excited about the weekend

I am looking forward to the weekend services. Our programming meeting always leads of course to discussions about the details of each element including the teaching.

As we discussed the parable of the talents, Milo asked about the servant saying "you reaped what you did not sow"...We then discussed how many assume the third servant was not a believer and thus had no understanding of God's concepts.

We then talked about how in Genesis He promises that we will 'plant and reap' until the earth is no more. The cycle will continue until God decides the earth is no more.

Without a Biblical perspective, the negative worldly information I absorb from the news and reports on TV or in the newspaper, causes me to begin to buy into all the worry and doom and gloom. Global warming and limited resources are in God's hands. We are to be good stewards and care for the things God has blessed us with, but the earth will not end until God says so. It will not be global warming that ends this world, it will be our God - the creator of the world.

It must be so scary and hopeless not knowing the one who holds the universe in His hands!

what I learned today

At Small Group tonight, we discussed how difficult it is to understand how anyone can think the universe was formed by a blast or by chance. People talked about the meticulous way that God placed each and every planet at the exact distance from the sun and in the perfect orbit to survive. And then we talked about the fact that this amazing creator placed within each of us a void that could only be filled by Him.

We talked about eternity and how insignificant this time is that we are here on earth in comparison. And we marveled at why He values a relationship with each of us.

These are some of the many mysteries of our God. And tonight was a great time of sitting quietly before Him, worshiping Him with our discussion and delighting in Him. I learned today that the most important thing is not to just learn another fact, but instead, to become completely overwhelmed by my amazing God!

my senses awaken

I never thought about this until this morning. I wake up one sense at a time.

A typical order would be that my sense of hearing is first. The dreaded alarm clock. Then my sense of touch, pounding the snooze button on the alarm (did I stress the word pounding?) Then the rest following in random order.

So for me it isn't a sudden fully engaged awakening, but gradual each morning.

Today, God made me aware of this order of awakening, simply (I believe) to help me fully grasp the gift of each day.

It went like this...Sense of Hearing - alarm clock (not good yet) Sense of Touch (snooze alarm - only one hit! new record) Sense of Touch continues - shower

Sense of Taste and Smell - COFFEE (I'm am completely addicted!!) And then as I left my house the final sense, the sense of Sight Magnificent!!!

I stood in awe! "This is the Day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it"...how could I not rejoice!

Then I received another gift as I headed to work, again the Sense of hearing. I have been previewing a CD that Pastor Tim gave me, it's a Passion CD. This was not planned, I don't even know this song, but this is the song that just happened to be on, listen to these words. ...rising sun awakening, the early dawn, they're risen up to give you praise. we have seen the stars and moon, have seen how they shine, they shine for You and you're calling us to do the same... you will never convince me this was all just by chance, no way! God knew I needed a creative beginning to my day in order to bring that creativity to His work at Crossroads. Thankfully my senses were fully engaged, I didn't miss it. He is magnificent, fully magnificent and fills my senses with himself. And yet like the words of the song says, "they're risen up to give YOU praise!" I just get to be on onlooker, a participant in creation giving its praise the almighty God of the universe.