Telescopes

When I was little, I was fascinated with stars. I remember going out to church camp where there were no city lights and being able to see tons and tons of stars and even the faint glow of the milky way. I also remember looking up in my driveway growing up and only seeing a few stars and thinking, "What a shame we can't see more here!"

That's when dad and I got our telescope. I remember waking up at crazy times of nights and laying back on our lawn chairs to watch meteor showers. We bought a star chart and I would line up the day and the time and we would set up our telescope by the pool and look at the moon, Saturn (my favorite), Jupiter, Mars, the stars in Orion's belt, ALL OF THEM! I was so fascinated!

The truth is, I still am! I love stars and I love looking up (beyond the planes my husband is looking at haha) and seeing all the glowing bodies of light in the constellations I've known for so long! We recently went on a trip to Big Bend (to read THAT blog and see the video, click here: http://daughterandwife.blogspot.com/2013/03/big-bend-state-park.html) and I was amazed at all the stars I could see again after so long!

Tonight, I did an activity with my kids on stars. It was awesome as my preschool director and I decided to do a class together with preschoolers and elementary kids. They were hilarious to watch and were so into the Bible story on creation! I loved every single bit of it! Once we covered creation, I showed the kids a "mini constellation" map I had made by poking holes in aluminum foil. They ooohed and ahhhed and tried to guess what each one looked like to them. Then I let them make their own.

The greatest part about it was that I was able to think about those times with my dad. How we would look though the telescope and the star would be magnified. I would see all the details of the star, planet, whatever and think, "Wow! God made that!" God's glory was magnified as my telescope magnified the star I was looking at!

What's cool when you think about it, is we are like telescopes. Whatever we focus on, we magnify. If we focus on negative things, negative things get magnified in our life. If however, we focus on God, God in all his glory and power is magnified in our lives!

Think about Isaiah 43:1-7. In this passage, God says he:

• Created you
• Redeemed you
• Calls you
• Keeps you from all manner of destruction
• Is your Savior
• Thinks you are precious
• Loves you!

Isn't that amazing? God's glory is displayed the greatest when we have a delight in all that he is; through all that he created, all his love, mercy, kindness, justice, and power! It's hard to wrap your mind around God, but I think that's the point! He is so amazing we can just think about what he did for us, then lean into him and whisper, "Wow!"

So as we run, and we have plenty of time to think, what are you thinking about? Is it all the problems in your life? All the stress, the worries, the annoying people, whatever. Or is it the fact that God gave you everything you have and loves you no matter what?

"But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

Isaiah 43:1-7