{"id":65,"date":"2019-03-06T05:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/?p=65"},"modified":"2020-04-02T10:09:31","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T15:09:31","slug":"neander-on-the-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/?p=65","title":{"rendered":"Neander on the Path"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<audio id=\"wp_mep_1\" src=\"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/m4a\/Journey%20Notes%2001%20Neander%20on%20the%20Path%20Accomp.m4a\"     controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\"  >\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t<\/audio>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\njQuery(document).ready(function($) {\r\n\t$('#wp_mep_1').mediaelementplayer({\r\n\t\tm:1\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t,features: ['playpause','current','progress','duration','volume','tracks','fullscreen']\r\n\t\t,audioWidth:,audioHeight:\r\n\t});\r\n});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<p>The<a href=\"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/?attachment_id=83\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-83\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-83\" title=\"Hills and Valleys\" src=\"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/Neander-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"A View of the Valley\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/Neander-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/Neander.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a> first day of a journey can be special.\u00a0 There is a wonderful mix of excitement, hope, and expectation.\u00a0 We set out with a sense of purpose and direction.\u00a0 We are on a path to the foot of the cross.\u00a0 No turning to the left or to the right.\u00a0 No wandering about.\u00a0 No meandering.<\/p>\n<p>This is not to say that every journey to the foot of the cross is the same.\u00a0 Christ was driven through a brutal guantlet along the streets of Jerusalem, carrying the cross with Him.\u00a0 Mary walked to Golgotha, too, driven by a mother&#8217;s anguish and love.\u00a0 To one side a thief lashed out with jeers and taunts.\u00a0 To the other side a thief reached out with a plea for eternal mercy.\u00a0 All of them were in the same place.\u00a0 They were there on the same day.\u00a0 Yet for each one the journey was completely unique, and\u00a0the destination was completely different.<\/p>\n<p>Centuries later, Joachim Neander was on a journey of his own.\u00a0 As a young man he enjoyed meandering through the hills and valleys near his home.\u00a0 Neander&#8217;s meanders were so well known that a valley came to be named after him&#8211;Neander&#8217;s valley.\u00a0 He walked along, admiring the handiwork of his Creator.<\/p>\n<p>A story is told that one day Neander wandered farther than usual.\u00a0 The sun went down.\u00a0 Storm clouds formed.\u00a0 Rain began to fall.\u00a0 Neander hurried through the darkness trying to make his way home.\u00a0 Suddenly there was a flash of lightning.\u00a0 For a brief moment the entire valley was illuminated, revealing that Neander&#8217;s next step in the dark could have been his last.\u00a0 He was at the edge of a precipice and would have fallen to his death.\u00a0 Frightened by the lightening and terrified by the cliff, he clambered away from the edge.\u00a0 Safely back on the path, Neander made his way home.\u00a0 Afterward, he always gave credit to God for saving him that night.<\/p>\n<p>That experience shaped Neander&#8217;s life.\u00a0 His appreciation for creation remained as strong as ever, and his spiritual focus and purpose were sharpened.\u00a0 In the years that followed he wrote many hymns.\u00a0 One of them, <em>Praise to the Lord, the Almighty<\/em>, is a shout for joy to the Creator.\u00a0 Let your soul praise the Lord with these words.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Praise to the Lord,<br \/>\nthe Almighty, the King of creation.<br \/>\nO my soul, praise him,<br \/>\nfor he is thy health and salvation!<br \/>\nAll ye who hear,<br \/>\nnow to his temple draw near;<br \/>\njoin me in glad adoration!<\/p>\n<p>As we journey into the labyrinth, may we enjoy the creation that God has laid before us, and like Neander, may we encounter God in wonderful and life-changing ways.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fXyn6s9AGn4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Follow the Path!<br \/>\n<strong><em><span style=\"color: #800080;\">CARadke<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>[Use with <em>In the Beginning<\/em>, day 1 of <a title=\"Order your copy of A Labyrinth Pilgrimage today!\" href=\"https:\/\/www.createspace.com\/3366946\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>A Labyrinth Pilgrimage<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first day of a journey can be special.\u00a0 There is a wonderful mix of excitement, hope, and expectation.\u00a0 We set out with a sense of purpose and direction.\u00a0 We are on a path to the foot of the cross.\u00a0 &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/?p=65\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thoughts-about-the-journey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1132,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/1132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}