Sunday, October 28, 2012

Isaiah 10:6-12:6

Long, long day today, which started off wonderfully (albeit a bit chaotically) in a Church classroom full of adorable 2-year-olds. :)

I ROUTINELY spend time caring for large groups of little children, and I know what it is like to be in their midst. Sometimes you are swarmed with hugs and overwhelmed by the quiet peace of happy smiling children... other times you must sprint to lift a wayward child off of the top of a rickety table before they fall over backwards. It's the nature of childcare.

And so I am struck today by a couple of verses, but the one that absolutely captures my image-filled heart is this one:

"Leopards will lie down with young goats, and wolves will rest with lambs. Calves and lions will eat together and be cared for by little children." -Isaiah 11:6.

Can you imagine a lion in the midst of a classroom full of 2-year-olds? :) A calm lion?

I wish I had time today in my busy day to find a lion, photograph it, and photoshop it into a classroom full of kids... but you know, it still wouldn't be as incredible as the real thing. Can you imagine? A lion being cared for by a little child? And not just one... little children, plural. Have you ever seen 2-year-olds fight over tasks?

Imagining a group of little children caring for and feeding a lion just AMAZES me... I long for the peace and comfort of a moment like that, when wild animals are docile and trustworthy in the face of innocent children... I long for the peace of the One who can make that happen... I long for that day.

Meanwhile, (because photoshopping a picture of a lion into a classroom full of children just does not do any justice to the actual possibility), I focus today on this verse:

Isaiah 10:27
And again... I love the feeling of peace within these words.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Isaiah 1-10:5

I've been trudging through Isaiah with my very tired eyes for the better part of three hours now... and I keep pausing to collect my thoughts and come back to this verse, back near the very beginning: "I, the LORD, invite you to come and talk it over." - Isaiah 1:18. 

It's just incredible, on so many levels. 

Think about it.

Isaiah 1:18

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Ecclesiastes

Most Sundays I do my Bible reading and then go on a little photo excursion to take some pictures that correspond with the words I read... but today I am not offering my own photographs to you on this blog.

Today, instead, I want to pay tribute to the man in this video, and to our church pastor, Dr. David denHartog, who introduced our congregation to this video this morning. Please watch.



Also I wanted to take this opportunity to tell all the people in my life that I love them VERY much and that I appreciate all the millions of things they do or have done for me. I hope that I am making a positive difference, in your life, too.

And now, for my Bible reading: today while reading through Ecclesiastes, I was especially touched by two passages.

The first, of course, you probably already know:
"Everything on earth 
has its own time 
and its own season. 
There is a time 
for birth and death, 
planting and reaping, 
for killing and healing, 
destroying and building, 
for crying and laughing, 
weeping and dancing, 
for throwing stones 
and gathering stones, 
embracing and parting. 
There is a time 
for finding and losing, 
keeping and giving, 
for tearing and sewing, 
listening and speaking. 
There is also a time 
for love and hate, 
for war and peace." - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Also, having just finished hearing a series of sermons about Biblical love (yes, Pastor Dave, we hear you, and we remember what you say), I am struck by this verse: '...Some people don't have friends or family. But they are never satisfied with what they own, and they never stop working to get more. They should ask themselves, "Why am I always working to have more? Who will get what I leave behind?" What a senseless and miserable life!' - Ecclesiastes 4:8

It is better to have a friend... and love the people around you... than to have all the riches in the world.

(p.s. Dear family: I love you. Dear Granny and sweet Aunt Joy: I miss you.)