Summertime Blues and Grays

Have you ever been drifting along in life with the same day-in, day-out routine? At times an event comes along to jerk me to an abrupt halt and I wake up one morning shaking my head, saying, "Now what is this all about?" "Why am I so blue?"

My jerk awake was both good and bad in the same event; a 40th high school reunion. The simple number 40 is enough to be a wake up call, let alone getting reacquainted with high school friends, reliving memories better forgotten and missing friends that have passed on before their time. Isn't there a saying, "You gotta take both good and bad together."?

As a woman of faith in Jesus, this event brought some thoughts to the forefront. I think of the scripture that God gave me from 2 Corithians 5:9 before the reunion, "Therefore we also have as our ambition, wheather at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." For someone who has spent an inordinant amount of her life trying to please others and failing miserably, my aim is to be a pleasure and honor to my Lord Jesus. My conduct, speech, motivation and life leans toward this ambition. Out of the flow of that desire comes the ability to genuinely love others and prefer them before myself.

Do I screw up? Yes! Do I miss the mark? Of course! Am I perfect? What do YOU think?

As the blues fade (could have something to do with the terrible heat and humidity!), I am left with a grateful heart for this past weekend of reunion.

Did you know...?

Did you know that...

God is wildly passionate about you and me? He created us special but not terminally unique (thank you Nancy C).

Did you know that...

when life's circumstances get me down, I sincerely question the above statement?

Did you know that...

cycling puts me in the space meant for only God and I alone. He talks to me there and I listen.

Did you know that...

when I listen to God talk in that space, He tells me about you? That's when you get my phone call/email/facebook/card/kiss/text.

Did you know that...

my heart longs to return to Mongolia?

Did you know that...

this blog is for you? Not some narcissistic outlet. (well maybe a little - teehee)

Did you know that...

Yeshua ha' Mashiach is the Hebrew name for Jesus, the Messiah?

Did you know that...

many people I love, some I like and a few...well, thank God they are the few!

Did you know that...

I'm finished with this blog.

God's Glory

Recently, the thought of God's glory keeps running through my mind. Do I know what it is? Have I experienced His glory? What does the Bible have to say about His glory? I've come to the humbling conclusion that there is much I don't know about His glory! So it's a great opportunity to learn! Would you like to learn and experience His glory with me?

Simply, glory is all God shows Himself to be wrapped up in His character, His nature. I can know His nature in several ways. His Word, the Bible; experiencial knowledge and through being in fellowship with other Christ-followers.

CAUTION: Since God is spirit, His glory is spiritually discerned. Our intellect alone cannot fully grasp the glory of God. Bible knowledge alone doesn't cut it.

As a Christ-follower, let's start with Jesus. "And He (Jesus) is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power." Hebrews 1:3 NAS

Jesus said, "You know neither Me nor My Father, if you knew Me, you would know My Father also." John 8:19 To know God's glory, know Jesus. Simple. Yes, but knowing implies knowledge that goes beyond our thinking. True spiritual knowledge is given by the Spirit of God; sometimes called heart knowledge. The knowledge that travels from our thinking to our spirit impacting our entire being is an action of the Holy Spirit.

This is a good place to start.

Under God's glory today,

Nancy