Check out Eric’s new blog!  It’s more of his personal read on life, relationships, and God.  Simply go to www.erickampmann.blogspot.com.  Get inspired today…You’ll be glad you did! 

by Jennifer Barker

If you’ve walked into a Christian bookstore lately, you’ve probably noticed the myriad number of devotionals to choose from. If you want a devotional book that will be thought-provoking and challenging, but is easy to read, then Eric Kampmann’s Trail Thoughts will help you in this endeavor. He gives you a good piece of meat to chew on for the day and rarely leaves you with the feeling that you haven’t learned anything.

When Eric Kampmann was a young man, he embarked on his journey in the professional world. In this journey he worked toward one goal: reaching the top of the ladder. Then one day his life completely changed in what he defines as his “Jonah moment.” A moment when the bottom fell out of his plans, his dreams, his life. The moment when he turned his life over to God instead of chasing his own ideas and dreams. He has authored three books (Trail Thoughts being the third one) and is also a teacher, speaker, hiker, entrepreneur, husband, and a father of four.

Eric Kampmann is an avid hiker and has section hiked 1500 miles of The Appalachian Trail. It is through these experiences that he brings to the readers the beauty of nature and what can be learned from his hikes in those breathtaking mountains. Like someone leading us down a winding trail, the author, in Trail Thoughts, takes us on January first to the very beginning of time. He then leads us every day through Scripture to the last day of the year with Jesus describing Himself as the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end of time as we know it. Mr. Kampmann has a way of not only describing different passages of Scripture, but he also links those passages with different ones. For instance, he connects the Psalms to other stories or passages in the Bible (i.e. Joseph, Job, John the Baptist, etc.) It’s a beautiful way of weaving together verses that share a common interest.
Take the time to enjoy this wonderful book and you will discover that it was time well spent.

Reviewer, Jennifer Barker writes from North Carolina.

Check out Jennifer’s review at: http://www.bestbooksreviewed.com/content/view/68/1/

When it comes to applying Biblical wisdom to everyday business practices, Eric Kampmann definitely stands out from the crowd. Over the past twenty-seven years, Kampmann has experienced just about every high and low that business life has to offer. He has navigated the troubled waters of a corporate bankruptcy and he has built and managed one of the most successful sales and marketing companies in the book industry today.

During some of the darker days of his journey, Kampmann discovered the Bible. In 1991 he began reading Scripture on an everyday basis; later, he began to share what he had learned with others through Bible studies, small groups and, most significantly, in the daily grind of business decision making and management. It is in this business setting that Kampmann has had the best opportunity to apply Biblical wisdom to building an organizational model that promotes growth and well being for both employees and customers.

Kampmann believes that his own encounter with bankruptcy was no accident. Prior to 1989, the year his company filed for Chapter 11 protection, he had been managing his company on the popular principles of money, status and success. These principles centered primarily on self not service; eventually, everyday business reality brought on contraction and collapse. Today, Kampmann considers his business failure to be one of the most positive transformative experiences of his life.

By 1996, when Kampmann founded Midpoint, the company he now leads, he had the opportunity to apply some of the key Biblical principles that he had learned through his daily Biblical reading. These are the principles that are always relevant and can often be found at the cornerstone of many of the most successful organizations in America today. Whether you are running a small or large church or whether you are a small company entrepreneur or a large company manager, the seven principles apply and they serve to explain, in significant ways, the reasons behind organizational growth and personal well being. The seven principles are:

·       Staying Put  or cracking out of the comfort zone

·       Planting the Seed  or the glory of starting small

·       Present Moment Management  or keeping it real

·       Dynamic Navigation  or surviving the storm

·       The Power of Delegation  or being free to lead

·       Inverting the Pyramid  or discovering the best ideas

·       The Multiplier Effect or making your story known.

Eric Kampmann would like to share his insights and experience in the business world with your church or organization. He believes that the seven Biblical principles he has learned and applied will work in any organizational settling. While he is conversant in the language of business, he draws almost all of his references and examples from the Old and New Testaments. In addition, he has written a daily devotional that applies Biblical wisdom to life’s everyday situations. His book is entitled Trail Thoughts: 365 Signposts for Walking the Good Path.

Besides being a devoted Christian, Eric is a business leader, entrepreneur, author, teacher, speaker, and outdoorsman. He has appeared on or been interviewed by: NBC’s The Today Show, Fox News, CNN, The BBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The LA Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, The London Times, Court TV as well as innumerable radio programs.

Eric has taught at various universities including Columbia, Harvard, NYU, Hofstra and Stony Brook. He received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and a graduate degree from Stony Brook University. He has also been a speaker at many publishing and writers conferences.

Eric and Anne Kampmann have four children and live in Riverside Connecticut.

There is a lot of talk today about the war in Iraq and how the presidential candidates are going to deal with it.  There are important questions that need to be answered.  As important as these war debates are, there is a more important war going on…the one for the human soul.

Eric shares from the January 11 “Trail Thoughts” the importance of this “soul war”…and the sad results for those who don’t train for it: Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” —Job 2:3

ARMED FOR BATTLE

The conflict in heaven over the integrity of Job may seem to be a battle over the soul of one man, but as we will see later, this represents the struggle faced by all men and women. For the struggle of Job foreshadows the epic battle that will be engaged with the advent of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. When Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness, he attacks his integrity. Satan offers Jesus the easy way out with promises of kingdoms, sustenance and earthly salvation.

Every man engages in an epic struggle within the heart over what that heart will believe and how the individual will act upon it. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of darkness in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) When Job says, “…till I die, I will not deny my integrity. I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go,” (Job 27:5-6) he is laying down the marker for each one of us. For the external battle has an internal antecedent within the heart of every man and woman.

We live on a battlefield. Have we armed ourselves for the inevitable conflict?

by…Rev. Charlie Albertell, Associate Pastor – Grace Church NYC

I desperately want to see people who don’t know God connect with Him and people that do know God, re-connect with Him. 

Have you ever tried to build something from IKEA without instructions?  Sometimes the directions in Swedish make just as much sense!  God has given us a manual for life.  A blueprint, if you will.

Connecting with God starts with a sincere desire to know God….a longing for internal freedom and peace for your soul. 

Let me ask you a few personal questions…

• Do you have a longing for intimacy with the One who created you and is familiar with every cell in your body and with every need you have in your soul and spirit?
• Do you have a deep desire to fulfill the purposes of God for our generation?
• Do you have a desire to know the enemy and how he works so as to counteract his manipulations?

As a pastor and a father and a husband, it grieves me that I can’t give this passion away.  It’s hard to transfer passion from one person to another.  Passion is more caught than taught. 

Passion comes from deep within the soul and spirit of our humanity.  My hope and prayer is that this passion for God’s Word will be stirred in your soul as you read this.

The question I pose is, “Do you really want to know God?”  Not just know about Him, really know Him…His passions, His desires, His attributes, His love, His very essence…His being…

In order to connect with God…two components must work together with passion: discipline and obedience.

Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Discipline is needed to connect.  As in any relationship, in order to connect, certain things have to be done. Sacrifices have to be made and priorities have to be shifted.  There needs to be two-way communication… one on one, emails, letters, phone calls, text messages, faxes, etc. 

Hey I understand that we all face the pressures of time.  We are all under a lot of stress and have very busy schedules.  Unfortunately one of the first things we often squeeze out is our spending time with God.  We say we have the desire to be with God, but do we really? If we are too busy to spend time with God then we are busier than God intends for us to be.  Spending time alone with God is a privilege.  Our attitude should not be “I have to…” as if we were having root canal; but rather, “I get to….” as if we are excited about the possibility of meeting a star athlete or actor.

It is only as we seek God with our whole being that we can enjoy a connection with Him that will truly feed our souls.  Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that ‘People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.‘

Do we hunger for Him? (He said He was the Bread of Life) If we really hunger for truth…we will find God.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life….” Do we really want to be nourished? (He said come to him and drink.)

The discipline I speak of is the discipline of daily spending time apart for Bible study and prayer.

Here are some excuses I’ve heard from people over the years as to why don’t we spend time alone with God:  we really don’t have the desire; we’re too busy; we’re too scared; I’m doing OK, nothing earth-shattering in my life; I can’t can’t get alone… roommates, etc; or feeling overwhelmed by the Bible…

Without the discipline to communicate and connect, we start to lose sight of the enemy.  We become complacent.  And that is when we are most vulnerable to weaken and give in to our own design. 

If we are not nourishing our inner beings on a regular basis we become spiritually dry, empty, impotent…Our souls must be nourished on the word of God.

There is nothing more fulfilling, beautiful, and challenging than communicating with Jesus.  As we study and meditate, our hearts could be comforted, counseled, encouraged, warned, reproved, and instructed.  As we go through dark times, we see Him as the Light to our path.  When we go through the good times, He is there encouraging us to continue to press on!

This is what is so good about reading Trail Thoughts…It’s a bite-size portion that will challenge and entice you for more…a sort of spiritual appetizer that really doesn’t take much of a time commitment…all it takes is a commitment of the heart.

From Trail Thoughts by Eric Kampmann…Sept. 7

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.  —Psalm 33:16–19

It is difficult not to be impressed by the stature of a prince or king or president. He is surrounded by his armies and protected by his guards. When he speaks, the nation listens; when he is angered, people tremble.

And yet the strongest leader in the greatest nation is nothing compared to the strength of God: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25) David says, “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” (2 Samuel 22:33)

We easily confuse the strength God confers on men with a man’s strength. Stalin, at the height of his power in the Soviet Union, reportedly asked with great sarcasm, “Where are the Pope’s armies?” We might ask the same question today, but only in reverse: “Where is Stalin? Where is the Soviet Union and where are his armies?”

David gives us another perspective. “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” (Psalm 118:8-9) David, even at the height of his power, attributed his worldly strength to God: “I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (Psalm 118:13-14)

From Trail Thoughts by Eric Kampmann: Jan. 16

The hand of God in creation should be obvious to all, but since the 19th century, many leaders, under the influence of the philosophy of scientific progress, proclaimed God dead and therefore not a factor in the creation of the world.

Matthew Arnold, the poet, captures the desolate spirit of this “enlightened” new age in his poem “Dover Beach”: The Sea of Faith was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, retreating, to the breath of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear and naked shingles of the world. But as we now know, the god of that age became the shipwreck of the next century with its sinister technologies resulting in world wars, mass murders and atomic weapons.

When we no longer see God’s hand in the stars and the seas and splendors of the earth itself, we consign ourselves to the desolate and dark places of this world without the possibility of rescue. As Moses approaches the end of his long journey, he tells the people of Israel (and us) that we have a choice and that we should choose wisely: “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction…Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him.” (Deuteronomy 30:15, 19-20)

Review by Sabrina Sumsion on August 15, 2008:  www.sabrinareviews.com 

Many people can pinpoint an experience in their lives that changed them forever. Some call them “defining moments.” Others refer to significant “turning points.” But Eric Kampmann calls it his “Jonah Moment.” For Kampmann, it was after emerging from a personal crisis with a new perspective that he committed himself to encountering the words of the Bible on a daily basis in order to gain an understanding of God’s Word. In part, Trail Thoughts was inspired by Kampmann’s love of hiking the 2,185 miles of arduous, beautiful paths that comprise the Appalachian Trail. His time on the trail has taught him that we need to step out of our normal routines in order to experience firsthand the mystery and majesty of God’s universe. He wrote this reader-friendly devotional to help others who are on their own journeys, whether they have just begun the trip or they are seasoned travelers. It is designed as an accessible entryway into the beauty and profound truth of the biblical narrative and its relevance to everyday experience. Each day includes a wisdom passage from the Old Testament along with a short reflection to help readers in their own explorations of faith. Sure to become an oft-read, dog-eared favorite, Trail Thoughts is aptly dedicated to stargazers and trail-thinkers everywhere.

Do you get caught up in life? Do you forget there is more to life than the day-to-day grind? I do. I am so worried about paying the next bill, what the next raise will look like, who hit whom first and many other distracting details I forget to step back and look at the big picture. I am also one of those Christians who really means to read the scriptures every day but only remembers when my head hits the pillow. 

Trail Thoughts is elegant in its simplicity. It isn’t long lectures telling you how things should be but rather an open door waiting for you to walk through and discover God’s desires for you. Trail Thoughts is the perfect gift for yourself or anyone who needs five minutes to re-center everyday. (In other words, practically everyone on this earth!)

I think I have found a solution to my problem. Trail Thoughts is a beautiful compilation of scriptures and companion explanation to be read one at a time. There is a scripture for everyday of the year. If you’re curious like me, yes, February 29th is included with a heading “Leap Year”. I will keep this book on my night stand and get my daily scripture everyday from now on!

THE SWEET POWER OF MUSIC–Excerpt from Aug. 11 Trail Thoughts

Music has enormous power over our souls because it is able to open our hearts to intimations of the original state of harmony of God’s universe. When we sing songs of praise to God, our hearts are lifted up into the company of angels choiring in heaven. Holy music speaks to us about the presence of God in all dimensions of creation, both at the beginning and even now.

Music is God’s universal language that speaks even to wild animals that intuit the natural harmony of the universe: “For do but note a wild and wanton herd, or race of youthful and unhandled colts, fetching mad bounds, bellowing and neighing loud, which is the hot condition of their blood; if they but hear perchance a trumpet sound, or any air of music touch their ears, you shall perceive them make a mutual stand, their savage eyes turn’d to modest gaze by the sweet power of music.”

“Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. “Let all who are simple come in here!” she says to those who lack judgment. “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”  —Proverbs 9:1–6

From Trail Thoughts by Eric Kampmann (7/28)

Wisdom is a house built with stone and on stone and supported by seven pillars. This is the house that Jesus describes at the end of his Sermon on the Mount. It is a house that can withstand the worst storm: “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blow and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)

But there is another kind of house built to entrap the simple and the foolish. It is the kind of house that leads to destruction. “At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house…(Proverbs 7:6-8) All at once he followed her…little knowing it will cost him his life.” (Proverbs 7:22-23)

God invites each of us to enter His house of seven pillars. Other houses, and there are many, are prisons filled with sorrow and regret. Beware of entering such places.