VERY COOL!

August 31. Yay!

As much as I dislike the fact that my life seems to slipping down the water slide at turbo speed, the end of August couldn’t come soon enough for me.

Sure we still have some 90-degree days in store, perhaps through October. But psychologically, August ends the summer heat and ushers in the coolness of Autumn.

There are those of you out there—you know who you are—that enjoy the heat. But really, what are you thinking? In fact, how can you think when your brain is sizzling?

In truth, I praise God for His plan for our world; for creating weather patterns that transfer heat, cool temperatures and water from one place on this great planet to another.

I praise God for creating variety—the changing seasons; the coolness of early morning and late night with the warmth of daytime in between.

I praise God for giving weather that soothes each of us in whatever way He created us to enjoy it.

And as we end August and look to cooler temperatures, I praise God that now, He’ll start making the weather just for me!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for variety in all things—especially in people. Remind us that variety is good. Remind us that your plan is good even if we don’t understand it, because you are good. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you a crazy person who likes heat? It’s OK, God loves you anyway…[smile]

CAROL’S GEMS: PERIDOT—THE FOUNDATION OF HEAVEN

Every month has a birthstone. The birthstone for the month of August is peridot. And it reminds me of Jesus.



Peridot from: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

　

Biblical Gemstones

Translations of mineral names from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic to English are not always exact. Most scholars and historians, however, believe that the green stone referred to in Bible translations as chrysolite, is beautiful lime-green peridot.

　

Back in the Garden

Without getting into a discussion of who Ezekiel meant by the King of Tyre, Ezekiel says peridot (chrysolite) was present in the Garden of Eden:

You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. (Ezekiel 28:13)

In the Middle Ages, peridot was believed to have the power to drive away evil. Too bad Eve didn’t know that back in the Garden…
　

The High Priest

Peridot (chrysolite) was named as one of the stones adorning the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus 28) and represented the Tribe of Zebulun (the sixth son of Jacob and Leah). When the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, the Tribe of Zebulun’s inheritance was generally the territory toward the Sea of Galilee where Jesus conducted his Galilean ministry. It also included Bethlehem—the birthplace of Jesus.

Only the High Priest was allowed to wear the jeweled Breastplate. Because Jesus became our High Priest forever, Jesus symbolically wears the Breastplate of the High Priest—and August’s birthstone, the peridot—forever.
　

Heaven

The Apostle John shares his vision of heaven, saying,

The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. (Revelation 21:19)

Did you see? The seventh layer (the number of perfection in biblical symbolism) of the foundation of heaven is peridot.
　

I fell in love with peridot when my son was born in the month of August. When I wear peridot, I think of my son. After this post, I’ll also think of Jesus—the Son of God. I hope you will, too.

Happy birthday to everyone born in August.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the beauty in our world—in mountains and oceans, flowers and gemstones. Thank you also for your beautiful son, Jesus. Please open our eyes and hearts to see your love through Jesus in the world around us today. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Written on those 12 jeweled foundations in heaven are the names of the 12 apostles. John doesn’t say which layer represents which apostle. Any guess at who peridot represents?


Today is a cross-posting with Chris Vonada. Please visit him often at: ChrisVonada.com

LEAVING AUGUST; COMING HOME

The month of August, the Christian Writers blog chain took the word “august” and discussed things majestic, distinguished, epic, glorious, magnificent. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these posts as much as I have.  

One of the words related to “august” is “grand.” That brings to mind the Grand Canyon, Grande Jette, Grand Champion, and Grand Ballroom. My favorite “grand” though are grandparents and grandkids. I’m not yet a grandmother, but I had two awesome grandmothers and two amazing grandfathers.

Here are a few synonyms and related words for “august.” Which would describe your grandparents? When you become a grandparent, which word will your grandkids think best captures “you”?  

Distinguished, imposing, portly, solemn, staid, stately, baronial, epic, gallant, glorious, grandiose, heroic, imperial, magnificent, majestic, massive, monumental, noble, proud, regal, royal, splendid, grand, decorous, proper, seemly, grave, somber, aristocratic, elegant, elevated, lordly, magisterial, colossal, prodigious, cosmic, sublime, wondrous, formidable, impressive, marvelous, extravagant, lavish, opulent, palatial, resplendant, splendiferous, celestial, divine, heavenly

Now we leave the month of August and the theme of “august.” Join the Christian Writers this month of September for our blog chain theme, “Coming Home.”

GROWING THE MAJESTY OF GOD

This post is part of the Christian Writer’s blog chain. The theme for this month is “august,” as in majestic, dignified, distinguished, solemn, imposing, grandeur. Please visit my Christian Writer friends by clicking on the links to the right.

If you missed any of my previous “august” posts, check out finding God’s majesty on the ocean floor [LIVING WATER], with the new life of a child [HOT AUGUST NIGHTS], and in the starry heavens [THE HEAVENS DECLARE YOUR GLORY]. Today's post continues the focus on God's august majesty.

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Every year our family goes to the State Fair. In California, the State Fair doesn’t include jars of peach preserves sporting blue ribbons flapping in the hot summer breeze. 

The State Fair in California means that cows are judged in the shaded coolness of a multi-million dollar pavilion. It means the rides are bigger and faster than at most amusement parks. It means the food lineup not only includes corndogs and cotton candy; but also chocolate covered bacon, fried calamari and ostrich burgers.  

The California State Fair also means that each visitor receives a 12” live baby redwood to take home and plant. That’s reason enough to go to the fair. 

You have not really seen California until you have visited our redwood forests. These ancient giants have lived this earth for centuries. They tower hundreds of feet into the heavens. They are large enough that—when cut—the base provides space for a full-sized dance floor. For the thrill of tourists, at one time, redwoods were carved open to provide a tunnel for cars to drive through. (www.alamedainfo.com/redwood_tree_ca.htm for photos of drive-through trees and tree “houses”)

Redwoods are a miracle of longevity and grandeur. And they are a reflection of God’s majesty here on earth. 

But they do not grow easily. Every year we bring home our baby redwood trees from the fair. We tenderly plant them. We watch them and whisper to them. We nourish them and care for them every day, every week, every month, until finally…they die.

After nearly 30 years of attending the State Fair; 30 years of attempting to grow a redwood tree past infancy; 30 years of watching God’s tiny creation crumble to dust under my care, one thing is clear: these majestic creations can only be grown to maturity by God’s august hand.

Even if we could get our seedlings to survive our lifetime, still it is God who continues to care for them after we are gone. It is God who provides the soil and the water and the sunshine. It is God who created them and who continues to be reflected in them when they are 300 years old and 300 feet tall. 

 

As I look around God’s world, His august majesty is everywhere. It is in the small. It is in the average. And it is in the solemn, dignity of the California redwood.

The ancient people tried to build a tower to reach God. They need only to have traveled to the west coast of North America and stood in awe of the Giant Redwoods. The redwoods are California’s personal Tower of Babel, but created by God; reaching toward heaven; reflecting God; and praising Him like the rocks themselves that shout out God’s glory.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the reminders in this world of your majesty. Show us more of your glory. Help us to see you in everything around us. Let it be for your glory. Amen.

 

WHAT ABOUT YOU: Look around your world. Where do you see examples of God’s majesty?

THE HEAVENS DECLARE YOUR GLORY

This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain on the theme  of “august,” as in majestic, awesome, inspiring, Check out what my Christian Writer friends have to say about “august” by clicking on the links to the right. 

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Do you like to sit out at night—by the campfire perhaps—staring into the night sky? Counting stars? Wishing on meteorites? Spotting orbiting satellites? Imagining the possibilities?

For me, sky watching is the best part of every camping trip. We even have special reclining fold-up chairs that are perfect for stargazing. No strain on the neck. No twisting or slouching to get into proper viewing position. Just settle in, lean back and ahh…there’s one!

Although we have become familiar with our particular night sky and the constellations and star clusters it contains, once I get to looking seriously, my mind invariably wonders how the ancients ever decided those five stars resembled Cassiopeia. Or how those three stars possibly reminded them of Orion.  

Until one night when the ranger talk took us to a parking lot at Big Trees State Park. The  talk was star gazing. We were directed to one single point in the night sky, where, with simple binoculars and a whole lot of patient, minute-movement-by-minute movement, we were rewarded with the delight of finding  the coat hanger star cluster.

The coat hanger is not technically a constellation. Rather it is an asterism; a group of stars within a larger constellation. In this case, the coat hanger rests within the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Triangle. The Summer Triangle itself includes the three constellations of Deneb, Vega and Altair. 

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. (Psalm 147:4)

It’s doubtful that God placed the stars in exactly those positions and named them “the coat hanger asterism.” But God did place those stars in exactly those positions for whatever purpose He had. And He made us modern folk want to look for patterns and find joy in the unexpected.

We can Google stars and nebulae; universes and black holes and find evidence of God’s majesty in the heavens photographed by telescope for our marvel.

For me, seeing a group of stars one night in a parking lot on a hilltop in California brought home the truth of God’s august majesty. The stars, seen through my 10-power binoculars appeared to be no bigger than a quarter. The realization that each star was unimaginably huge, immeasurable light years away and possibly surrounded by its own set of twirling planets, made the majesty even more august.

God is the God of the universe. The universe is august because He is august and it is a reflection of His glory. Everything points to His majesty—even the glory of a coat hanger precariously balanced in a dark summer sky.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father you are the author of creation and your creation is filled with your glory and majesty. Thank you for giving us august glimpses of who you are. Open our eyes to see the universe as you see it and as it is a reflection of you. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you a stargazer? What’s the most spectacular scene you’ve witnessed in the night sky?

For more night sky fun go to: http://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns

HOT AUGUST NIGHTS

This post is part of the CW blog chain. Our theme this month is “august.” Not August, the month; but “august” as in majestic, powerful, imposing, dignified, distinguished, solemn, stately. But here I’d like to combine the two meanings as I celebrate the life of my son.

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Hot August Nights.

That phrase has a special meaning when you’re nine months pregnant and don’t have air conditioning. That was me 25 years ago, awaiting the birth of my firstborn—our awesome son, Doug.

Yep, I was miserable before his birth. But remember John 16:21?

“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.”

I’m not sure being hot is the sort of pain John was talking about. But back to the topic of august, majestic, dignified, solemn…

Let’s face it. There’s nothing dignified or solemn about giving birth. But the new life a child brings with him into the world is nothing less than a real and powerful example of God’s majesty. A baby is new life; a perfect child; a precious gift to the world. 

A Perfect Child

Like every new parent, the first thing I did when Doug was born was count his fingers and toes and thank God for giving Doug ten of each. In every way, my tiny baby was physically perfect. He was a true miracle; made no less miraculous by the fact that perfect babies have been born every moment of every day of every century since the beginning of time.

 

No doubt, Jesus’ earthly mother did the same as I did and as every other mother does. She counted Jesus’ fingers and toes and thanked God for the perfection she held in her arms.

A Precious Gift to Us 

After the counting, I thanked God for the gift that baby Dougie was to hubby and I.

At the same moment, I was overcome with the responsibility—the deep understanding that God had entrusted this child to our care. As stewards of his life, we had better do a good job of it. Our son was a precious gift to us—a gift that needed care to ensure he was healthy and loved.

How much more must Mary have sensed her responsibility to care for the God of the universe?

A Precious Gift to the World

Doug was a gift to the world as well. A person couldn’t help but look at little Dougie and smile. As a young boy, he was perpetually joyful—singing, whistling and laughing nonstop.

As a teenager attempting to live with angst, we could effortlessly annoy him by simply telling him “not to smile,” at which, of course, he grinned helplessly.

As a young man, discerning how to make his mark on the world, we know that whatever path he chooses, he will be a gift to those he encounters.

Just like Jesus is a gift both to us personally and to the world.

God’s Majesty in the Form of a Babe

Jesus was God’s most majestic gift to the world. He came in the majestic form of a tiny baby. Perfect physically. Perfect spiritually. Loved by his mother and earthly father. Loved by his Heavenly Father. Loved by the children who would become his bride—the church.

How does God’s august gift have to do with the month of August other than it being the birth month of my son? It has to do with living with thankfulness.

My internal thermometer is perpetually set on “high.” That means I’m always hot—especially in August. Once God sent us our Doug, though, my focus for the month of August was changed forever.

No longer does August mean the hottest month of the year. Now August means joy because I celebrate the month God blessed this world with our son.

By being thankful amid all circumstances –even the 110 degree temperatures of August, God reminded me that August doesn’t have to stand for the last big heat of summer. Rather August reminds me that the coolness of autumn waits just around the corner. So does the cool serenity of God’s love and grace wait for me every moment of every day.

God bless you, Doug for the child you were and the man you have become. May God actively pursue your heart. May you seek and find Him. May you follow Him all the days of your life.

  

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for showing us your majesty in this world. Thank you for your august nature, displaying it even as a tiny babe. Show us how to live with a happy heart, focusing on thankfulness in every situation. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you love the month of August? What about August do you think is most “august”?

LIVING WATER

This month's Christian Writer’s blog chain theme is “august,” as in majestic, dignified, solemn, imposing. Please click the links to the right to see what my friends have to say.

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The world is filled with awesome grandeur—the majesty of snow-capped mountains; the Grand Canyon’s inspiring depths; the solemn forests of stately columned green, the delicate crystalline structures in caves. Even the world in miniature can fill us with awe as we observe the intricate structure of a flower, its petals, stamen and leaves—a miracle of beauty. 

The most majestic scene I have ever witnessed in this glory-filled earth however, lies on the ocean floor.  

Despite my post last month,  The Spiritual Truths I Learned in Swim Class, I am not a very good swimmer. In fact, I have a little understood condition known as oceandrainaphobia, or fear of the drain at the bottom of the ocean.  

Hey, writers are supposed to have an active imagination, right?  

Despite my imagined fear though, I try not to pass up an opportunity to explore the ocean depths with my snorkel, fins and as many layers of life jackets as I can tie around me and still fit inside a large rubber tube. 

The first time I snorkeled was at Captain Cook's monument on the “big island” of Hawaii. I expected to see a flurry of living color darting in and out of my vision, above an ocean floor of dark rocks and hidden places. 

When I finally braved the ocean and placed my goggles into the water, the scene made me gasp in disbelief and wonder.

Below me was a world of fantasy and imagination; color and texture, unlike any image I’d seen anywhere on the surface of the earth. It was a world within a world and a world separate from our world above. And for a moment, I forgot the world above; forgot the boat bobbing next to me just beyond my reach; forgot even the ocean drain lurking somewhere nearby.

Who but God could have created this majesty?

In the sun-touched reaches of the deep, the world was alight with color. The silence was alive with the whispers of life. The cool waters reflected and refracted the light reaching its depth from heaven above, oblivious even to the sun’s existence. There were no dark rocks and lurking shadows. There was only color and light as my vision was filled with living rock of a coral reef.

It was a surreal scene—an unknown world, ignorant that it was different; sublimely confident that it was simply another creation by the same God who created us all.  

That experience changed forever the way I looked at God’s world, understanding for the first time, that here—wherever we are—is not all there is. God shows us His august majesty throughout the earth—above and below.

Even in places mankind may never have been before and may never see, beauty is there because God created it. God is beauty and majesty and augustness and His creation reflects who He is.

 
I’ll still tie on my life jackets and hold tight to the big rubber tube. But to glimpse God’s majesty once more, not even the drain at the bottom of the ocean can keep me away.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you have filled this world with your glory. Help us take the time to see the beauty around us and to recognize that it is a reflection of your majesty. Show us ways to praise and glorify you more today. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you remember the first time you saw with your own eyes what existed at the bottom of the ocean? How did seeing that make you feel?