How are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? (Romans 10:14)

Today is January 11, 2013. This morning, for pretty-much the first time since well before Christmas, Rebekah and I woke up with no-one else in the house.

Listen. Can you hear it?

• It’s the sound of nothing distracting my grey matter;
• it’s the sound of my brain-cells coalescing, gathering together to join forces around some thought, idea, or insight;
• it’s the sound of thinking;
• it’s the deep purr of the other six cylinders kicking in.

I don’t regret a single moment of the past few weeks. Life has been a symphony of celebration, love, peace, promise, grace, gratitude and joy. But – other than a daily post to keep the blog ball rolling – I don’t have much writing under my belt.

It’s time to take the “free” out of free-lance writing and start giving a few editors some reason to mail me a check.

TIME: On this day last year, Jan 11 2012, Rebekah and I woke up to this amazing view (left) of the Sea of Galilee.

Later that night, we went to bed in the City of Jerusalem, where we began the last stage of our pilgrimage to the Holy Lands.

In between we walked in “The Valley of the Doves,” looked over the precipice at Nazareth, explored Megiddo and the valley of Armageddon, stopped by Mount Carmel, and walked the beach at Caesarea. January 11 was also the day I offered a devotional in the Roman amphitheater where Paul “almost persuaded” King Agrippa

Talk about a different perspective!

THERE IS A WAY: Yet all of this, this wide variety of experience, ranging from changing diapers at 3:00 in the morning to following the footsteps of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, is knitted together by the common meter of my daily walk with Jesus.

There is a cadence that we can only pick up when we deliberately take the time to listen; there is a song that we can only join if we are willing to tune our hearts to His pitch; there is a path we can only find if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus; there is a Way, there is a Guide, there is a Promise.

So who I am this morning is emerging from the great accumulation of experiences and adventure to this point. And who I can be on this particular day is rooted in the providence and purposes of God. And who I will be for the balance of Jan 11, 2013, depends on how I respond, how well I listen, what frequency I tune in to, and where my eyes are fixed.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12)