He determines, tells, calls the number of the stars
into being;
He calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding has no limit.
We all tend to go about our day
as if one day tells the tale to the next.
And then we go on vacation and find some of the
Beauties and Glimpses
of Heaven on earth.
When we see the wonder on a child's face
we know the joy of awe
and wonder.
And understand, completely, the Scripture saying
we become the millstone sunk into the depths of the deep
to take this awe from a child.
This week, we received rain. And storms, complete with deep rumbling Thunder. The weather reported this as if one day tells its tale to another. Yup, rain. Traffic, delays. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Wait. Edward and I flew into Seattle in 2018. I've heard of the famous rains of Seattle allll my life. It's emerald green, like the land of Oz. Not Arizona. And in fact, Seattle hadn't had rain of any generous proportion for 6 years. 6 years and the news had not reported this tremendous drought. Which fact is going to shock you more.
We went to see Alaska, we witnessed such pristine beauty, Genesis came to my mind, this must have looked like Genesis. Mist was everywhere. I was in awe. My mother-in-law, graciously, took the family to Alaska. The lady who just turned 90 years old. And I was sitting at the dinner table, by myself, and Judy sat down next to me. She said you are so intent on seeing, what do you see so intently. Oh, Judy, I see Genesis! The clarity of the light, the incredible clean. Knowing, as you see these mountains and ranges, no one has ever put their foot upon them. And the sunrise, tomorrow, will reveal another portion. The mists of creation. The whales jumping from the sea. Leviathan. The elk. The moose. The lands gifted to the tribes. The Church in Sitka. The icon that floated. Genesis. Building that Church with ships sailing through ice in the middle of such a wilderness.
And as we completed our journey, British Columbia, has this incredible system for retrieving lumber, that does not mar the land. It's selective and wonderful. And as we journeyed back, British Columbia had the first extensive forest fire in recorded, not very long in earth terms, history.
YES, WE HAVE HAD RAIN!
Our son Alexander went on a wonderful trip with his gracious grandmother in 2009, to Switzerland and Russia. And... as they returned, Siberia caught fire. And that's been more than 200 years since a forest fire.
YES, WE HAVE HAD RAIN!
As a child, growing up in Dallas, we always loved the rainstorms. And classrooms usually had a whole wall of windows. Weather was good. About the time, February 12, 2013, the Vatican had a clap of lightning the day Pope Benedict retired, a friend, had a clap of lighting strike a tree nearby. Creating a spark of friction in their house, frying the refrigerator, a newish one, which created a spark, striking all of their appliances and creating a need for the fire department to watch their home and, indeed, a fire started a few hours later and was put out. Because the fire department stood their ground watching. And within about 3 months, life was the same as before.
My son witnessed, during his summer camp counselor, lifeguard years, an approaching storm sent the children from the outdoor pool, to the indoor pool. Then the manager came to him and said lightning was within 5 miles, get the 70 children out of the indoor pool. Cal was having a time of it, the children found it exciting to move due to a storm, and they felt, collectively, this was overly cautious. Finally, whistles came out, and the children had a young girl, camp counselor dive into the midst of them to sort them out - get out of the pool. The thunderstorm moved in quickly. A tree was struck nearby. Just as, the young woman reached for the chrome handle of the indoor pool. A mere spark was seen. Cal was standing and watching her, was the additional eyewitness. She fell back into the pool, Cal saw her face and asked if she was alright. She clearly said, "Yes, just winded me as the spark..." She continued to tread water, but was silent. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she went under. Cal grabbed the pole and maneuvered her to the side. As she glided to the side, he was able to grab her arm, then arms and others rushed up to pull her to the concrete. Cal had taken CPR to become a lifeguard, and he administered CPR after calling out to another counselor to call 911, an Ambulance. CPR was given, worked and she was still unconscious. The Ambulance arrived as she regained consciousness. The young woman was disoriented and wondering what had happened. She would spend 2 days in the hospital to have fluids and be checked, return to work, alive and well. Cal had saved her life. Knowing CPR and how to get her out of the water as fast as possible.
Psalms 19:1-4
Day after day they tell the story;
night after night they tell it again.
They have no speech or words; they have no voice to be heard.
But their message goes out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.
When I worked at Pro Life, most of the time when asked why the difficulty had arrived in life, the answer was boredom. Regular life is too routine. We know we have a choice to be joyful. When we lose it, we will choose it. Joy. We have the right to look at ordinary life and choose to find The Lord. Choose to live in His Love. Choose to be one of the people who bring Heaven to earth.
Establish a lifelong pattern
of actively finding the Joy
and the Blessing.
Being the Blessing.
We can look at life as being the Blessing of God seekers, finders and bringers.
Lightning is something we live with, when we are blessed to have rain. Blessed.
Psalm 97
The Lord reigns,
Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 Fire goes before Him
and burns up His adversaries all around.
This Gif lightning started off as pink, but went white.
We had pink, only, this afternoon!
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
worship him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to His holy name!
Yesterday, Edward really wanted a good steak for his Birthday. He suggested a restaurant and I then, typically, suggested my favorite. And we had this round discussion for a few minutes. And I sort of realized, hey maybe, this is Edward's Birthday. Let's also mention, Edward didn't want a BD huge gift this year and, in fact, didn't think of one he wanted. He knew I wanted something in connection to my mother, and he said, "This year, let's celebrate my birthday buying you this item." Life offers joy and blessings. Always remember.
And we headed out last night. I thought we were going to the Grand Parkway, but actually, we went into town. And as we pulled in, I realized I'd been to the Fuddrucker's next door with my brother, John, when he had lived in Houston. And we walked into Taste of Texas, I discovered, I'd been in the gift shop with John. We sat down. I looked at Edward and said, my mother has been here with John and said this was a favorite of his and then became a favorite of my mom's. I'd worn my mother's Greek Konstantino cross. Almost for the first time. Because, she had annoyed me by buying an exact copy of almost my cross. And I told her she had annoyed me. My mother said, with much emotion, share the goodness in life. Be glad for beauty and to know you have beauty within you.
Awe and wonder. See He surrounds us. Even the thunder.
His lightnings light up the world
Life forevermore in Jesus Christ.
We thank You for rain
and Your thunder.
Psalm 29:1
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic
Thank You for
the glimpses of Heaven.
The understanding
all of the stars
are Yours.
All of the Heavens are Yours.
Give us this day
and in the daily bread
let us have
gratitude
awe
and
wonder.
Dwell in us, mightily, Father.
Dwell in us as the small voice.
Dwell in us, please, Father.
Dwell in those we Love.
Help us to seek You first.
And we will finish well in Jesus Christ.
Thank You for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Lord
and is working,
we ask in this prayer,
in the Highest
Name of Jesus
Amen.
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