I wanted to post the sermon at my church (Discovery Church) that Jon Tyson “preached” yesterday. It was AWESOME! It was all about grace and how we’ve misinterpreted it, how the church has become known for its hate and intolerance instead of love, and how it’s not by faith that we’re saved but by grace. If I were to try and explain it, I would ruin it. So, I’ll post the link to Discovery’s media page for now, and I’ll post the link to the sermon when they get it up there. Plus, Jon Tyson’s from Australia so he’s got an awesome accent! :) Second, there’s a guy who leads worship at Discovery that sang a song he wrote and it’s AWESOME! Take a peek: The song’s called Saturate. I hope it spreads because it’s beautiful. Yesterday at church (yesterday was an awesome service!) our pastor (David Loveless) reminded us of the importance of speaking with God and relating to Him and praying to Him from different positions. He has us all kneel down and pray that way for a moment. It was a great reminder that simply kneeling before God has a way of focusing me and humbling me and allowing me to press into His presence more than if I’m sitting on my couch or bed or standing in the kitchen (and certainly more than if I’m chasing my little ones). He spoke briefly about how the Bible talks about praising God with our hands raised, or on our knees or faces, or with instruments, or with our voices, silently and out loud. And each of these methods brings something different to that moment. It was very cool. My amazing husband, John, went to an awesome men’s event at Discovery Church this past Saturday called the Better Man Event. He has a great time and met some wonderful guys (one of whom just appeared and disappeared but made a pretty deep impact on John). So, last night John actually came into our room as I was getting ready to go to bed and invited me to pray with him!!! It was SO cool! :) I was so proud of him and thankful for his courage in taking the initiative. Yeah God! And then he went to up his character points to 60 since the Mass Effect 2 game comes out Monday at midnight (and he found out that the main character, not only has the same first name as he does – John Sheppard, but they also share the same birthday, so that upped the awesomeness of the game for him a little more)… Children’s laughter. There aren’t too many things more awesome than children’s laughter. John was throwing Gavin and Kai last night and rough-housing with them right before we put them to bed (yeah, way to calm them down before bed, right?), and they were screaming and laughing and it was beautiful! No wonder Jesus said, let the little children come to me… I can totally see Him scooping one of them up and tossing them into the air as they screamed with delight. Cool pictures.
Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my victory. He is my God, and I will praise him; he is my father’s God, and I will exalt him! In church yesterday, Joe Loveless (or pastor’s son) spoke in the kickoff of our Christmas season message. He spoke about finding the song we’ve been given to sing, the story that we’ve been given to tell, the God sightings that happen in our lives that we need to remember and share with others. It was awesome! It reminded me of the original purpose of this God Hunt… to record the ways that I see God and the ways that I find God in my life. To some degree this blog’s purpose hasn’t changed much, although I think that sometimes it becomes more of a journal of my journey through the Bible than a journal of my God sightings. So with that in mind, I thought I’d recall a few of the God sightings I’ve had that stick out in my mind (and continue to watch and record them as I go forward). God Sightings: * The most vivid God sighting in my history is when God sat with me in my living room in 2003. No, literally sat with me. I couldn’t see Him, but He was brilliantly and boldly there. I still get teared up thinking about it. It was overwhelming, encouraging, powerful, and loving. My God came and held me and strengthened me. It was indescribable. * The birth of my children is a daily God sighting. He created them perfectly and amazingly. They are beautiful and hilarious (a sure sign that God has a sense of humor and irony)! They are full of boundless energy and they make me smile just to think about them (okay, they also make me want to pull my hair out sometimes… but isn’t that how it goes?). * My husband and I still have jobs. I teach. My husband manages the front drive valet at a hotel around here. Considering the budget cuts of late, it’s amazing that either of us (much less both of us) have jobs! Watching God work and do miracles in that area reminds me that He’s there and He’s working. * Last week during the service. Last weekend, last Sunday specifically, was rough. There were pie-crust promises made and broken, things I had been looking forward to didn’t happen, and I felt betrayed and lonely. Until God spoke to me. All my life music has been incredibly important, and it’s played a big role in how God speaks to me. Sure enough, the second song we sang (Everywhere that I Go by Israel Houghton) spoke straight to me. It’s all about how God keeps His promises and is always there, everywhere that I go. It’s incredible. Check out the church’s media page for the song and for other things, like this week’s service (the song is under the service titled, “My Favorite Things”). There are more, but I’m out of time. I’ve got to get myself and the boys ready for school! Happy Monday!