In all that great desert, there was not a single green thing growing, neither tree nor flower nor plant save here and there a patch of straggly gray cacti.On the last morning {Much-Afraid} was walking near the tents and huts of the desert dwellers, when in a lonely corner behind a wall she came upon a little golden-yellow flower, growing all alone

Rocksea-Camp

An old pipe was connected with a water tank. In the pipe was one tiny hole through which came an occasional drop of water. Where the drops fell one by one, there grew the little golden flower, though where the seed had come from, Much-Afraid could not imagine, for there were no birds anywhere and no other growing things.

Desert Flower http www etsy com listing 72016776 desert-flower-original-art

She stopped over the lonely, lovely little golden face, lifted up so hopefully and so bravely to the feeble drip, and cried out softly, “What is your name, little flower, for I never saw one like you before.”

The tiny plant answered at once in a tone as golden as itself, “Behold me! My name is Acceptance-with-Joy!“

Desert Flower Poppy

Much-Afraid thought of the things which she had seen… Somehow the answer of the little golden flower which grew all alone in the waste of the desert stole into her heart and echoed there faintly and sweetly, filling her with comfort. She said to herself, “He (the Shepherd) has brought me here when I did not want to come, for His own purpose. I, too, will look up into His face and say, ‘Behold me! I am your little handmaiden, Acceptance-with-Joy.’”

-Hannah Hurnard

Yellow flower crop half the field plowed

I see this Hinds’ Feet and High Places as an invitation. An invitation to see and experience eternal life. Often we think about when the temporal aspect may culminate, but often it is good to look at quality and amplitude. With this in mind I gave out over a case of these books, primarily while at Nyack College but several while I was in Princeton. This is eternal life -> knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.1097 [e] ginōskōsin γινώσκωσιν* they should know V-PSA-3P: To me the important aspect of this know is that related to the experiential. It is not as much understanding but an experience which is clearly perceived. It is the difference between knowing that 2+2=4 and knowing what it is like to experience the ecstasy of rapture or warmth of a soft blanket in front of the fire after caroling in the cold for hours To me mysticism is about this experiential interaction. Interaction with God is mystic
John 17:2even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.

3“This is eternal life, that they may know You,

the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
The Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:19
Other books written by authors with mystical leanings.

  • DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL, Saint John of the Cross
  • The Interior Castle or The Mansions, St. Teresa of Avila
  • Confessions, Augustine of HippoThe Lessons of Saint Francis:
  • How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life, John Michael Talbot
  • Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich
  • Gravity and Grace, Simone Weil
  • The Holy Spirit (Volume 2); Or, Power From on High. an Unfolding of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments, Albert B. Simpson
  • The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan
  • George Herbert: The Country Parson, The TempleHildegard of Bingen: Scivias
  • Showings, Julian of Norwich:
  • Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected WorksGregory of Nyssa:
  • The Life of MosesOrigen: An Exhortation to Martyrdom, Prayer, and Selected Works
  • Pseudo Dionysius: The Complete WorksSecrets of God:
  • Writings of Hildegard of Bingen
  • The Mystical Thought of Meister Eckhart, Bernard McGinn

Hannah Hurnard is a Christian Mystic. This book explores the mystical engagement between the individual and the Great Shepherd’s.

This book analogizes:

  • Part 1: Weeping May Endure for a Night (Psalm 30:5)
    1. Invitation to the High Places
    2. Flight Into the Night:
    3. Start for the High Places:
    4. Encounter With Pride:
    5. Detour Through the Desert: Here is the location of the flower acceptance with Joy – Often it is the Desert to which the engaged is led when trust is to be learned. And so it is the desert where the proposed often accepts the Shepherd’s decide and is blessed with faith. (FEAR -> DESERT -> ACCEPTANCE -> TRUST -> FAITH -> BATHING in GLORY
    6. On the Shores of Loneliness:
    7. On the Old Sea Wall:
    8. Great Precipice Injury:
    9. Ascent of the Precipice Injury:
    10. In the Forests of Danger and Tribulation:
    11. >In the Mist:
    12. >In the Valley of Loss:
    13. >The Place of Anointing:
    14. The Floods:
    15. >Grave on the Mountains:
  • Part 2: Joy Cometh in the Morning (Psalm 30:5)
    1. Healing Streams/Hinds Feet:
    2. High Places/Return to the Valley:

Quoted from http://danicajean.blogspot.com/2011/10/acceptance-with-joy.html:

Acceptance-with-Joy Thursday, October 27, 2011

Team Danica: Acceptance-with-Joy

… With no pride but only amazement I can tell you there is no more theater of what-ifs. Truly God has been preparing me for this for a long time. Along with my friend “Much-Afraid” I can say about this journey: