It’s snowing…schools closed…and I can’t help but praise God seeing all the beauty in front of me. I’m holding this moment in my heart like you would a jar of fireflies because I know there will be tough days ahead….really gut wretching days…where I will see things that are really icky compared to the beauty of a winter wonderland or fireflies dancing in a summer garden.
A handful of folks on my Squad are reading The Circle Maker which discusses the concept of praying circles around God-ordained goals for your life. I just got started with the book which I have to admit sounds a bit unusual and leaves me a bit skeptical…but also rather intrigued.
A part that made me giggle a bit was the phrase “Quailmagedon” where quail rained from heaven….how far the quail were sent from their usual quail hang-out due to the west wind…and how crazy it must have looked to see a sea of piled up quail as provision. I get this picture of quail dive-bombing people and the area where God promised the Isrealites quail instead of their usual manna they were getting sick of…both total food miracles that are easily overlooked / skimmed over when reading the bible. And I picuture Moses having to tell these people this was going to happen…the book says “This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy” thinking of the concept of birds falling from the sky and the sheer amount of birds…a guesstimate of 105 MILLION! Sometimes raising funds like this can feel a bit crazy, crazy too.
But one of the things that has impacted me the most from reading this book so far is…”See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands.” this scripture was BEFORE Jericho fell to God’s people through their faithful obedience to circling its walls. Essentially the battle was won before they even fought it. I think God wants Christians to learn how to praise Him for what He’s going to do before they even start praying for it. So will you Praise God with me for what He’s promised to do for my upcoming trip???
A glitch…the other day I was checking my World Race account and started freaking out in a good way. My account was double what should have actually been in it for funds….for whatever reason it was showing each entry as a duplicate entry. And it was like God was showing me He was going to do this fundraising thing…the money was already there even if it was just in a spiritual sense. I was floored…and then quickly called my World Race mobilizer to have her explain that this sometimes happens when accounts are being updated. It brought me a healthy dose of Hope and Praise thinking of how far God has brought me on this journey…a fellow Isrealite wandering around in the desert of my soul for an awful long time…who had all but lost hope that she might ever go overseas again.
So let’s praise God today…
– For the miracle of breathing in and out
– Food and Water
– Shelter
– Jobs if we have them or hope for them
– Loved ones
It’s the little things that count and the small things that are Huge in light of all that God does daily to keep things churning and moving forward in this crazy world.
