And as I do, even as I say it out loud—I give everyone and everything to you—my soul cooperates a good bit. I'm settling down.

Now, if I am having a hard time hearing God's voice, or being certain that I have heard, I will sometimes try on one answer, then the other. Still in a posture of quiet listening, I will add to my prayers, Are you saying yes, Jesus? Are you saying you want us to go? Pause. Listen. Or are you saying no—you don't want us to go? Often as we try on one answer or another, our spirit can feel the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a confirmation, or a strong sense of reservation.

The outer life we live from ought (I ought to do this) rather than from desire (I want to do this) and management substitutes for mystery.

Don't let your experience of God up to this point limit what you might enjoy with him in the coming years.

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him" (2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT).

Pressure nearly always guarantees you will have a hard time discerning what God is saying, if you hear anything at all.

I am surrendering it, turning it over to Jesus, relinquishing its every right.

The key to receiving answers to prayers for guidance is to let go of our constant attempt to "figure things out."

Story is how we figure things out, bring order and meaning to the events around us. The story we hold at any given time shapes our perceptions, hopes, and expectations; it gives us a place to stand.

Given the right plan, everything in life can be managed... except your heart.

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

Just because we cannot see clearly te end of the road, that is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey.