Picnic of grace...

Psalm 139:14a
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works...


As we picnicked under the shade of a weeping willow, Patrick said, "boy TonnTonn, it sure is nice to eat outside!" I smiled and simply took in, not just the loveliness of the moment, but, the beauty of the chaos as well. The kids ran and laughed and played against the ever changing back drop of life As my heart pumped life to my physical body, the breath of the Holy Spirit to my soul; I was simply amazed by the graciousness and goodness of my Lord!

Over the last couple weeks, I have been prompted within my Spirit to meditate upon God our creator... And when I sit back and really take in all the beauty of His creation, I am amazed; but while everything He made was deemed good, WE are yet His most glorious creation for we were created on HIS very image!

If we had no other witness to the God other than the earth itself, we could not deny His existence. But WOW, the amazing facts about us as His creation are liken unto one letter, in a word , in a sentence, in a paragraph, on a page, contained in one volume in a series of books where the story never ends...

For instance, did you know that...

The human bone is as strong as granite in supporting weight. A block of bone the size of a matchbox can support 9 tons- that is four times as much as concrete can support.

Ecclesiastes 11:5
5As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.


Or...
That the focusing muscles of the eyes move around 100,000 times a day. To give your leg muscles the same workout, you would need to walk 80km (50 miles) every day.

Psalm 25:15-16
15Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

And hmmm...
In 30 minutes, the average body gives off enough heat (combined) to bring a half gallon of water to boil.

2 Kings 4:34
34And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.


What about the staggering fact that...
Our nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or feel pain the instant you hurt yourself? This is why!


Or how about this...
Your brain is much more active at night than during the day

Daniel 2:29-30
29As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

And...
When you sleep, you grow by about 8mm (0.3in). The next day you shrink back to your former height. The reason is that your cartilage discs are squeezed like sponges by the force of gravity when you stand or sit.

Psalm 4:8
8I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

This fact blows me out of the water...
The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Lamentations 3:21
21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

Philippians 4:8-9
8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

...And when "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul"(Genesis 2:7)
He made your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.

What about the fact that...
Our sneezes regularly exceed 100 mph...
and if you think God created OUR sneeze to be that fast and forceful, just look at what HIS did...

Exodus 15:8
8And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

And we all like to eat right? Well...
During your lifetime, you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools. In order for anything to have a taste, chemicals from the substance must be dissolved by saliva.
God is so awesome! Not only did He make the food, he made it so we could enjoy every bite!

Job 34:3-4
3For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.


...and why oh why do we NOT beam from ear to ear more often when it only takes 17 muscles to smile and so much more effort to frown by using 43?
We have too many reasons to be joyful!!

Psalm 144:15
15Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.

And the Lord made me go "hmmmm" when I learned this little tid bit...
The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.

Psalm 34:13
13Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile

And...
The hardest bone in the human body is the jawbone.

Psalm 35:27
27Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.


Oh be careful little feet where you go cause...
The feet account for one quarter of all the human body’s bones. Of the two hundred or so bones in the body, the feet contain 52 of them. You use 200 muscles to take one step...no wonder we need to put on the shoes of the Gospel ;-)

Psalm 119:105
105Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path


And one last truth that made my heart soar...

A baby acquires fingerprints in the womb at six months. At only 6-13 weeks of development, the ridges of what will be fingerprints have already developed. And they don't change from that moment on! There is no one person the same as the other...we may have similar traits...but in God's infinite wisdom and creative love, He made us unique, incredibly special and totally identifiable as separate individuals! ...look at us...each finger with a different print ...just try, for a moment, to fathom this...10 per person and how many people are on the planet? And we increase in number every day...STAGGERING!!! The mind of God...who can know it? No one!


Psalm 139:13
13For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 16Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

We are forever finding out the newness of His creation, the newness of the Human mind, body and spirit.

"In the beginning God created" is the very foundation of our faith. Knowing this to be a truth beyond any other is the basis of why we believe all the other wonderful promises of our Lord! And there will never be an artist as creative, an author's pen more exciting; no inventor with more genius, not a baker's dish with spices more savory, nor a musician's ear more in tune than Elohim, our creator, our GOD's

So, Patrick, I agree...it WAS nice to eat outside today!!

Handfuls on Purpose...

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 

4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.8Charity never faileth...

Recently a friend of mine and I were reading a bracelet that had an inscription of 1 Cor. 13:4 on it.  They said, in jest, " do you really believe that kind of love exists anymore?"  and as you guys are getting to know me, you know that this of course got me to thinking...

do I just SAY that I believe it exists or do I TRULY  believe it DOES exist? 

My life would say I do simply because it seems that when I love, I love with all I've got: but, that isn't what this passage is saying at all...anyone can have the capacity to love with with their flesh and be quite dedicated; yet still not embody ALL that having charity breathes because how can you truly love another the RIGHT way if you don't love God this way? 

Mark 12:30-31 

30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 

And,  I have NOT always loved my Savior the way that I should have.  Even as of late, I have not been the faithful bride that I have been set apart to be. As I pondered this lack of faith and commitment on my part, I began to recall the story of Ruth.  

This was a woman we all could learn from when considering how to live a faithful, God-willed life of love.  She loved her Mother-in-law Naomi, she believed that Naomi wanted what was best for her...so much so that she left all the comforts and securities of her home to follow a God she didn't know...trusting he would somehow do the same for her that He had done for Naomi and her people.  

Ruth 1:16-17 

16And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

It would do me well to take a page from Ruth's book...

Page one... Ruth's testimony preceded her...

Ruth 2:5-6 , 3:11 

5Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? 11And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a VIRTUOUS woman. 

People are watching your life rather you believe it matters or not...it does!

Page two...She was humbled by and thankful for the life she'd been given...

Ruth 2:10-11 

10Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? 

God resists the proud people...but draws close to those that are humble.  

Page three...She continued to work in the field of service that she was given...

Ruth 2:8 (KJV)

Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:  23So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law. 

God not only provided the RIGHT field, he gave her more than what she could have gleaned in the WRONG field. 

Ruth 2:16-17 (KJV)

16And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

 Page four...She did no more and no less than she was prompted to do...

Ruth 3:5-7 (KJV)

5And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. 6And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. 

We make wrong choices when we regard our own desires instead of what the Lord tells us to do in His word...line your choices up with it, friends...line it up!

And Page five...She waited...

"...sit STILL my daughter and SEE thou how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day"...

And at the end of the day, Ruth did find herself blessed and her story a shining testimony of the Glory of God to everyone!!

Ruth 4:10-13 (KJV)

10Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife...11And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in bethlehem 13So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.

She was highly favored of God, for she was used to bring about the lineage of His very Son...OUR kinsman redeemer, Jesus Christ!  ( Matt. 1 )

 

 When we, like Ruth, keep our eyes on the things He has set before us and with  with willing and obedient hearts, do them; then He has promised we WILL eat of the good of the Land.  But, if we refuse and rebel then it is plain that we delay His blessings and lose what we coulda had originally. (Is. 1:19-20)

I spent a better portion of my life searching in the wrong place for love... Leaning unto my own hastiness to know what's best for me.  I don't know, maybe it isn't hard for you, but, the desire to love and BE loved is a toughie for me.  It has often been a distraction.   But, praise the Lord, it is never too late to be redeemed and start a fresh! Just look at the woman at the well who had had FIVE husbands, she ended up a missionary folks! MANY believed on Jesus because of her willingness to take the good news of the gospel back to the people of Samaria!,( John 4 ) Or what about Rahab the Harlot (Joshua 2,6)  ? She ended up with a life I am SURE she never dreamed possible...she was BOAZ's Mom! Ain't that a blessing to know!! 

As women of God, our soul desire should be to live IN Him and FOR Him...all the other stuff will happen in time.  I know...ick!...there is that pesky little word...Patience!  Girls, it surely  has NEVER been MY strongest suit either...patience with myself and with the Lord is not an easy lesson to learn.   I haven't listened to Godly advice in my past  and made some big mistakes.  Waiting on the Lord would have yielded so much better for my life.  

The SINGULAR pursuit of  finding your "dream guy" can be a stumbling block and lead you to a hasty decision.    Keeping your heart and mind fixed on God can only bring good things to pass! His word says so! When the right guy comes along, and you have been living a life for Christ; that guy, just like Boaz, is gonna know it and appreciate it.  There is no need to do anything other than stay committed to the Lord and wait!

Ruth is a wonderful testimony of what amazing things God will do when we trust Him.   Listen to the Lord's prompting ...wait on Him WHILE continuing to glean the fields of service for your Savior!  Just like with Ruth, He will leave handfuls of goodness ON PURPOSE!

The following is this week’s Sunday School lesson for my four-year olds at Church… I wanted to share it with you guys because it has so blessed my heart to know that God has a purpose for every creature he made… yep, even and ant!

 

 

Genesis 1:24-25 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

 

Today we are gonna talk about insects … yea, BUGS!

 

Did you guys know that God created every creepy crawly thing and gave them a purpose? He sure did! From fleas to bumble bees…. They all have a job to do.  There are a few that I would love to talk about for a minute …so, let’s sit down and listen to what God has to say about YOUR favorite BUG!

 

BEES…

 

And after a time he returned to take her and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion and behold there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion…

 

Bees made honey for Sampson to eat.  Now Sampson was a strong guy who fought armies in the name of the Lord…so we know he would need A LOT of energy.  Bees produce honey and are very important to any garden, especially the small gardens where bees are most likely doing a majority of the work. :) they carry nectar from one flower to the next so that they can grow and grow…without bees we wouldn’t have either…can you just imagine that??

 

Frogs…

 

And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

 

The Pharoah in Egypt was keeping God’s children {the Israelites} captive as slaves… the Lord had told him that if he didn’t let them go he would send a plague of frogs…and he did…they covered the land completely…that is what a plague is… there wasn’t one inch of anywhere that DIDN’T have a frog on it…so Pharoah told the Lord “yes! I WILL let your people go… just remove the frogs from here”  The Lord did and the ones he left behind stayed in the river. Maybe THAT  is why little frogs live on lily pads… such little creatures were used to change the mind of KING

 

Lady Bugs…

 

To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven..

 

Yes, even lady bugs have a purpose…they eat the little mites that kill plants..and guess what…

They smell with their feet… isn’t that odd…and they eat those other little bugs that are determined to kill all the plants that our food come from in a garden… they are the gardner’s little helper’s…isn’t that and you know if God has a plan for a lady bug then  he for a fact  has one for YOU!

 

And my personal favorite, Butterflies…

 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away behold all things are become new.

 

Butterflies are the most active during the day…a lot like us… They also help spread the pollen from one flower to another so that we can have all the pretty blooms that we see everyday on all different kinds of plants.  They remind us of God’s beauty and grace…do you guys know how a butterfly comes to be?  Well they start off as a caterpillar… crawling and not so pretty…but when it’s their time, they turn in to a NEW  creature… a beautiful butterfly.  When we learn about Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, we too become new creatures and all the old ugliness of sin gets to be beautifully forgiven by His grace…and we can fly!

 

 

There are other creepies mentioned in the Bible like…ants and beetles and spiders…they all have a purpose and sometimes it is just to learn from the way they work… an ant carries and prepares all its’ own food…they are very resourceful and hard working… locusts don’t have anyone to tell them what to do and how to do it, but they all work together and get the job done and spiders well, they catch all those flies and ya know what?  the bible says that they are even in palaces…

 

 

Ants…

 

The ants are a people not strong yet they prepare their meat in the summer.

 

Locusts…

 

The locusts have no king yet go they forth all of them by bands

 

The spider…

 

The spider taketh hold with her hands and is in the kings palaces

 

MEMORY VERSE…

To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven..

 

Remember we ALL have purpose!!! And we as human beings are sooo very special to him and ya know what else… all those little creatures are his creation too and just think, if he cares about even the smallest creepy crawly then he DEFINITLEY cares about you!