Praising Him.

Dark grey clouds rolled in as my friend and I stood on the sidewalk outside of church.  The wind blew our hair frantically. We blinked and breathed in the smell of rain.  In the distance, we could see it raining.  Far to the north on the horizon, the sun peaked through the clouds as the storm overcame the once beautiful summer sky.  Free from buildings and houses, we could see for miles across the cornfields.  We smiled as a little girl, came out squealing with delight at the thought of rain in sight.  The deep wisps of clouds stretched and moved quickly with the strong wind.  Lighting danced between the clouds and thunder rumbled in the distance.  I looked up and saw streaks of lighting above me; beautiful.  My mind tried to wrap around my Creator who breathed this; indescribable.  Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew against us, forcing us to take a step back.  One by one, big drops of rain splattered on our faces. Giggling we stood there for a minute before heading back inside. I watched my friend twirl in the rain, arms stretched out and face looking up toward the heavens. 


It was one of those Sunday's that made me want to burst with excitement; powerful sermons that made me tear up, Habakkuk 1:5, strong points: "It is one thing to recognize God as Savior, another to accept Him as Lord, but it is another matter entirely to accept Him as Father. May we embrace Him when our world goes wrong."-Pastor F., competitive trench ball games, teamwork, high fives, lots of laughs, dodging balls, fresh fruit for fellowship meal, adorable little girls with blonde pig-tales and pink dresses, sitting quietly and shyly smiling back at me, folding bulletins, excited conversations about Frisbee on Friday, graduation party on the beach, sitting on the dock dangling my bare-feet in the warm water, the sun shining on the waves, sand, beach hair, driving through the country, lots and lots of pick-ups, big red barns, and rolling meadows. 


We left our Trench ball game early after learning that a large branch had fallen on our house.  Not knowing too much of the situation, we raced home.  One hundred mile an hour winds blew through our town as we were watching the storm from afar that afternoon.  Power lines broken in half, leaned against the fences; no electricity for us.  The strong wind blew one of the branches from our tree against our house. We were thanking God there was no serious damage. Thankful for helpful neighbors in our time of need. We looked around us at our neighbor's houses and were astonished at how bad the storm really was. Just a few hours ago we were watching it blow by from another town .  Amazing. 


¹³ Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.-1 Chronices 29:13. 


Psalms 63:3-4 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.



“Depend on it, my hearer, you never will go to heaven unless you are prepared to worship Jesus Christ as God.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God has highly exalted him [Jesus] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.