Indescribable

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
- Isaiah 40:12

I have always known that I serve a big God, but it wasn't until yesterday that I truly realized how big He is and how very small I actually am. Last night for church we watched the movie Indescribable featuring speaker Louie Giglio and what I saw opened my eyes.

Have you ever had that moment when you look up at the stars and feel so small compared to the vast universe all around you? Well trust me, it's so much vaster than I ever imagined. Below is an image shown in the movie Indescribable.

This photo is called "The Pale Blue Dot". See that small speck in the beam of light to the right? That's us... that's Earth from 3.7 billion miles away. Talk about feeling small.

At first I really wasn't a fan of this feeling. Then I started thinking, out of the entire universe that God created, long ago He chose to come to our pale blue dot. He chose to come to the Earth He made and die on a cross for our sins. Out of all the universe, He chose us as His children. I don't know about you, but I've never felt so loved.

Approximately 31 million light years away is the Whirlpool Galaxy.

At the center of this galaxy is this...

The Hubble telescope took this photo of the X Structure at the core of the Whirlpool Galaxy. To me this just reminds me that God is everywhere. He is in all of creation. I can look at a sunset or at this photo or into my husband's eyes and know that God made it all and He's in it all. He is at the center of the Whirlpool Galaxy and at the very center of each one of us. God is my Father, my Savior, He is amazing... there are not enough words to describe or praise Him. Our God is truly indescribable.

- Nicole

If I had a Million Dollars...

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
- Matthew 17:20

  

Over the past few days virtually everyone has had Mega Millions on the mind. You couldn't turn on the television, listen to the radio, or even glance at the Internet without seeing or hearing about the $640 million dollar jackpot. One of my Facebook friends even compared Mega Millions to the Golden Ticket in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.

I must say it's true. It's something everyone dreams about. "It could be me. I could be the winner." Even though I don't play the lottery, I did get swept up in the Mega Millions mindset today. While cuddling next to my husband for an afternoon nap, my mind drifted and settled upon the question "What on earth would we do with $640 million dollars?"

Most people say that they would at least donate some of their lottery winnings to their church or a deserving charity. Everyone wants to give back and do something good when they have an abundance of money or good fortune, but that got me thinking... what happens if you never win the lottery of your dreams?

The philosopher Edmund Burke once said “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”  He is the same man who said, "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Clearly, Edmund Burke was not a fan of laziness. He wanted action! Jesus wants the same thing for us today. Jesus said even if our faith is as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains! We don't need large sums of money to do God's will. It's often the simple random acts of kindness that make the biggest difference.

Each day we need to be doing what we can with what we have... no matter how little that may be. It may be a kind word to a friend or stranger, cleaning up a local park with your friends, giving a homeless person a meal, or tithing what you can on Sunday morning. The point is, we don't need great amounts of wealth, fame, or power to do great things. We just need faith and the will to do it.

- Nicole