Holding Together

It’s been a great day of relaxing. Working out. Walking along rocky beaches with blustery thunder-bumpers spitting rain and whirling it along on gusting winds. Experiencing the joy of God bubbling along in the winds and the Wind within me. Now watching a Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio DVD: “How Great is Our God”…

Consider the Whirlpool galaxy, 31 million light years away, the “Darling Galaxy”, perpendicular to us here on earth. Light year=5.88 Trillion Miles. 300 billion stars in that one galaxy. It is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in our known universe. www.Hubblesite.org showed us the black hole in this galaxy with the shape of the cross in it.

Consider just four stars for comparison in our own little galaxy: first, our sun. 10,000 degrees F on the surface. 93M miles away. Light takes 8 min to get here from there. One million times the size of our earth: “their starry hosts by the breath of His mouth…” God just breathes out stars. If earth were size of golf ball the sun would be 15 feet in diameter. You could put 960,000 earths inside the sun.

Let’s talk about another star. Betelgeuse. 427 light years away. Twice the size of the earths’ orbit around the sun. If earth were a golf ball, Betelgeuse would be the height of 6 empire state buildings on top of one another. 262 trillion earths inside this star. Enough to fill up the super bowl with golf balls 3,000 times.

Musephei. 3,000 light years away. Hershel’s garnet star. If earth were a golf ball, M would be the width of two golden gate bridges in SF end to end. 2.7 quadrillion earths inside this one star. Quadrillion= one thousand trillion. Million seconds ago=12 days ago. Billion seconds ago=May, 1975. Trillion seconds ago= 29,700 BC. Quadrillion=30,000,800,000 years ago.

Canis Majoris, biggest star we’ve found so far. If earth were golf ball, this star would be the height of Mt Everest. 6 miles above sea level. Highest point on planet. 7 quadrillion earths inside this one star. Cover state of Texas with golf balls 22 inches deep.

A shrinking feeling comes upon one when we consider these brief glances into our neighborhood. Yet even tho we are but a vapor we are marked by majesty and are created in image of a God who breathed out these stars.

We are each incredibly special and marked by uniqueness. 3 billion characters formed your genome out of 4 simple characters. You once were the one cell that formed when half of your mom’s chromosomes and half of your dad’s joined together. 75 trillion cells now make up your body. 50,000 cells die and are replaced every 3 seconds every day and night all the days of your existence. Miraculous. Augustine: “Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the long course of rivers, the vast compass of ocean, the circular motion of the stars, but they pass by themselves and don’t even notice….”

The same God who breathed out stars, this same God will hold you in his hand and carry you all the days of your life. Psalm 33 says He will become intimately acquainted with all the circumstances of our lives and carry us and deliver us from death…. He will hold us together. One example of this is the molecule, laminin.

Laminin is the cell-adhesion protein molecule. It is one of the 10,000-16,000 protein molecules in the body; it is the rebar of the human body that holds the membranes together. Under an electron microscopeone can see that it is shaped like the cross of Jesus. One is reminded of Colossians: “by him have all things been created by Jesus and for Jesus and He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ….”

Or, from Isaiah 40: “so why do you say oh Jacob, my way is hidden from the Lord? Do you not know, haven’t you heard, the Lord is the everlasting god, the creator of the earth, he will not grow tired or weary. He gives strength to weary, increases power of weak, for even youths will grow tired and weary, young men will stumble, but those who wait upon God… who stand in the middle of their pain… with confidence they will stand in the land of the living.

Those people who wait, I will renew their strength. When you think you can’t take one more breath I will give you enough to keep on growing on, and going on,….. He will keep strength rising, continuing in you so that you will run and not get weary and run and not faint. There are millions of little cell adhesion laminin crosses hold our bodies together and one big Cross connects us to the Father. Bless you, Jesus.

A Dog-gone Good Story

Part of unplugging from California is finding a home for our dogs. It might seem a small thing to you, but to us, it’s a big deal….

On December 22nd, once again, we were praying for a right–fit placement for our Chelsea and Buddy King Charles Cavaliers. We checked out a few homes. In fact, the home we first visited left me without peace. Vance and I agreed that if I felt the least bit uneasy, we would not leave the dogs. The next possible placement seemed good, but their answer in the morning was “no.” We determined to keep on keeping on. We decided to practice what we preach: don’t give up!

The next afternoon, Monday, I picked up my son and his girlfriend, and asked him where I could find the closest Pet Smart where I could purchase each of the dogs a new ID tag. While standing in the store’s entryway, a woman comes through the doors and says, “Ooooohhh, you Cavaliers are just beautiful!” She cuddles and plays with them, saying “I have a Cavalier – he has Cushing’s Disease; I also had another Cavalier that died a while ago and just told my girl friend I’ve got to get some more babies!” --“another Cavalier!”

I listened and found a lot of bridging going on between her world and ours. I carefully said “We’re looking for someone to care for our dogs until we return about Feb. 22nd…and maybe a permanent placement as we’re intending to relocate overseas. She stood up, looked me in the eye and said “ME!” I asked her to say more… and of course she did.

She lives ½ mile from us in a beautiful home--with her Cavalier, boarding her daughter’s collie for 4 more days, 3 large cats, and many birds in her aviary. She told wonderful stories of her neighbors and friends, all of whom watch over one another.

We exchanged phone numbers, addresses, and in the evening our family walked up to her home with our dogs. Buddy went wild for a while with all the animals; Chelsea crept into my lap for a touch of safety. But, they settled down a little as we sipped tea together.

Our new friend said “Look. I’ll take care of your dogs for you. I will love them like my children. If, when you come back from Colorado, you want them back, they are yours!

Carol and I met at the Intersection of “Pet Smart and Jehovah-Jirah. “God-of-the-One-Who-Listens-and-Answers-Prayer ~ The Lord Provides is His Name!” Not finding what she was looking for at PetCo, across the highway, she came [by God’s Appointment] at the very moments we were standing in the entryway. It is God’s signature to me of His delight in giving this beautiful care package

This has been an incredibly beautiful, just in time, coming together. I can only say Thank You, Lord. Thank You, God. You truly love me and you show that by truly caring for my little dogs, in this incredibly divine orchestration. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

Just 4 days prior to these happenings, on December 24th God led me to receive this Word: Your miracle is already in motion. Something good is about to happen to you. God has already prophesied your destiny and now there is a dynamic force that is pushing you and moving you into a specific prophetic grid: a spiritual zip code.

God’s eyes are moving ~ back and forth across this land ~ seeking those whose hearts are turned toward Him so He can drop His blessings, His will, His delights, and His purposes into our lives … for the sole purpose of “bringing Him Praise and Glory!” If God prepares this beautiful path for Chelsea and Buddy, how much more is something good about to happen to you, Vance and Bethyl; God has already prophesied your destiny and now there is a dynamic force that is pushing you and moving you into a specific prophetic grid: a spiritual zip code. So, we sing: To God be the Glory! … Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice… Let the people rejoice! Oh, come to the Father through Jesus the Son and give Him the glory GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!