Back in the Thick of It...

My luxurious five week winter break seems to have flown by, and while I had great visions of writing deep and pithy truths here on the blog during my hiatus, I'm sad to say, it just did not happen.

What was I doing all that time -- besides enjoying the holiday with my family and a short bout with the flu? I was relishing the utter freedom from pressure germane to academia! I did however, read some great books -- The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll, Think by John Piper, and A Place for Truth, which was a group of academic talks on God and faith by scientists, philosophers artists etc, edited by Dallas Willard. All three books greatly encouraged me with my resolution for 2011, which is to learn to love God with my whole mind.

Today I am back in the thick of studying and realizing that writing in this blog will happen only as a rare respite from the weight of study inherent in my venture back to school. But as I was doing some research on Christian mysticism, I came across this lovely quote by John of the Cross, and felt compelled to share it with you!

It matters not how many mysteries and marvels the great doctors have discovered and very holy souls have understood during their lives, there remained infinitely more to say and even understand. And thus
there is much to sound in Christ: because He is like a mine with many
caverns' of treasures, that, however deeply they sound the depths they
never find the bottom or the end, rather they continue to find additional
riches and new veins in each cavern. . . . what in this life can
be attained from these mysteries of Christ, it is impossible to arrive at
without having suffered much and received many intellectual and sensitive
graces of God and after much spiritual training.

And so it is...

My prayer for each of us is that we will find new veins as we dig deep in the caverns of treasures that are Christ this year -- for our joy and His exaltation.