Some years ago I was skiing up at Timberline Lodge near Portland. Looking for a major challenge, I turned to my wife.

"I want to ski the Glade Trail."

Now the Glade Trail is a six-mile narrow trail that runs from Timberline Lodge down the mountain to Government camp. The trail is not packed, unpredictable, and there is no ski patrol on it.

I started down this six-mile trail with a friend. My wife and my friend's wife would drive down to Government Camp and meet us at the bottom. The weather was beautiful as we started, and the snow was untried and unproven powder. In the quite loneliness of the pristine trail, we skied the run and felt the rhythm of the skis. Soon I was lost in the experience, somewhere off in hyperspace. Sometimes I would stop and catch my breath, admire the view, or simply rest. Then there was no returning from the hyperspace, only staying in an incredible peak experience that only a skier would know.

Then it happened. Somewhere near the end of the run I hit a mogul wrong and found myself flying. Skiis, poles, gloves, and Carl were all soaring in different directions and I landed in a jumbled heap in the soft snow. Testing things, I found the only damage was a turned angle.

Picking up things, I limped with the help of my friend the rest of the way down, and as I emerged from the trail my wife came to meet me with open arms. She guided me to the car and began removing my boots before the ankles could swell in them. As she looked up at me while she removed the boots, her eyes said it all.

"Why did you do it?"

I had the wild look in my eyes, the swept back hair, the wind-blown face. Sweat was pouring down my body, and I was shaking from the ten mile run.

"I felt the wind. I felt the wind. I want to do it again."

As we move into our God-given visions, there is a Wind of the Holy Spirit that moves through our lives. We feel this and its peak experience, the exhilaration, adventure, romance and the joy of joining with God in the creation of His Kingdom. It may be "powder snow" - never tried before and dangerous, but nothing else has any meaning in life. It's radical. We never want to come down again.

Look at the story of Jonathan and King Saul in 1 Samuel 14. We see in this story 600 Israelites are going into battle against the Philistines. The Philistines had 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen. The only two Israelites with sword or spear are King Saul and Jonathan. Not very good odds. And Saul is asleep under a Pomegranate tree.

Saul had already made a serious mistake. He was supposed to wait for Samuel to pray offer the sacrifice for the battle. When Samuel was late, Saul took upon himself the task of offering the sacrifice for the battle. This was a serious offense before God.

Now Jonathan wakes up his armorbearer and says (rough translation):

"Let's go get 'em. God can do anything. Maybe God will help us."

Jonathan then puts down a sign. God honors the sign, and Jonathan and his armorbearer go up and kill 20 Philistines in the next few minutes. Then an earthquake hits, and Saul wakes up and wonders what happened. The rest of the men are mobilized, and the Philistines, it says, melted away.

Are you Jonathan or Saul?

Defining Purpose, Vision, and Mission

On these library panels, you can expect to find material for defining your purpose, vision, core values, and mission. Much of this is still in development, but you can explore the panels here now and begin your journey. Here are a few definitions:

Core Values: These define your preferences, priorities, assumptions, and beliefs. These are generally static; that is, they are defined early in your life by your parents and those around you and generally remain fairly constant. They define your behavior.

Purpose Statement: What is the purpose of your life? Why are you living?

Vision Statement: What captures your passion? What dream do you have of where you want to go? What is your burden? This is a word spoken to you from the very depths of your relationship and intimacy with God. Jesus defines his vision statement Luke 4:18-19.

Mission Statement: This is a statement that tells who, what, why, how, and when. The "why" can often be broken off to the Purpose statement. You can find the mission statement that Jesus left with his followers in Matthew 28:19-20.