Babblings and such

Creativity and the glory of GOD

For some reason the creativity of God is never quite as evident as when I am at a zoo.  My precious niece, Kaylee, is turning 4.  In honor of her birthday, I took her to spend a day at the Dallas Zoo.   We walked around looking at all the funny creatures, from lemurs to snakes to tigers to okapi.  We giggled as we watched some of them play.  She kept saying, in that sweet little Texas drawl, "Look, Amy, look at that one!"  with all the wonder that a 4 year old still possesses.  I found that wonder to be quite contagious.  Their markings, shapes, sizes, mannerisms... It was so enjoyable to take in. 

We tend to magnify God's love, His power, and maybe even His sovereignty (which happens to be my favorite attribute of God)- but I can't think of the last time that I rejoiced and praised the Lord for His unmatched creativity.  He is solitary in His ability to create out of nothing. 

Perhaps the Lord has been preparing my heart to worship as I sought to entertain my darling little niece.  These past few days, through the blogs of a few friends (thank you Micah and Aron) and a great sermon I heard in the car today by Louie Giglio... glorifying God by way of creativity has been the theme.  We can make much of the name of Christ by singing a song, writing a poem, painting a canvas or throwing a pot to the glory of God.  And then today to remember that the creativity we express is but a shadow of the Creator.

BTW: I am not technologically advanced enough to figure out how to link you to it, but the name of the sermon was "Passion, Purpose, and Designer Jeans" by Louie Giglio if you care to check it out.  You can download it on itunes from Passion: The Early Session 01. 

Blurred Lines

Vocational ministry is a funny thing.  My job is my ministry and takes up more of my life than an ordinary job would.  And while I do not doubt that there would be plenty of ministry in an "ordinary" job, the lines between work and life are barely visible. 

So here's my struggle.  I could work 24 hours a day and still not do all there is to do.  I desire to be a living sacrifice and not be selfish with my time.  I want to not just hear the Word, but see the Word fleshed out in my life.  I realize that much of worship has to do with work and service.  (For all you Greek and Hebrew scholars, latreo and a'bad).  And yet, there are seasons (like the last couple of weeks) where I am serving and working nonstop and I look back and realize that my time alone with God is the thing being sacrificed.

Last Wednesday in a directors meeting, our Senior Director was telling us about how much God used Pine Cove to chang his life as a college student.  He challenged us to call on the Lord and pray that He would do the same in the lives of the staff and campers that are going to be walking through our gates this summer.  Then he gave us an hour to go, pray, and be with the Lord.  I began to weep and did not stop for the duration of the hour so graciously given.  You see, I realized that in the midst of "ministry" these last three weeks that I had not spent a full hour with God at all without being busy.  It was okay for me to work 14 hour days and not one of those hours had been spent sitting at the feet of Christ, hearing His Word, and praying (so just call me Martha).  It's no wonder that I have felt so drained and empty. That hour was more precious to me than any hour previously spent.

I know that there are a lot of people who walk those blurred lines.  I don't know that the "lines" are meant to exist at all.  But I know why Martin Luther would rise so early to read and pray.  Here's an article that has encouraged me greatly.

"The best antidote for anxiety is frequent meditation upon God's goodness, power and sufficiency. When the saint can confidently realize 'The Lord is My Shepherd,' he must draw the conclusion, 'I shall not want!'" - Arthur Pink