In just about 3 months, I’ll be doing something I have never done before.  I’ll be hopping on a plane to fly out to Colorado to spend 4 days in the mountains attending a retreat called the Wild At Heart Boot Camp.  This is an event conducted by Ransomed Heart Ministries.  It is built from the book, “Wild At Heart” written by John Eldredge.  If you have followed my blog over the last couple of years, you will have seen me mention this and other Ransomed Heart books.  In my spiritual journey, these have been books that have made significant impact on me as a man and how I have grown in my faith learning where God has called me.  A few years ago, I was a lost man especially in faith.  I have taken many turns in life and after I lost my Dad, I was simply lost.

I first opened this book middle of last year.  It sat on my desk for some time.  A good friend and colleague of mine cared enough about what I was going through and had given me this book.  It took awhile to pick it up, but I think God had me pick it up right when I needed to.  I had gone through Scripture and now it was time really start piecing it together and make more sense of things; of my journey in life, the wounds I had suffered, and the man that God has called me to be.  To understand more about who God is and learning His nature as reflected in men with our adventurous, wild, and warrior heart, and in women with his tender and nurturing heart.  I seem to discover more and more each day as I read and just reflect on things around me.

I have come to realize that there was so much I have been missing in my life.  I had missed on the adventure I was meant to live, to be able to experience and take in the beauty that is God’s creation.  To feel my heart draw close to God’s heart being out in the wilderness as Jesus did, as Moses did, and so many others. This is where we can all draw to God and experience Him in a very intimate way.  When I now sit out the woods on a hunt, I use that time to really draw to God and feel His presence in everything.  Last week, I took a day and went on my own for the first time and just being there in the silence was a truly spiritual experience.

So to add to that, at the end of January, I will board a flight to Colorado for the Wild at Heart Boot Camp.  I am very excited about this event, but also have a lot of nerves with uncertainties over what to expect.  I will sometimes get feelings that maybe I shouldn’t be going or questioning my reason.  I believe this is the enemy trying to stop me.  I will not let that happen and will follow through on where I believe God has called me to go.  Like my friend said and I realized, God had me read this book right when I needed to.  I read Scripture right when I needed to.  God calls us it’s a matter of whether we listen and follow.

I will write more about Boot Camp in my preparations in the coming months and certainly look forward to sharing my experiences.  Between now and then, I pray for my heart and the hearts of all other men who will be attending the same Boot Camp with me.  I pray that God will open our hearts and allow us to fully experience all that he is waiting to show us and have us experience.  I look forward to time in the wilderness to just be there with me and God and for the time of fellowship with the other men that will be there.  I wholeheartedly believe that God has called me to this next step in my journey.  It seems like a big leap, but I am pumped about what He has in store for me.

Listen to where God is calling you.  You never know when He may want you to take that next big and bold step.  He will speak to us in different ways.  I believe He has called me to go the Boot Camp at the perfect time.  Why? Because God’s timing is always perfect.  That’s when He wants me to be there, so that’s when I will go.