Creation and Grace

We get so preoccupied with ourselves, the words we speak, the plans and projects we conceive, that we become immune to the glory of creation. We barely notice the cloud passing over the moon or the dewdrops clinging to the rose petals. The ice on the pond comes and goes. The wild blackberries ripen and wither. The blackbird nests outside our window, but we don't see her. We avoid the cold and the heat. We refrigerate ourselves in the summer and entomb ourselves in plastic in winter. We rake up ever leaf as fast as it falls.

OUR WORLD IS SATURATED WITH GRACE, and the lurky presence of God is revealed not only in spirit but in matter-in a deer leaping across a meadow, in the flight of an eagle, in fire and water, in a rainbow after a summer storm, in a gentle doe streaking through a forest, in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, in a child licking a chocolate ice cream cone, in a woman with windblown hair. God intended for us to discover His loving presence in the world around us.

For the eyes of faith, every created thing manifests the grace and providence of Abba.
(Written in "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning)


How often do we just stop and look around us at the amazement and beauty of creation?

"So mighty is his power, so great is his strength that no one fails to answer" (Isaiah 40:26).

The older I get, the more amazed I am at how fast time seems to fly by. Yet, there are nights when I go to bed realizing that I never stopped once, all day. I never really took in all the beauty around me. I never grasped God's grace and love that were all around me that day.

So, I pray this prayer...and I not only pray it for myself, but I pray it for all of you:

"Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Delight me to see how your Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his, to the father through the features of men's faces. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I ask only to share the wonder of it all." (Rabbi Joshua Abraham Heschel)

God bless you all!

Summer Studies

Summer studies is now in full force. It officially started last week, which means me getting up early, which have yet to get used to since I didn't have to be at work till 10 for so many months. Now, I have to be at work by 8:00, the kids start showing up at 8:45.

My favorite part of the day is probably freetime. We go out back and I mainly play basketball with the older kids. I really enjoy this because it not only gives me a little exercise, but lets just be honest...I love basketball! I also just enjoy being with the older kids. They crack me up and definitely keep me on my toes!

I realized the last couple of days how much I truly enjoy having the kids all day. It's been great just getting to see their different attitudes in the summer. They are so much happier here than they were during the school year. I guess mainly cuz they go to school all day and then would come to our program for another 3 hours. That makes for a long and stressful day for them.

I have another theory as well. It's Summer. Summer makes people happier. Well, at least it does me. One time Chantel (my KAA director) asked our bible study how we worship God the best. When it came to me, I immediately knew the answer. Being outside. Oh! How I love to be outside. Sometimes, I just love to walk and pray. I just love to see God's creation. To see the trees and the blue skies. Or to see the stars out at night. I truly believe God created all of this for us to enjoy. And there is almost no way better than to put me out in the middle of a forest or overlooking beautiful green pastures, etc. to bring me to a place of worship with God.

I am reminded of a quote that came out of this book, Ragamuffin Gospel. In it, the author, Brennan Manning says this:

"For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift. All that is good is ours, not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God….we have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it. We are all, equally, privileged but unventilated beggars at the door of God’s mercy."

All is a gift. Not just the money we have in our pockets or the clothes on our back, but also the blue skies we see when we walk out in the mornings or the slight breeze we feel during freetime out back...all of this is a gift. All that is good is ours, not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. A God that loved me enough to make ladybugs...just cuz he knew I would love them. He love me enough to have birds chirp because he knew I'd love the sound of birds singing in the morning.

God is good. Summer is good. Summer studies is good. I am enjoying the warm weather, the long laughter filled days, and the constant reminder of God's grace as I walk outside.

Old pic of me, my dad, and Brandon after hiking...

(I miss those days!)


God bless you all!