The Double Rainbow-A Double Covenant?

This morning, I woke up to a smoky gray sky, the rumblings of thunder, lemon yellow clouds and this…

Um. Hello.

“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:16

“Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him…

…This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Ezekiel 1:28

I pretty much fell face down while enjoying the rainbow from my front yard. Yes, I was overwhelmed with God’s covenant and His glory, but I must be honest. It was mostly because I had the camera plastered to my face and stepped in a disguised hole left by a removed tree.

But hey-call it what you will. Worship. Clutziness. God loves me no matter what. He gave me a rainbow this morning just to prove it.

It’s Been 11 Years since 9/11

Dear Readers:
I would like to be completely honest with you. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? What I am about to say may shock you. You may never want to read my blog again, but that’s the risk I’m willing to take.

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I can be downright rotten sometimes. I can be selfish. I can say really stupid things. I mean, really stupid things. I can want what I want, when I want it. I can complain and grumble. I am in a category of ridiculous humanism all by myself. (Or maybe I have a few compadre’s out there who occasionally join me.)

This morning, God-in his infinite glory-snapped my selfish, grumbling, complaining, humanistic bubble this morning using none other than my husband. Biceps, the firefighter, was getting ready to leave for work and asked, “Today is the 11th anniversary of 9/11. What are you doing today?”

May I repeat, my husband-the firefighter, said this to me-the whiner.

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As I get ready to go to my Bible Study, make my phone calls, clean the house, and go about my day-this little question Biceps asked me will be gnawing at the back of my brain-“What am I doing today?”. Does it matter what I’m doing today?

What mattered to me, 11 years ago, was not my job (or lack thereof), not my blog, not my latest recipe. What mattered to me was only:
How many people survived?
Did my friend’s daughter make it to work that day in the Trade Center? Did she survive?
How many kids won’t have parent’s after today? And, how many parent’s won’t have kids after today?
What can I do? How can I help? WHAT CAN I DO?!

Instead of me, me, me, I was worried about everyone other than me. I was worried about people I didn’t even know, about the firefighters, the pilots, the passengers, the workers.

It’s ironic that I start my Bible Study Fellowship class today. God, once again-in his infinite glory-keeps this little whiner in check.

There. I hope I didn’t scare you off by revealing my ugly, selfish, whining side. I know, it’s disgusting. Please forgive me.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

I have lived for 30+ years without seeing or participating in real combat. Following my graduation from Oral Roberts University with an International Business degree (two minors in German and Photography), I considered joining the military. Not only did they retroactively pay for your college tuition, but they picked out your outfits each day. And I look good in green.

Pretty much a win-win from my perspective.

I knew you had to be really tough, get muddy, climb under barbed wire, scale fences and then…you got to wear really cute hats.

I’ll take barbed wire any day, if it means cute hats.

A military passion seemed to run in my blood. My grandfather was in the navy and my father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the army. Uncles on both sides served, participated in and fought in several wars.

However, I haven’t lost a brother, a husband, a dad, or a cousin to a war. My life in Tulsa is pretty much free from military influence.

While I wish all nations would be peaceful, I realize that there is evil afoot. Sure, I’d like to have round table discussions with political leaders who acquiesce at mass murdering their own people. Leaders who would put the nation’s interest first and theirs, dead last.

But knowing the reality within my own family just to decide on which restaurant to eat at, I know that asking insanely egomaniacal leaders to humble themselves is almost ludicrous.

There is evil in this world and it is plainly that-evil.

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Without a proper guide, our nation will crumble. Without a Godly guide, our nation will fall into patterns seen before-socialism, communism, nepotism. Call it archaic, call me religious, but when men seek what men want, nations suffer and fall. It’s not my opinion-it’s historical fact. Not that there are many examples to give you. Men (and women) always seem to get in the way, often using God as an excuse to do the horribly wrong thing. When men seek what God wants, nations could prosper and thrive.

I for one, don’t want to relive a Sunday, Bloody Sunday. I want a holy Sunday, set apart for our nation to worship the one true God-that never changes, never forgets, never abandons and always forgives. I want a Sunday for those who need a Sunday.

Will you join me on this Sunday to fight the good fight, to run the race, to never give up, to never give in and to always seek after the One who has called us His very own?

Well played, God. Well played.

I’ve been praying for rain for weeks. Correction-for months. We’ve been in the worst drought Oklahoma has seen since the dust bowl. My crispy garden limps along with wilted leaves during the day, only popping to life at night or in the cool of morning.

This Saturday, I planned a garage sale without regards to the weather. I’ve taken for granted the blue sky, the shining sun, the brown pokey grass and my sweaty pits. So, I set up for the sale, advertised, priced, organized and didn’t look back.

 

That’s when God answered my prayers. At the exact moment that I didn’t want them answered.

He didn’t consider my garage sale when he planned his weather. He didn’t consider that I had been praying for rain for weeks and didn’t answer me. And after all, I just didn’t want it to rain for this one Saturday. He didn’t consider me whining as the first drops fell and he didn’t stop the rain when I begged him to do so.

He just let loose and let the rain fall. All over me and my garage sale, all over my huge stack of Dwell magazines, my perfectly organized display of clothing, my pink gigantic cardboard flowers, my carefully priced tools and my fancy picnic basket.

God didn’t do what I wanted. I closed up shop after complaining quite a bit to Biceps and to my friends that stopped by. I grumbled as I pulled out the whole wheat flour and buttermilk to make pancakes for all of us. I whined as we sat down to our impromptu breakfast.

We bowed our heads as Biceps prayed, thanking God for the blessing of the rain, for the break in the garage sale action which provided the opportunity to spend time with some of our closest friends and for the financial blessing we had already experienced that morning.

Ouch. God did what he wanted to do in his timing, not in my timing.

Well played, God. Well played.