Amazing God!  Amazing Earth!  Amazing! Take a minute to look at this photo. See that tiny dot? That is us. Earth. That's home seen from far away. Isn't this photo astonishing? NASA released this photo on July 19. The wide-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured Saturn's rings and our planet Earth and its moon in the same frame. Earth, which is 898 million miles away in this image, appears as a blue dot at center right; the moon can be seen as a fainter protrusion off its right side. Like this photo, our lives often appear like a speck in the middle of nowhere. We wonder if any one cares or speculate if we matter. We feel alone in a dark night. My first thought when I saw this fascinating photo was that how God sees us. He sits in remote heaven listening to harp music and giving orders to angels. Then I realized God does not view us from a distance. He is here on earth. In our hearts. Walking with our spirit. Communing with us. Desiring to be with us. To … [Read more...]

AND this is the time of year the annual Perseid Meteor shower streaks across the nighttime sky. I am like a kid at Christmas time, giddy with anticipation.     I am a constellation geek. On these nights I quietly get up in the middle of night and slowly make my way out to our backyard deck to watch God's magical performance as he bounces delightful sprigs of light between the Big Dipper and Orion's Belt. Just love it! Saturday night   I ventured outside twice. I delighted in the array of zooming lights whizzing above me. No wait, they aren't meteors; I was watching fireflies. How foolish I felt. Oh well, I will wait a little longer. Then a little more time went by. YAWN. When I finally gave up the number of meteors I observed? Zero. Zilch. Nada I was bummed! Sunday night I peeked out several times late in the evening. Too much light yet for a good view so decided another middle of the night trip would be necessary to get my annual fix of shooting stars. Yep, my internal … [Read more...]

  Holy Transparency! I noticed the moth clinging to the screen as I cleaned the kitchen. He stayed for quite awhile, in stillness, silent like he has something to tell me. The poor thing, I thought. Holes scattered throughout his wings like a shotgun had pelleted his only means of moving. I felt sad for this little creature, stuck in one place, his wings full of gaps. I cleaned. I watched. I listened. Then I looked closer. My first impression of what I was seeing was all-wrong. His wings were not holey at all. The parts I thought were broken were transparent allowing the light to shine through. Lord, help me be transparent so you shine through. Holy Transparency! Being transparent isn't easy. I want to keep up appearances you know. After all I have worked a lifetime perfecting my mask of  "everything is all right" and "I have my act all together." Will people really like me if I step out of the way? I know my ego won't go away without a struggle. … [Read more...]

    What is spiritual scaffolding? Three workers were cutting stone.  When asked what they were doing, the first answered, “I am cutting stone.” The second said, “I am making a wall.” The third replied, “I am building a cathedral.” I was reminded of this great story about vision while in New York City a few weeks ago. We visited many of the tourists' sites including the beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral. As we turned the corner to see its tall spires reach up to heaven, we were surprised to see the outside of the church surrounded by scaffolding. A major renovation was taken place. We quietly entered its large sanctuary to discover the interior walls encased in more scaffolding. The banner proclaimed, "Restore St. Patrick's. Be a cathedral builder." I sat quietly on one of the pews, starring at the only visible sign of construction: the steel scaffolding engulfing the church's interior. From a brochure, I learned the work was not cosmetic, but a … [Read more...]