off to the countryside and listening for that still small voice

I have been given an opportunity to spend several days out in the countryside now that school's out (woo hoo!). A friend has a cottage several hours north from the bay area and has made it available for me to use for a little over a week. So there I will go to spend quiet time alone: reading, relaxing, praying, hiking (he tells me it's a bit hilly there), meditating, thinking. It will be a sort of "retreat" for me, and of course one of the things that will be in my mind is this vocation.

Anyway, this means that for at least a week there will be no new posts to this humble blog, as I have decided not to bring my laptop. I am determined to devote this time to prayer, silence, and solitude: listening for The Voice from Eden.

And speaking of voices, here's one of my favorite passages from the Hebrew Scriptures (1Kings 19:11-13):

And the Lord said to Elijah,
"Go forth, and stand upon the mount
before the Lord."
And behold, the Lord passed by,
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind;
and after the wind an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
and after the earthquake a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire;
and after the fire a still small voice.
And when Elijah heard it,
he wrapped his face in his mantle
and went out and stood
at the entrance of the cave.