Weekend Words

The following quotes are from the Kate Humble book I mentioned in my previous post.

"For me walking feels as vital as breathing.  The first thing I do, every morning I can, is to go for a walk - for an hour, or longer if I can get away with it - usually alone apart from my dogs.  I find the simple action of putting one foot in front of the other, and the rhythm of that action, incredibly therapeutic.  It wakes me up, unscrambles my sleep-fogged head.  But it also gives me a sense of immersion, of being rooted somewhere, makes me feel part of where I am, a sensory and physical connection to the bit of world I find myself in." (p13)

I can so relate to this.  I love to walk alone.  I don't have dogs, but if I did I would let them come with me :)  And my mind is generally unscrambled by the time I go for my walk as I have spent about half an hour drinking my 'wake up' cup of tea before I head outside.  And I can also relate to the 'connectedness' of a place after I have walked the area.  Whenever I go to a new place one of the first things I like to do is go for a walk to get a 'feel' for the place.

"At home...there are many routes I've done time and time again at different times of the day and at different times of the year.  There is nothing boring about this because one of the great joys of seeing a place on foot is that it allows you to notice things, little things, that would otherwise be missed.  The more familiar a route becomes, the more, I find, it is easy to notice things that have either been overlooked previously or have changed." (p15)

I confess, a lot of my walking I seem to do on auto pilot, not really noticing where I am going (having walked the same route - except for going in the opposite direction sometimes to 'unwind' - for years now), but it is usually because my mind is so active.  Once my thoughts slow down and I get them 'sorted' in my head, then I find I am noticing the minutiae around me...a leaf on the path, a branch on a bare tree, a bird call, the clouds in the sky...

"We ought to take outdoor walks, to refresh and raise the spirits by deep breathing in the open air." (p22 - a quote by Seneca)

I tend to get 'cabin fever' if cooped up inside all day, especially during winter, when our homes can get warm and stuffy due to heating.  I long to get out in that cold, fresh, winter air, even if it's raining!

"Walking is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things.  It is the one way of freedom.  If you go to a place on anything but your own two feet, you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside." (p22 - a quote by Elizabeth von Armin)

Amen to that!!

Which leads me to the other part of this post...


Jesus did a lot of walking, and also left us an example of how to walk with God and please Him.  Here are a few thoughts (and verses) I've put together...

How can we walk with God and please Him?

1. Walk according to the Spirit - Romans 8:3-5
....do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

2. Walk properly/decently/honestly - Romans 13:13
Let us walk properly.....

3. Walk by faith (doing good works) - Ephesians 2:8-10
.....for we are.....created in Christ Jesus for good works.....that we should walk in them.

4. Walk in unconditional love - Ephesians 5:2
And walk in love.....

5. Walk in wisdom - Ephesians 5:15
.....walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.....
Colossians 4:5
Walk in wisdom.....redeeming the time.

6. Walk in truth - 2 John 4
.....walking in truth.

7. Walk in His commandments (in love) - 2 John 6
This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.....

8. Walk in unity - Ephesians 4:1-3
.....walk worthy of the calling.....endeavouring to keep the unity.....

9. Walk in light - Ephesians 5:8-10
.....walk as children of light.....

10. Walk worthy - Colossians 1:10
That you may walk worthy of the Lord.....

Do not walk according to the flesh - 1 John 2:16-17

Imitate Christ - 1 Corinthians 11:1 - He is our example!

This got a bit longer than I had planned, but it's good to get these thoughts out of my head and written down.  Now there's room to fit some new ones in :))

I did go for a walk this morning, and if it wasn't pouring with rain now, I'd go for another one...

xx