"God isn't OCD: He just loves you THAT much!"

I can remember being at the fair or in Sunday School when someone would have filled a large jar with jelly beans or even candy corn. There would be a contest to see who could guess how many beans were in the jar. The one who guessed the nearest to the correct number would win a prize. 

I can also remember playing with the sand at the beach and being completely amazed at the amount of sand on the beach and even in the world.

It is amazing to think that while it is silly for us to imagine knowing the exact number of sand on a beach, beans in a jar, stars in the sky, birds in the air, or even hairs on your head......God knows the EXACT number!

"And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

(Matthew 10:30) 

So is God trying to show that He is obsessive compulsive, or just extremely organized?  Probably not...

What it all boils down to is that God loves you so much that he knows every detail of your life and was so intentional about creating you, for a purpose, that he knows the very number of hairs on your head.

Not only did God create you, He created you in His own image!

Not only did God create you, He created you for a specific purpose!

So the next time you hold a hand full of sand or try to figure out the exact number of jelly beans in a jar, remember that God loves you so much that he knows the exact number of hairs on your head - - and that He knew long before you were ever knitted together in your mothers womb!

God has a specific and unique plan for your life!

Blessings! 

"The Whistling Wind of God"

It's been a  while since my last post, and I apologize!  I have never been a fan of excuses (no pun intended).  In fact, my high school basketball coach would always say, "Excuses are the testimonies of failure!"

However, we did recently move to Oklahoma City "Where the WIND comes sweepin' down the plain"  to take on a new position in The Salvation Army.  So maybe that's a good explanation as to why!

One thing I have noticed in the last few hours is the WIND!!!  We first noticed it walking off the plane, we could feel the WIND ripping through the cracks on the terminal ramp.  Then when we got out of the car, the door closed on it's own, thanks to the help from the WIND!  All through the night we could hear the WIND whistling through the trees and even as I sit here on my back porch in the smoldering heat I can feel the force of the WIND moving the trees back and forth and back and forth.

There has been a lot of bad WIND related weather lately in the country.  As I was thinking about it this afternoon, it reminded me of the way WIND was referenced in scripture to display God's power.

  "The LORD does whatever pleases him,
   in the heavens and on the earth,
   in the seas and all their depths.
  He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
   he sends lightning with the rain
   and brings out the wind from his storehouses."

  (Psalm 135:6-7)

I am amazed every time I witness the power and majesty of God through His creation, whether it be the beauty of the mountains, the colors of fall, or the power of the WIND.

We serve a powerful God......The Creator, Preserver and Governor of ALL things!

In scripture we also can recall the story of how God uses WIND in a different way to demonstrate his power.

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

 ³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

 ⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

 ⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” 

(Mark 4:35-41)

So the next time you go outside and you feel the cool breeze on your neck, or the forceful blow of the Oklahoma WIND at your back, remember the awesome God who is the architect and orchestrator of it all!

Blessings!