As I have shared with you many times, my faith and life journey has gone through an amazing adventure the past few years.  It has led me from a dark shadow and doubt to a renewed sense of who I am and who I want to be based on what I know that God has called me to be.  Last year, a colleague and friend of mine gave me a book called “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge.  With everything I had going one, it took me a while to really sit down and read this book.  A couple of months back, I made a tough decision to step away from my doctorate studies to refocus myself.  At that point I decided to finally start this book.  For me, I am not one that can sit and read a book in a weekend.  This was a slow and deliberate process.  But what a journey, let me tell you.  This book has ignited me in my journey with God and my journey and growth as a man, husband, and father.  I feel I am more ready than ever to take on this world and use my life testimony to share with others and relate with others in their lives and where they have been and where they are going.

We all have a calling in life and reason for why God created each and every one of us.  There are many who never realize that calling and slump through life complacent, miserable, and never know what it means to truly come alive.  “Wild at Heart” reaffirmed my belief that we are called by God to a purpose and it is up to us to answer that calling.  To not let the evil of this world tell you that you can’t.  You have a chance to get away from the dredges of everyday complacency and get out there and live the life you were created for.  For you men out there, this is a calling for you to live as the adventurous and wild spirit that you were intended to be.  Remember you were created in God’s image.  Everything that is God is about the risk, adventure, strength, and courage that is reflected in men.  Remember as boys, we were wild.  We wanted to explore, we built forts, played war, looked for new adventures.  That is the embodiment of God in us as men.  When we grow, we tend to lose that sense of adventure as the world begins to call.

I challenge each and everyone of you to spend time in prayer and scripture every day.  Ask God to show you what He has called and created you for.  He will show it.  I promise you.  And don’t fall into the trap that once you figure that out, everything will change instantly.  It will take time and dedication to get there, but you can do it.  It’s like I tell my wife as she slowly builds her photography business.  Each day is a growth journey.  The more time you put into the effort, the better you get, and the closer you get to fulfilling that purpose.

We all have the opportunity to come alive folks.  Focus on those key areas of life that will help you come alive.  It is up to you to write the next chapter of your life and where your journey takes you.  What will your next chapter in life read?  Will you continue to live a complacent life that does not help you come alive, or will you step into the calling that you were created for.  Let’s all step up to this challenge.  I sure will and I hope that you will join me.  We can all get there.