If You're Reading This

In Rememberance of 9/11

God’s Marvelous Handiwork [part 1]

Our family just got back from an awe-inspiring back packing trip on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. It was awesome to get out into God’s magnificent creation and see his wonderful handiwork. I’m amazed at how many believers don’t take the time to see the beauty of God’s creation. This is the first post in a series that I will be writing to encourage you to get out and see God’s creation first hand. God has given us such lavish blessings, and yet why don’t we take time to see them? Besides giving beauty to our eyes, God’s creation also gives us an opportunity both to exercise and to see into the magnificent character our powerful God.


This world has created a false sense of beauty. We’ve said that beauty is the sexy girl with tons of mascara, in a bikini, on a magazine, in the checkout line at the grocery store. While God has created humans, and thus they are a beautiful creation, our society has taken what was beautiful, altered it, and made something revolting - sin. This paragraph may seam WAY out of place from the rest of this series, but I just wanted to make a point that God’s beauty is far better than earthly, sinful, “beauty.” I would also like to add that getting into nature usually gets you, at least partially, away from the false “beauty” of this world. It’s great to be out in the wilderness, knowing that you’re away from the bustle of people. And where there are less people, there are less temptations from the opposite sex.

We Stand United

We remember the events of September 11th

We sympathize with those who are still hurting

We support our troops, protecting our nation

We understand the war on terror must be won

We stand united, or together we fall.

Photos from this summer

Here are some photos I took on our backpacking trip.

They're not that great. I think I'm a bit out of practice.

Camping

Tomorrow our family [except for mom] sets out for a 3-day camping trip on the Peninsula. This will be our first hike in trip. The hike is 2 miles to the ocean beach and then about another 2 miles to where we want to camp. Please pray for safety.

I have a post almost ready to go for when I get back so don’t get too impatient.

"This is good"

In her book Lessons for a Super Mom [my mom’s book, not mine], Helen Middlebrooke tells this story that a friend of hers shared in Sunday school. While it isn’t specifically Christian, it does effectively remind us of how God is sovereign and how he works everything out for the best.

A king had a loyal and faithful cupbearer. The king trusted him completely. The two were friends. But the cupbearer had an interesting habit. In the most dire of circumstances, his first response was always to say, “This is good.”


One day, the king had a black-powder rifle. The cupbearer loaded it incorrectly and when it fired, it blew off the king’s thumb. The cupbearer said, “This is good.” Enraged, the king threw his friend into the deepest dungeon.


A year later, the king was traveling in Africa when a tribe of man-eaters captured him. As he was about to be cooked, the tribe’s leader noticed he had no thumb. Because they would not eat anything imperfect, the king was released.

He hurried home and to the dungeon. He was filled with overwhelming thankfulness, for he realized that had he not lost his thumb, he would have lost his life. The king
released his friend and could not apologize enough for having imprisoned him.


All the cupbearer said was: “This is good; this is good.”


“How can you say that being locked in a dungeon was good?!” the king demanded.


“Sire,” the cupbearer said, “I am your cupbearer. I am always at your side. Had I not been in prison, I would have surely been with you when they discovered your thumb missing. I would have been eaten instead. So this is good.”

I’d like to just share a couple nuggets that stuck out to me today. The first is a poem by Fanny Crosby.

More like Jesus would I be, let my Savior dwell with me;
Fill my soul with peace and love—make me gentle as a dove;
More like Jesus, while I go, pilgrim in this world below;
Poor in spirit would I be; let my Savior dwell in me.
If He hears the raven’s cry, if His ever watchful eye
Marks the sparrows when they fall, surely He will hear my call:
He will teach me how to live, all my sinful thoughts forgive;
Pure in heart I still would be—let my Savior dwell in me.
More like Jesus when I pray, more like Jesus day by day,
May I rest me by His side, where the tranquil waters glide.
Born of Him through grace renewed, by His love my will subdued,
Rich in faith I still would be—let my Savior dwell in me.

The second nugget I actually found by listening to Steven Curtis Chapman explain story behind the song You Are Being Loved off his soon-to-be-released album This Moment.

Zephaniah 3:17 says The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Isn’t it great to know that God rejoices over us?