are the lyrics (reprinted with permission):

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
I cannot find in my own
And He keeps His fire burning
To melt this heart of stone
Keeps me aching with a yearning
Keeps me glad to have been caught
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God

Now I’ve seen no band of angels
But I’ve heard the soldiers’ songs
Love hangs over them like a banner
Love within them leads them on
To the battle on the journey
And it’s never gonna stop
Ever widening their mercies
And the fury of His love

Oh the love of God
And oh, the love of God
The love of God

Joy and sorrow are this ocean
And in their every ebb and flow
Now the Lord a door has opened
That all Hell could never close
Here I’m tested and made worthy
Tossed about but lifted up
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God

But to do it full justice, you really should hear the song sometime Drop me a line, I’ll be glad to recommend some of his CDs!

Yesterday was a day of delightful rest - Alexis went skiing with our friends Rachel and Michaela, and so I had the day to myself to simply unwind from a stressful week and play with the blog.

So it got me thinking about rest. In particular, I thought of this particular line in Luke 6 where Jesus says to the Pharisees:

And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Now, the Sabbath is an inviolate holy day, it is the day we are supposed to rest because, I’ve always thought, God rested on that day. But, what kind of God NEEDS to rest? Just why did he rest anyway, and why did he command us to rest on the Sabbath?

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Yes, we got hit by snow pretty good by that blizzard that hit the Northeast yesterday

Yes, we had more than a foot
Yes, it was cold - temps in the high teens

Yes, of *course* Alexis and I drove in it We drove about 15 miles to our church in Northampton! It’s usually a 25 minute drive but it took us an hour yesterday (mainly because we chose a back country route that was definitely less plowed than the major state road we *could* have used, but the back route was oh so much more fun…)

Hehhehheh… Good times! We took a few pictures (click on the images for a larger picture):

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So today Alexis and I had a long conversation during which I began to process some realities about how I’ve changed over the past year, from someone who often did outrageously reckless things (like, oh, driving around in the middle of a blizzard, calling friends out of their houses to come join me on the drive), to someone who just doesn’t want to be reckless very much. I feel like I’m too worn out, too tired, too comfortable, to get excited about being reckless.

Certainly, part of it has to do with just how incredibly stressful last year was - the second largest decision of our lives was made, and what an incredible series of changes ensued!

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So, earlier today Alexis and I went for a walk out in the woods behind our home. We walked along the Jabish Brook, or at least we tried to - there were plenty of thornbushes and brush that we had to whack through.

At one point, we started figuring out ways to cross the brook, but there really wasn’t a good spot to cross. The brook wasn’t very deep - not more than thigh level at best, maybe waist-deep in spots - but the water was icy cold and the day was chilly. Sure, we wouldn’t *die* (necessarily) if we fell in, but it would certainly be quite a frozen experience.

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