All Praise To Him!

“I tell you.” He replied, “If they keep quiet, even the stones will cry out!” - Luke 19:40

It’s Thanksgiving Day.  I’m nestled with my family in a Sierra Nevada cabin in a little mountain town called Sugarpine.  I love coming up here.  We’ve been doing it for years and it usually comes as a well needed rest seasoned with sweet company, quality-time together, tripping over the mess we make, and the occasional edgy quip as we succeed in sharing over 100 continual hours together.  I took a walk with my dad this morning as we’ve done many times. It dawned on me that we’ve been walking these roads together for years. I love my dad and I am grateful to still have him in my life.  I'm thankful for my husband who initiated this Thanksgiving Day tradition with my parents.  I'm thankful my teenage kids consider this one of their holiday "favorites".  So... I’m working to be "present", but distractions come easily (in fact, typing this might be one of them!) 

What is it about the lure of "checking out" this is so compelling?  It takes a lot of intention to stay aware and tuned in relationally...but it's worth it.  There is something about sharing moments with those I love that causes me to be more grateful for them.  That gratitude brings life and joy.  It seems the same when I spend a moment or two with God.  Somehow in his magnificent glorious way, He authors praise unto himself; not because He is an ego-maniac but because He knows what will truly give us life and joy.

Psalm 8:1-2 Says, “Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

in the heavens.

Through the praise of children and infants

you have established a stronghold against your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger.

God ordains the praises of infants and children to literally push back the presence of the enemy!...Enemy BE SILENCED!  We lift our voice to the Lord our God, who is in all, through all, and in whom we live and move and have our being!  So let the mess happen -it's evidence of life inside the walls of that space, let the edgy words go - they don't bring life at all - don't offer them and don't ingest them.  God inhabits the praise of His people - His creation!  That's why today I want to share with you something so magnificent…so surprising...it's God’s choir in crickets!  You may think I’m crazy but that’s OK... I don’t think you will once you hear the music. Stay listening for at least 3 minutes...the "voices" that come are incredible!...Close your eyes and listen...BTW some of the comments in the comment box of the song are not for young eyes (you gotta love "free speech"- but God's much bigger than that for sure!)

https://soundcloud.com/acornavi/robert-wilson-crickets-audio?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=facebook

Can you imaging, our God, who is not bound by time hears the choir of this beautiful melody all the time...If He can make a song out of a cricket's life, He can make one out of yours and mine.  It's interesting to note how incomplete this "choir" would be with just one cricket...It's the collective voice that creates a symphony.  So this year as we gather more with friends and family, I will have this choir in my head reminding me to be thankful for those I'm with, even when it gets messy or unpredictable, because in it God is composing His song.

“All creatures of our God and King. 

Life up your voice and with us sing! 

Oh Praise Him!  Oh Praise Him!

Hallelujah!”

Carpe Diem!

 "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." – Ps 118:24

Last Sunday was a very special day in the life of our family – one for which I am deeply thankful.  My husband had the opportunity to baptize our 17 year old son.   You may wonder why a pastor’s kid would wait until he was 17 to be baptized.  Frankly, I was starting to wonder myself, but he is an old soul and takes his faith pretty seriously.  I guess it makes sense then why he waited.  I was glad that he did because it reminded me that God writes the story…not me.  As I read through Ben’s notes Saturday night I was thoughtful about the fact that when I surrender the story to God, I rather enjoy the turns and find ease in the stride because I am not the one trying to control the outcome. 

When it came time for Ben to share his testimony and be baptized, I grabbed the camera and started clicking away. I mean, that’s what you do, right?  It was such a special time for which I had waited long for and I should be basking in the glory of God's gracious work... but, well… a part of me…missed it!  You see, I became so distracted trying to CAPTURE the moment that I couldn’t just BE IN the moment.   I’ve added these poor quality pictures because they're all I have, which is the reason I even wrote this today.  I wish I could have seen the motion in that hug, or of him going down into the water and back up, but instead I have a blurry still-life snapshot.  These are a good visual reminder of how we can lose focus and perspective when we get distracted with the “minors” and miss the “majors” of life’s little moments.

Pictures are important because they help us remember, but sometimes it’s more important to put the camera down and show up to the party-  carpe diem or seize the day!  This Thanksgiving I want to do just that.  Sure I will take pictures but more than that, I want to be present with those I am with.  I want to seize the day and see what God has in store.  I’m willing to bet it will be easier than trying to navigate a perfectly scrumptious turkey, a beautifully set table or a wonderfully baked pie.  The best conversations seem to allow room for our imperfect worlds to collide a bit, and they usually happen when we are less concerned with centerpieces and allow for  mismatched silverware or a boxed stuffing, and well….sometimes I just have to remember that life is often only half-baked but there is beauty and perfection in the moment when Christ has room to enter in and be a part of it all.

This Thanksgiving let’s

 

...Carpe diem!