I was reviewing a book today entitled "It's Not About Me" by Max Lucado and found an interesting passage that really stuck out to me. This is for those of you who picked on me and teased me last year about my "ants and sweet iced tea" analogy that I made during cell group one evening ("ahem... Sarah Jewett!):
"What you are to a paper airplane, God is to you. Take a sheet of paper and make one. Contrast yourself with your creation. Challenge it to a spelling contest. Who will win? Dare it to race you around the block. Who is faster? Invite the airplane to a game of one-on-one basketball. Will you not dominate the court?
And well you should. The thing has no brainwaves, no pulse. It exists only because you formed it and flies only when someone throws it. Multiply the contrasts between you and the paper airplane by infinity, and you will begin to catch a glimpse of the disparity between God and us. "
Wow. We are so far out of the realm of God's intelligence that it is just absolutely UNIMAGINABLE. Ever wondered how many more solar systems there are?? I mean, isn't sort of cocky to think that we're the only one, that this is all God could have created? Even with our most advanced super astronomical and meteorological equipment that we've been developing for hundreds and thousands of years, we cannot even begin to tap into discovering His total creation. Our intelligence is completely infinitesimal compared to His.
And the next time I want to question something God has done (especially if it's something that affects me negatively), instead of saying "Man, how could God do that?" I want to say what the Jews would say- "Man, that is incredible. God works in amazing ways."
It's called being in awe. He is awesome.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
So Thankful
8 more days until I fly to Oklahoma to work at and attend Territorial Music Institute. Will be my first year at TMI... I'm pretty excited about this. I get to work with very knowledgeable people all week and learn, learn, learn! Some of you will laugh at me and tell me I'm a geek, but that's cool. CAUSE' I AM.
I made contact with the folks at Winthrop University this past week. I have a trumpet lesson with their professor next week and a meeting with the chair of the music department about resuming my studies in music education there.
You know, it absolutely amazes me the way God moves us; he moves us like little chess pieces. I was thinking the other night about how close I was to finishing my music education degree 3 years ago before I quit school. I mean, I was three semesters away I suppose and had a good transcript. I guess I would be more upset if I had failed. What was my deal?
Anyway, it was making me ill, just the thought of it. I really kick myself over this a lot. But then Christina has such positive perspective on it. She says "Daniel... think about it, though. If you had not quit, we may not have gotten married, you wouldn't have moved away from the so-called 'friends' that were negatively influencing you, and you may not have discovered The Salvation Army. Look at where you are. No- you don't have a degree yet, but because you worked your tail off, you still got the music director job at The Salvation Army, and now you have tuition reimbursement benefits that will help you go back to school for less money."
Well. I guess when you put it that way, it's not so bad, eh?
Gosh, looking back on it now, it's so easy to see how the Lord was moving me one move at the time so that I would eventually come to know him better and live a life of doing his work through music and service (I have so much to learn about that whole service thing, though). Thanks to him I am now in a musical career in The Salvation Army. Now.. it's time to finish that degree. I'm shooting to be back in by January. Wish me luck.
Dear God- I love you today and always. I thank you for your gifts and for your omnipotence. I thank you for giving me the strength to persevere when times were tough. I thank you for my wife. It's not my strength that got me to this point, it's Yours.
Lord- You are awesome.
I made contact with the folks at Winthrop University this past week. I have a trumpet lesson with their professor next week and a meeting with the chair of the music department about resuming my studies in music education there.
You know, it absolutely amazes me the way God moves us; he moves us like little chess pieces. I was thinking the other night about how close I was to finishing my music education degree 3 years ago before I quit school. I mean, I was three semesters away I suppose and had a good transcript. I guess I would be more upset if I had failed. What was my deal?
Anyway, it was making me ill, just the thought of it. I really kick myself over this a lot. But then Christina has such positive perspective on it. She says "Daniel... think about it, though. If you had not quit, we may not have gotten married, you wouldn't have moved away from the so-called 'friends' that were negatively influencing you, and you may not have discovered The Salvation Army. Look at where you are. No- you don't have a degree yet, but because you worked your tail off, you still got the music director job at The Salvation Army, and now you have tuition reimbursement benefits that will help you go back to school for less money."
Well. I guess when you put it that way, it's not so bad, eh?
Gosh, looking back on it now, it's so easy to see how the Lord was moving me one move at the time so that I would eventually come to know him better and live a life of doing his work through music and service (I have so much to learn about that whole service thing, though). Thanks to him I am now in a musical career in The Salvation Army. Now.. it's time to finish that degree. I'm shooting to be back in by January. Wish me luck.
Dear God- I love you today and always. I thank you for your gifts and for your omnipotence. I thank you for giving me the strength to persevere when times were tough. I thank you for my wife. It's not my strength that got me to this point, it's Yours.
Lord- You are awesome.
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