Psalm 8:3-4
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your hands,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?


The other night Adam and I watched a DVD called Indescribable, which is just one in a series called The Passion Talk, by Louie Giglio. In this particular DVD, Louie shows amazing pictures of the cosmos and backs them up with scripture that describes the very nature and creativity of God. It was amazing, and because Adam is fascinated by anything that has to do with the universe and beyond, it was right up his alley.

The size of the Milky Way Galaxy alone is astounding. It is estimated to be 100,000 light years in diameter and containing anywhere between 200-400 billion stars. In order to get a better understanding of the size of the Milky Way, consider this: light travels at 186,000 miles per second, totaling 5.88 trillion miles per year. If you start at one end of the Milky Way and travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), you will reach the opposite end of the galaxy in approximately 100,000 years. I am not a math person. I don't even know how to insert 5.88 trillion into my calculator, but something tells me that this would be a huge distance.

If you are like me and can't quite grasp the number, here is a little perspective: The true cost of the $800 billion stimulus package has been estimated to cost over $3 trillion when all is said and done. So if we consider that number, our government just spent money at a faster rate than the speed at which light travels...hmmmm.

Let me get back on track here. If the Milky Way Galaxy is just one among billions of other galaxies, how much greater is the God who created them? Just considering the vast expanse of the universe has given Adam and I many great discussions, particularly about the possibility of life sustaining planets in other galaxies. But one thing to consider, as Louie points out, is that God could very well be painting on His canvas - the canvas He created - because

His glory....




His splendor....



His majesty....



Cannot be contained.

"What if the primary purpose of the universe is not to be a home for you and me, but what if its primary purpose is to show off the splendor and the majesty and the greatness and the glory of the God who created it all, and the universe is not too big at all, the universe is just about the right size after all." Louie Giglio - Indescribable - from the Passion Talk Series


Psalm 19:1-2
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

All the kids in our neighborhood were just having an argument about what their club name should be. Apparently they can't decide between "black ice" and "free wizards" so they asked for my advice.

Here is my thought:

"Free Wizards" sounds a little too Harry Potterish to me, and because Isaiah has nightmare's of being tickled mercilessly by the elf in the Harry Potter movies (I am not making this up), I think it's a poor choice for a club name.

I can't believe that I am even contemplating this, but I would definitely go for black ice.

Have you ever put on a piece of clothing only to realize, after you left your house, that it was clinging to your every move?

Static.

And because you didn't have a bag of clothes stashed in your car for occasions such as this, you spend the rest of the day fighting the static cling. Every time you stand up you have to reach down and tug on your pants, shirt or whatever article of clothing that doesn't want to cooperate. But the static doesn't stop when you straighten out your clothes because with every step you take, the cling becomes worse. Eventually, your day becomes so centered around the static cling of your clothes, that you are unable to concentrate on anything else.

And then you get home and your spouse says, "hey honey, how was your day?" And all you can respond with is, "It was awful. I spent the entire day fighting the static in my clothes. And because of it, I didn't get anything done."

Okay, so maybe it has never been that bad, but you have to admit, static is really annoying; It sticks, clings, zaps and irritates even the most mellow of people. And for some reason, I couldn't help but relate it to a topic we were discussing in my bible study this morning. The topic was on living for "today" and not allowing good or bad experiences in the past, keep us from living and experiencing life today.

Life isn't static.

As soon as I heard that phrase, I had an image of the above scenario. And while I know it has nothing to do with static electricity, I can't help but draw some similarities from it. (It may be a little far fetched, but hear me out).

Do you ever think back to a time in your life where everything seemed great; where you think "that was the best period of my life", and then wish that somehow you could go back and stay in that moment or time forever? Do you often weigh your life experiences against that specific "time" in your life and find that they just don't compare, leaving you feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled?

I know what that is like.

When Adam and I were first married, he was in his last two years of college and I was working to help support us. While we had very little money, we didn't realize it at the time because we had some great friendships. We spent many weeknights and most of our weekends together whether it be talking, laughing, hiking, fishing, shooting potato guns and everything in between that created wonderful memories and built a deep, lasting friendship. But life isn't static. Adam graduated and shortly after that we moved to Idaho. So much has changed in the 7 years since we were with those friends. Not only do we live in different states, but we all now have children, families, careers and homes (not to mention limited vacation days) that require our attention and time.

For the longest time we would compare our new friends with "that friendship", and they would never match up. It was what I consider our "static cling" because, as life moved on, we had a hard time finding friends that would fill that void. We kept looking for a friendship that looked and felt exactly like the one we had with Jacob and Maureen, and we would get more and more frustrated when it didn't turn out that way.

But somewhere along the way we have realized that we don't want a carbon copy friendship. It's not something to be replaced. It is surely a gift from the Lord and something worthy of celebrating, but it should not be used as a measuring tool against all other relationships. As we have rekindled old friendships and made new ones, we have had the chance to see what we could have missed if we had allowed the static cling to dictate our friendships.

I know it's cliche, but I want to encourage you to live for today; to experience the gifts the Lord has for you by being fully engaged in the present, not the past and not even the future.

It might even be a good idea to carry a dryer sheet around to, you know, keep the cling at bay.

Anna

I had it on my heart to blog something today, but as I sat in front of my computer, hands on the keyboard, the words didn't come. At first I tried to think of some stories of things the boys have done; then I thought about finding some inspiring story, but neither of those amounted to much.

So I sat.

After a few minutes of sitting I said to myself, "Why not play a little game of bible roulette?" And so I did. I opened my bible and flipped through the pages, hoping to land on something profound, and that is when my eyes fell on the following verse:

Jeremiah 1:5a
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;"

I want to take a moment to pick this apart because it is so powerful, and speaks volumes about God's love. And while this verse relates to all of His children, I am going to relate its significance to our daughter.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you

I can't help but wonder what our daughter is doing right now....aside from sleeping, because it is the middle of the night in most parts of Russia. But, what are her days like? Is she happy? What kind of food does she like? Does she interact with other children, or does she prefer to be alone? Does she receive the proper amount of love and nourishment? When she goes to bed at night does she rock herself to sleep, alone in her bed?

While her life, up to this point, has been tragic, she is not alone. Before her fragile little body ever experienced fear, loss, abandonment and institutionalization, God knew her. He knew what the early years of her life would be like, and yet, He considered her worthy.

Worthy....

Before you were born I set you apart

She doesn't know it yet, but her story is not an accident. Not at all! It was written before the foundations of the earth were laid. It just took a few thousand years before her story could be told.

I can only imagine what God was thinking that evening, 13 years ago, when I took the opportunity to babysit a little girl recently adopted from China. Did He smile as I walked up the steps and knocked on the door? Did He laugh as I tried to entertain that little girl, knowing that that experience would start a thread that would one day connect to the thread of a little girl in Russia.

A little girl that God knew.

A little girl that was set apart.



An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.
Ancient Chinese Proverb

A few months ago Isaiah and Caleb got a hold of our old digital camera. They must have thought they struck gold, because immediately they were off, taking close up pictures of their faces, mouths, eyes and other random things in our house.

We should have known though, when their giggles turned to belly laughs and hushed whispers, that something was up. But, as the cliche goes, ignorance is bliss, and that is exactly what Adam and I chose to be as we lounged around that Sunday afternoon, completely ignoring our parental responsibilities.

We were so ignorant, in fact, that we completely forgot what they were doing until later on when Adam noticed the camera sitting on the counter and decided to take a look. As he scrolled through the pictures he realized just what they were laughing so hard about because right in front of him, filling the screen, was a bright white rear-end.

Let me just clarify that this rear-end belonged to one of the boys! However, I don't know which one, and I am not sure that it is necessary to find out anyway.

I can't help but wonder though, why boys are so fascinated with their own body parts? And why do they find it entertaining to expose them (in our house, of course) or secretly leave pictures on our camera just to get a good laugh at the shock/surprise/wonder on our faces?

Now that I think about it, I might as well take it a step further:

When did burping your ABC's become a major accomplishment?

Who taught them that spitting in the air and trying to catch it was cool?

And why is farting in your little brothers face, causing him to cough and spit, worthy of a belly laugh? Actually, I take that back, that one is really funny.

I shouldn't be surprised. After all, I was raised with three brothers. But now that it is my responsibility to raise them into mature men; men who don't burp, spit, fart or expose themselves in public, I feel like I have started off on the wrong foot. But they are really good kids, and I love these little experiences they have given me because it has taught me that one of the most important things you can have when you raise boys is a sense of humor.

That doesn't mean though that I am not expecting a call some day from the school principal saying "do you know what your son did today......"

The other day, as we were driving home from lunch, we saw a man standing on the sidewalk holding a sign that read "homeless, please help." And as we were sitting there, albeit uncomfortably, waiting for the light to turn green, we couldn't help but to stare straight ahead, as though, if we were to make eye contact with him, we would have to acknowledge his plight and therefore do something about it.

But I kept hearing a little voice saying "we need to help that man." "Do we have any money to give him?" "We need to give him something!"

It was Isaiah's voice. And as he turned from the window, his eyes searching mine, pleading for me to do something...to give something....the light turned green and we drove off.

It was Isaiah's voice, but it might as well have been Jesus' voice.

As we were driving, I turned to Isaiah to explain why we didn't or couldn't give the man money, but they were worthless excuses, and in the eyes of my 6 year old son, I would guess that they were pretty cowardly. Because, as he sat there listening to my reasoning, which in retrospect was anything but reasoning, he replied with tears in his eyes and a crack in his voice "but he needed help mom".

I was convicted.

It is a little bit strange as I sit here writing this blog because "compassion" has been on my mind...a lot. Last week, before we ever came in contact with the homeless man, I was following a group of bloggers who, through Compassion International, traveled to the slums of Kolkata, India to bring to light the darkness and despair that so often grips those who live in poverty. And yet, through Compassion International, we are also able to see the hope and joy that children are given as they learn about Jesus, learn that they are more than the stigma attached because they were born into poverty. These children are given an education, food, and assistance that helps them grow and develop, and the first time in their lives they are given hope.

So all last week, as I was reading about the experiences that these blogger's were having, I couldn't help but feel a little left out. I found myself saying "Lord, I want to be there. I want to be the one to hold these children, to comfort them. I want to take away their pain and make everything right." My heart is broken for these children. And while I know that it will never be made right, not yet anyway, the Lord answered my prayer....

Care for My child who is standing on the sidewalk

I wish now that I would have seen it sooner.

I wish that it did not take the tears of my son to open my eyes.

I so badly want to help the children around the world, but often fail to realize that we are all God's children. Whether we live in Kolkata, Bangkok or Boise we are called to live lives of compassion, caring for the orphan, the widow....the homeless.

The silver lining in all of this is that our prayer for our children has been that they grow up to be compassionate; to have a heart that breaks for the hurting, lonely and downtrodden. And I saw it the other day in my son when his heart broke for the man standing on the sidewalk. I saw it in the tears in his eyes, the quiver of his chin and the crack in his voice.....

"He needed help mom."

We have been given a glimpse of how the Lord is going to use Isaiah. Everywhere he goes, he is concerned about people and hurts when they are treated unfairly. But we also have been given a huge responsibility to foster his heart and shape his character for the Lord, and in order to do that we must show him that it is not enough just to have compassion, but that we must also show compassion.