JOHN FAIRRINGTON.COM
  • HOME
    • WHAT'S WILD ON THE PATH? >
      • What is Practicing Gratitude Giving?
    • Our Staff
    • Contact
    • 2025 EVENT CALENDAR
  • THE FORGE
    • FORGE Fireside Challenge Reminder! >
      • Fireside Resources
      • FORGE ANNOUNCEMENT
      • Fireside Anouncement
  • SOUL RENOVATION
    • More on WIld Renovation
    • Why should I get Spiritual Direction?
    • The Practical Side of Spiritual Direction
    • About our Training • Qualifications • and Support
    • Soul Renovation Sessions
    • Share Soul Care with Someone!
  • THE SERVANTS INITIATIVE
  • VIZCON
    • VIZCON 2
    • VIZCON 3
  • WILD RESOURCES
    • WILD RESOURCES BLOG
    • Wild Resources for Rhythm
    • Books
  • WILD ADVENTURE
    • PALM SUNDAY SUNRISE RIDE
    • Adventure Saturdays >
      • Adventure Saturday • Scott • Forks of Salmon • Trinity Rivers
    • Family Style Events >
      • Time to Get out!
    • Men's Events >
      • Men Living Wild Backcountry Xcursion
      • Men's Forge ADV Challenge
    • Backcountry Xcursion Rates and List
    • Backcountry Xcursion Routes >
      • DAY BXR >
        • Anderson Butte Day Xcursion
        • Scott • Forks of Salmon • Trinity Rivers
      • 2 DAY BXR
      • 3 DAY BXR
      • 4 DAY BXR
      • 5 DAY BXR
      • 6-8 DAY BXR
      • 9-11 DAY BXR
      • 12-16 DAY BXR
      • LONG BXR
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • WILD PLACES STUDIO by John Fairrington
    • Wood Frame Gallery
  • FIX'N TO HELP LLC
  • IMPORTANT EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
  • SPIRITUAL RETREATS
    • PCRR • Pacific Coast Range Ride • Sabbatical

Wild Resources Blog

​So Jesus responded, “I don’t teach my own ideas, but the truth revealed to me by the One who sent me. If you want to test my
teachings and discover where I received them, first be passionate to do God’s will, and then you will be able to discern if
my teachings are from the heart of God or from my own opinions. Jn 7:16-17

FROM AN ACCORN IN THE MIST

8/30/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

FROM AN ACORN IN THE MiST​

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms. Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

“As a giant oak is hidden in the seed of an acorn, the intention of God is seeded in the heart of man to rule with power and authority from Him and not of ourselves”.

In Genesis, God takes the lid off of his intentions for us and lets us in on one of the most outrageous plans. In this plan, and after the creation of all things, He hands it all over to Adam and Eve as a gift that would give them full authority and power to be the rulers of the earth. It is here that the true heart of God for mankind is found.

Genesis 1:26-28

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it;


We learn that God has intended for us to experience the treasures of His heart towards us and that it has been seeded in our hearts to pursue the heart of God.

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Think through this with me! Desires that are governed by a heart after God will naturally reveal our design. Live in the framework of His design and it will also naturally reveal your destiny. However, you don’t have to look very far into your own story and the story of any man or woman to see what’s gone wrong in the heart of man. I believe the answer is directly connected to the fact that we might not be pursuing God with all of our heart and we haven't understood how we are designed to live on course with His image.

You are and are are both little nuts (acorns). His intention for us is to live out as mighty oaks even in and through the mist!

Start a conversation with Jesus as you pray conversationally through the scriptures above.


Contemplation by John Fairrington.

0 Comments

Navigating the misty paths

8/30/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

navigating the misty paths​

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms. Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

As we have previously stated. Desires that are governed by a heart after God will naturally reveal our design. Live in the framework of His design and it will also naturally reveal your destiny. In other words, you'll know how to navigate the path of Jesus even when things seem unclear. Furthermore, this way of living opens the door to experience the beauty of what Jesus is leading you in presently. Far to often we miss out on the beauty around us! This is what happens when we lose focus on the path He has laid out before us. Today, experience his protection, direction, safety, strength, His glory. Your inheritance, prize, pleasure, and portion. Know your path, His timing, leading you to pleasant places and privileges as you follow Him.
Praise Him for his whispers and wisdom in showing you what to do. Praise Him for His presence, security, joy faithfulness, and fullness. 

THE GOLDEN SECRET
A precious song, engraved in gold, by David

My Protection
Keep me safe, O mighty God.
I run to you, my safe place.
I said to Yahweh,
“You are my Maker and my Master.
Any good thing you find in me has come from you.”
And he said to me, “My holy lovers
in the land are my glorious ones,
who fulfill all my desires.”
Yet there are those who yield to their weakness,
and they will have troubles unending.
I never gather with such ones,
nor give them honor in any way.

My Portion
Yahweh, you alone are my inheritance.
You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion.
You hold my destiny and its timing in your hands.
Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places.
I’m overwhelmed by the privileges
that come with following you!

My Praise
The way you counsel me makes me praise you more,
for your whispers in the night give me wisdom,
showing me what to do next.
Because I set you, Yahweh, always close to me,
my confidence will never be weakened,
for I experience your wraparound presence every moment.
My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory!
Even my body will rest confident and secure.
For you will not abandon me to the realm of death,
nor will you allow your Faithful One to experience corruption.
Because of you, I know the path of life,
as I taste the fullness of joy in your presence.
At your right side I experience divine pleasures forevermore! (TPT)

Start a conversation with Jesus as you pray conversationally through the scriptures above.


Contemplation by John Fairrington.
0 Comments

THE SON IN YOUR MIST

8/30/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

THE LIGHT OF THE SON BREAKS THROUGH THE MIST​

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms. Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

Little boy sitting alone in the dark wondering why you don't fit in. fits of tears and disturbing thoughts. voices telling you you'll never amount to anything. Fighting every impulse to run away into the darkness. there is an enemy out for your soul, he's out to take your courage and the passion in your soul. To take away the purpose written in your very bones. Words on paper and song in the air. You words tearing holes through the enemies well laid plans. Words on paper tearing emotional walls down. Words releasing light into the Darkness. Calling others home from their Prodigal lands.

Little boy sitting in the dark. listening to the music, absorbing the words, letting them steep. playing over and over till the dopamine is gone and the words go numb but that feeling of the first time will never get old. When the words come to mind and the sentences flow and the fire inside burns and grows. Like the Sun's burning fire the torch of the spirit fires through all the lies. Burning out the doubts the rumors and the lies. Giving power to the words and set upon them a mission, a work. To which the little boy won't soon begin to know.

Fearfully sharing those first few words and the paragraphs and pages and then the volumes grow. Word by word with trials and victories through disappointment, faith, and some humbling times. Learning to listen to that still little voice whispering the words through distractions and choices.  Stopping to put that pen to paper, sometime so deep the tears are held back like a dammed up river till the last word is read. Sometimes the tears blur the ink as the emotions rage through the lines on the page. The smear of ink on a lefty's hand. While the pen can't keep up with the writers demands. Get those words down and onto the page! Don't dare let it fester Don't dare let it rage! Write it all down and don't miss a letter. get it all down before the world takes its toll pulling and pushing for mortal control....

Little boy, little boy, sitting alone in the dark. Don't listen to the lies for you are set apart. Through brokenness and empathy, through knowledge and with wit and through all the many tear. Your are being fashioned. You are being forged. You are being tuned to the master's perfect chord. When the time is right and when you are all grown you will look back and see the many seeds you've sown. The choices that you made the kindness in your heart. The giving of your gifts to any needy heart. Some they took advantage and some they broke your heart but in the Lord's great timing all is working for God's Glory and touching his great heart.

Will you see the (SON) shine in you mist, brokenness, and shame today?

Luke 1:78-79.
The splendor-light of heaven’s glorious sunrise
is about to break upon us in holy visitation,
all because the merciful heart of our God is so very tender.
The word from heaven will come to us
with dazzling light to shine upon those
who live in darkness, near death’s dark shadow.
And he will illuminate the path that leads to the way of peace.”
Start a conversation with Jesus as you pray conversationally through the scriptures above.


This Writing by Author Brian Waddell
Scripture Contemplation by John Fairrington.
0 Comments

THE WORK IS DONE!

8/30/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

THE WORK IS DONE!

​These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms. Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

​
​IF THE USE OF THESE VISUAL CONTEMPLATIONS ARE HELPFUL... PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION!

John 4:26-30

Jesus said to her, “You don’t have to wait any longer, the Anointed One is here speaking with you—I am the One you’re looking for.”
At that moment, his disciples returned and were stunned to see Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman, yet none of them dared ask him why or what they were discussing. All at once, the woman left her water jar and ran off to her village and told everyone, “Come and meet a man at the well who told me everything I’ve ever done! He could be the One we’ve been waiting for.” Hearing this, the people came streaming out of the village to go see Jesus.

Romans 8:24-29


But hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have? So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment.
And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words.
God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.
So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. For he knew all about us before we were born and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son. This means the Son is the oldest among a vast family of brothers and sisters who will become just like him.

Day three of recuperation from knee surgery had me contemplating many different things. (It wasn't the drugs Just for the record). The Lord has a way of bringing clarity to those who position themselves to wait on Him especially if you have desire for a work of the Spirit and you are becoming a person who anticipates the fullness of His Spirit as you walk in simple faith with Him. Regardless of whether or not this kind of pause and positioning in life are intentional and purposed or they are imposed like the aforementioned recuperation process; God is faithful to teach us and grow us up through either posture or process but! That doesn’t mean you are going to always get what you want! One thing learned from experience is that all too often; pain, setbacks, weakness, inability to see what is ahead, are all the venues that the Lord has a tendency to show Himself strong in while at the same time He shapes us to be a perfect fit into the valleys that we go through so that we can be salt and light in difficult times.  
During Post- Surgery Recovery for instance; I was optimistic that I was going to be breaking all the records for recovery. Raising the bar for other potential candidates of knee surgery! Day 3 has come and my resurrection has been postponed! What the Lord is teaching me in all of this is that He died and was resurrected so that I wouldn’t have to, and so that I wouldn't be able to take any credit for what only He alone could do!


It’s funny how the Lord can position us in such a way so that when we are in our deepest need or things are toughest, He can turn the light on so to speak and reveal to us what His desires are for our life, along with what He wants us to learn, and what is important for us to understand in the process of shewing forth His manifest glory, and not ours!
I have been able to reflect on how I view the world and how sometimes what I 
want is in conflict with what I need. I thought about how much stress I often create for myself by fixating on what I think I want instead of focusing on the things my mind, body and spirit need. I realized that if I stop chasing the things that I feel I should have, I won’t set myself up for disappointment when I don’t get them. It is becoming my belief that if I stop believing that something ought to be a certain way, I won’t be unfulfilled if it turns out differently than what I expected. Maybe the things that God has for me are better than the things I want anyway! Maybe, building a sense of entitlement only hinders me from recognizing it.

Have you ever said to yourself. “I must go after and lay hold of the things I want in life because isn’t that what drive is all about? If I don’t have drive, I won’t accomplish anything; if I don’t accomplish anything in life, I won’t be happy.” Thankfully, the more I grow in the Lord, those moments of panic become more brief and I realize... That kind of thinking is incorrect. The Holy Spirit is faithful to bring a rush of calm when I am postured to tune in to Him and yoke with Jesus. As his calm falls over me it is as if the God of this universe is gently telling me, “relax, I’ve got this!” He tells me to let go, and to trust that everything will be okay just rest in Me! Your personal drive and ambition may have gotten you far in life but, “how often have you tried to force a square peg in a round hole because you went after something you wanted just to say you achieved it? “ Or, “How often have you come up empty when Jesus wasn’t the Author and Finisher of the direction you were going?”

Those thoughts sink in deeper as I consider how my actions can impact my kids, grandchildren, wife, family and those the Lord has given me. We can all remember experiences where If when we look back there are situations where we wanted something for ourselves or someone else and the results were not what we expected. Or, we had a goal to make something happen because we wanted it, and not because others did. That really makes us stop and think about whether or not our motives are in sync with His!

We can all understand the feeling when moments we thought were going our direction, build up and then fall flat on their face. Much like the process of my knee surgery recovery. Will I have a closer relationship with Christ if I stop worrying about the things I want and instead focus on what I really need and long for which is Him and the work that He has done?” The answer is a resounding… Yes!

All I know right now is that the Lord will give me the down time to try this on. In the process I will be learning to be better satisfied with His timing, His flow, His perfect rest, and trust that He that is doing the work in me and for me. When it comes down to it, the work is done! It is Finished! And although the finished results may look different in each of us, It still has the look of the Finished work of the Cross and the look of 3 days and a resurrection for those who walk in simple faith and who simply abide in what he is doing!

Allow me to give you the simple equation again! The work is done so, rest in it, and wait for it. This is the Simple walk of Faith that manifests his glorious resurrection in our lives.


Contemplation by John Fairrington
0 Comments

ADD SOME COLOR TO YOUR REST

8/28/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

ADD SOME COLOR TO YOUR REST

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms. Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

What does your rest look like?

For everyone who experiences hitting a wall, or allows the mind to put up barriers that prevent you from living from your heart, or who just feel burned out in life, It is time to accept an open invitation from the Holy Spirit to reframe our perspectives and practices on rest. This can simply be done by looking at Sabbath rest through the lens of Jesus. Furthermore we have to quit looking at opportunities for sabbath rest as if we are trying to avoid any angle of indictment from the religious on our call, ministry, or spiritual well being. (As was consistent with what the religious did!) 

I find it interesting that much like us; Jesus was almost always up against a wall experiencing tensions in His life and ministry from every angle and yet in sabbath rest He would teach in the temple and heal people. Maybe we can begin to see our colorful struggles and tensions as both an opportunity rest and as a spiritual crucible where the Lord purifies our calling and provides the opportunity to labor from from rest as we yoke with Jesus. No more working to rest, no more working for rest, but living out of rest.
The outflow of a life lived from rest will look differently in each of us! It is up to us to accept the invitation to rest and to enjoy the colors, work, and outflow of Jesus' rhythms as we Easy Yoke with Him. For you more generationally adept... It is the only thing that will put the technicolor back into your set!

Conversational Prayer through the Scripture.

Matthew 11:28-30
“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”


This is the only autobiographical statement Jesus ever made.
He didn’t say, “Learn of Me because I am majestic and mighty,” or “Learn of Me because I am powerful and prominent.” He said, “That which you discover when you learn of Me will refresh you, for I am meek.”

When I meditate on scriptures, when I pray through scriptures in conversation with Him, and when I am learning of Jesus, I am always amazed at the color that He brings into my rest in Him, His goodness, His grace, His kindness, His gentleness, and His meekness. It's like pulling up a chair on my own private dock with a wonderful view while I work!

Jesus says, “Come to Me—you who have been burned out by Pharaoh, you who have been wearied by the folly of sin and everything is turned to black and white. All you have to do is Yoke with Me—don’t try to maneuver Me, steer Me, or demand of Me. Just learn of Me while you sit with Me, for I am meek and lowly.”
​
The result? The color comes on!

…And ye shall find rest unto your souls.
You’ll find what your heart is craving: Shabbat. Sabbath. Rest.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Engage your imagination to experience the Spirit of Jesus through the stories of Jesus! Experience for yourself the rest that comes as you yoke yourself with the work that He is doing!

​IF THE USE OF THESE VISUAL CONTEMPLATIONS ARE HELPFUL... PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION!
0 Comments

THE FORTRESS​

8/26/2024

1 Comment

 

Picture

THE FORTRESS​

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms. Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

Writings from the Soul

"The Fortress" 
~A writing from the soul by ~Brian Waddell. 2024©

Though I am tossed about by the waves and the storms of life. I take refuge in the Fortress of the most high! Where the attacks of the enemy buffet me and crash against me I stand closer and closer to the pillar of my strength. I call out longingly and in earnest for the whisper of your reply. I look to the heavens and the high holy hills! To thy mountains I cast my eyes looking for the light of my salvation. My soul longs for the voice who holds it all and is all things. With a word with a whisper. You ask to enter into our hearts and take over each room of hurt and wounding. You bathe the infected in healing light! Fire to burn out the things keeping us hostage. We bathe in your presence!!  We grasp tightly to the hope and the Promise of our salvation! We know you work all things for your good! Through adversity and trials we take the opportunity to step out and trust you!  

Conversational Prayer Passage Psalm 18:1-3.

A song to the Pure and Shining One by King David, his servant, composed when the Lord rescued David from all his many enemies, including from the brutality of Saul. He said:

I love you, Yahweh, and I’m bonded to you,
my strength!
Yahweh, you’re the bedrock beneath my feet,
my faith-fortress, my wonderful deliverer,
my God, my rock of rescue where none can reach me.
You’re the shield around me,
the mighty power that saves me,
and my high place.
All I need to do is to call on you,
Yahweh, the praiseworthy God.
When I do, I’m safe and sound in you--
delivered from my foes!


Psalm 59:9-10

My strength is found when I wait upon you.
Watch over me, God, for you are my mountain fortress;
you set me on high!
The God of passionate love will meet with me.
My God will empower me to rise in triumph over my foes.

Contrasting Prayer Contemplation

Psalm 16:17-18

Repenting from evil ~ places you on the highway of holiness.
Protect purity and you protect your life.
Your boast becomes a prophecy of a future failure.
The higher you lift yourself up in pride,
the harder you’ll fall in disgrace.

God is a fortress for all! He is our Shelter in a time of need. It is a provision of God for both those who call on Him and for those who we think don't deserve the rescue. Never allow your pride to get in the way of the access points of God's love for those who are lost!

IF THE USE OF THESE VISUAL CONTEMPLATIONS ARE HELPFUL... PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION!

​
All rights reserved! ©2024 •Wild on the Path. John Fairrington • Brian Waddell
1 Comment

On the Right Track?

8/23/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

On the Right Track?

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms.
​Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

Most of us have always been on the track of waiting for that anointed calling and path for our life that will set us apart for big things. We do this because we believe that greatness comes in the form of performance for God and that it is an outcome of catching the right call.

The reality is... It's just a precious waste of time because God is after our hearts and not our performance.
Shouldn’t we be asking daily… “Lord, how should I think about this, or Lord, how would you have me act while on this wild path today?”

Is it possible that our calling is to do even greater works than Jesus did? Could it be that God's calling (track) for me is to live in the constant rhythms, nature, and outflow of Jesus and that these things are what constitutes being on the right track and fulfilling His call and anointing on my life.

Is it possible that God’s calling and anointing has been in front of you the whole time!

Micah 6:8 The Message

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.


Isaiah 61:1-3. The Message

The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, Announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace--a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies--and to comfort all who mourn, To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness, planted by God to display his glory.


You know what to do from here!

IF THE USE OF THESE VISUAL CONTEMPLATIONS ARE HELPFUL... PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION!​
0 Comments

The beauty of an ugly narrative

8/21/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

The beauty of an ugly narrative

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms.
​Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the Scripture passage, Journals, and Poetry writings while you take in the take in the landscape. What thoughts do these meditations provoke? What word or phrase pops of out for you as you enjoy time with Jesus? 3. Read slowly through the passages again and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

Psalm 83:4-13

Our enemies keep saying,
“Now is the time to wipe Israel off the map.
We’ll destroy even the memory of her existence!”
They’ve made their pact, consulting and conspiring,
aligning together in their covenant against God.
All the sons of Ishmael, the desert sheiks and the nomadic tribes, Amalekites, Canaanites, Moabites,
and all the nations that surround us,
Philistines, Phoenicians, Gadarenes, and Samaritans;
allied together they’re ready to attack!
Pause in his presence
Do to them all what you did to the Midianites
who were defeated by Gideon.
Or what you did to Sisera and Jabin
when Deborah and Barak defeated them by the Kishon River.
Do to your enemies what you did at Endor,
whose rotting corpses fertilized the land.
Repeat history, God! Make all their “noble ones”
die like Oreb, Zebah, and Zalmunna, who said in their pride,
“We will seize God’s people along with all their pleasant lands!”
Blow them away, God, like straw in the wind,
like a tumbleweed in the wilderness!
Burn them up like a raging fire roaring down the mountainside;
consume them all until only charred sticks remain!
Chase them away like before a mighty storm and terrifying tempest.
O Lord, disgrace them until their faces fill with shame,
and make them acknowledge the glory of your name.
Make them utter failures in everything they do
until they perish in total disgrace and humiliation,
so they will know that you, and you alone,
are Yahweh, the only Most High God exalted over all the earth!


Let's contemplate the Ishmael effect for a moment because it has been playing out over and over again in the Narrative of God.

Have you ever missed the mark or felt like you have blown any opportunity to be used in God's plans for you? Well, you are in good company and I have good news for you!

If you find that the narrative of your story has left you in desolate places or that you have made mistakes that you can't undo, then give consideration to how God still is working out His narrative even in the resulting mistakes of Abraham, the consequences of a wrong relationship, and the birth of something that got ahead of God's plan. You remember a guy by the name of Ishmael who became the father of the Arab people whereas his brother Issac became the lineage of the Jewish people and the two were at odds growing up and they are at odds even to this day. The root of all the tension that we are experiencing in the world today goes all the way back to the mistake that Abraham made. He got in the flesh, he lost his faith a bit, he tried to do things in his own energy and we are seeing the repercussions in the world today.

Now time goes on and Ishmael is sent off, It breaks Abe’s heart but God says “I want you to listen to your wife, you're doing the right thing!’ And off Ishmael and Hagar go. Time goes on and Issac grows up has a family and then he dies like Abraham before him but he has a son named Jacob and Jacob has 12 sons one of which who was named Joseph. Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob and the other sons became increasingly jealous of that fact so they threw him into a pit and left him there to die taking his coat, dipping it and blood and planning to convince their dad that he was attacked by wild animals and killed so as not to take any blame for their evil plot. But, while they were waiting for Joseph to die there in the pit, there were caravan’s coming along and one of the brothers convinced the others to sell him into slavery so Joseph's blood would not be on there hands. Genesis 37:28 says that merchants who were Midianites came by and pulled Him from the pit and then sold him to Ishmaelites, descendants of Ishmael who then brought Him to Egypt and sold him to a guy named Potipher.

Now here is the kicker! The Ishmaelites, Abraham's mistake, Abraham's goof, Abraham's missing the mark, Abraham's sin, as a father who fathered Ishmael. He got ahead of the Lord, He wasn’t obedient to the lord, and now Joseph, the great, grandson of Abraham is being taken by Ishmaelites to Egypt where through a series of miraculous events he winds up becoming the Prime Minister of Egypt. Meanwhile in the promise land there is a famine and the whole story hinges on the question, who got Joseph to the place where he needed to be to save the descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob? It was the Ishmaelites! It was the descendant’s, the offspring of Abraham's mistake! In this amazing story what God does through the mistake of a father ultimately saves an entire nation. We all as followers of Jesus have Ishmael’s in our lives, We have all dropped the ball at some point, but God had a plan to redeem your story, to restore his people, and to keep us on the Path of Jesus. Your Narrative may have been ugly at times but God is at work and accomplishing His Plan in you!

​IF THE USE OF THESE VISUAL CONTEMPLATIONS ARE HELPFUL... PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION!
0 Comments

A Hell of a perspective

8/21/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

A Hell of a perspective

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms.
​Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the passage and take in the landscape. What thought does the landscape provoke? What word or phrase pops from the passage of scripture for you? 3. Read slowly through the passage a second time and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

Hells Canyon, located on the border of Oregon and Idaho, is North America's deepest river gorge. Its maximum depth is 7,900 feet. The canyon is almost 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Life has a way of making you feel like you have been through Hell and back! You might see the Seven Devil's in your background and no way through the canyon right now but that's your present perspective. It is driven by the emotions, negative circumstances, and experiences that happen in our story. But what if we practice new and different perspectives regarding the hellish activities of our lives and see things through the lens of Jesus?

Back when I took this photo while visiting Hells Canyon, the Lord ministered this passage to me and it has prepared me for every potential hellish experience whether by geographical location, spiritual discernment or metaphorical application! Pray through this passage and expect God for your break through!

Conversational Prayer Passage.

Psalm 43:3-5
Pour into me the brightness of your daybreak! Pour into me your rays of revelation-truth! Let them comfort and gently lead me onto the shining path, showing the way into your burning presence, into your many sanctuaries of holiness. Then I will come closer to your very altar until I come before you, the God of my ecstatic joy! I will praise you with the harp that plays in my heart to you, my God, my magnificent God! Then I will say to my soul, “Don’t be discouraged; don’t be disturbed, for I fully expect my Savior-God to break through for me. (TPT).

What the lens of Jesus (scripture) says about your present Hell.

Psalm 103:4-6
You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life.
You’ve crowned me with love and mercy.
You satisfy my every desire with good things.
You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again
like a flying eagle in the sky!
You’re a God who makes things right,
giving justice to the defenseless.

Psalm 144:7
Reach down from your heavens
and rescue me from this hell,
and deliver me from these dark powers.

Pause in his presence

Psalm 39:12-13

Lord, listen to all my tender cries.
Read my every tear, like liquid words that plead for your help.
I feel all alone at times, like a stranger to you,
passing through this life just like all those before me.
Don’t let me die without restoring
joy and gladness to my soul.
May your frown over my failure
become a smile over my success.

​

IF THE USE OF THESE VISUAL CONTEMPLATIONS ARE HELPFUL... PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION!
0 Comments

FIND YOUR ROCK!

8/20/2024

0 Comments

 
Picture

FIND YOUR ROCK!

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms.
​Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the passage and take in the landscape. What thought does the landscape provoke? What word or phrase pops from the passage of scripture for you? 3. Read slowly through the passage a second time and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

A VISUAL AND CONVERSATIONAL PRAYER PASSAGE

PSALM 40:1-11

For the Pure and Shining One A song of poetic praise by King David
I waited and waited and waited some more,
patiently, knowing God would come through for me.
Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.
He stooped down to lift me out of danger
from the desolate pit I was in,
out of the muddy mess I had fallen into.
Now he’s lifted me up upon a rock, into a firm, secure place
and steadied me while I walk along his ascending path.
A new song for a new day rises up in me
every time I think about how he breaks through for me!
Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until
everyone hears how God has set me free.
Many will see his miracles;
they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!
Blessing after blessing comes to those who love and trust the Lord.
They will not fall away,
for they refuse to listen to the lies of the proud.
O Lord, our God, no one can compare with you.
Such wonderful works and miracles are all found with you!
And you think of us all the time
with your countless expressions of love--
far exceeding our expectations!
It’s not sacrifices that really move your heart.
Burnt offerings, sin offerings—those aren’t what bring you joy.
But when you open my ears and speak to me,
I become your willing servant, your prisoner of love for life.
So I said, “Here I am! I’m coming to you as a sacrifice,
for in the prophetic scrolls of your book
you have written about me.
I delight to fulfill your will, my God,
for your living words are written upon the pages of my heart.”
I tell everyone everywhere the truth of your righteousness.
And you know I haven’t held back in telling the message to all.
I don’t keep it a secret or hide the truth.
I preach of your faithfulness and kindness,
proclaiming your extravagant love to the largest crowd I can find!
So Lord, don’t hold back your love or withhold
your tender mercies from me.
Keep me in your truth and let your compassion overflow to me
no matter what I face.
​IF THE USE OF THESE VISUAL CONTEMPLATIONS ARE HELPFUL... PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION!
0 Comments
<<Previous

    RSS Feed

    Author

    John Fairrington
    Un-Commoner
    Advocate of Simple Christianity

    Categories

    All
    About Simple
    Accessing Grace
    Adventures With God
    A Rogue Story
    Cultural Christianity
    Defending Grace
    Faith
    Fireside Challenges
    Food For Thought
    Get'n Your Head On Straight!
    Life Navigation
    Story
    The Jesus Culture
    Visual Contemplation
    Wild On The Path

    Archives

    March 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    August 2024
    April 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    December 2021
    July 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    March 2019
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    March 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

WILD ON THE PATH is a Family Service Nonprofit Corporation #99-0415896
Said corporation is organized exclusively for charitable help services, spiritual health and direction, educational life practices, and family support services that promote thriving on a healthy path, including, for such purposes, under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
  • HOME
    • WHAT'S WILD ON THE PATH? >
      • What is Practicing Gratitude Giving?
    • Our Staff
    • Contact
    • 2025 EVENT CALENDAR
  • THE FORGE
    • FORGE Fireside Challenge Reminder! >
      • Fireside Resources
      • FORGE ANNOUNCEMENT
      • Fireside Anouncement
  • SOUL RENOVATION
    • More on WIld Renovation
    • Why should I get Spiritual Direction?
    • The Practical Side of Spiritual Direction
    • About our Training • Qualifications • and Support
    • Soul Renovation Sessions
    • Share Soul Care with Someone!
  • THE SERVANTS INITIATIVE
  • VIZCON
    • VIZCON 2
    • VIZCON 3
  • WILD RESOURCES
    • WILD RESOURCES BLOG
    • Wild Resources for Rhythm
    • Books
  • WILD ADVENTURE
    • PALM SUNDAY SUNRISE RIDE
    • Adventure Saturdays >
      • Adventure Saturday • Scott • Forks of Salmon • Trinity Rivers
    • Family Style Events >
      • Time to Get out!
    • Men's Events >
      • Men Living Wild Backcountry Xcursion
      • Men's Forge ADV Challenge
    • Backcountry Xcursion Rates and List
    • Backcountry Xcursion Routes >
      • DAY BXR >
        • Anderson Butte Day Xcursion
        • Scott • Forks of Salmon • Trinity Rivers
      • 2 DAY BXR
      • 3 DAY BXR
      • 4 DAY BXR
      • 5 DAY BXR
      • 6-8 DAY BXR
      • 9-11 DAY BXR
      • 12-16 DAY BXR
      • LONG BXR
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • WILD PLACES STUDIO by John Fairrington
    • Wood Frame Gallery
  • FIX'N TO HELP LLC
  • IMPORTANT EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
  • SPIRITUAL RETREATS
    • PCRR • Pacific Coast Range Ride • Sabbatical