“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
– 1 Kings 19:11-13

God speaks.  People who follow him know this well.  But His voice is not easy to discern; it’s something you have to listen for, and tuning your heart to His frequency is often a lifelong journey.  Margaret Feinberg wrote a book called The Sacred Echo that helped me frame my idea for how I often hear God-

“I call them sacred echoes because I noticed that throughout my relationships, daily life, and study, the same scripturally sound idea or phrase or word will keep reappearing until I can no longer avoid its presence.” -The Sacred Echo”

I do think this is a way that God speaks.  Thoughts.  Concepts.  Words.  Convictions.  Things that repeat over and over in your life until you realize that these concepts are something you need to hear, need to implement, need to learn.  Once you recognize an echo, it often becomes hard to ignore.  God’s whispers turn to shouts.  Yet how do you train your heart to listen?

I don’t know exactly, but I hope that this blog is a part of my obedience to the process.  Here is the place where I want to share my echoes, the scraps of wisdom I am picking up from God’s gracious hand as I live my life.  It is an act of obedience, a choice to be vulnerable and share my words with the world, not something that comes easily to me.