Big God - little me

Image by jpstanley via Flickr

Big God. little me.

Today I discovered a place of wonder on-line and encourage you to discover it too. Take a virtual trip to a rural hillside and see our cosmic neighborhood. Giga Galaxy Zoom will give you an unprecedented opportunity to see the Milky Way. After your head stops spinning from the magnificence revealed on your little computer screen (you might want to take your laptop outside and hold it up to the night sky---just for effect) take a few moments to marvel at the God who "calls them all by name."

"It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in...Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing." Isaiah 40:22 & 25-26

Big God. little me.

When we lived in the greater Atlanta metro area we missed the night sky. It is largely a wash of light pollution allowing only the brightest of stars to shine through. When we moved to our slice of rural heaven we were stunned by all we had been missing. Wonder was reborn in us as we observed the turning of the universe. We eagerly await Leo's rise in the spring and long for Orion's winter arrival. We never knew Corvus (the Crow) or Bootes (the Shepherd - one of my favorites!) or Auguira (the Charioteer) ever existed before moving to a place where the stars can actually be seen. Lying on our hillside with our eyes lost in the vastness of the night sky we finally understood what David meant when he asked, "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps. 8:3-4)

Big God. little me.

Shepherd Season

For those of you kind enough to invest a few moments dropping by my place here, thank you. It's been one of those season's of shepherding the flock I am privileged to serve which has required much of me in time and effort. It has been my blessing to serve families at their point of need, to prepare messages that serve as spiritual food for souls, and to give gentle and, hopefully, wise counsel through difficult decisions. To quote Paul,

"We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." (2 Corinthians 4:7-11)

In God's perfect timing I have a long awaited and joy-filled break coming my way in the guise of celebrating my 21st wedding anniversary with my beloved! We will be getting away to the historic and wonderful Kate Shepard House in Mobile this weekend to be treated like royalty by Bill and Wendy and to remember again why we love being in love with each other!

Perhaps a return to the blogosphere will materialize then. Until then this shepherd is lying down in green pastures and enjoying a restoration of the soul.