Through Heaven's Eyes (From Disney's Prince of Egypt)

A single thread in a tapestry
Through its color brightly shine
Can never see its purpose
In the pattern of the grand design

And the stone that sits on the very top
Of the mountain's mighty face
Does it think it's more important
Than the stones that form the base?

So how can you see what your life is worth
Or where your value lies?
You can never see through the eyes of man
You must look at your life

Look at your life through heaven's eyes
Lai-la-lai...

A lake of gold in the desert sand
Is less than a cool fresh spring
And to one lost sheep, a shepherd boy
Is greater than the richest king
If a man lose ev'rything he owns
Has he truly lost his worth?
Or is it the beginning
Of a new and brighter birth?

So how do you measure the worth of a man
In wealth or strength or size?
In how much he gained or how much he gave?
The answer will come
The answer will come to him who tries
To look at his life through heaven's eyes

And that's why we share all we have with you
Though there's little to be found
When all you've got is nothing
There's a lot to go around

No life can escape being blown about
By the winds of change and chance
And though you never know all the steps
You must learn to join the dance
You must learn to join the dance
Lai-la-lai...

So how do you judge what a man is worth
By what he builds or buys?
You can never see with your eyes on earth
Look through heaven's eyes
Look at your life
Look at your life
Look at your life through heaven's eyes


My we all begin to see ourselves through heaven's eyes!
This song really spoke to me, may it also bless you.

Bears, Fire, and Authority.

This morning I  was reading 2 Kings 1-2.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20kings%201-2&version=NKJV
(Here is the link if you want to check it out.)

These passages got me to thinking about authority.
Here is the deal.
Part 1:
A king decides to send some men to consult a fake God to see if he will recover from an injury. Elijah intercepts them and says that because you tried to consult a fake God, You will die. So Elijah decides to take a rest under a tree. The king then sends a captain and 50 soldiers to bring Elijah to him. Elijah gets scared and calls down fire on them. This happens again. When the 3rd set comes, the captain pleads for his men's and his life. God sends an Angel to Elijah and tells him to go.

Part 2:
Elijah is taken up to heaven. Before this Elisha makes a deal that if he sees Elijah go, then he will get a double portion of Elijah spirit. Elijah is taken and Elisha sees, and receives the double portion.

Part 3:
Elisha is walking along, some youths call him a bald man, he curses them and 2 bears come and kill them.
 

My Thoughts:
Elijah and Elisha, great men, incredible authority, but they were crazy! Killing people because you are scared or offended seems a bit extreme. How did they get this authority? Of course God gave it to them, but I don't feel like God is a smiter. How did they know that God would allow them to do that? And who was Elijah to say if Elisha could have a portion of his spirit. Do we have that Authority?

I then reflected over the New Testament and how the disciples had Authority to heal, cast out demons, speak in tongues,  (or vanish in Phillips case), or touch things and people could be healed by them. Where is that Authority today? Do we have it? How do we become confident in it?

Clearly authority seems to be important in our lives. Through out the old and new testament Authority is woven through God's followers. Both the prophets and the disciples possessed it.

Jesus said we were given all Authority over all the earth. Let's embrace this authority God has given us and give him the Glory!

A Picture of my World.

COLUMBUS Oh! I love this city!

A New Believer

I just found this out today! One of the long term people sent this to all of the former thai reach teams.

Geat, Faa, and Dow (Dow being the baby)

I wanted to give you another quick update on G....she's continued to attend our meetings and always brings her girls along. L. has also been at a couple of the recent meetings. Last night L., C.,and I ate supper with them and then sat around talking with her after he left for work. She talked more about where she is at in her faith. She says now that she believes in God. She told us about how one time she prayed while she was cooking that God would be with her and show her the way. (She also said that F. prays to Jesus that she'll be able to study well :)) G. said that she wants to continue studying as there is still so much that she doesn't know. We encouraged her to do that and also encouraged her to look for God's work in her life. We've talked about the Holy Spirit recently so she's thinking about that. She said that she's talked to her Mom about what she's doing and she asked her Mom if the family would be opposed. Her Mom said that yes, there would be plenty of people who would be unhappy if she "switched religions."
Without us really talking much about this G. has come to the conclusion that baptism is an important turning point - the sign that she's made the change. Last night she said that she's not ready for that yet - but believes that "one day" she will be. Her mom said something similar - that if G. continues studying the day will come when she can be baptized, but her mom isn't ready for her to do that yet.

This is so sweet! G. is the lady who became like a second mom to me while I was in Thailand. It is so cool to see God moving.  

Super Hero!

A couple of months ago I started to teach kids at a local church with the vision of leading them into the presence of God. My class typically has 5 to 8 kids, aging from 3 to 7 years. The other Sunday I went in to class not knowing what to teach. A lesson plan had been provided about 15 minutes before class was to start. The lesson involved multiple puppets and a story I did not quite get. Needless to say I decided to try to come up with something on my own.

 I was thinking about what I was going to do when two of the boys started talking to me about super heroes. Then the thought dawned on me. I gathered most of the kids around and we talked about super hero powers and how related it to Jesus. I told them about all His super powers and how they could have them to. Most of the kids by this time were distracted, but those two little boys were tuned in. Some how it just clicked for them! Then we prayed, and one little boy insisted that he pray for himself to get better in the morning!

Here's a thought, maybe telling the typical bible stories is not a practical way to disciple kids. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the stories. But I think kids would learn more effectively, if we related things to them on their level. If we look at how Jesus taught, he used everyday experiences to make his points. He taught using things the people knew and understood.

What a thought! I would love to hear any feed back on how to disciple kids or your thought on this.   

A Walk To Remember

Yesterday was a very pleasant day. I say that giggling.
It was my day off. The weather was warm enough to only need a sweat shirt. It was absolutely beautiful. I decided to go for a walk.
It was the sweetest walk I have had in along time. I was just blown away at how beautiful the city was. All I could do was smile. People walked around me, all going somewhere. I was so excited for them. All I wanted to do was laugh and tell them how much God loved them and ME! I was covered in peace. I looked up at the skyscrapers and they just pointed up to the lord! A church stood between two tall towers. I giggled at the ironic- ness of it. To me even now it is just funny. I am not sure why, but I kinda think that God gets the joke and chuckles at it to.... even if I don't get the joke. I wondered around star struck at the beauty of it all, the city, the people, and life. For that walk I was perfectly content. God's plan was wonderful and I was just enjoying life. Times like these seem rare, however I want to live my life like this. Just basking in God's goodness . This was the peace that surpass all understanding. This was indeed a walk to remember. Guys, God is just too much good! :)

Palindrome

A palindrome is a word, phrase or sentence that reads the same forward and backward. I learned this in my English course I am taking.
They are pretty cool!
Here are some examples:
Civic
Level
Kayak
A Santa at NASA; Dad; Dee saw a seed; Never odd or even; Rise to vote, sir; Was it a cat I saw?

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!

Madam in Eden, I'm Adam


So there they are! Enjoy!