Skywatcher

I have, for as long as I can remember, been captivated by the times while skywatching that I could see the sun and the moon at the same time of day. This particular morning in Utah last weekend the sun had come up and the moon was just ready to dip behind the mountain. What a grand, yet intimate God we have!

A few words from my song
SKYWATCHER, copyright 1999

I have travelled in the skies;
Looked down through clouds, beguiled.
You are no less an awesome God
Than when I sought you as a child.

I become the little girl again
In awe of your creation;
and I smile and know
You are the same forever.

How can you be so grand
to span the moon and stars,
yet hold my hand?

~~~~~~~

It is good to know that there is no place I can go on the Earth or above it that He is not there!

~~~~~

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Ps. 139:9, 10

Send Forth Your Light

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Psalm 43:3

I was noticing from the plane, as we passed over many small lakes that the sunlight would reflect in the water and make it appear as molten lava. Then I noticed in front of the wing a huge lake in the distance. I waited as the wing passed over it to capture the sun's rays reflected on the immense surface. I didn't know if the whole lake would be cast in the golden light or just in portions. Much to my delight, the whole body of water was drenched in gold.

I continued to watch the process of light washing over the terrain below and noticed the river feeding into the lake became a very clear path of gold. It reminded me of another beautiful Psalm:

Your word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light for my path.

~~~~

May you walk today in His Light, and reflect it as well!

Higher Ways

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:9

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you...
Isaiah 55:12

**********

I must say that these two scriptures are a few of my favorites. The mountains always refresh me; and seeing them through clouds from a plane only intensifies their majesty. I find myself in awe of a Creator that not only fashioned the mountain ranges; but the whole planet, and the entire universe. Yet that Creator of mountain ranges, lakes, planets; everything seen and unseen, wants a personal relationship with me. Hard to wrap my thoughts around that and not come up with a ton of gratitude.

In some worldly situations my thought may be to defend myself. God imparts to me to be quiet. Other times when I want to be silent, God moves me to speak. I defer my understanding to listening and walking in faith through these adversarial times; His will, not mine, be done. My storehouse is inevitably filled with endurance, hope, increased faith and gratitude, and deeper intimacy with Jesus.

We can endure and give thanks in the midst of trials. He has proved himself over and over to have unlimited blessings come out of very miserable circumstances. Jesus said we would have trouble in the world. My, oh, my; He should know!!! But we can overcome because He also left us His peace. We can more than overcome: if we listen, we can feel the mountains burst into song in praise of Him. Even more, we might even hear the heart song He sings over each one of His children.

~~~~~~~~~

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Psalm 139:17

Kingdom Quilt

I landed back in DFW last night after a wonderful ski trip with friends from Phoenix. I requested a window seat, as usual, because God always reveals more of His plan for my life as I see the planet of "world" from above. I revel at the expanses of clouds, fields, mountain ranges, lakes, and cities being revealed in single glances that would take hours or days to navigate by foot or car on the surface of Earth below.

One of the most healing revelations I get every time I fly is how God's tapestry looks perfect from above the planet. Anyone who does needlework knows what the underside of a work in progress looks like; unfinished and raw snippets of thread and choppy surfaces; very few smooth edges. God is at work in our lives. He is the author and perfecter of my place and faith in the Kingdom Quilt. There are things stitched together for a time for His purposes. Sometimes seams are ripped and the quilt is pieced into a different pattern.

I know that God has made me a remnant chosen by grace and grafted in by faith. I was reminded as I looked out over the airplane's wing that, under His wing, He has delivered me to a place of glorious rest. I know that the battle is not mine, except for the field of battle in my own heart, where God directs me to be about my Father's business.

from my song,'The Battle' 2001:

Indeed, we live as human,
but we do not wage war thus.
It is our greatest weapon
to have obedience and trust.