Simply in awe of the majesty of God's creation.
God knows us, in and out, better than we ourselves.
He knew that I went to these beautiful gardens a couple months ago, that featured a wildlife exhibit. They had rehabilitated owls, and I "named" them all...I believe the first one was Horace, the second was Theodore,
and the female owl was Rosaline.
It was kind of hilarious, because I had rationalized that owls represent
wisdom, so they had to have scholarly sounding names to match.
Recently, I read an article in Creation magazine, on how marvelous owls are. I enjoyed learning more, as I had obviously been admiring them immensely as of late.
Did you know that they can almost rotate their heads all the way around? That's because their neck muscles are specially constructed so that they have an unusually high level of flexibility in that area. Also, their eyes are HUGE in proportion to their body. If they were as big as humans are, they would look really creepy because their eyes would be so big.
Tonight, I was leaving a party, and this house was back in sort of a forest. I was walking to my car, and I saw what appeared to be an enormous bat overhead. At first, I just paused and watched. Then, I realized it must be some sort of bird of prey. As soon as it had perched in a tree, I saw these huge eyes gazing back at me.
It was an owl. I decided right then and there that his name was Hubert.
But the cool thing was, that he was probably only 10-15 feet above me when he took flight.
I got to see his wing span- it was between 4-5' it seemed.
The majesty of flight in that moment was indescribable.
I probably didn't make Hubert too happy by turning the brights on my car, but I just had to get a better look. I wanted to see what his features were so I could look up what species he was. Which reminds me, I will probably go do that now; I love classifying birds.
This experience left me in awe of a God who could be so incredibly creative in His design.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Divine Focus
Divine Focus.
This is my prayer.
This is my one request.
That God would show me exactly what it is that is key right now,
what is simply a distraction or something that is extra or excess.
I used to say "yes" to different activities, only to become burnt out.
How is it glorifying to God if we are tired, drained, worn-out Christians?
It simply isn't the way that God has called us to live!
In order to be effective, we need to dwell in God's peace.
This is the mark of Christ: His fragrance.
How can we truly 'smell' of Christ if we aren't dwelling IN Christ?
How do we expect to react to a situation in a Godly way if we haven't
experienced the love of God, being poured into our hearts, or felt the
renewal of our minds by the power of God's word?
What I long for: to know that I am exactly where God wants me to be.
Oh, how I love to simply hear His voice, instead of the constant noise of this hurried life.
To simply
Breathe.
Pause.
Reflect.
It purifies.
Purify our hearts, Lord.
Purify our minds.
Let us be a people who are set apart for Your name, and Your renown.
Oh Jesus, let us not be pulled away by all of the distractions of this world.
Let us fix our gaze upon You, Father.
To know You, Father, is our hearts cry.
Jesus, we are the reward of your suffering.
Let us see You, Lord. One glimpse brings us to our knees in awe of
Your glorious splendor.
-Lysandra Elena
(Ps. 119:32)
"I run in the path of Your commands, for you have set my heart free."
This is my prayer.
This is my one request.
That God would show me exactly what it is that is key right now,
what is simply a distraction or something that is extra or excess.
I used to say "yes" to different activities, only to become burnt out.
How is it glorifying to God if we are tired, drained, worn-out Christians?
It simply isn't the way that God has called us to live!
In order to be effective, we need to dwell in God's peace.
This is the mark of Christ: His fragrance.
How can we truly 'smell' of Christ if we aren't dwelling IN Christ?
How do we expect to react to a situation in a Godly way if we haven't
experienced the love of God, being poured into our hearts, or felt the
renewal of our minds by the power of God's word?
What I long for: to know that I am exactly where God wants me to be.
Oh, how I love to simply hear His voice, instead of the constant noise of this hurried life.
To simply
Breathe.
Pause.
Reflect.
It purifies.
Purify our hearts, Lord.
Purify our minds.
Let us be a people who are set apart for Your name, and Your renown.
Oh Jesus, let us not be pulled away by all of the distractions of this world.
Let us fix our gaze upon You, Father.
To know You, Father, is our hearts cry.
Jesus, we are the reward of your suffering.
Let us see You, Lord. One glimpse brings us to our knees in awe of
Your glorious splendor.
-Lysandra Elena
(Ps. 119:32)
"I run in the path of Your commands, for you have set my heart free."
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Promise.
Hebrews Chapter 11 is considered the 'faith' chapter of the Bible. It summarizes & compiles the most epic adventures of the heros in the faith! I read it today, almost randomly, and it blew me away! It talks all about the incredible stories of saints in the past, whose stories are almost too incredible to believe, yet we've been desensitized to the impact of it all.
One powerful story is the story of Abraham, a man who God chose to found a nation that would be set apart for Himself. God promised that He would birth a nation through Abraham's wife Sarah, even though they were both quite elderly at the time. By human standards, it was simply impossible. Yet nothing, NOTHING, is impossible with God. He chose to birth a nation in a miraculous way: through a man who was 'as good as dead', whose wife was supposedly too old to birth a child.
God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?
12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. Hebrews 11:12 (NIV)
Hebrews Ch. 11 is immediately followed by an exhortation in Ch. 12, verses 1 & 2, to run with endurance the race that is set before us, realizing that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It exhorts us to look unto Jesus, who set the ultimate example of a race well run & carried to the end with excellence.
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
New International Version (NIV)
Our existence is temporal. God is not limited by time.
We are contained by years, months, weeks, days; yet God created time, therefore He sees the end from the beginning.
Let us realize that this great story we have become a part of is so much bigger than ourselves. Let us realize that we are 'surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.'
Let's throw aside every entanglement and hold firmly onto the promises of the Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who "for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
One powerful story is the story of Abraham, a man who God chose to found a nation that would be set apart for Himself. God promised that He would birth a nation through Abraham's wife Sarah, even though they were both quite elderly at the time. By human standards, it was simply impossible. Yet nothing, NOTHING, is impossible with God. He chose to birth a nation in a miraculous way: through a man who was 'as good as dead', whose wife was supposedly too old to birth a child.
God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?
12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. Hebrews 11:12 (NIV)
Hebrews Ch. 11 is immediately followed by an exhortation in Ch. 12, verses 1 & 2, to run with endurance the race that is set before us, realizing that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It exhorts us to look unto Jesus, who set the ultimate example of a race well run & carried to the end with excellence.
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
New International Version (NIV)
Our existence is temporal. God is not limited by time.
We are contained by years, months, weeks, days; yet God created time, therefore He sees the end from the beginning.
Let us realize that this great story we have become a part of is so much bigger than ourselves. Let us realize that we are 'surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.'
Let's throw aside every entanglement and hold firmly onto the promises of the Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who "for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Anticipation.
Friday, October 2, 2009
"What's the answer/To the question/I hear inside my heart?" (The Searching Song by LEB)
When I opened the page for My Utmost for this morning, gotta tell ya, it was quite a blow to my pride (once again lol). But then I realized that THIS is the answer to my question (see "The Girl vs. The Cynic").
It seems the theme recently has been God teaching me what it is to be humble, patient, kind, & gracious in the midst of difficulties. Being in a bind is NO EXCUSE to be unkind or nasty. When we're 'squeezed', the character of Christ should come forth. At least, that's the goal in my life.
If I'm in 'the valley' instead of on the mountaintop, that is not a license to despair. In no way am I allowed to give up hope. It has been strongly impressed upon me that this is where the battle takes place; in the midst of adversity. This is where character is shaped, by what I think, say, and do when life is hectic & stress levels are high.
Read the following with a willing heart. I pray that God would show you something fresh & new. <3,
LEB
Go to the reading for the second of October:
http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php
It seems the theme recently has been God teaching me what it is to be humble, patient, kind, & gracious in the midst of difficulties. Being in a bind is NO EXCUSE to be unkind or nasty. When we're 'squeezed', the character of Christ should come forth. At least, that's the goal in my life.
If I'm in 'the valley' instead of on the mountaintop, that is not a license to despair. In no way am I allowed to give up hope. It has been strongly impressed upon me that this is where the battle takes place; in the midst of adversity. This is where character is shaped, by what I think, say, and do when life is hectic & stress levels are high.
Read the following with a willing heart. I pray that God would show you something fresh & new. <3,
LEB
Go to the reading for the second of October:
http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php
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