Thawing out

Today you can feel spring on the way; you can see it in every drip off the roof and in the buds forming on all the trees and bushes. I'm sure we will be seeing spring flowers on their way up as the snow disappears. I love this time of year. I love watching the land wake up after a long nap. I love the sun and how it it warms me inside and out, as well as the way it calls the flowers and plants into existence. The sun has been out almost all week. It can be VERY bright with the white snow on the ground. Blinding, in fact. However, it hadn't been warm enough yet for the snow to melt yet until today. I can't tell you what the temp is out because my temp sensor is still under the snow (it has read 29 degrees for two weeks), but I can tell you that when you go outside you don't need a hat or gloves and could probably go with your coat open. With as cold as it has been, that could mean that it is only 40 degrees .... just checked weather.com. The high was 41 degrees - warm enough! Thank you, God!

Psalm 19: 1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display their knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavillion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

Psalm 8 - Brings back good memories

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise
because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

As I read Psalm 8 the other night as part of my New Year's goal, it brought back some great memories - memories of a church and its people in Burtonsville, MD, Liberty Grove United Methodist Church. I attended this church with my family from the summer of 1991 to when I left for college in 1994. One of my favorite things about attending this church was that I was able to sing the adult choir. I loved it! I loved the people too. The adults greeted me with open arms and let me sing with them every week. This is where I learned the little that I know about singing and also where I learned things about what it meant to be an adult from the wonderful examples that I had around me. Anyway... It is wonderful to think about those days. Out of all the songs that I learned in that time (probably about 150 - one a week for 3 years), one song in particular stands out to me - a song named "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name." Ever since I learned it, I can sing it from memory. I have sung it many, many times in my life. Many times in bathrooms, from the bathroom in my parents' house to the shower stalls in my college community bathroom to the shower in my own house. There is something about the echoing bathroom that makes every song sound great... However, this song has touched my soul, it has taught me and reiterated over and over to me things about God. It has placed me in awe of God, humbled, and at other times given me much needed encouragement. I hope that you, too, are touched by its words.

The Majesty and Glory of Your Name (Fettke)
When I gaze into the night sky and see the work of your fingers,
The Moon and stars suspended in space.
Oh what is man, that you are mindful of him?

You have given man a crown of glory and honor
And have made him a little lower than the angels.
You have put him in charge of all creation
The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea.
But what is man, what is man?

O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name
Transcends the earth and fills the heavens.
O Lord our God, little children praise you perfectly.
And so would we, and so would we.
Alleluia, Alleluia, the majesty and glory of your name!

Genesis 29-30 - So many boys... just one girl?

First a disclaimer: this post is a rambling of thoughts... not very well organized.

Okay, so I'm reading along in Genesis and I get to one of the stories that I have always been fond of - Jacob in Paddan Aram. He is fleeing his home and went to his uncle's, Laban's, household. This is where he catches sight of Rachel. And it is love at first sight.... but Laban tricks him into marrying Leah her sister first and then he marries Rachel later. This is all very interesting to me but then I got to chapters 29 and 30. Jacob starts having children with the sisters... and their maidservants! Rachel, after being barren for some time, gave Jacob 2 sons; her maidservant gave him 2 sons as well; Leah's maidservant gave him 2 sons; and then Leah gave him 6 sons and... 1 daughter!?! One daughter in the whole bunch - 1 out of 13 children! I don't know why I find this so interesting. I also find it interesting that these two sisters are falling over each other to give Jacob children. They are having child after child, or when they don't conceive offering their maidservant to Jacob, to show each other up. The chapter reads pretty funny, especially verse 30:8 - "Then Rachel said, 'I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.'" I don't know whether to laugh or cry over these women feeling they have to compete for such a man as Jacob! The man that tricked his father and brother and ending up having to flee them and then he would soon trick his father-in-law as well! The other thing that I don't get is Rachel saying, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." in verse 30:6 when it wasn't Rachel's son at all, it was her maidservant's. And what does God have to do with it? Did God really lead her to give her maidservant to Jacob? It doesn't read that way to me. How often do I do that? How often do I say that God has had more of a part in something than he really did, where it was really my doing. But then there is the agrument, "Everything comes from God..." Hmmm....

Genesis 6:20

One of the reasons that I decided to challenge myself by reading the Bible (albeit abridged) was because I think I depend too much on other people's interpretations of the Bible. I need to read the Bible more myself and make my own interpretations! Something I have found though, is that I am surprised by the details of the stories that I have read so far that I didn't know. For instance, let's look at Genesis 6:20 - Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. I don't think I ever knew that the animals came to Noah! I always thought that he gathered up the animals... why did I think that? I wonder if it is because I have never taken the time to read the story for myself. I always assumed that I knew the story because I have heard it a million times, especially in the last 2 1/2 years. It really puts a different spin on the story for me. Yes, Noah would have built the ark simply out of obedience but if he had questioned at all that this request was from God, he didn't have to question it anymore once all these pairs of animals started showing up to enter the ark! How amazing would it be to see animals lining up of the own accord for you save them from God's wrath? Hmm....

A goal for the new year...

Yesterday at church, our good pastor asked the congregation to consider setting a goal of reading the whole Bible this year. I have heard this request before and have never really taken it seriously because, frankly, it doesn't seem doable. But this year I was impressed by Pastor Stan's request. It not only came with pleading words but also with some help for those of us that need it. He made up three pamphlets to choose from, each listing a reading a day for a year - Plan A covers the most frequented chapters of the Bible that will take about 5-8 minutes a day, Plan B covers that and Old Testament History and Psalms that takes about 10-12 minutes a day, and Plan C covers the WHOLE thing that takes at least 20 minutes a day. Okay, I decided to commit to choosing one and then decided that I didn't want to disappoint myself later on so I chose Plan A. Hopefully next year I can commit to Plan B or C, but this year I think Plan A is doable. So, I'm gonna start today at Genesis 1. Wish me luck! Maybe you will hear about what I have read along the way...