Imago Dei

'God created humankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male and female He created them.' ~ Genesis 1:27 (NET Bible)

Paintings don't paint themselves. Sculptures cannot mold themselves. Neither songs nor poems are able to write themselves. 

You & I didn't create ourselves either. We didn't appear on this planet randomly, the circumstantial results of the Big Bang Theory. We simply didn't just materialize on this planet like the various 'away team' crew members did on weekly episodes of Star Trek. 

We were intentionally created, carefully woven & spun, lovingly molded & fashioned, with brushstrokes, fingerprints and lyrical storylines unique to us, by the Master Artist, the Creator Extraordinaire: God. Our Father. 

In The Living Bible, throughout the Creation story in Genesis 1, the phrase which pops up at the end of each day's descriptions is 'and God was pleased.' Except at the end of Day 6; instead, for this particular day on which man & woman were brought & breathed into existence, made in the ‘Imago Dei’ – the image of God -- these words were spoken:

'Then God looked over all that He had made, & it was excellent in every way.' ~ Genesis 1:31, TLB

Did you catch that? Don't skim over it. EXCELLENT. In EVERY way. 

So why, when we look in the mirror, do we hate what we see? We bemoan our freckles or lack of them. We're embarrassed over that gap in our front teeth or that much too prominent birthmark or our protruding nose. We complain about our eye color; our curly or poker straight hair; our too thin or too thick lips.

Millions of dollars are spent each year on products & services that promise to make us look better, younger, more attractive. Flawless.  And completely different.  We can suddenly find ourselves unrecognizable. Why do we desire to look like anyone but ourselves?

Could it be possible that the very thing which you so despise about yourself is that very thing which God wildly adores about you? Because HE created you that way? 

You are fearfully & wonderfully made. You are unique. You are beautiful. You are God's lovingly created masterpiece: His artwork, His sculpture, His poem, His song.

Never forget that you bear the signature of the Divine.

'For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully & wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.' ~ Psalm 139:13-16, NIV

Never Forget -- 2012

It was a day that began like any other day.  September 11, 2001.  Trying to beat my brother-in-law, who lived with us at that time, in the daily race for the bathroom so I’d at least have SOME hot water left for a morning shower.  Trying to rouse my husband and both children while doing the dance of making coffee, making breakfasts, making school lunches, feeding the dog. 

My brother-in-law left the house at 6:00 AM, my husband at 7:00.  At 7:30, I kissed and dropped off my son, a third grader then, and my daughter, a kindergartener at the same elementary school, at their before-school program and away I went to work, stopping at the Dunkin Donuts in my building’s lobby for caffeine reinforcement.  I greeted everyone who was in the office (many were scheduled to be out at a conference that day) as I trudged towards my workstation all the way in the back.  I powered up my computer, turned on my radio, sipped my coffee and proceeded to peruse the pile of paperwork that had collected in my Inbox since the day before.

It was a day that began like any other day.  September 11, 2001. Predictable. Forgettable.  But early on, I – along with the world – would see that it would quickly turn into a day that was anything BUT predictable and forgettable.

It was a day that would change people’s lives – forever. 

Today, we are a country minus so very many people because of the death and destruction that occurred on that day, eleven years ago, when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the field in Shanksville, PA.

We are a people minus beloved family members and friends; employers and coworkers; teachers and students; neighbors and members of our communities and our churches.  

May we NEVER FORGET the shock, the horror, the anger, the fear, the sorrow, the disbelief and the confusion that we all felt as so many of us watched the tragic events of September 11 unfold before us.  May we NEVER FORGET the realization that as proud as we are to be Americans, we are not untouchable.  We are not immortal.  Tomorrow is NOT promised to us. Mortal man – though he tries – cannot help or save us.

No king is saved by the size of his army;

    no warrior escapes by his great strength.

 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

    despite all its great strength it cannot save. ~ Psalm 33:16-17

May we never become so self-serving, self-sufficient, self-righteous and complacent that we forget Who is in control and in Whom we can place our hope and our trust when tragedy strikes, when wars break out, when the enemy encroaches upon our land and our people.

May we NEVER FORGET, on that day of chaos and death, to Whom so many of us looked; to Whom so many of us ran; to Whom so many of us called and cried out:

Our Creator.  Our King.  Our Father.

God.

Not man.  But God. The LORD, God.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in humans.

 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in princes.~ Psalm 118:8-9

On this anniversary of 9/11 – and for that matter, every day – please NEVER FORGET to pray for the lost; to pray for our country; to pray for our troops.

And last, but certainly not least, NEVER FORGET to pray for our leaders, now and for those who will lead in the future. You may not like their political affiliations. You may not agree with their policies. You may not share their faith.  You may not even care for their personalities, their accents or their outward appearances. 

But as God-fearing, God-following, God-LOVING people, we are called to put such things aside, take the higher road and entrust them ALL into the watch care of our Father God. 

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. ~ Psalm 20:7

Worship Song Sunday -- All For You, by Mikeschair

I'd planned on posting here early this morning, but circumstances beyond my control hindered me from doing so.   As often happens (more than I care to admit), I had way too much going on before I ran out the door for church to be in a worshipful, let alone focused, state of mind, and I was trying hard to avoid being late (again), so I could at least be worshipful and focused when I walked sprinted into church. 


I had a completely different song all set to go here, too. Not that it wasn't a good one -- it is. Yet obviously, it's meant for another time. I woke up with today's song firmly implanted in my head.  And now I know why.   


Once I got to church, the unexpected happened. Without going into loads of details, we had a medical incident happen midway through the first service, involving one of our older saints, who is my neighbor and who catches a ride with us to church almost every Sunday.  It was, to say the least, disconcerting and a bit scary, but I was amazed at how many people stepped up to the plate immediately to assist and how lovingly, how tenderly and how well it was done.  Our young pastor handled it all with such calm, compassion, grace, mercy and love, calling everyone who was not assisting to just lift up their hands and cry out loud to the LORD on this person's behalf and encouraging all to worship and praise Him in the midst of the goings on.  Which they promptly did.  I've not seen anything like it, really.

I am thankful and grateful that nothing -- NOTHING -- takes our Father God by surprise.  He made sure that particular people with professional medical backgrounds were at church today, at this particular service time, and that they were easily and quickly accessible before the paramedics arrived to take over.  He surrounded this person with church members who had loving hearts, cool heads, a good understanding of and compassion for the elderly and strong arms to help and comfort.


It's several hours later and while I'm still a bit shaky from it all, mostly I'm in awe, once again, over how awesome and amazing God truly is, and just how worthy He is of our praise and worship. 


Some of the lyrics to this song are as follows:


'I stand amazed at Who You are,
I'm overcome by what You've done.'


'I'm here right now, I need You now
I lift Your Name above the doubt,
This is my offering for You.'


'I leave my burden at Your feet
In You I find my victory,
There is nothing You can't do.'


No, there certainly is NOTHING God can't do. 


Two things I would like to ask of all of you reading this post.  First, even though most or all of you may not know this elder saint (unless you're from my church and were at this particular service today), would you please take a moment to lift her up in prayer?  I'm still unsuccessful at getting in touch with any of her immediate family to let them know what transpired today and where she is.  Thankfully, some members of our church family went to the hospital  and are still there with her. 


And second, won't you join me in giving all worship and praise to our God? For it truly is ALL for Him.

Lungs

It's my honor today to share a blog post with you all, dear good and faithful bloggy friends and readers, from over at A Martha Heart, one of the wonderful blogs that I follow. 


Entitled Lungs and beautifully written by blog author Holly Smith, we are not only reminded of how much God loves us and how very near to each one of us He truly is (as close as our breath!), but we are presented with two very important prayer needs as well.  Both prayer requests involve the lungs.

Just Breathe, by Melanie Weidner, 2005

I would like to invite you to please join together in prayer with Holly and myself for these precious friends of Holly's who need our Father's healing touch and intervention in their lives. And yes -- I encourage you to please share these needs with those mighty prayer warriors and partners within your sphere of influence.


And to Holly -- thank you so much for allowing me to share these serious prayer needs and your blog post today! 

Lungs

Breathing in…breathing out. Life source. Holy Spirit come and breathe on us this day.

I’m heading out in an hour for our church’s women’s retreat, taking dear friends and teaching crafts. I am looking for God to breathe upon us all, as we discuss LEGACY.

Before I go, though, I have heard many different and huge prayer needs this morning. I will share two with you about lungs.

One–a dear friend and brother in Christ has been longing for God to bless his mother with a lung transplant. She has been hard to match, BUT TODAY they have one. They are looking to go in at 2pm. Please pray for this dear Mama…for my brother in Christ and his family.

Two–a dear daughter in the faith to us has gotten devastating news. Her baby that she is carrying is not developing lungs. They went in to find out the sex of the baby and came out with this news–not viable. Will you pray that God will do a miracle here? I LOVE this sister in Christ and her husband so much. Please pray that God will cause those lungs to just appear.

Please pray and PLEASE share this post with your praying friends.

Thank you friends. God is on His Throne. He is also a breath away–our very near God WITH us…not far away. NEAR.

He is NEAR. And He HEARS. He thinks of us constantly and loves us lavishly. Circumstances do not dictate either TRUTH–they neither prove nor disprove He is near and He loves us so very much. He loves us. Oh, how He loves us!