You already know

I'll be leaving in about 10 minutes, just wanted to stop by to say a quick farewell...

I'm really looking forward to this trip, it's a time for me to just get away and experience something that I've never experienced before. You already know I'm going to come back with all these inspirational thoughts about how awesome God is. Unless I happen to trip and slip off the edge of the canyon...then I won't have much to say at all.

But in all seriousness i'm going to have a lot of time to think and just be still. 5 hours on the plane to LA...4 hours to the Canyon...3 days at the canyon...Another 4 hours back from the Canyon...Another 5 hours back on the plane to NY. Point is, I'm going to have a lot of down-time with God. I'm going to have a lot of down-time to really sort things out.

Last night I was a little troubled, troubled with things that I've been trying to work through for quite some time now, I was brought to Psalms 120:7 and I was pretty speechless.

I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

I literally laid there in my bed repeating those words over and over and over out loud for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what this verse means. I kept racking my brain as I asked God to reveal to me what this verse means. It seems so contradictory... how can a man be a man of peace and yet speak for war? I desire to be a man of peace, how does it make sense to speak for war?

I have a feeling that this trip is going to teach me what this verse really means.

I ask that you keep me in your prayers. Pray that I really do come back inspired, that during this trip I can find the contentment, peace, silence, but most importantly, wisdom that I have been searching for. Pray that this trip leaves me speechless about how beautiful God really is, and that God gives me ability to convey that effectively to his people. Pray that this verse comes to life before my very eyes.

My phone will be off for the next 4 days. I'll be using this time to just get away and be still, to renew, refresh, refill - whatever you want to call it. If there is something you really do need to contact me about, leave me a voice mail, and don't hesitate to do so. I'll try to check my phone every night.

take care guys,

I'll be extremely eager to hear about all the awesome things that will happen in the next 4 days.

later

- Ben Thomas