an inward journey

thousands of years ago a man set out on a journey. a journey that began long before he ever left his familiar place. for centuries people of all faiths have studied the journey of Abram or Abraham as he is later named. "lech lecha" is the name that has been given to this life study of a one's journey, it is worth spending time reflecting upon the truths contained in this life-lesson.

"lech lecha" is translated in the Hebrew language "go to you." a very interesting place to begin one's journey. it is a inward step before taking an outward leap. i have many times launched out before taking a moment to examine inwardly what is it that pushes me or propels me through life's path. yet now i find myself taking an inward glance to peek within the closed doors to face the fears and doubts that have prevented my journey to truly begin.

others have gone down this introspective path before embarking on life's journey. Henry David Thoreau said "I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what they had to teach; and not when I came to die, discover that i have never lived."

for Abraham the inward journey was to face his past, one that was full of family secrets and deceptions. Smashing his way into the truth, he discovered a True Voice calling him to now move out past what he knew as familiar, his county, his family, his childhood. The Voice propelled him to move in a new direction, one who's final location was unknown. a promise was given to Abraham that through his descendant all families of the earth would be blessed. [genesis 12]

maybe we can take a look inward facing what may be hidden from others, in doing so come to the end of ourselves to find the True Voice of G-d calling each of us to begin life's rich journey.

going to the zoo

we have been meeting together in various places, our homes, the beach, tropical smoothie, maclay gardens, but one of the best has been the zoo. There is something about going to the zoo that brings all kinds of people together. Families go, people young and old go, whether you are from the city or not going to the zoo is something that people do. why is it? often i have heard of people who have been going through a difficult time in their life one of the things they do is go to the zoo. why is the zoo relaxing? what are we drawn to about the zoo? what life experiences can we draw from the zoo?

a new conversation

all good relationships start with a good conversation. thanks for joining in this conversation. if this is your first time to conversations at the real zoo, welcome. we are excited that you have found us. one of the greatest ways to learn about the life is to ask questions and listen. so let's begin with a good question: how do we begin to ask honest questions about God without trying to answer them?