airplane momemt

Every time I ride an airplane I have this random, yet recurring, moment when I visit the bathroom (not that kind of moment). I look in the little mirror as i wash my hands and all of a sudden it hits me -
"I am freaking flying"
"I am thousands of feet in the air, flying - flying"
And I begin to sorda get this childish grin to even think how nuts that is...the sheer thought of it blows me away. Can you imagine a few hundred years ago a few friends chatting outside their abodes, or in the horse n buggy, or whatever and one of them blurts out - "One day humans will be able to fly" - what lunacy the other friends must have thought. How in the H is anyone going to fly, get real. Granted people can't fly in of themselves, however due to this whole plane thing it is made possible.

A few days after my airplane moment I am sitting in a pretty random, eclectic - cool church in downtown LA held at the Wilshire theater instead of at a typical building. all kinds of people around, Benz's and Buicks, old and young, 5 plastic surgeries or more and people who prob never look in the mirror, black, asian, hispanic and whites....all worshiping together. And then it hits me -
"We are freaking children of God"
Just like the airplane moment, it's this known that I just over look and forget the craziness of it all.This is even crazier than flying though, "a child of God" - how nuts is that? Just try saying it to yourself and if it doesn't make you sorda feel insane, or blush, or shout or flat out shut your mouth then somethings up.
Granted people are not children of God in of themselves, however due to this whole Christ thing it is made possible.

It's just like a mini-mall

Hopefully this will cheer all of you up...

Circumstantial Blessings are the root of thanksgivings, not Praises.

Last week I got a call from my mother, and instantly I knew it was some bad news. She began to tell me about how the doctors had found a tumor around 2cm’s in diameter in one of her breasts. When I hung up the phone after talking to her I realized something. All of my praises for God are based off of things that are really thanksgivings, my health, my marriage, my wife, my family, my job... These are all circumstantial blessings that are transient situations. These will all end one day, My parents will pass away, I will lose my job, I will lose my wife, I may lose a child, and sooner or later I will lose my life. So how can I root my praises, my joy, my relationship with God on these things.

I am recognizing that thanksgivings and praises are distinguishable from each-other. We don’t sing worship songs about our jobs, our health, or our large checking accounts. So what do we praise God for? I know that when I jump in my car in the morning my prayers usually begin with praising for my wife, my job, my life, my truck (if you can believe it)... But too often all those praises feel empty, they are cold Then I must fight for a joy that I am not capable of finding in the circumstances of my own life. A joy that I can only find in the eternal, non-transient, un-changing, everlasting, qualities of our God, Saviour, Priest, and King.


But please let me be clear with what I am not saying: that in the midst of suffering we must force our selves into joy and happiness by looking past our situations; praising God by sweeping our pain under the rug. We must remember the unchanging qualities of God such as….. However God has providentially placed suffering along paths, so that might grow in faith in who HE is. Like Matt said in his talk last night at the Gathering, that our God wants to remove the crutches that we choice to rely on in place of our unabashed reliance on Him. Our God meets us in our struggles and pains. It is usually in our weakness and pain where Christ unveils His unmatched strength and amazing grace on our behalf. As we choose to believe in the unchanging qualities of Christ, we are able to praise Him and thank Him IN our momentary struggles. Christ is not present with us in order to punish, smite, or condemn, rather he is here to redeem our devastation, sometimes he has to cut us to get something deadly out of our souls. Praise be to God...

thanks to Pamela for her amazing editing skills...