Please Check In

Today is the last day of my Renewal Leave and I will be back in the office and at church beginning tomorrow (Thursday). It would be helpful for me if you would just check in here and let me know that you have been following along. Just leave a comment with your name and any comments that you would like to share.
Thanks for following along and you are welcome to come back anytime as the Sabbath Journey will continue.
Sid

Psalm 150

"Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him iin his mighty firmament!
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals,
praise him with load clashing symbols!
Let everything that breaths praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!"
Psalm 150

This is not just a proclamation but it is also an invitation!
I've been led deeper into praise in these past few months then ever before! I've witnessed the power of the creation singing God's praise when I was the only one around for miles. I've had my innermost being affirmed as lovable and loved as I've never known possible.
I've added my voice of praise to the choirs of heaven and known that I was in the very presence of God. I will do anything it takes to make sure my praise continues to be lifted up to God most high for his love is higher than the mountains and flows out upon us like an ever flowing stream.

Psalm 148

"Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Psalm 148:3-4

We humans are not the only sources of praise to God. Everything that has been created is a work of praise. The very creation by its existence is an act of praise and a reflection of glory upon God the creator. It reminds me of Jesus proclamation that if the people were silent the rocks themselves would cry out with praise.
So it is that I have joined with the rocks and hills, the skys and trees, and every things that has moved upon the earth and given priase to God. I pray that my voice has fit into the song of the creation and that I will always be mindful of the voices of praise, both people and otherwise that are lifted up to God the creator.

Psalm 147

"He determines the number of stars;
he gives to all of them their names."
Psalm 147: 4

Last night I went outside and got away from the lights a bit so that I could look up into the stars again. What I saw was very familiar. The stars looked much the same as they did in Oregon. The surroundings were different (very different actually) but the stars were the same. It was a good reminder to me that while my surroundings change my God does not.
The things that I have learned about myself and about God over the last several months go with me back into familiar surroundings. There might be times that I will have to go look into the night sky to remind myself of God's vast 'sameness' but that will be ok, because where ever I go I know that God will still be there.

Psalm 143

"Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul."
Psalm 143:8

This morning I got to hear a preacher who I knew as a kid. He was around my brothers age (around 7 years younger) and is now a Hospice Chaplin and was filling in for the usual pastor of my parent's church. It was the early service (8:30 a.m.) and there weren't very many people there (maybe 40). The song leader didn't show up so we muddled through the music with no one wanting to sing out to much. But Jim preached from his heart this morning and it was good.
He spoke on the Jesus' healing of the woman who touched his coat. He asked the question, "What if Jesus is really just waiting for us to reach out and touch him so that we might be healed?" It was a good question and one that I have thought about off and on through the day of travel. It was good to start my day with worship and scripture, it helped set the tone for the whole day.
It really is amazing what a difference it makes in the way you start your day.

Psalm 139

"If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,'
even the darkness is not dark to you,
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you."
Psalm 139:11-12

When darkness comes upon us it seems like there is either the peace of sleep or the worry of anxiety that comes along with it. How we deal with the night says a lot about who we are and what we believe about God. The psalmist reminds us that God does not sleep and is not bound by the times of light and dark that we find ourselves constrained by. I've noticed a couple of things about my nights over the years. For most of my nights I sleep soundly not remembering dreams and feel rested when I awake. Then there are other nights when I wake up in the middle of the night and start chasing rabbit trails with my brain. The more my brain chases things the less likely I am to be able to go back to sleep. It is those nights that leave me anxious and worried about the future and present.
But I have also noticed that when I spend significant time focusing upon God during the day that those anxious nights are fewer and farther between. There are times it seems as if I need to just remember during the day who God is and who I am in God's eyes so that when I sleep the worries of the night don't have a chance against the peace of the day.

Psalm 137

"By the rivers of Babylon -
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion."
Psalm 137:1

There are times when we remember certain people, places, or events in our lives when tears come, either outwardly or inwardly. It just doesn't seem like we can control them. I've had a few of those over the past couple of months. They were memories of things that I knew were not God's will or desire but happened to me anyway. As I remembered I wept and found some consolation in my tears.
In the midst of this psalm I remember Jeremiah's words to God's people as well. He tells the people who are in Babylon, taken away from their homes not by their own choosing, to settle in. He tells them to plant gardens, build houses, and pray for the people where they now are.
When you combine these two scripture passages life begins to make more sense to me. First; it is ok to cry over what is outside of God's desire in one's life. Second; you have to make the most of where you are at. We can't change the past or what others have done we can only pray that where I am at today I will experience God's presence and blessings.
I'm going to see about going down to the river today and praying for God to make the most of my life from where I am now and not from where I think I should have been.

Psalm 135

"Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
he makes lightnings for the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses."
Psalm 135:6-7

The psalmist reminds us that God will do what God will do and I for one have a tough time accepting this.
Let me explain. I don't believe God is some fickle deity who randomly does stuff just to mess with us. No, I believe that God works in basically orderly ways and that when the Bible says that God brings the rain on the just and unjust alike that it is true. What bothers me is that I'm not 'special enough' for God to intervene for my convenience. Why does it rain when I don't want it to rain? Why does it get hot when I want it to be cool and cold when I want it to be warm?
It's not just in the natural phenomenon that God seems to do this. It happens in other areas of my (our) lives as well. Why does one person get sick and not another? Why does one business get into trouble even though it has done everything in an ethical manner and another flourish through some shady practices? Why?
Maybe it is because God has this way of reminding us that we are not him. It is so easy to go from believing we are unique, special, and loved in God's eyes to feeling entitled to receive more than others. I don't believe that God does thing to keep us in our place, but I do believe that everything God does has the potential to draw us toward him if we look for him in the midst of it all.
So where in your rain storm can you see God at work?

Psalm 134

"Come bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place,
and bless the Lord.
May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion."
Psalm 134:1-3

Over the last couple of weeks there have been several nights that I have found a quiet place away from traffic and lights and set up my camera to take pictures. These times have been less about the photography and more about the worship that has happened in spite of the picture taking. The time has been one of awe and wonder as I look up into the heavens to see beyond what I can comprehend. Each time the worship has drawn me to deeper awareness of God's creative power and presence in that very moment.
It really is amazing where you find yourself in a place of worship, sometimes it's with beautiful stain glass windows or load driving music or wide open space with no roof over your head. But where ever it is that worship happens must be a Holy place in God's eyes.

Psalm 130

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning."
Psalm 130: 5-6

One of the things about photography that I have learned is how important it is to wait. There are so many things that you can snap a picture of to be able to say, "Hey I was there!" But to capture the beauty of the place and a particular moment you have to wait for the right light to show off the creation in all of its glory. On the morning I took this picture I had some indication of what the morning could look like. There were enough clouds to reflect the rising sun and all that was necessary was for me to be in the right place at the right time. It meant getting up at 5:30 and standing in the cold (about 36 degrees and the wind blowing) and then waiting. I was rewarded by my waiting with a glorious sunrise (sorry you will have to wait for the best shots until later) and with pictures that are worth more than any number of words I might speak.
This idea of waiting on the Lord is not something that comes easily for us in today's world. We aren't used to it and most of us just don't even like the thought of it. But God is not a God to be rushed. God's time is God's and God's alone. So those who want to see God's glory wait. We put our hope in the Lord, we show up where he leads us and we wait for the glory to be revealed. It might take a lot of waiting but God doesn't seem to disappoint.

Psalm 127

"It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he give sleep to this beloved.
(or: for he provides for his beloved during sleep)
Psalm 127:2

I love the alternate reading of this verse. That God would give to us anything in our sleep is rather encouraging. Think about what you are not doing when you are sleeping. You aren't working, you aren't serving, you aren't doing anything "productive" and yet God gives to us in our sleep.
In sleep God gives the chance for our bodies and minds to rest. Sleep restores our hope if we let it for the next day to be different than the last. Sleep allows dreams to speak into our lives in a way that we often don't allow while we are awake.
May our sleep be an acceptable offering to God who desires to call us beloved in all things.

Psalm 125

"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever."
Psalm 125:1

Mt. Shasta towers over it's surrounding area. It can be see from the rim of Crater Lake well over 100 miles away. It stands out among the mountains around it for its height and majesty. I remember as a child looking out our kitchen window and being able to see the mountain on a clear day and just being in awe that I could see something so far away.
When I read this psalm I am left to wonder how strong my trust in God is. Is my faith unmovable like this mountain? Where is it that my faith is weakest and most open to being tested? When I'm honest with myself there are actually several places where I would say my faith is weak or open to the possibility of being shaken. These are some of the areas I have been focusing upon during my time of sabbatical. I'm not there yet, but I believe that God is setting a more firm foundation within me that I pray will allow my faith to stand firm forever.
You might think it a bit odd to be exploring places where your faith might be weak but how else are you going to let God fill in the cracks and make you strong?

Psalm 123

"To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God
until he has mercy upon us."
Psalm 123:1-2

I wonder how many times I have heard someone say, "I wish I knew what God wanted me to do ..." (I've actually probably said it a time or two myself) It strikes me from this psalm that there is a very easy way to tell what it is that God desires and that is to simply look. When you have the opportunity to be waited upon by a really good waiter/waitress in a restaurant they seem to anticipate what you are going to want/need next and have it to you before you are even aware yourself of the want/need. The way they do this is by becoming a student of those they serve. They watch for the signs and become accustomed to the patterns of those they serve.
The key to anticipating God's desires though is to know where you are supposed to be looking. If you look only at that which is right in front of you it is easy to miss the source of God's guidance. So we have to look up and become accustomed to the ways God is at work. We can do this by reading the Bible, talking to others about their experiences with God, and reflecting upon our own life experiences. Over time if we are paying attention it should become second nature for us to know God's will because we are actively looking for it each and every day.

Psalm 121

"I lift up my eyes to the hills -
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1-2

These words have been on my lips often over the last several years. I seem to be drawn back into the mountains on a regular basis for times of reflection and reconnecting with God. It probably has something to do with growing up here in the west but the truth is as a child we never spent much time in the mountains. We weren't a hiking/camping/fishing family so what I experienced of the mountains was for the most part from a distance.
What I find in the mountains is a time to reconnect and put things in perspective. The chance to remember how big God is and yet how important I am even in the midst of this grandeur. I do not want to lose sight of the strength that God brings in the midst of all things and so I remember not just for today but for tomorrow and the day after and the day after that as well.

Psalm 115

"The heavens are the Lord's heavens,
but the earth has been given to human beings."
Psalm 115:16

This morning as I watched the sun rise over the clouds below me I stood in awe of all that God has done. That I have had the opportunity to see all of the earth that I have seen just boggles my mind at times. Yet the more I see the more I recognize both how fragile and how resilient this earth is. It makes me wonder how well we are doing with what we have been given by God. I wonder if my grandchildren will have the same opportunities to see this creation in the same conditions that I have? I wonder what God thinks about the way we have been treating this gift of the earth that we have been given. I wonder what it means for me to believe that I have a role in God's process of "making all things new." I wonder if we as Christians will ever stop taking this gift of creation for granted?

Psalm 113

"From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the Lord is to be praised."
Psalm 113:3

During this Renewal/Sabbatical there have been several things that I have learned or had reaffirmed. As I have been reading and reflecting upon the Psalms over and over again I have been reminded of the importance of praise. I think the contemporary church has lost it's way a bit in associating praise only with music. Now I love to join with others and sing praise to God please don't get me wrong. But when was the last time you really stopped and listened to someone else give praise to God?
One of the things I love about our Church Council meetings at Saint Joseph is that we start out each meeting with a sharing of praises and prayers. Now there are always those requests for prayers for ourselves and others that are shared but every time we meet there are always people who will share praise of how they have been touched by God's presence or where they have seen God active in their life or the life of the church. In some ways it might seem to be a waist of people's time to start a meeting that way but I think it connects us not just to each other but to God in a way that makes the 'business' of the church holy.
What kind of a gift might you receive if before this day was over you found someone you know and said, "I want to listen to all the things that you have in your life to give praise to God for and if you can't finish today I'll make time again for you tomorrow!"
(Let me know if you are brave enough to actually do this.)

Psalm 112

"They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous."
Psalm 112: 4

The psalmist says that those who fear the Lord have these characteristics: "they are gracious, merciful, and righteous." As I read this passage the thought crossed my mind. 'Does this describe me?' If I was brought up on charges of exhibiting these things what would people bring as examples? I would hope that there might be at least one or two examples that someone could pull together because I'm sure that most of us, if not all of us, have at least one or two times that we have shown these things in our lives. But that is not the first thing that I see in my life, I see all those times when I have fallen short of living this way, of being this example that the psalmist lifts up as the way of the righteous.
It is good that Christ offers us mercy and grace because I for one need to keep getting up in the morning and praying that one day I might be a light for others.

Psalm 108

"I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds."
Psalm 108:3-4

The praise we give to God is not just a private matter. Praise is something that we make public because there is nothing we can do to hold it back without dishonoring God. The reason we praise God is because of the great love that is poured out upon us that we do not earn and cannot buy.
I must admit that receiving that depth of love from God is a bit scary. What would it mean to allow myself to be fully immersed in God's boundless love? If I were to truly let go and not just allow, but even to ask, for God to pour out his love upon me with buckets would I be changed? Would my praise be different? Would others notice?
God doesn't force love upon us. It is something we ask for and allow in the midst of our lives. It is a gift waiting to be received, a gift that brings forth praise in all who receive it.

Psalm 105

"He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant."
Psalm 105: 41-42

If you have been following along you might remember me mentioning how the Rogue River just comes out of the ground on the side of a mountain and starts it's way toward the ocean. Actually there are a number of rivers in this area that do the same thing. This picture is of the beginning of the Wood River as it starts its way into the Upper Klamath Valley. When you look all around there is nothing to indicate that this is where a river will begin but out of this pile of rocks comes a river that brings water and life to a huge area of South Central Oregon. No one really knows when the water started flowing here but it has been bringing life to this area for a very long time.
When the psalmist makes reference about the water coming forth from the rock he is referring to the time in Exodus when Moses strikes the rock and water comes forth to slack the thirst of the Israelites. I find it interesting that the psalmist gives credit to the promise that God made to Abraham here for God's faithfulness. Abraham has been dead and gone for generations before this event but it is the promise that God made with Abraham that is remembered.
It does seem that there are some people whose generation's God just chooses to bless. If you remember Abraham's story it wasn't because he was better than everyone else. In fact Abraham did some pretty rotten things in his life. But Abraham lived a life of faith in God. A faith that God recognized and named as righteousness. This led to God's promises to Abraham and the generations to follow him.
I pray that I am living a life of faith that will result in the generations to follow me being blessed. I pray that my faith might lead to blessings in the future even beyond the time anyone of my line might actually have known me. If sometime in the future one of my great-great-grandchildren would stop and say; "We have been blessed by God as long as we can remember. I don't know where it started but it just seems to keep coming" I would not have lived in vain.

Psalm 104

"You stetch out the heavens like a tent,
you set the beams of your chambers in the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers."
Psalm 104:2b-4

So God is!

Psalm 102

"My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass."
Psalm 102:11

In the midst of a psalm of lament this verse jumped out and asked me to ponder upon it for a time. Our own death isn't something that we like to dwell upon but every once in a while it probably isn't a bad way to keep things in perspective. When I realize that my life is but a passing moment in the scope of eternity I'm invited to look at the world in some different ways. Even if I live for another 60 years, God willing, my existence will be but a brief moment in time. This reality invites two different but important responses: first it reminds me that the days I have should make a difference and second that many of the things that I think are of ultimate importance today won't matter in 100 years so why worry about them.
The tough part then is discerning the difference between what is important and what isn't worth worrying about. I have a feeling that the answer is going to have a lot to do with the people God invites me into relationship with and very little to do with the things that regularly fill my day.

Psalm 99

"Extol the Lord our God,
and worship at this holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy."
Psalm 99:9

The word extol in not one that most of us use on a regular basis. In fact I had to look it up so that I new what it was that I was supposed to be doing. the definition of extol is: to praise highly. It is a verb from around the 15th Century taken from the Latin word meaning: to lift up.
So the command or invitation is to go over the top with our praise for God. But can you really do that? Is it possible to say to much about God? When giving praise to a person there is always a line where everyone (except maybe the person receiving the praise) knows that you have crossed the line and what you are saying really isn't true.
So today I am going to try to give more praise to God than he is worthy of receiving. I'm guessing that I will run out of day before I run out of praise.

Psalm 97

"Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!"
Psalm 97:11-12

It continues to amazing me at how much I have yet to learn. It seems like each day there is something that I had not seen or understood before. It ranges from the beautiful intricacies of nature to the awesomely complex workings of relationships. Each and everyday God provides the chance for me to learn and grow and in that I continue to find great joy.
Today I'm giving thanks for another day filled with God's glory and the chance to reflect that glory in hopefully unique ways.

Psalm 92

"The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God."
Psalm 92:12-13

When you stand in the midst of the great trees of the Northwest and look up it is hard to tell how far up they really go. From a distance they look like any other forest but as you get closer and stand next to the trunks they just appear to go on and on. These are not the forests of the Midwest or East. For a variety of reasons these trees flourish in this area. I'm sure it has something to do with the right amount of rain and the conditions of the soil that bring forth such massive trees.
It makes me wonder if I'm allowing my life the right ingredients so that I can flourish for God and if I'm encouraging the right things in peoples lives within the church so that they can flourish as well? I wonder what it would be like if the whole purpose of the church was to help create an atmosphere where everyone who came flourished to their full potential? I wonder why it is that sometimes I grow stronger in my faith and other times I seem to flounder?
I would love to know that my faith is stretching out to the full potential that God has instilled withing me and that I am standing in the midst of others who also are growing to become the great cedars of faith that will stand the test of time.
May each one of us flourish in the way that God intended and hold nothing back in reaching for the sky.

Psalm 90

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,m
from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
Psalm 90:1-2

When I stand in the midst of the grandure of the mountains of the west there is something about it all that makes me feel very small. That God was there as the mountains were formed and the seas took their places is beyond my comprehension. Not just that God was there when it began but God was there before it all began! So I am forced to ponder eternity and how God can be outside of space and time.
The only way I can begin to understand this is to realize that God is not a "thing" like everything else. God is not bound by the ways of time and space that we have come to grips with in order to make sense of our world. All of our attempts to prove or disprove of God's existance will always come up short because God is not 'like' anything else. The only way we can at all begin to even describe God is through the use of imagery and poetry so the psalmist says that before there were even the mountains God was.
So I stand here, small and insignificant in the grand scemes and epocs of this earth of God's. Yet I stand here called into existance by a voice that is oh so sweet when I hear my name called by the one who loves even me.

Psalm 86

"Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth,
give me an undivided heart to revere your name."
Psalm 86: 11

Not every trail is marked clearly when you venture out away from the paved roads. Sometimes you can tell clearly which is the more traveled path and make assumptions about where it will lead. Other times you just hope you have a sense of direction and trust that you will be able to follow along the path and get to your destination. When you really get serious about venturing off the beaten path having a map and a compass and knowing how to use them is the best bet.
When I read this verse in the psalms it is what I would like in my life. To have an undivided heart that was given completely over to the Lord has been my desire for many years. But even with that desire there are many things that get in the way and make it difficult. There are so many things that pull my mind and body away from focusing upon God. Sometimes I think it would be easier if Jesus said to me, "Sell everything you have and give it to the poor and then follow me." That seems like it would be the way to have an undivided heart. But that isn't what I've heard. So how do I follow the Lord given the life I find myself involved in?
It strikes me that maybe having an undivided heart is as much about giving Jesus away as it is about giving away worldly possessions. Maybe it is about looking at each moment as an opportunity to engage the world with the one I know to be Lord of my life. Maybe it is about being willing to give myself away to others on whatever path it is that I'm being led upon. Maybe it is about taking time to listen to the little boy who wanted to tell me about what he was learning in school, or the last living relative of Chief Geronimo who needed to tell me about the damage that "Christians" had done to his people, or the man whose brother had been a Catholic priest but who couldn't bring himself to attend church anymore. Did I bring Jesus into those opportunities? I hope so because otherwise I'm off the path and don't have a clue how to find my way back.

Psalm 85

"Faithfulness will spring up from the ground
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps."
Psalm 85:11-13

The Rogue River is one of the major rivers in this area and its headwaters are just inside of the Crater Lake National Park boundary. The river starts not as a gentle trickle but as a rushing torrent. It pours out of the ground as this picture shows (you can see another picture just down stream from here at the Psalm 29 reference) and just adds even more water on the way to it's emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The water that forms the river is actually snow melt that seeps into the ground and then because of the deep lava flows once present here under ground it is forced back to the surface where it forms this magnificent river.
It seems to me that our faithfulness should spring forth in much of the same way as this river. It shouldn't trickle out here and there but should come out with a great rush. When we stop and consider the righteousness, faithfulness, majesty, and blessings of God our response should be a stream of praise. Praise is the response of the righteous to God we are told over and over again in the Bible so why aren't our lives filled with praise? Why is it that when the people of God gather the chance of hearing gossip and complaining is as high as it is of hearing praise?
Maybe it is because we don't let the love of God soak into our lives but rather choose to let it run off of us never giving it the chance to form us into a people of righteousness and praise? I could be wrong, but then again I could be right.

A quick note because I've been asked:
All the pictures you see here have been taken by me over the past two + months. They are not yet processed and will get better by the time I have the chance to show people the finished product.
I am finding this time to be restful and restorative and appreciate everyone continuing to lift me up in prayer. Please keep the prayers coming.

Psalm 83

"O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be sitll, O God!"
Psalm 83:1

How many times have I said that I want to hear from God? How many times have I said; "If only God would speak to me and tell me what I should do!"
But how many times have I ever really stopped to listen? In the stillness of the night when the things of the day are done and I don't have the energy to worry about tomorrow there is a chance, sometimes only a slim chance that I might be still enough to hear God speak. As I have been trying to listen the one of the things that keeps coming up sounds something like this;
"Look at all this! See the beauty that I have created?
Now remember this, I also made you!"

Psalm 74

"You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries and the sun,
you made summer and winter."
Psalm 74:15-17

When I stop to think that the same moon that I saw rise last night was the moon that others saw in places like Indiana, Texas, even Malawi I am humbled. I do not understand the ways of God and how everything works together to form the seasons. I do not understand how it all works together in such varied places but I do understand that it is all God's.
So whereever you saw the moon last night (assuming no clouds) I pray that you were touched by God's awesome splender. If not I hope that you will go outside tonight and allow the mystery that is God's world touch your heart in a new way.

Psalm 73

"Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:25-26

One of the side benefits of being next to nowhere is that there is hardly any light pollution. At night the sky comes a live with stars and galaxies, planets and the moon in ways that just don't happen in more populated areas. This same sky though is what the psalmist was used to looking at and it drew the writer to ponder what was beyond. I have found myself doing the same thing, pondering what is beyond as I gaze upon the heavens. As I ponder I find myself being drawn deeper and deeper into a desire for God.
I'm afraid I don't yet desire God and God alone. My heart might say that I do from time to time but my life would not yet reflect that reality. So I'm on a journey, a journey to discover the God of the heavens and earth. It is a journey that others have taken before me and yet more will take after me, but it is my journey.
May the Lord give me strength for the journey and the opportunities to look up into the night sky and see the hand of God at work.

Psalm 66

"Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise."
Psalm 66:1

This past Sunday I attended yet a different church in search of a place and people that I could lift my voice alongside of in praise. Thankfully I found one that had energy and what I sensed was a genuine response of praise to God. It was good for my soul.
When the psalmist says that the whole earth should make a joyful noise in giving praise to God I think it means that not just everything but everyone should join in the song. It has been tough attending places of worship where there seemed to be no sense of joy or desire to connect with God in the moment. But at the same time it has reminded me of my own need to bring joy and praise to God each day, not just on Sundays.
So I'm looking for ways to proclaim with all of creation today that God rules over all of creation from before the beginning of time until time is no more God is worthy of all our praise.