Have you ever noticed what it says in verse 21 of Exodus chapter 14?
There is a key phrase in there that changes my perspective of the whole parting-of-the-sea deal.
Two words back to back provide some insight into my thoughts on God's provision.

"All night."

It says that the east wind that parted the sea blew all night while a cloud separate the Egyptians and the Israelites.

Ok...so what?
That means that the Israelites sat there freaking out for an entire night surrounded by howling wind while the only thing separating them and an army bringing death was some fog and darkness.
They had to wait.

Maybe you already had this picture in your head, but I always thought of this story as a quick get-away.
And the problem with that is that life doesn't really have quick get-aways.
When you're afraid because tough stuff is going on it always takes a while to get back to a place of peace, and that while of waiting happens to be quite uncomfortable at times.

The question is will I wait in faith while God provides?

Also, another side thought:
Can you imagine the feeling in your soul as onlooking Moses in the moment of quiet between the sound of the rushing wind and the roaring waters?

The first photograph ever taken.

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
-Exodus 14:14

The Formula:
1. God takes care of it.
2. I shut my mouth.

What you really want is the answer to the question of what you'll really do.

Here is some more Merton.
I've decided to always listen to a monk.

"We are warmed by fire, not by the smoke of the fire.
We are carried over the sea by a ship, not by the wake of a ship.
So too, what we are is to be sought in the invisible depths of our own being, not in our outward reflection in our own acts.
We must find our real selves not in the froth stirred up by the impact of our being upon the beings around us, but in our own soul which is the principle of all our acts."

"You never know how malnourished your soul is until you really feed it."

I've noticed that I can coast in a decent attempt at living for quite some time.
We all can, really.
Some days will just go OK on their own without too much effort on our behalf.

However, I when I sat down this morning with some coffee and a sunrise I realized something...I hate coasting.

Coasting does one thing.
It gets you closer and closer to somewhere you don't want to be.
It's a mystery but a fact that you always end up somewhere, and our default destination is never our dream.

It's the "poof effect."
The blank stare after the "what did you do today" question.
The "holy junk it's already September" realization.
Do you have any idea how many things I planned to do or be before September that haven't been "done or been"?

When was the last time we really fed our souls?
How long have we been floating in our complacency?

Adam, I am so proud of you.

New band website:

www.thelessband.com

Things are still being finalized.

Thoughts on tough times:

"The effect of suffering upon us depends on what we love.
In any case, if we love ourselves, suffering inexorably brings out selfishness, and then, after making known what we are, drives us to make ourselves even worse than we are.
If we love God and love others in him, we will be glad to let suffering destroy anything in us that God is pleased to let it destroy, because we know that all it destroys is unimportant."

"In order to face suffering in peace:
Suffer without imposing on others a theory of suffering, without weaving a new philosophy of life from your own material plan, without proclaiming yourself a martyr, without counting out the price of your courage, without disdaining sympathy and without seeking too much of it.
In order to give glory to God and overcome suffering with the charity of Christ:
Suffer without reflection, without hate, suffer with no hope of revenge or compensation, suffer without being impatient for the end of suffering."
--Thomas Merton