Meeting God in the Mountains

If you follow my blog, you know how highly I value creativity. We serve a creative Creator and are made in His image. I believe that exercising creativity in every area of life is part of the joy of following in His footsteps. It’s rare that I use this space to share an interview with another author, but Cathy Baker is a dear friend, a fellow blogger, and I’m deeply impressed by her creative approach to devotions. I LOVE this series she’s written of sensory-centered devotions to take on vacation. Anyone pioneering new ways for us to dig into His Word and spend time with Him, deserves your notice, so without further adieu, I give you, Cathy Baker!

Why focus on the senses in your Pauses for Vacationing Soul series?

I’ve seen firsthand what happens to adults when a sensory element like pennies, a crown of thorns, music, or beach sand is added to relevant adult Bible studies. It’s as if a divine-switch flips on in the brain.

For example, I recently received an email from a past participant in our Psalm 139 study sharing how she’s kept her small bag of beach sand by her nightstand stand since our study. Did I mention our study was ten years ago? More importantly, she remembered the why behind the beach sand. She’s experienced difficult bumps in the road over the past several years. Before she goes to bed at night and before her feet hit the floor the next morning, she’s reminded how God has her on His mind more times than there are grains of sand.

In retrospect, I suppose I also added these elements to the studies because I needed them, too. I’m a tactile learner. I remember what someone says for approximately two minutes (just ask my husband) but let me touch, hear, or taste it, and the memory is locked away.

What surprised you the most while researching for this book?

What surprised me the most was the spiritual connection we share with the mountains. There was Mount Ararat where Noah’s Ark came to rest. Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments and Mount Hermon, where the Transfiguration took place, just to name a few. The mountains also speak to God’s character, splendor, strength, and righteousness.

We recently moved to the foothills of the Carolinas. Mountains greet me every morning with one flick of the mini-blind wand. When I see the height and majesty of the mountains outside my window I think of the refuge they’ve provided since biblical times. King David fled to the hills when being chased by Saul and an angel pointed Lot and his family to the hills to escape danger.

And I get it. There are days when I want to escape too. Fears try to slither their way in when I drive due to a past accident. And guilt presses hard on tender spots over past choices I made as a parent of two young boys.

Then I look up. I see a stately, unchanging mountain that reminds me of the bigness of my God. I can run to Him for all things because His love will never change for me. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

What would you like your readers to take away from this book?

• Ultimately, that God wired each of us with senses to see, smell, hear, taste, and touch to connect with Him in tangible ways. He is a God who wants to be known.
• We see the face of a newborn child or the moon swiping its way over the sun and we connect with God as our awe-inducing Creator.
• When we hear the familiar voice of a loved one or a melodic tune that melts the heart, we connect with One who longs to be heard.
• We taste the bounty of the earth and connect with God, our Provider.
• When we feel a brush of wind so soft that it catches us by surprise, we connect with One who lovingly extended His touch to the poor, to the cripple, and to the hopeless.

My prayer for the readers (and for myself) is that we will draw closer to God as a result of this little book.

What devotional guides are you working on for the future?

Thanks for asking! The next vacation guide set to release in 2018 is for fellow lake lovers. In addition to the vacation series, a sensory-based celebration series for the holidays is in the works.

You can purchase Cathy’s most recent release, “Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Mountains” now on Amazon.

Cathy Baker is an award-winning writer and author of Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Beach as well as Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Mountains. As a twenty-five year veteran Bible instructor, she’s led hundreds of studies and workshops. She’s also contributed to numerous anthologies and publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Upper Room, and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family. In addition, her poetry can be found in several popular anthologies. She and her husband, Brian, live in the foothills of the Carolinas where she one day hopes to have her very own Goldendoodle.

Subscribe to Cathy’s blog and receive a free e-book, “Praying In Every Room of Your Home”.

Meeting God in the Mountains https://t.co/tpfD4AafMY #PausesfortheVacationingSoul #vacation #mountain

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) September 20, 2017