Warrior Poet

Today I changed the name of my blog from The Abundant Life to Warrior Poet. Here's the story behind it.

This past summer I read a book called Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. The book was so meaningful to me that I decided to lead a small group of men from my church through it. As such, I began reading through the book a second time and meeting weekly with a group of four men.

In one of the chapters, John encourages the reader to ask God what he thinks of himself or herself.

"What do you (God) think of me?"

"Who do you say that I am?"

This question struck me so one day while on a walk I asked God what he thought about me. I didn't get an immediate answer so I kept walking. At some point (I don't remember exactly when) the name "Warrior Poet" came to my mind. I knew I had heard that term before, probably years ago, but I didn't remember from where or when. I also figured it was a name that I wanted to have for myself rather than God speaking to me so I dismissed it. If it was truly coming from God, He would make it clear.

Weeks passed and I forgot about it completely.

On Friday, September 27th my wife (Jenna) and I went on a double date with some friends of ours. After dinner we came back to our apartment for coffee and conversation. We both shared with our friends the books we were reading and the small groups we were leading.  I showed them the book Waking the Dead as well as another book called Wild at Heart, also written by John Eldredge.

A few days later I noticed a picture of the book Wild at Heart posted on Facebook. It was a post from the husband of the couple we had dinner with. He was reading the book so I liked his post and told him I was excited that he was reading it. Eventually we made plans to get together to discuss the book.  At that point I figured I better read the book again, not having read it for many years.

Fast forward to this morning...October 8, 2013. On the way to work this morning, I thought about the question I had asked God and how I had heard the name "Warrior Poet". I hadn't thought about it or prayed about it for weeks so I prayed about it again. By the time I arrived at work I had already forgotten about it and went about my day.

I left work for lunch around 12:30pm and sat outside at one of my favorite restaurants because the weather was beautiful. I brought Wild at Heart with me so I opened the book and began reading Chapter Two. My friend and I were planning on getting together to discuss the book for the first time on Thursday so I wanted to be prepared.

And suddenly, there it was! On page 22, I read the following:

"Wallace, if you'll recall, is the hero of the film Braveheart. He is the warrior poet who came as the liberator of Scotland in the early 1300s."

I couldn't believe it! There it was right in front of me...warrior poet! It was as if God was saying to me, "Yes, you are my warrior poet".

I wanted to jump up from my table and let out a big Yahoooooo right there. I was alive! "That's really what you think of me, God?" Then I want to live up to who you say I am. No more living under the bondage of fear and doubt and lust. That's not who I really I am. That's not who my Father says that I am.

I am a Warrior Poet!!!