the beating of the drum sounded different but it was always said that I would march to the beat of a different drum... unexpected treasure found

There are times that I feel the trembling of all the sands around me and I leap from place to place looking for the Rock upon which to plant my feet..

Today as I cleaned up my son's room a book emerged that didn't even belong in there but I sat down on the floor and as it will sometimes happen within the page that was flipped to were words that sparked light into my soul... and I could almost see a wink in the Father's eye... as if on a day of knowing some cleaning had to happen that I would start in a certain room where a child had brought a book and placed it under the bed.... and it would be discovered.....

So in the book entitled, "Dare to Journey," which to me was just enough of a discovery... the compiler, Charles Ringma, uses the writings of Henri Nouwen in a stirring devotional....

And the page... well the title for the reflection was, A Different Drummer: Hearing the New in the Midst of the Old...

so this my friends is that.... fabulous book....

"Things therefore need to be changed, and tradition, at times, needs to be interrupted and transformed. However, it is one thing to see the cracks in the system; it is another to find meaningful and long-term solutions. Solutions seldom come from the bureaucrats. They are usually too committed to keeping the system going.

Solutions are more likely to come from visionaries. These people seldom hold center stage. They are more likely to be those living on the periphery. But to be marginalized-either by becoming involved in full-time ministry or by remaining in one's normal vocation but embracing servanthood and downward mobility- IS in itself NO guarantee of wisdom and insight. MORE is required.

Nouwen suggests that this "more" involves the practice of solitude and prayerful reflection and goes on to note that the contemplative life is like hearing a different drummer. He is right. In the practice of solitude we are able to dim the din of our world, and in prayer we are able to touch a wisdom that transcends our world.

This of course does not mean that everyone who contemplates will come up with the big solutions for our world. This may be the contribution of only the few. But it does mean that all who contemplate and have the audacity to put the sound of the different drummer into practice in their own lives are already changing the world."

So upon my journey I hunger to live a life so within the shadow of my Father that the beating of His heart is the drum I live my life towards..... knowing not much else but knowing Him... and knowing that He knows beginning from end... I continue to venture ..... continue to dare to journey as the title of that book so well states.....