Mountain Biking the Slickrock Trail near Moab, Utah

Rivers of Life

"Live like a river flows, surprised by its own unfolding." ~ John O'Donohue

"Rivers of living water." John 7:38

"A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received of His fullness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow the rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth. We have nothing to do with the outflow - "This is the work of God that ye believe. . . ." God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing he is.

A river is victoriously persistent, it overcomes all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, then it comes to an obstacle and for a while it is balked, but it soon makes a pathway round the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, and presently emerge again broader and grander than ever. You can see God using some lives, but into your life an obstacle has come and you do not seem to be of any use. Keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you round the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never get your eyes on the obstacle or on the difficulty. The obstacle is a matter of indifference to the river which will flow steadily through you if you remember to keep right at the Source. Never allow anything to come between yourself and Jesus Christ, no emotion, or experience; nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-flung rivers nursing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up marvelous truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is an indication of the wider power of the river He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has nourished in you mighty torrents of blessing for others." Oswald Chambers

Flow re-posted

"The trail is a stream of lessened entropy pouring through the landscape, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes smooth, sometimes rough. To follow it is not hard, but is reactive and slow. To lead it is impossible- it defines what can be done, not you. To flow with it is the trick, going fast where it allows, slow where it does not, anticipating the turns and bumps along the way and planning for them, instead of recovering from them.

The flow never really pauses. Always, there is possibility ahead of your tires, always, it is your job to anticipate and execute. If you take time to think, you've lost- information takes too long to process consciously, and the trail keeps winding while your head goes straight. An 8" wide trail doesn't take long to cross when your paths diverge, and to either side lies chaos. We all venture here from time to time, sometimes we escape unharmed, sometimes with disastrous effect. We learn to fear chaos, and we learn that thinking about it takes us there. By forcing us to remain in the flow, acting without thinking, the trail physically enforces a mental discipline, a near zen state of presence yet detachment. Achieving this state makes it compelling, staying in it is almost religious" Neduro (an inmate on the ADVrider.com forum)

Once you’ve felt “the flow” you never forget it. I was teaching my 5 year old grandson about turning corners on a motocross track one day and was able to see him feel “the flow”. He was so excited – “Watch, grandpa, I can just lean it over and look at the end of the corner and the bike just goes there by itself.” Watching him feel “it” was more thrilling that being “there” myself. I knew what he felt and he knew I knew. That’s an unbreakable connection.

I think that is what God wants us to feel about life. He wants us to “flow” – He wants us to know Him in a way that makes us want to always feel His will and execute. Not having to agonize over “finding God’s will” but understanding God in a way that makes us go there without conscious thought or effort. I have a friend who taught me some motocross secrets who once told me that I can go ahead and hold the throttle open longer than my brain wants me to, because the subconscious brain will take over and be able to handle more than the conscious brain wants to experience. It’s true, sometimes I can be actually crashing and relax, will myself not to go down, and let instinct take over and the crash will be avoided. The mental discipline takes a long time to learn but I think that’s how God wants us to approach many things in life. We need to be open to His leading in a way that makes it automatic and effortless to execute. Never letting the anticipation of negative results stop us from achieving positive and triumphant joy. Focusing on our dreams and not allowing ourselves to even look at the pitfalls on the side of the trail will take us where we want to go. If you focus on and fear the pitfalls you will fall because you won’t even see the trail. The fear will blind you. We have to focus not only on the trail but also must be able to envision the joy and harmony of having done the will of the Father. God wants us to approach life just as a motocross racer memorizes all the lines on a track but does not stop there but visualizes picking up the trophy at the end of the race. God is just waiting to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Life won’t get any better than that

Poison Spider Mesa Trail

Bits of Hell's Revenge Trail near Moab, Utah