Our Big, Big God

It has been a while since I have posted, mainly because I have been living real life - what God calls each of us to do! This year is a busy one and I will attempt to post when I can, but they may be farther in between. Thank you for reading!

God Made Me
Lately I have been reading a book with my son simply called Nature Reader, by Christian Liberty Press. This book takes all the letters of the alphabet and assigns an animal to each one and teaches about that animal. As I have been reading this Kindergarten level book, I am in awe of God's creation! I am reminded that there is no possibly way that these things could ever have just happened!
We read of the Hippo, the only land mammal whose offspring are born underwater - they even nurse underwater! Did you know that the kangaroo is incapable of walking? Caterpillars have 228 muscles in their head. And what about the elephant? Is there any other creature that has a trunk? And last but not least, look at mankind. Of all the billions of species, from fungi to insects to birds to mammal, we are the only ones with a higher intelligence, with a heart and soul created for God to have a relationship with. I simply don't have enough faith to believe anything other than that my God is awesome and big!

God is Big
Have you ever taken a tiny glimpse into the studies of our universe? Well, it doesn't take long to realize how teeny, tiny and insignificant we are. We are one in our town of _______. We are one in our country of over 300 million. We are one on our continent of over 520 million. And we are one on this planet of almost 7 billion! Feel tiny yet? How about the fact that we are one planet out of 10 that circle our sun forming our solar system. And that our solar system is just one of many in our galaxy, and that there are many, many more galaxies out there in the universe? How about now? Teeny, tiny yet? But our God, he created all of this! He is bigger than all of this!

A Teeny, Tiny Response to such a Big God
What gets me most about all of this is walking into churches on Sunday mornings. I don't know about you, but the worship service that I witness is not anything close to being worthy of such a big God. We are so miniscule and worthless, and yet he sent his only son to die for us, because he loved us and wanted to spend eternity with us. How humbling! I would suggest that our worship services should bring us to our knees, to tears! We should be crying out "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty!" as we will forever be in heaven! We should be taking time out throughout the day to just admire him and praise him for his works! You know all of those things I talked about above? He made them just for us to enjoy. Have you been too busy to enjoy the beauty your Father has given to you? Take time out to be filled with the awe of his beautiful creation and to meditate on his greatness! Giving the proper praise and honor to such a God will fill you and inspire you to do all the other things in life that is placed before you.

Everyday Miracles

I sometimes call them "a God thing" and sometimes I use the old fashioned word miracle. We don't hear the term miracle as often today. Is it that they don't happen as often, or that we aren't giving them the credit they deserve? I wanted to write a little bit today about miracles, answered prayers, wake-up calls...you know, those God things, because I have been face to face with several of these the last few weeks. Miracles come in all sizes and shapes, and I want to share a few with you! I think that as Christian moms, trying to do all and be all, we can overlook the small miracles in our lives. I hope that this will help you see that they are all around us, so that you may wake up to the glorious wonder of the miracles in your own life!

He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. --Job 5:9

Over a week ago:  My husband's nephew went to the hospital. He had a severe blood problem - his platelet count and white blood cell count were dangerously low. They thought he could have leukemia. We prayed and prayed that this would not be the case. He is now home and has been diagnosed with what is known as ITP, a serious disorder, but one that is controllable. It is a miracle for our family that he is able to be with us, home, and able to control what is wrong - that he doesn't have leukemia.

Monday:  There was a bill due for $300.  I had no way to pay it.  That day, my husband received a check for a side job he had done for $350.  I paid the bill.  This is not the first time one of these small financial miracles has happened to me...

Wednesday:  I sat on her front porch, looking at this beautiful woman holding her 6 day old baby boy in her arms and listening to her pour out her story to me.  I was awestruck with what this woman had been through in her life. Years before, she had experienced things that no one should experience, things that led her to attempt to take her life.  The doctors could not explain to her how it was that she could talk, move...or be alive.  It was a miracle.  It led her to believe in God and give her life to Christ.  I was sitting here listening and looking at the picture that miracles still happen.

Thursday:  I got to hold my dear friends' hours old baby in my arms in the hospital room.  She was beautiful.  I was reminded of my own babies' births.  I looked at her tiny little nose and fingers.  Each time I moved she would crinkle up her nose and whine!  I was holding a precious miracle in my hands and loving every minute of it!

Friday:  Thinking about the homeschool convention next weekend.  I don't know where I am going to get the money to buy our curriculum there.  That morning, I get the state refund check for the exact amount of money that I need. Then, my husband calls and lets me know that the $300 bill (see Monday above) was already paid somehow and we get to keep our $300.  I cry my eyes out.  How does this always happen to us?  Everyday miracles is what they are.

These are those that stuck out to me just this past week!  I know that there were plenty more mixed in there as well!  I believe that our days are saturated with miracles everywhere we turn.  I also know that our days are sometimes filled with pain, unanswered prayers, a 'lack' of miracles.  During these times it is hard to understand why things happen or to open our eyes, which are filled with tears, to the miracles around us. It is at that time that there is only one miracle that we need to be aware of...that we are safely held in God's arms until we are through our valley.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.--Psalm 77:11

Open your eyes today to the many everyday miracles around you.  Take time out of your busy schedule to notice! Give God the credit for them that He deserves.  Don't credit science, coincidence, or luck.  It's a God thing.  Let your cup be filled knowing that God is showering you with His blessings and His miracles!

Triumph or Disaster

I can remember, as clear as day, the moment my daughter was born.  I remember the second I laid eyes on my newborn baby and gazed into her precious, tiny eyes and held her miraculous, tiny bundle of self in my arms. That day was one of my biggest Triumphs. I was a mom!
However, I can also recall three years later, sitting by her bedside for six days in the Pediatric ICU. There had been a mistake during a simple outpatient surgery and she was sedated and on a breathing tube. I remember how her tiny toddler body looked lying there in that huge hospital bed.  I can still see the tears roll down her cheeks each time the sedation started to wear off and she would wake up in fear. I can still remember the feeling that nothing in the world mattered at all except her waking up. That was one of my biggest Disasters.

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same. -Rudyard Kipling

Kipling calls both Triumph and Disaster impostors. Why? I believe it is because both of them take our eyes off our focus, they deceive us to believe that it is all about us and our circumstances and forget about the God who is over it all. In my own experience, I am sadly closer to God during my time of disaster. The reason for this is because during my time of triumph, I am so busy enjoying my life that I forget how much I need God. I think that many of us do the same. Then when the disasters come along, we remember and fall to our knees. Our relationship and faith in Christ become stronger. There are those disasters, however, that spiritual break us. Thankfully I have never had to face a disaster like I know others have. I have never lost a child or a spouse. I have never been penniless on the streets. I have never faced death myself. There are those that have. When those times come, it is easy to blame God for the circumstance or to lose faith in His very existence. It is possible to be in so much pain, that you cannot bring yourself to come to God with it. Or, you believe that God does not care.
This particular verse of this poem has always been a reminder to me of what our response should be in either situation. We are to treat those two impostors just the same. How are we to treat them? With praise and recognition of the God that is always in control and loves us dearly. In the times of Triumph we should remember to give Him the praise for what He has done.

He is the one you praise; He is your God who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Deuteronomy 10:21

And in the times of Disaster, we are to also give Him praise. The Bible tells us that after Job had lost everything dear to him in his life,

he fell to the ground in worship and said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:20-21

After King David found out about the death of his newborn baby, it says,

After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. 2 Samuel 12:20

Remember, whatever the circumstances you will face on your journey today, praise the Lord!