Reminders of Hope and Promise

I've been fascinated by rainbows my whole life… From Kermit the Frog singing about the Rainbow Connection, which, I might add, I did a stunning rendition of (OK, maybe not so much!) in the Jefferson School Elementary talent show as a duet with Angie Overdorf & Dee Stahly on keyboard, to my love of Mork’s suspenders. My love of color runs deep.

On the way to school this morning I saw a gorgeous rainbow. Close to my house I could see the left side of it, but as I drove it disappeared for a few minutes. Once I was closer to school, I could see the arch and right side of it. Beautiful! It made me smile and gave me an enormous sense of peace.

Oh, I get the science behind it, and though that's not the point, I love that God thought up that when the sun's rays are refracted through raindrops the white light is separated into Roy G. Biv. How God delights me when He places that little gift in the sky!

And I also love that hundreds and hundreds of years later, God still sends us reminders of His covenant with us through that same way He did Noah:
Genesis 9:16 “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

This morning as I drove (trying to keep my eyes on the road instead of in the sky) I wondered how many people missed it. I'm sure the people heading east couldn't see it. Older guy getting his Indy Star surely missed it...the line of pine trees by his mailbox blocked his view, but would he have seen it even if they hadn't? When I got to school I wondered how many people had grabbed their bags and their lattes and had not even looked up. How many people hurried on their way without looking? How many people were too engrossed in their own stuff to see the reminder?

Kind of a metaphor for life in a few ways, I guess:
1.) God wants us to be positive about life and to see all of the beauty in it! So stop looking down all the time. Keep your chin up, literally and figuratively and look around...it'll be worth it!
2.) There is plenty of evidence that God is alive and working in this world if we will open our eyes and look for Him. He can only do so much to show us...we have to meet Him half way by looking and accepting what He gives as that evidence, but the evidence is everywhere.
3.) Sometimes life feels hard, like trudging through mud, but God had not forgotten us. The politics of the world are scary, but God is watching and holding us close. Cancer, death, divorce…plenty of heavy things happen to people we know and love, but God is there to pick up the pieces. You are not forgotten.

My prayer for all of us: Dear God, help us see the multiple ways you show us evidence of your existence and your power each and every day. Let that evidence stamp out even the smallest doubts that you are working on our behalf. Amen.

When it feels like your own life is the modern-day version of exactly what happened in Genesis 8, “For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth” and “the waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days” I encourage you to look up. When you feel like your “rain” will never end, know that it will. Just hang on a little longer.

God keeps his promises. Will you believe that He does whether or not you see the reminder?

Question: Do you believe that God keeps His promises? Do you believe that rainbows are still a relevant reminder of God’s covenant?

I Hate My Stomach, but Thank God it's Not My Face!

I've always had issues with my body...er...temple.

I've been taller than my peers since before I can remember, reaching full height and a size 9 shoe (leopard-print of course!) in 5th grade.

Puberty reared it's ugly head long before I thought it should have & before any of my friends were experiencing it.

Braces, acne medicine, and every monthly issue of Seventeen Magazine still weren't enough to make this temple feel like the Crystal Cathedral!

All that aside, I can say that I was a late bloomer and feel much better about myself late-thirties than I did late-twenties.

Hence the moment that I looked down at at my saggy-fleshed, stretch-mark-laden stomach and thought with accepting resolve & a heavy sigh, "Well, I hate my stomach, but THANK GOD it's not my face!"

See, God doesn't care what I look like , as long as I am making the most of what he has given me and I am healthy. And no matter what I (as we all are) am beautiful to him even at my worst. He does want me to love and accept myself, though, and not spend time obsessing about my body and its imperfections. That time and energy spent obsessing should be put to better use for something that expands His Kingdom!

Not that I think he wants us to let it all go & just give up...something tells me He just wants us to take some cotton pickin' action, get it under control, and move ON!

I could have fed a small nation with the money I have spent on diet aids and personal training.
Then I finally heard the call: "Take some cotton pickin' action, get it under control, and go feed that small nation that is waiting on you to better the Kingdom!"

And so what if my stomach isn't my fav.? Everybody has something they don't like...what we are supposed to do is learn to focus on the beautiful parts of our outer and inner selves and then teach the young girls in our lives to do the same...and then go better that Kingdom!

Question: What's your favorite part of your physical appearance? Take a moment to thank God for it.

For the Beauty of the Earth

"For Thyself, best gift divine

To our Race so freely given...

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise."

For the Beauty of the Earth is a great old hymn that I have grown up singing. The lyricist wrote it as he reflected on the beauty of nature. For it is true that God has given us such a rich and beautiful pallet to absorb in nature and I feel especially blessed to live in the Midwest where, despite the cold which I don't like, we have to glorious change of seasons.

I probably view nature with the same awe as does a 5-year old boy (since I do have quite a lot of experience with "those guys"). I am mesmerized by the earth's rich and vibrant color, by sunsets, by a clear/still/silent winter night, I am fascinated by snowflakes...each individual one of them. I love leaves, flowers, rocks, butterflies, blades of grass, mud, centipedes, raindrops, worms....coooool....

Really, this is the stuff that I look at and think, "how did God dream that up?"

He must see each sunset and continue to marvel at it...

But do you know what He marvels at even more than the beauty of His earth?

US

I believe that God must think that His own best and most beautiful creation is not the earth, but those of us in it. For He crafted our every cell, every breath, every part of our being and to Him it is good.

WE are the beauty of His earth.

Therefore, it is our job to maintain that beauty. It is our responsibility to preserve His most beautiful creation by honoring Him with our physical, mental and spiritual beauty.

Sometimes we forget what beautiful creations we are! We don't take care of ourselves...we let our minds lapse...we let our spiritual beauty wither...we let our physical beauty take a back seat to everything else...

But God deserves our very best and so do those around us...and we deserve to create the very best versions of ourselves possible. It is our living tribute to God...and He will say, "It is good"!

Question: In what ways are you honoring God by taking care of yourself? Where could you improve?

Following is my favorite quote ever...I think it sums this up perfectly!

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous, talented, fabulous?”Actually, who are you not to be?You are a child of God.Your playing small does not serve the world.There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.We are all meant to shine, as children do.We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear,our presence automatically liberates others.
-Marianne Williamson