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A Morning Walk

This morning, I rose with strange energy—despite just 4 hours and 28 minutes of uninterrupted sleep. No grogginess. No resistance. Just alertness. Purpose.

As I geared up to walk our dog, Rocky, my wife Laura blinked in surprise.

“Are you going for a walk?”
“Are you okay? Why?”

“The Lord told me to,” I replied, equally surprised at my own response.

We exchanged a few words about the day ahead, but in that moment, I knew—I was being drawn. Called. And so, I went.

Awakened by Creation

I was met with friendly “Good mornings” from cyclists and greeted by bridges, vines, rustling trees, and birdsong. With the sun warming my face and re-centering my circadian rhythm, I thought, Why don’t I do this every morning?

Time faded. I had a rough sense of when I needed to return, but not knowing how far I’d walk gave me permission to be fully present. I embraced God’s nearness. I praised Him freely.

And just as I turned back, a text from Laura lit up my phone:

“You okay, love?”

There’s something healing about being thought of. Loved. Cared for.

But that moment—so tender—also made my heart ache for others who don’t have that feeling.

Intercession in the Darkness

One brother in Christ is walking through the shadows of withdrawal. He’s released artificial comforts to the Lord and is now feeling the raw darkness those comforts once numbed.
Oh Lord, fill him with the affection of Your Spirit. Let Your love replace the lies that once dulled the ache. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Another brother just reached out to share his story through the medium of A.I. story-telling—“The Monster Beneath the Floorboards.” Trauma. Deep, hidden wounds. Just… darkness.

Oh Lord… meet him there too.

The Seed and the Soil

As I walked, I couldn’t stop thinking about the trees—majestic and grounded. Each began as a seed. Small. Insignificant. Hidden.

But seeds don’t begin in the light.
They begin in darkness.

It’s there—in the unseen soil—that something begins to crack open. It’s not pretty. It’s not fast. But it is real. And it is sacred.

Scripture flooded my mind:

Genesis 3:14–16
“I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

There it is—the Seed. The one promised to crush the serpent’s head. Christ Himself.

And He too began in hiddenness.
Formed in Mary’s womb. Born into suffering.
Buried in a tomb—planted, like a seed—only to rise in glory.

So what about us?

Planted for Glory

Our bodies, too, are seeds. What we carry will determine what emerges.
Will it be the light of Christ? Or the artificial glow of deception?

So many seek healing but fear the darkness of death.
But the truth is: light is born there.

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
—John 12:24

Look at the Lord!

Now here I sit—coffee in one hand, candle lit, shifting mental gears for my homework in the Equipped Disciple 2:7 Series, Book 3, Session 3.

It’s not due until Thursday… but I have some catching up to do.

Still, I can’t help but pause and say:

Look at the Lord.
Awakening. Planting. Calling.
Meeting us in the darkness.
And growing us into light.