Living at the bottom of a mountain is easy. Storms are stopped before they reach you, but the water still trickles into your faucets and hoses. It is beautiful and wild yet comfortable within the town. Many families here in Chaiprakarn have lived at the bottom of this mountain for decades, but haven't ventured farther than the farms beneath the foothills. The people I've met are both tough and intellegent - it isn't as if they are incapable of adventure.

     The first hour I was here I asked if we could go hiking? How far was that mountain? Which mountains are best? What were the wild animals like? Mountains are foriegn to me. They astound me. But for the people who live here they are just a part of the horizon.

    Isn't that how we approah growth sometimes? It isn't nesecarily hard to stay where we are, it might even be easy, but like me, presented with oppurtunity, we'll be unsatisfied without attempting a climb. Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed by our schedules and meager expectations that it doesn't even occur to us that we might want to tackle mountains in our lives.

Fears can be mountains.

So can doubts and insecurities.

It is easy to live with burdens and hate when with effort and love they can be overcome. If you desire to climb the mountains before you, the Lord will clear your path! So don't be contented living bound by stress, fear, bitterness, guilt or burdens. Take a minute to check out your surroundings and pray for a desire to climb mountains. The climb might involve time, thistles and crossing rivers that take more than one person to traverse, but long for the freedom at the highest peak and your Father in heaven will not give you more than you can handle.

He promised. :)

He overcomes. He overcomes. He oversomes things in our heads. He overcomes tensions in our homes. He overcomes grief. He overcomes. He overcomes. He overcomes. He overcomes when we call on Him and desire His life in our hearts. He will overcome again and again.