Who's acting here?

 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (Romans 12:3)

The more we try to figure ourselves out, the harder it gets. We do something and we attempt to get down to the rationale behind the action we exhibited. We don't do anything and we try to look deeper into the meaning of the inaction. We are always evaluating ourselves by the outcomes of what it is our action or inaction produces. Is this always the most valid way of evaluating ourselves, though? If we take our text today as truth, then we are clearly not to evaluate self by self - we are to evaluate self by what God does for us and who he is.

God is - what does that phrase conjure up in your mind? Some of us will answer the very 'pat' answers such as the God of the Universe, Creator of all things, and above all other gods. These are Sunday School answers, my friends. We need to get down to the brass tax here and begin to understand God for who he is to us by who he really is and what he has done for each of us. Yes, he created all things - that is an accurate answer, but it isn't the totality of who he is. 

The goodness of grace isn't something we should discount, for it is what makes each of us what we are - whole, complete, and more than just 'in tact'. We can manage to keep our lives 'in tact', but we have a much harder time with making our lives whole - through and through. We try to add 'wholeness' to our lives with some set of actions that we see as 'good' or 'worthy', but in essence we are just doing what we are supposed to be doing - nothing more.

We might want our lives to 'measure up' to some standard all of the time, but we cannot ever get to that point of 'measuring up' to what God can accomplish in us when we give him full access. Full access means nothing held back and that we actually stop 'doing' what we really cannot do for ourselves. Grace gives us footing - grounding, foundation, and purpose. His love keeps us secure and protected. His peace grants us strength where we lack it on our own. These are the things we come to know and appreciate about our God's actions in our lives once we stop acting and allow him to be the one to take action within! Just sayin!

That is truly GREAT

Blessed...what does that term mean for you? There are definitely times when I look at others and can see just how much God is blessing their lives. I have made the mistake of proclaiming how wonderfully lucky someone was when I observed a good thing happening in their lives, forgetting all the while how 'trivial' that term 'lucky' is after all. It is easy to say someone is 'lucky' while the truth is really that they were "blessed by a tremendous God". Sometimes we need to be reminded of the intensity of God's blessing in our lives! We are being blessed daily - by seen and unseen blessings alike. It may not be with stuff we see or feel or immediately appreciate, but every moment of life comes with some form of  blessing for those God declares as righteous! As I look back over the most recent weeks of my life, I can recount many blessings. 

 
Hallelujah! Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, who cherish and relish his commandments, their children robust on the earth, and the homes of the upright—how blessed! Their houses brim with wealth and a generosity that never runs dry. Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people— God's grace and mercy and justice! The good person is generous and lends lavishly; no shuffling or stumbling around for this one, but a sterling and solid and lasting reputation. Unfazed by rumor and gossip, heart ready, trusting in God, spirit firm, unperturbed, ever blessed, relaxed among enemies, they lavish gifts on the poor—a generosity that goes on, and on, and on. An honored life! A beautiful life! (Psalm 112:1-9)

Do you know what makes these blessings extra special? We never expect them - so the joy in receiving what we receive makes it extra special. In looking at our passage today, I see several truths about one who has their steps ordered by God. They recognize the source of their blessing - it is God himself - not luck or good fortune or even the aligned stars. The condition of their being blessed is their hearts are in a place of "relishing" the commandments of God - seeking to serve him well in all they say and do. They are nurtured by his commands and they find them pleasing to their senses. An odd thing to say, huh? Yet, it is so true! When we come to hold dear to his commands, we are nurtured by them. When we are nurtured, we come to a place where their very presence brings pleasure - blessing galore. We might find some of his commands a little hard to lay hold of or 'make practical' in our lives at times, but consider the results of embracing them! The off-spring of our lives will rise up and call us blessed. I know we don't all have children in the natural sense, but we ALL have others in our lives we mentor in some respect. They are in essence our "off-spring". The modeled forgiveness and obedience in our own lives becomes something others can latch onto in theirs. There is nothing more honoring to God than to have his kids model his grace! In turn, he honors those who honor him.

The last thing I'd like us to gather from our passage is the promise of light in the midst of gathering darkness. Notice particularly - this is not a promise of never experiencing gathering darkness! In fact, we might just walk through some pretty dark places in our lives from time to time. The promise is for sunrise to break through the darkness - sunrise manifest in God's grace, mercy, and justice. Unpack that a little, why don't you? Darkness is dispelled when God's grace - his unmerited favor - enters into the dark spot. Sometimes darkness comes because we move INTO the storm - other times it is because the storm comes UPON us. Either way, it is dark! Whenever we are the ones to move INTO the storm, we often need God's grace and mercy - because it was one or more of our choices that placed us there! And...oftentimes, not they are not so wise choices, either. Why does God couple justice with his grace and mercy? God's mercy and grace are what restore - his justice is the principle by which he defines the boundaries for our lives. In other words, his justice helps us know the things which are "morally right" for our lives (just). His mercy and grace restore us to the place of living right! In turn, we live honored lives - both outwardly and inwardly. We live blessed lives. Sometimes the blessings go unnoticed, but if we stop long enough to acknowledge them, they point us to the greatness of the God we serve! Just sayin....

Just not capable

My dad could sell anything - but he also liked to 'brag' about the 'big' fish that got away. He might have been called a 'big talker' when it came to some of his fishing tales, but dad was an excellent fisherman, nonetheless. Big talkers - do you know any? They kind of paint a picture that sometimes goes way beyond what we imagine possible, but the "picture" never really materializes. What do they do with their "big words" and "big ideas"? They build up hope, don't they? At least until you have been "burned" a few times by the "hollowness" of their words! While dad's 'big talk' was harmless because it was just another 'fish tale', there are 'hollow words' we might all hear from time to time that are not only harmful, they are downright misleading to all who listen.

Like billowing clouds that bring no rain is the person who talks big but never produces.  (Proverbs 25:14)

I live in Arizona, so I am used to seeing big clouds gathering on the horizon, but no promise of rain is in the forecast! The "look" of the clouds may indicate a "chance" of showers, but in reality much less will be produced than what was promised in the "chance" of showers materializing midday or later in the night. By definition, when we "produce" something, there is a creative power behind what it is that is being brought forth. In the truest sense - there is only ONE Creator - we might create a little here and there, but even our creation is from something he has created in the first place! A billowing cloud is all puffed up - it has all the appearances of being a rain cloud, but in reality it is just a puffy mass of empty fluff! A person who promises a gift, but doesn't give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain. Big talk and promises without substance are about the same thing - both end in emptiness.

What is a promise? Isn't it the expectation of something being done or provided? In the simplest sense - a promise builds expectation - it gives someone hope. If we have been in the situation of our "hopes" being built-up frequently by the "promise" of substance, we have likely come to expect substance from that promise. When there is nothing produced, what is our response? It is like that we are slower to trust in the promise the next time - or even worse, we trust less in the one who promises such things than we did before! No wonder we have a hard time trusting! We have been surrounded by all kinds of "billowing clouds" - big talkers who promise the world, but deliver far less and much worse, deliver a big package of disappointment! In the end, we develop some trust issues, don't we? When we come into relationship with Christ, we may struggle with actually being able to trust him! After all, we have a history of seeing promises not upheld! What makes God's promises any different?

Trust is based on a few things. First, there is a sense of integrity. In the simplest sense, integrity is the state of being whole. In terms of God's integrity, there is a soundness to it which comes from him being wholly "holy". We cannot find any action by God which diminishes our impression of his consistency and integrity. Throughout all of the scripture, we see his reliability, his promises revealed and fulfilled. Even in the face of our own lack of integrity, he comes through over and over again! This is called grace! Trust involves an ability to rely upon the strength of another. I don't know about you, but my own strength waxes and wanes from day to day - even from moment to moment. I have trusted others to be "strong" for me, but in the end, I have found their strength to be nothing when compared to the strength of my God! Humans eventually breakdown - God never does!

Trust is based on what we see as the ability of another to do what he / she says. In my relationships, I like to be able to "count on" another to do something when they commit to it, but you know this may not always be the most "trust-worthy" thing to do even though they are very well intentioned in their promises and commitments! I need to go to the one who is unlimited in ability - God himself! In respect to his ability, I have some pretty awesome examples in scripture - things like waters being held back for thousands to walk over on dry ground, earth opening up to swallow up others, graves being left empty, and withered limbs being made straight. While the list is far from complete, it is pretty good stuff to show God's ability, if you ask me! Trust is based on a "surety" - the sense of another being responsible to act a certain way. There is none more responsible than God himself! Maybe this is why he holds us "responsible" for our actions - because we were created in his image and are supposed to live by the example he sets for us! 

When it comes to trusting God, we are not trusting in a "billowing cloud"! We are counting on a firm foundation, complete in every way, creative on all accounts, and capable beyond our wildest imagination! We may not be able to always trust in our fellow man, but we can trust in God! He has proven this over and over again - we just need to remind ourselves he is NOT capable of being unfaithful! Just sayin!

No need to bluff

There are times when we feel like no one is "in charge" - not even us - when the moments just seem to tick on and all the chaos of the moment have us bumping into all kinds of obstacles. We all face these times - the times when life deals us a hand we just would rather not play, not even a little bit! When "dealt our hand", we can either throw it in, ante up and play, or bluff our way through. Which way are you facing what life deals you today? If you are bluffing your way through, you are likely frustrated, seeing things as very difficult to deal with, but imagining you will get through somehow. If today's plans don't work, you will try something different tomorrow. The problem with living 'out of control' is that we soon get weary trying to maintain balance with the skill and power we possess. Our attitude begins to falter and we all know the attitude soon begins to impact the altitude to which we will ever be able to climb!

The day my enemies turned tail and ran, they stumbled on you and fell on their faces. You took over and set everything right; when I needed you, you were there, taking charge. (Psalm 9:3-4)

If we throw in our hand right now, we may miss out on the reward which awaits us! If we are bluffing our way through - faking it until we make it - we may not always be able to keep up the facade! But...if we ante up, pick up our cards, and play like there is no tomorrow, no telling what we may end up with! Take heart, my friends! The very obstacles others want to place in your way are exactly what they will stumble upon in the end! The thing we think we don't have any way of getting through is perhaps the very thing we will find God's redeeming power helping us to not only 'get through', but come through with new graces built into the fibers of our being.

The day our enemies turn tail and run, what happens? They stumble upon God! They stumble upon the very one who takes over when we allow him to direct how we should play those cards in our hands. They come face-to-face with the one who has the power to set all things right - even the worst of cards in his hands can be played skillfully so as to draw out the enemy. No need to bluff your way through life - when your hand is being overseen by the God of the Universe, you have all the right cards! The more God draws them out, the more of their hand they reveal - making it very apparent how they will move next!

David knew one fact in life - when he most needed God, he knew God was there. Not just as an observer, but as the one in charge. Many times we see God as an outsider in life's challenges - just an observer, keeping an eye over us, but not really involved. The exact opposite is true! God is there! He is taking charge! We may not know how, when, or where, but he is orchestrating our "hand" according to his divine plan. I often wonder if those who set up such opposition within my life will ever get their "just rewards". I imagine I am not alone in this pondering. The answer is right there in our passage - they cannot run, they cannot hide, their course of action is in the hands of the Almighty. Not ours! He will be the one they stumble upon, not us! We try to present the best defense in the time of trial, but God is our ONLY defense in time of trial and blessing!

They stumble upon him - and they fall on their faces. I can only imagine their posture is something both orchestrated to humble them and to bring honor to our great God! Upon their faces, the only direction of hope they have is in looking up! It is the same direction we all have to look in order to find our deliverance - UP! Just sayin!

Love, Walk, Keep

Hardly a week goes by without mom's gentle plea to just 'be young again' - so she'd have energy for the task at hand, or feel like she can regain some skill long since laid aside due to memory or fatigue. With each new day comes the renewal of energy stores, but what reserve we have left at the end of the day is not always the same, is it? Some of us go through life so quickly we rarely even notice that we have had two choices placed in front of us - Life and Death, Good and Evil. How have we handled these today? For those of us placing our head on the pillow at the end of the day, we'd say we embraced Life, but how about Good or Evil? What did our choices reflect today? This is a tough question - one that demands unlimited honesty if we are to truly understand our choices.

Look at what I've done for you today: I've placed in front of you Life and Good - Death and Evil. And I command you today: Love God, your God. Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess. (Deuteronomy 30:15-16)

Every new day brings the dawn of new choices - no two days are exactly alike in what will come across our paths. We may believe our lives are "boring" and without any real sense of "difference" from day-to-day, but indeed, there are new choices each day. We are faced with choices of life and good or death and evil. Pretty heavy stuff, if you ask me. The evidence is all around us - in what we choose to listen to, allow our eyes to take in, or attend our minds to consider. Each entertained thought, internalized perception of sight, or message heard is an opportunity to bring forth from within those things that will produce life and goodness. Conversely, they also can produce death to our spirit, dryness to our soul, and confusion in our mind - each influencing us to actions that are neither good nor life-giving - we call this evil. So, understanding how we make choices that produce the outcomes that are life-giving and the evidence of goodness within us is essential to learning how to walk a steady path that will keep us from death and evil.

Love God, your God - to really love something or someone, it helps if the object of our love is OURS. When the object of our affection is someone else's, we call the attitude of "loving" that object LUST. God never asks us to "lust" after him. Instead, he places a distinct difference between desiring something we cannot have and enjoying something we are invited to participate in personally. To love God, we first make him our God - we must have personal relationship with him. Then we learn to enjoy the graces of that relationship by frequent and intimate contact with him. Intimacy with God involves transparency of heart, mind and soul - allowing him to touch the very fibers of our being with his refreshing, renewing, and regenerating touch.

Walk in his ways - when we are really in a "love relationship" with another, we don't demand our own way, but are content, and often quite fulfilled, in enjoying the things they enjoy. So it is in our walk with God - we make a committed choice to learn to enjoy what it is he enjoys - those things that will produce life and goodness. Notice that this requirement is for us to take action - "walk" is an action word. We cannot be passive and be "walking". Therefore, to be involved in this love relationship with God, we need to be active in our pursuit of him. 

 
Keep his regulations, rules, and commands - this is really where the rubber meets the road. It is one thing to "fall in love" - it is quite another to "live together in love". When some hear the word "submit", there is an immediate cringing away and self-preserving fear that emerges. Yet, in a love relationship, we often find that one leads, and the other follows in heartfelt devotion and trust. It is not a hard thing when one trusts the other - there is no fear that the other will lead them astray or leave them abandoned. God's plan is that we will neither cringe under his leadership, nor pull away in self-preserving mistrust. His desire is that we learn to live "together" in love.

In turn, we will be blessed. Nothing is more blessed than a true love relationship, complete with its intimate exchange of things hidden from the view of others. We often "say" that we want to live exuberant lives, but do we really? Are we seeking God as our own? Are we still demanding our own way? Are we learning what it takes to live together in relationship with God? If not, then I daresay we are looking for our "exuberance" in ways and places where we will be disappointed with the outcomes. In fact, we might just find that the end result of our searching in those places will lead us into decisions that produce death to our spirit, confusion to minds, and senseless waste of energy in our soul. Love is a learning experience - we don't just "fall in love". There is nothing passive about loving another - it requires our investment. There is nothing more fulfilling than being loved, though. There is nothing more rewarding than returning that love! Love God - YOUR God. Just sayin!

Positive or Negative???

Memory requires some effort on our part, does it not? Try learning your mathematical 'times tables' for the first time and you will likely have to 'memorize' the fact that 3 times 3 equals 9. Eventually, in the course of 'rehearsing' that which you have memorized, you will form long-term memory of that fact. It is a fact, not fiction, for three rows of three oranges a piece will yield you nine oranges. There are parts of our memories though that are a little more fiction than fact. We all 'add to' memories, not the stuff we memorize, but the memories made in the moments of life. Most of what we remember will be true, but there are parts of our memories we 'make up' to fill in some gap in those memories. It just could be because we didn't 'take notice' of those things 'in the moment', but now we are recounting something from those moments and realizing there was more we never even saw while we were living in that moment!

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought.  You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.  You know what I am going to say before I even say it.  You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head. (Psalm 139:1-5 TLB)

Much of what we 'remember' is based upon the significance of the event or moment. Much of what we memorize is based on some 'fact' or 'subject matter' we want to store away for one reason or another. Memory and fact are not one in the same, though. It can often be our downfall when we remember what would have been best to forget and forget what we might have done well to hold onto! Every now and again, it is good to just sit and recount what it is we remember - allowing God to point out the 'gaps' in our memories that need filling in a little. If we allow him to point out what it was we missed in the moment, we often see these memories from a whole different perspective. If we attempt to paint in those gaps with what we 'imagine' to be true, we can be filling in the gaps with what really is nothing more than imagination.

In the moment, we see only portions of what is around us. It is impossible for us to take everything in with total clarity. We are just not created to comprehend all things at one time. In fact, this is why we learn at a steady pace instead of just waking up one day totally 'smart' in some area! We add fact to fact until we form knowledge of the subject. My math teacher started us out with the one times one equals one because understanding one times anything still leaves you what you started with. When we got to the zero times anything equals zero, I kind of got a little depressed. I was hoping that 'times' thing would always 'multiply'. I didn't expect it to leave me with zero! When she threw in the negative numbers and tried to teach me a negative times a negative equaled a positive, I admit it ... she lost me! If you had less than zero and multiplied it with something else less than zero, how on earth did you get a positive?

I don't know how that works except she told me it was like saying do NOT NOT do something. A double negative really was moving you in a positive direction! It was contradicting the negative. Admit it . . . you were lost right along with me! So, the best I could do with that one was memorize the facts - a positive and a positive yield a positive, opposite signs yield a negative, and two negatives move you back into a positive direction again. There, I have recited the facts and I still don't understand the 'why' behind them! But...I do know that God takes my negatives and turns them to positives. I am not bound by what I remember or the memory parts I didn't form correctly in the moment. I am free to allow a positive to come out of the negative because he is the one who knows how to bring positive out of negative even when I don't! Just sayin!

Happy Father's Day, Dad

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here.  But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13-17 NLT)

My earthly father always believed in me and he showed it by his actions toward me. When I wanted to learn how to ride a bike, he encouraged me to go for it by getting out the training wheels and putting them on my sister's huge Schwinn two-wheeler. I say huge because anything bigger than 5 inch wheels on a tricycle was "HUGE" to me in those days! When I wanted to earn a little money like my older siblings were doing, he helped me pick the fruit from the citrus trees in our yard, pile it high into the wheelbarrow, and then make believe he wasn't watching me like a hawk from two doors down as I stood on the street corner with my sign that it was a penny a piece! When I wanted to finish nursing school after a break up in my marriage, he gave up every other weekend to stay at home to watch the grand kids so I could work a job getting some skills I needed to "learn the trade". He knew when I needed to learn lessons the hard way, or when a hand of rescue was needed. He never took his eye off me when I was certain I was doing everything "all on my own". Indeed, he showed his love and his "backing" in my life in so many ways, probably making it easier for me to see just how much God my heavenly Father does much the same thing every day of my life.

There are times we need to know we have the "backing" of our heavenly Father - feeling his presence so closely to us that we just know we will be caught if we were to stumble even the slightest. There are other times God isn't quite as "palpable" in the moment, but we must never lose sight of the fact he still is watching over us and his strong arm is ready to deliver us at the first indication we are in need of his intervention. Sometimes God knows we have the ability to do what needs to be done - because he has seen us do it time and time again. He still stands "watch" over our actions, my friend. At other times, God knows we will want to "chicken out", overcome with fear and doubt because of the daunting size of the task ahead of us, and he has already made provision for the encouragement and little nudges we will need to put one foot in front of the other as we go into and through whatever it is we face.

It hasn't escaped God's attention or notice that our "make up" is that of dust - from dust we were formed and to dust we shall return! Dust doesn't have must "structure" unless there is a skilled hand fashioning it into something unique and "put together". Dad gave me many "skills" as I was growing up, sharing with me the things he had learned as he made his way through life. Why should I feel like God wouldn't share his "skills" with me as life's opportunities present themselves that are bigger than my present "skill set"? God the Father isn't going to abandon us with the issue at hand - he may allow us to struggle with it a little to show us where it is we need a little help - but he doesn't abandon us to solve life's issues all on our own. I think some of us don't understand this as well as we should, maybe because we didn't have a good and trusting relationship with our earthly fathers. It is possible for us to learn to trust God, though. He isn't one to shirk "responsibility", nor is he one to "abandon" us. We won't know this until we actually put a little skin into the game and begin to trust him, though. We don't allow him to show us how near to us he is and just how much care he takes to ensure our safety and provision in this lifetime. Trust isn't inherited. It is learned. It isn't in the words so much as it is in the actions. God certainly has revealed he can be trusted - we just need to observe his actions in our lives to know this. 

I cannot wish my earthly father a Happy Father's Day today because he went on to heaven many years ago. I can show him how much his influence in my life made a difference though. If you didn't have that positive influence in your earthly father, you do in your heavenly Father. We can all reveal how much HIS influence makes in our lives. Just sayin!

What is your why?

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

(Friedrich Nietzsche)

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NLT)

What is you "why" for living? If you have been declaring that you just cannot make it any longer in your present circumstances, maybe you haven't tapped into the right "why"! If we are connected to the right "why", we can endure almost anything. Nietzsche wrote in response to a prevalent revelation of a lack of moral compass in the society in which he lived. He is probably most famous for one of his works entitled "God is Dead". In it, he discusses the evidence that society had taken leave of their desire to follow any form of morality at all - seeking all manner of pleasures and openly revealing their desire to have anything at the center of their lives other than God himself. In essence, he was saying when anything other than God is at the center, our "compass" or "way-finding" in life becomes altered and submits to the loudest or most prevalent voice in the crowd. Yet, the ability to endure, to outlast any trial or temptation to succumb to any immoral actions is to keep one's sight and heart firmly fixed on God and nothing else - to have the "why" firmly fixed!

Many times we attempt to "make right" what we have "made wrong" in our lives by "cleaning up our act" a little. If you are like me, you might just find all the "cleaning up" you do is little more than what is accomplished by adding a coat of whitewash to the side of a barn. The storms will come and soon the evidence of what has been concealed by that chalky white coat is washed away and leaves us exposed, complete with evidence of all that "weathered and worn" us that is underneath! For us to have a "why" within is to have a "moral compass" - something that helps us to move out of the place where we just "cover up" our sin in some form of self-help or self-preserving way. It drives us to realize we aren't going to ever be able to "make right" what is truly "wrong" in our lives apart from the application of that which does more than "coat" or "cover over" - grace!

Grace has a way at getting at the roots - it is like nothing else because grace isn't just a whitewash - it is the very essence of God instilled into the place where once only our futile attempts at right living once existed. It is the vibrancy of life renewed, regenerated beyond our capability of "cleaning up". The moment we realize it is the "why" that matters, there is a transformation that occurs - a metamorphosis of sorts. The old is no longer content being covered up - it desires to be reborn. If you have ever seen the work of a skilled craftsman taking the lush woods of yesteryear and restoring them to their original beauty, then maybe you understand just a bit of what it is like to be renewed by God's Spirit. The craftsman doesn't merely put another coat of varnish over the layers already there. He removes all that obstructs the beauty of the wood underneath - dirt, oils, stains, etc. Then he rubs it until it is smooth and the grains become evident. Only when he is satisfied with the revelation of the beauty of the wood does he add the luscious oils of his choosing, enhancing the depth of the grain and bringing forth the magnificence of the color found deep in the wood.

In much the same way, God's grace removes all that hinders the true beauty and "covers over" the depth of the heart's yearning for that true moral compass. In time, as those layers and layers of masked "beauty" are removed, the evidence of his beauty begins to be revealed in the character of the "grain" of our lives. As he becomes the "why" for our living, his beauty begins to shine forth in the evidence of his grace touching each "grain" of our lives. Just sayin!

Let the skies declare...

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 

Romans 1:20 NLT

I was up this morning in time to gaze into the pre-dawn sky with my oldest grandson in search of the Lyriad meteor shower. We captured two brief moments of shooting stars, but not much more. Needless to say, the time with him was what mattered, not so much that we were dazzled by shooting stars or meteors in the sky. As we repositioned from time to time to catch a different glimpse of the sky, I was amazed at how much this thirteen year old boy has not only grown in height, but in intelligence! He has this awesome app on his phone, points it toward the sky, takes note of the key stars in the constellation and speaks of the stars and their path across the night sky as they moved from horizon at sunset to their present position high above us in the early morning hours. His passion for the stars is impressive - for he is speaking of the Creator and the majesty of his dwelling!

While we didn't see huge displays of shooting stars, we did capture some of the beauty of the outdoors and the things our God has created for us to enjoy. There were the fluttering moths captivated by the street lamps and the crowing rooster in the farms nearby that gave announcement one upon another that a new day was settling in around us. The grass prickled under our bare feet and the moon held a beauty all its own as it shown with utmost clarity in the southeastern sky. The stars were radiant in the clearness of the springtime sky and the trees held that ominous shadow in the hints of light from neighboring houses and street lamps aglow. We made out shapes and forms, but some things remained hidden, yet in it all, we felt peace and listened with intent at the quietness of the early morning dawn. In all, we took in God, for in all we saw God.

How can anyone declare there is no God? After all, there is so much that bespeaks a Creator, for there is way too much that is way to complicated to have just "exploded" one day! It is these small moments away from the hectic movement of life that recenter each of us and help us remember the awesomeness of the one who holds us so close to his heart. It is these small moments he has prepared uniquely for us, so that we can connect with all he has made, enjoying it with grateful and contemplative heart. In the busy-ness of life, take time. Take time to consider the desires of a young man's heart, as he shares his passion for the stars and the Creator's heavens. Take time to listen to the repeated stories of an elderly woman, intent on sharing something, but not always able to easily recount the details of what she wants to share. Take time to sit at the bedside of a loved one struggling to make sense of a disease that ravishes her body, but intent on living. 

The beauty of the Creator is experienced in so many ways, but it is most easily experienced when we just take a moment or two and center on the things that matter most! Just sayin!

Open seas demand faith

Alan Watts once penned, "Religion is not a department of life; it is something that enters into the whole of it." I think it is quite possible we relegate God to some "portion" of our lives, while we hold back other parts of us as "off-limits" to him. This is perhaps the one consistent theme in the lives of those who really don't go beyond "Sunday church" in their relationship with Jesus. Sure, he is good for the one hour on Sunday when we celebrate him in the company of others who come to do the same, but we don't take him much further than the doorway of the church sometimes. We hear the good sermon, even nod in agreement to the points the preacher makes, and laugh at the jokes he tells. When we leave the doors of the church, the matters discussed become as though they were carried on the winds - gone from our memories, and not at all affecting our hearts.  God isn't a "department" or "thing" in our lives just for one day a week, or tough seasons when we "need him". He is meant to be the center of our lives, integral to all we say, do, touch, and breathe!

You should love Him, your True God, with all your heart and soul, with every ounce of your strength. Make the things I’m commanding you today part of who you are. (Deuteronomy 6:5-6 VOICE)

Why do we compartmentalize God? I think it may be out of fear, or a lack of trust. We simply don't have many solid examples in our lives of being able to trust someone other than ourselves with our present or future circumstances. We have been disappointed by others so many times that we just don't think anyone can produce the evidence of reliability we so desperately need to rely upon - so we trust ourselves instead. I for one know that my own ability often betrays me as not much more "capable" than the next guy! The inability to trust anyone with the matters of life is often our greatest hurdle. We cannot fully embrace God into all the areas of our lives we have closed off to him because of this trust issue until we are willing to put our fear behind us. A ship can no more leave the dock while it is tethered tightly to it than Christ can enter into those places we demand he stays out of because we are afraid of what he will see, do, or change.

It isn't until we begin to loosen the tethers that keep us so tightly "bound" to the dock that we are free to experience the open waters of the sea. The growth of our faith beyond the one day a week kind of faith is not possible until we have loosed ourselves from the dock of our self-doing. No one has the need for faith until what lies between them and several million gallons of water is not much more than the thin hull of the boat!  We don't need "God" while we are docked securely, never exposed to the things which could rock our world and disturb our peace. We suddenly realize how much we need him when our "mooring" begins to be challenged a little. If that "anchor" or "mooring" is simply "secure" because we are holding life all together under our own strength, managing all these areas we have declared as off-limits to God, or simply don't "see the need" to bother him with, we will find ourselves awkwardly trying to navigate the seas under our own strength and power when that mooring begins to falter.

As our passage implies, God isn't to be limited to some "department" or "compartment" of our lives we somehow have labeled as the "religious" side of our life. He is to affect all aspects of our lives, giving us both secure "tether" and trusty navigation when we find ourselves in open seas! Just sayin!

Does God exist?

Who is the True God except the Eternal?  Who stands like a rock except our God?  The True God who encircled me with strength and made my pathway straight.  He made me sure-footed as a deer and placed me high up where I am safe.  He teaches me to fight so that my arms can bend a bronze bow.  You have shielded me with Your salvation, supporting me with Your strong right hand, and it makes me strong.  You taught me how to walk with care
so my feet will not slip.  (Psalm 18:31-46 VOICE)

On occasion I run across an article or perhaps a television documentary in which someone is attempting to postulate as to the "existence" of God.  The age-old question of who he is, if he is real, or how he could have created the universe always come up, doesn't it?  People try hard to answer these questions, but somehow fall short unless they receive the "evidence" of God in faith.  The massive quantity of stars in the many galaxies in the skies, or even the grains of sand on the seashores across our own planet almost make it impossible for the human mind to fathom anyone being able to count them, keep track of their movement, or even know why these things exist in the first place!  Imagine how hard it is for us to come to an understanding of all God is, what he does, or how he could be in all places at all times. Some things are not going to be understood by the mind when they are meant to be understood in the heart. Some things we can know about God only by coming to know God:

1. He encircles us with his strength.  At first this may not seem like a big deal to anyone who doesn't know God or questions his existence.  Their intent is to rely upon their own strength and this often prohibits them from even looking for any source of strength other than that which comes from deep within their ability to reason, calculate, postulate, etc.  Most of us don't appreciate strength until it wanes.  We don't look for anything outside of ourselves until we experience a need deeper than we can possibly meet with our own efforts.  Yet, for those who accept the existence of God, who have put their trust in him and desire to understand him as completely as they possibly can, there is a strength which "encircles" their lives which is more than physical.  There is a strength or fortitude of mind - giving us capacity to comprehend things in ways we didn't previously appreciate them such as the depth of despair in the heart of a hurting soul.  God's strength is more than "brawn" - it is the capacity to endure all things - despite the body's argument to the contrary!

2. He sets straight what human effort cannot.  Maybe this is one of the greatest ways we can experience God - through his making straight what we have managed to mess up, get out of whack, or completely muddle up in our lives.  My words are insufficient to mend a broken relationship.  My very best efforts can glue together pieces of a shattered glass, but that glass won't hold water again!  God sees the beginning point - he also sees the end point. Between the beginning and the end the line develops.  I don't know of anyone capable of making a straight line between two points without the guidance of a device of some kind.  We rely upon rulers, lasers, and the like to help us span the distance between one point and the next. Why?  To rely upon the "evenness" or "stability" of our eye, hand, feet, etc., is to rely upon what vacillates, cannot hold steady despite our best efforts.  God's movement in our lives is one of bringing "evenness" and "stability" in ways we cannot.

3. He doesn't so much carry us as he does create the ability to be "sure-footed" and able to stand in his power.  As a child we might have asked our dad to put us on his shoulders - helping us to see over the crowds as a passing parade crossed our paths, or when we wanted to be "on top of the world".  It was a placement which changed our perspective and helped us take in things in a new light.  As long as we viewed the passing parade through the sea of legs in front of us, we only caught glimpses of what we were intended to see and we were jostled around so as to not see fully what could be seen.  When dad lifted us up, placing us squarely on his shoulders, not only were we able to see clearly, but the foundation upon which we rested ensured we were able to take in things we would have missed in all the jostling around us.  God doesn't put us on a pedestal so much as he ensures we break free of the things which prohibit us taking in what he is doing in our lives.  Why?  He wants us to participate fully in what he has created and what he is doing.

4. He does more than just create things - he sustains, protects, renews, and endows all of creation.  We may not be able to understand "how" he does all of this, but as long as we trust he does, we are on our way to understanding him as he wants to be known.  He is busy beyond what we can comprehend as busy-ness, and yet he never tires or falters.  He is attentive way beyond our capacity to maintain our own attention span on any one thing, yet he never misses a beat with all the other things demanding his attention.  These are tough concepts for us to grasp, but they aren't grasped in the mind - they are known in the heart. Trust isn't "mind based" - it is heart driven.  To know God, one must somehow just trust he is, he will always be, he has always been, and nothing exists without him being who and what he is.  Just sayin!

Namaste - really?

As I was exploring Downtown Disney in Orlando, I came across a food truck whose business name was "Namaste", a term used way to casually these days and perhaps not as well understood as it needs to be. Now if you are unfamiliar with that term, let me just elaborate a little for you. Namaste is a term used by those who are regular yoga enthusiasts as a form of greeting and salutation at the beginning and end of the yoga session. In the truest use of the term, there is a combined gesture of hands brought together, fingers pointing upward, and a slight bow at the waist with the accompanied greeting. If you did not know what this "respectful greeting" really means, it would seem kind of harmless - like you were just saying "peace be with you". When you look at the origin of the term in Hinduism, you might be surprised to find it means "I bow to the divine in you". In modern culture, and among the yoga enthusiasts out there everywhere, it has come to be a kind of informal way of acknowledging the respect of one for another. If you know anything about the Hindu religion, you might recognize yoga as one of the "aims" or "goals" in life which are a "path" to obtain or reach "moksha". Moksha is the path to "freedom". What many may not realize is this "pathway to freedom" is really based on the following belief: "Beyond caste, creed, family or lineage, That which is without name and form, beyond merit and demerit, That which is beyond space, time and sense-objects, You are that, God himself; Meditate this within yourself. ||Verse 254|| — Vivekachudamani, 8th Century AD" If you didn't catch that, the idea is that of becoming God himself. There is a danger in just accepting terms, actions, or practices which sound "harmless", such as yoga for the purposes of exercise alone, without also understanding the subtle nuances of the practices.

God said to the people of Israel: I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves. Do not worship any god except me. Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. Don’t bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me, I will punish your families for three or four generations.  (Exodus 20:1-5 CEV)

Three "don'ts" in the passage above make it ever so plain for us to see that God warns us against making any other thing, person, or objective as important as keeping him central in our lives.  We are not to be central - becoming "gods" ourselves; nor are we to bow to anyone else or anything else in our lives.  No one is to bow to the "divine" in us - if the divine in us is actually there, it is fully and completely because God has taken up residence in us and his grace is shining through our lives.  The "divine" we are to bow to is none other than Christ himself - not any fashion of "spirituality" we might manage to attain within ourselves, because it is impossible for us to ever attain to the place of being divine.  We may not understand or see danger in the subtle nuances of a term offered in friendly respect for one another, but if we see beyond the term to the intent of the term, we might reconsider using it.  I don't see any harm in the practice of yoga as a form of exercise alone, but when we combine it with the meditation part and begin to see the "spiritual side" of it, we may find it is a little closer to the practice of a "religion" God tells us very clearly to stay away from. In fact, when God gave Moses the commandments above, he warned him to remove all the places of worship which existed in the territory God was giving to the people of Israel because he knew their influence would lead to the Israelites getting their eyes off God and onto practices which focused on self-actualization, self-appreciation, and self-aggrandizement - three things he wanted us to clearly avoid.

Here are some safety tips when considering if a particular course of exercise is right for us (whether it be yoga, any of the forms of karate or jujitsu, etc.):

- Can we engage in the practice without engaging in the spiritual aspects of it?  At first, we may think this is possible, but remain ever vigilant to research and understand any of the "mind focusing" activities these practices may ask of you.  This is probably one of the easiest things to do to day with the internet searches being so readily available to us.  Ask the questions such as "why am I being asked to do this" and "what is the real intent of this action" in order to determine what the "hidden meaning" or "real purpose" is of the action.

- Can we engage in the practice without compromising our beliefs?  In order to answer this one, we have to be certain of what we believe.  For example, if I honestly adhere to the belief that there is to be no activity in my life which places either myself or another before God, then I am not going to engage in any activity which escalates my spirituality to a place higher than God in my life.  My "spirituality" is really not important - what is important is that God's Spirit indwells me.  This is the difference between many of the eastern religions and Christianity.  The eastern religions all teach that we have to work our way to getting to be like "little gods or goddesses" by some series of good works.  Christianity teaches that no amount of good works will ever make us "more spiritual" or "like God".  Be aware of what you believe as it will influence how you practice.

- Would God be honored by our practice or action?  This is probably the most concrete question we can ask ourselves when considering any form of exercise which involves any of the eastern religion forms of practice.  The stretching and strengthening "principles" of yoga are good - the meditation and self-realization part of it is where we cross the line.  The physical endurance and self-protection methodologies of karate or jujitsu are excellent - the "freeing of one's mind" may be where we cross the line.  Keeping God central in all our actions and activities is critical to remaining "safe" and free of compromising actions.  Don't be naive about these practices, but investigate them fully before ever going down their path. You may be able to learn the "actions" of yoga without ever engaging in the "meditation" of yoga - bettering your physical health and strengthening your core muscles.  Just be careful. Just sayin!

Pondering the "unknown"

We had hopes of getting rain this past week, with lots of lightening, blowing wind, and very grey skies.  It was almost black in places - with evidence rain was falling in some parts of town in pretty significant quantities.  As I left for work that morning, I saw a beautiful double rainbow - not just pieces of it, but the entire two "bows" of the double beauty.  It was awesome to look upon, and I remember thinking how awesome God was.  It was not a fleeting thought because I continued to see that rainbow off to the west as I made my drive north to the freeway.  The sun was rising in the east, resulting in the most vibrant of colors against that black sky of the west.  It is times like those when we can look at the beauty of what God has created and begin to ponder his greatness.  It also makes me ponder why man is so important to God - why it is he chose to work with such a "feeble" and "fickle" lot as us.  If you stop long enough to appreciate what is around you, you might be wondering why God chose to make humans so important in the scheme of all things created.  This is not a new question - for prophets, priests, and kings have pondered that same question down through the ages.  

I look at the heavens you made with your hands.  I see the moon and the stars you created.  And I wonder, “Why are people so important to you?  Why do you even think about them?  Why do you care so much about humans?  Why do you even notice them?”  (Psalm 8:3-4 ERV)

God didn't create humans one day because he wanted a bunch of friends he could "hang out with" on cool summer evenings, or linger with over cool lemonade on a hot summer's day.  Think about it - God already had hundreds and hundreds of angels he could "hang out with" in the heavens - so he didn't just need more "company".  In fact, those angels gave him enough "problems" since Lucifer was an angel in the heavens and managed to take about 1/3 of all the angels into sin with him when he decided to choose his own devices over God's, wanting to be like a god rather than serving the one true God.  So, even with 1/3 of the angels determining their loyalty to be aligned with Lucifer (Satan), God still had 2/3 of the angels worshiping him, doing his every command, and "living large" in his presence.  He had lots of "company".

Man has pondered this question for centuries and I don't think we will ever quite understand the answer to it until we stand face-to-face with God one day.  In the meantime, we can simply stand assured of this one thing - we serve the one who gives breathe to all living things, created everything which is for our benefit, and intentionally gave us the inner ability to choose who it is we will yield our lives to.  It wasn't because he wanted "company", but because he wanted fellowship with those he created in his tremendous love.  Fellowship differs from merely keeping "company" with someone.  In the ability to choose, we have the ability to determine who it is we will serve - fellowship is based on service.  Even if we consider our fellowship with each other, we will find there is a tremendous basis of service to each other which binds us together.  It is more than you scratch my back and I will scratch yours.  It is deep-seated, intimate building up of each other, and exhorting one another into right actions and right motivations.

Fellowship suggests communion - not just "doing" what needs to be done - but deep relationship with each other whereby there is a deep "knowing" of the inner workings of each other.  One day, as Paul was in Athens, he noticed a sign on a statue, alongside many other statues erected to the other "gods" of the lands.  On this statue or altar, he saw these words:  "To an unknown god".  As you may not realize, Athens was known for their great "philosophical" discussions about the "latest ideas" which were emerging in varied fields of study.  There were councils who gathered together - great "thinkers" who pondered this stuff.  One such council was the Areopagus council.  Paul is taken into the council one day, because men hear his teaching and are intrigued by the message that Christ has risen from the grave.  

He begins with:  I found an altar that had these words written on it: ‘ to an unknown god.’ You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I want to tell you about. “He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples built by human hands.  He is the one who gives people life, breath, and everything else they need. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs.  God began by making one man, and from him he made all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they would live. (Acts 17:23-26 ERV) 

He ends with:   “God wanted people to look for him, and perhaps in searching all around for him, they would find him. But he is not far from any of us.  It is through him that we are able to live, to do what we do, and to be who we are. As your own poets have said, ‘We all come from him.’

 “That’s right. We all come from God. So you must not think that he is like something people imagine or make. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone. In the past people did not understand God, and he overlooked this. But now he is telling everyone in the world to change and turn to him. (Acts 17:27-30 ERV)

We can "ponder" this God in the heavens, or we can "know" this God in the depths of our heart, entering into deep relationship with him.  The choice is ours, but the question isn't if we will can understand why we were created, but that he is the Creator.  Just sayin!

Not the "how", but the "who" - the order of the letters makes all the difference

I don't fully understand the "watchful" ability of God - because at best I can only keep my eye on a couple things at one time - and even then I am just barely keeping up with things.  Don't believe me, then recount the last time you were cutting up something on the counter, while a pot was coming to a boil on the stove, and the sudden alertness it created when you heard that sound of the hot water hitting the stove top with a loud sizzle.  You were right there, and it stilled boiled over!  You were "watchful" over the entire dinner, but it stilled managed to escape your attention that the pot's contents were at the point of coming right over the edges of the pot!  Yes, we are watchful, but our watchfulness is nothing like the omnipresence of God - his ever-present, all-seeing watchful presence.  I don't just believe it is his vantage point in the heavenlies which gives him the great ability to be watchful over all mankind at one time.  I think it might just have to do with the fact he created all things, knows exactly how all things work, and that little appreciated fact that he is GOD!  

Great blessings belong to those who have the Lord as their God!  He chose them to be his own special people.  The Lord looked down from heaven and saw all the people.  From his high throne he looked down at all the people living on earth.   He created every person’s mind, and he knows what each one is doing. A king is not saved by the power of his army.  A soldier does not survive by his own great strength.  Horses don’t really bring victory in war.  Their strength cannot help you escape.  The Lord watches over his followers, those who wait for him to show his faithful love.  He saves them from death.  He gives them strength when they are hungry.  So we will wait for the Lord.  He helps us and protects us.  He makes us happy.  We trust his holy name.  Lord, we worship you, so show your great love for us. (Psalm 33:12-22 ERV)

If we re-read our passage again, we won't want to skip over the opening words about great blessings belonging to those who have the Lord as their God.  It is more than knowing there is a God, or that he loves us.  It is more about "having" him as our Lord - one who is owner of our lives and in full control of our actions.  We cannot just "know about" him - we actually have to be in relationship with him to understand and appreciate the blessings he has provided for our lives.  This gives us a different vantage point ourselves - not making us omnipresent or omniscient (everywhere present or all-knowing), but it does give us the presence of God moving with us in our lives (the one who is all-present and all-knowing).

It is also important to be mindful that God created our minds - he knows very well how they work, what their limitations are, and how vastly creative they can be at times.  He knows how thoughts are formed, what influences them, and when they can carry us into action or paralyze us into motionless inaction. It might just be this knowledge of how we think and where our thoughts have the capacity to take each of us that makes it so easy for him to know what each one of us is doing or about to do.  Since there is no new thought under the sun where God is concerned, when we head down a certain path of thought, he knows exactly where that will lead.  This is why we can trust him when he gives us that little niggling inside which says to just stop now.  He knows the path isn't going to produce something good for our lives.

We might somehow assume we are able to accomplish things in our own power or by our own great skill.  Truth is - - - at best our skill is far below that of the Creator's!  In this case, it is pretty much advisable we look to him for the sorting out of our affairs and the keeping of watch over our lives.  He is indeed the one who turns the heads of the kings to do his bidding and the feet of the soldiers to overcome in battle.  We cannot lose sight of the faithful love of God for it will never lose sight of us!  We are saved from death - both spiritual and physical - by his watchful eye and strong arm.  We are made full on the delightful bounty of his prepared feast - both physically and spiritually.  We enjoy great privilege in his presence.

Our part is two-fold:  1) We enter into this relationship with open hearts and open minds; and 2) We continue on in this relationship, waiting for his every move.  God doesn't spoon feed us through life, but he prepares a bounty for our sustenance.  We go to the places we know we will find his "prepared food" - like to the Word of God in times of study and contemplation.  We don't just sit there like birds in a nest and hope a worm will drop into our mouths!  This is part of "continuing on" in relationship with Jesus - we go where he directs, prepared for what he has provided for us, and then we enjoy the sustenance he provides. We might not understand the "how" behind what it is God does for us in this life, but we can appreciate the "who" behind every action on our behalf!  Just sayin!

A colony of families

There are times you just read over stuff in the scriptures and totally miss what is being said.  You can do this year after year, without even "getting" something. I kind of think this may be on purpose because God has a season and a specific time for certain things to catch our attention.  In those moments, he pours something into our lives by sometimes even the shortest of passages. What we do with what God gives us is ours to determine - he can provide the feeding, but he cannot force feed us.  He can spoon feed us, but he doesn't cram it down our throats!  One thing is for sure - remain open to what he provides and you will have your "fill" of good things and "stuff" you can actually use in your own life!  Did you ever stop to consider for just a moment how much "scripture" is declared in the things around you, not just in the written words between those leather bindings you call a Bible?  It is true, for even the heavens tell of his glory and the world of nature all around you bespeaks the creator's power, honor, and majesty.  Sometimes all that is needed is for us to just sit back a little and take it all in - contemplating his greatness in the expanse of what we behold.

The heavens tell about the glory of God. The skies announce what his hands have made. Each new day tells more of the story, and each night reveals more and more about God’s power. You cannot hear them say anything.  They don’t make any sound we can hear. But their message goes throughout the world. Their teaching reaches the ends of the earth.(Psalm 19:1-2 ERV)

My BFF and I have discovered the little ground hogs are back in the field behind our hospital.  It seems like we see them each year and then all of a sudden, it is like they are gone.  I don't know if they hibernate, move to different parts of the field, or what, but they are there now and we are enjoying them.  There are lots and lots of wee ones, not much bigger around than my thumb, but cute as a button.  We happened on them this year quite by accident, but were both bowled away by the tiny one who came running up to us, actually approaching within just a couple feet of us, obviously looking to see if we had brought them anything good.  It is kind of like the ducks at the park, feed one and the entire flock zooms in.  This tiny critter left a little disappointed that first day, but we have been out there at least 3 times a week since then with left-over morsels, fruit, and the like.  We just sit down on the bench and watch them come out of the various burrows scattered around the shade of the trees and under bushes here and there.  We even have named the "communities" similar to those around us - like that set of burrows is Apache Junction, the other is Cave Creek, and the ones closest to us are Mesa!  So as the "families" emerge, we welcome them from their "township"!

As I stop to consider their little lives, I see just how fragile they are, but also how resilient the can be.  They are tiny, but mighty.  With those tiny little feet, they carve out vast tunnels, inter-related communities, entering one place and emerging in just seconds at a totally different location.  They can scamper with quickness akin to race car drivers going from zero to sixty in under a few seconds.  Yet, they are also constantly attentive to their environment - scouting for those birds who might swoop in and carry away their young.  They must compete for their food, with grackles and black birds and sparrows zeroing in on anything left for them to feed upon.  Their constant "hunt" for food is unending, emerging in the coolness of the morning, the stillness of the evening, and likely the cover of darkness to gather seed pods falling from the mesquite trees. When we come along, there may not be one in sight, but when we call for them, one emerges, then two, and then you hear these tiny high-pitched little cries. Within minutes, the older ones emerge, followed by the tiniest of the colonies.  Each sits at attention, awaiting the treat of the day.

We are kind of like those wee creatures - buried deep in the "regular" part of our days, not really aware of what is going on around us, until all of a sudden we catch a glimpse of something good.  In just that short moment of time, our worlds can change.  We can go from being absorbed in the day-after-day existence we are enduring into the delights of something magnificent and totally unexpected.  Yesterday, we took them cherries.  A couple of days before that, we took them grapes, and even an orange.  It was comical to see them race hither and yon, gathering up their new-found treats, and even more comical to see the wee ones hold them in their front paws and chow down.  The "good stuff" is constantly different for them - just as it is for us.  We can count on one thing - God isn't boring!  He delights in giving us new things in new ways, but really their are simply "old things" reborn in a way we just don't fully understand.  

As we sat there a couple days this week, the humidity was high, but the clouds in the sky were delightful.  Big, fluffy, and filled with rain!  June isn't usually a wet month in the Phoenix area, so we are delighted with even the "prospect" of rain!  Those clouds filled the sky, drifted by and changed shape with such rapid succession, that we just pondered them for a while.  Just like kids on a lazy summer afternoon, my BFF and I just sat their gazing into the skies.  Anyone coming by must have thought we were a little strange - feeding the wee critters, talking with them, and then gazing into the vastness of the skies.  I don't know what was running through the head of my companion as much as I do know what was deep within my heart.  There was an appreciation for the smallest of blessings in life - the simplicity of enjoying God's creation spurring the recounting of the blessings of family (as I observed the ground hogs scurrying about), the treasure of friendship (as I sat in companionable silence with my BFF), and the greatness of grace (as I looked into the highest of heavens and considered the awesomeness of our Creator God).

You don't have to look far to see the greatness of God declared, my friends. Sometimes all you need to do is stop long enough to look!  Just sayin!

Force fed and loving it!

I had the pleasure of enjoying my two daughters and grandsons on Mother's Day, along with my Mom.  The boys had to work, but they sent their greetings and were missed terribly.  As we were enjoying a leisurely BBQ lunch, Corbyn asked if I had seen the hummingbird video on Facebook.  We had been observing the hummingbirds come and go from the feeder just behind us on the patio, so the subject seemed to center around birds.  I had observed many beautiful birds on vacation, but the boys wanted me to see this particular video because it had caught their attention.  Becca was quick to find it in the news feed and shared it with me.  It spoke volumes to me.  As I watched, a mother hummingbird fed two small chick birds in the nest.  First one, then the other. What was amazing was the way she almost had to "force feed" them.  At first, they started out "ravenous" - wanting what she had to offer, beaks open and beckoning to her to give them her stores of food.  As their tummies began to fill, the nestled down deeper into the next and began to almost resist her tender advances to provide them with nourishment.  I mentioned to the kids how much it looked like she was "force feeding" them toward the end.  One gave into this "forced feeding", while the other burrowed deeper into the nest and firmly kept the tiny mouth closed against her probing beak.  I wondered if this isn't how we sometimes treat God - beckoning him to provide nourishment at first, but then pulling away, nestling down into our secure place, and resisting what he has to offer.

The Lord God is our protector and glorious king. He blesses us with kindness and honor. The Lord freely gives every good thing to those who do what is right. Lord All-Powerful, great blessings belong to those who trust in you! (Psalm 84:11-12 ERV)

Just like the mother hummingbird, God beckons us to open up and then to take what he has to offer.  What I didn't tell you was how "deep" into the open mouths of these tiny chicks she had to put her beak to actually impart what it was she had to offer.  It seemed as though she stuck that long, slender beak nearly all the way down their throats, right into their stomachs.  It was as though she probed along the roof of their mouths, then right down into the stomach - imparting the rich nectar she had for them.  When they began to resist a little, she pried their mouths open and continued to give of the nectar, but not before she got it deep enough into them for them to get 100% of what she was offering.

I think God may have to be this way with us when he brings good things into our lives which will actually help us grow.  He has done all the work to provide what we need, but we cannot overlook how much he sometimes has to "pry us open" to get us to receive the goodness he has prepared for us!  Amazingly, we cry out for so much, then when God comes along with it all prepared in the special way only he can provide, we resist it!  In his loving care, he won't let us stay in our place of resistance, though.  He is much like this mother bird, tenderly probing us until we will open up and begin to accept the entrance of what he has into the depths of our lives.

Another thing I noted as I watched this video was the security of the nest.  It was small by comparison to some nests, but quite soft and flexible.  As those tiny chicks burrowed deep into the safety of the nest, it "gave" with them.  The nest seemed to flex and then securely embrace them in the downy feathers and soft security of the walls provided for their safety.  Much to our surprise, we often find our greatest "peace" comes in nestling down in the place God has prepared for us well in advance of us even needing it.  This mother bird spent hour upon hour tenderly crafting that nest.  She made a place of safety long before she even knew she'd mother her two chicks there.

God is much the same - tenderly preparing the place for our protection and security.  It becomes the place of our deepest feedings and the rest we so much need.  Just as those birds began to settle in with full stomachs, the mother bird watched and ensured they were nestled deep into the nest.  After seeing them peaceful and "filled to the max" with the goodness she had provided, what do you suppose she did?  You might imagine she nestled in on top of them for a well deserved rest herself, but she didn't.  In fact, she was off again, preparing for their next meal!  She was already looking out for what they needed next. Isn't this so like our God?  Always looking out for what we will need next in this life.  

We may not be "chicks in a nest", but I think we can all receive a lesson or two from the mother hummingbird and her two chicks.  Just sayin!

Describe God for Me

Have you ever been asked to describe God?  It is hard!  We take a deep breath, then launch out into some kind of lengthy explanation of what God does, how he moves among us, etc.  All the while, we are really struggling with getting anything "concrete" in our answer.  Try it!  It is hard!  David had a really good way of describing God - simple and to the point!


¹ Light, space, zest— that's God!  So, with him on my side I'm fearless, afraid of no one and nothing. (Psalm 27:1 The Message)


Wow!  Three simple words, but pretty all-inclusive if you ask me!  Light, space, and zest - what could he possibly have meant by using these words?


Light - This is the message we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in him there is no darkness at all (I John 1:5 NIV).  In him we find all glory and majesty.  No wonder scripture repeatedly refers to God as "light" - it is not something which is "in" him - he is the perfect and purest LIGHT.  There is no darkness within him - he is holy and his holiness reflects in the purest of Light.


Space - John 4:24 tells us God is "Spirit".  Perhaps this is the best way for us to understand just how he can be everyone at one time - he transcends the limitations of human nature.  He is above all, in all, and creator of all.  As such, he is like "space".  Unlimited, uncalculated greatness.  Try as we might, we cannot "box" God in - he is not an equation - something we can sum up!


Zest - he gives liveliness to all he animates.  In him is the inherent ability to impart the truest form of energy - that which animates and gives abundant life to a lifeless soul!  Sin robs us of this "animation" of spirit - God's touch restores it!


No wonder David stands so assured when he considers who is "on his side" in his daily walk!  The purest of the pure - able to push back all darkness.  The limitless one - powerful beyond our calculating.  The one full of life - imparting life with each brush of his hand or passing of his breath over our lives!  Can you shout a big, "Woohoo!" here?


Afraid of no one and nothing!  Why?  We fear the dark - God's light exposes what is hidden.  We fear the unknown - God's limitless supply is ours.  We fear death - God's life is assured to those who choose him.  Therefore, why fear?  


Look at the passage again:  ¹ The Lord is my light and the One Who saves me. Whom should I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom should I be afraid? (New Life Version)  Whenever we are afraid, we are filled with apprehension.  When we describe ourselves as fearful, we are saying we are filled with a dread of the impending danger, evil, or pain we perceive.  


The Lord is MY light - the one who saves ME.  Here is the "grip" we hold onto in the midst of impending doom - MY light, the one who saves ME.  In the words of an old hymn:  His eye may be on the sparrow, but he watches ME!  He is a personal God - he walks WITH us.  In his carefulness over us, light dispels darkness, perceptions are enlarged, and we are reanimated again!