What a Dream Come-a-truer

One of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid was Daniel Boone starring Fes Parker. I realize that it was not very historically accurate and would not be considered very politically correct today but I religiously parked myself in front of the set to follow the adventures of Daniel and his friend and companion, Mingo. In the opening credits, Boone would be walking through the forest or beside a stream and then the theme song would fade in:

Daniel Boone was a man. Yes a big man.With an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain was he…

And then came my absolute favorite part..

Daniel Boone was a man Yes a big man
He was brave he was fearless and as tough as a mighty oak tree…

With that Fes would throw his hatchet and split a tree right down the middle. This was way before CGI and the amazing special effects like we have now but to my pre-teen mind, it was pretty cool. I always thought it would be the ultimate to be able to split wood like that. As hard as I tried, I was never even able split a tree in half with one swing even holding onto an axe much less throwing one.

Now you might be wondering what brought about this stroll down memory lane to a show that my kids probably have trouble believing that I ever bothered watching. Well this weekend, I experienced an activity that made me feel like I was right there with old Daniel and Mingo. This week is my daughter’s birthday but I’m on call this weekend so on Saturday I suggested doing something that she has been wanting to do for quite a while. We’ve been seeing this activity advertised but between all the covid restrictions and the cost, I’ve been finding plenty of excuses to not take advantage of opportunities. Since it was for her birthday and there was a 50% off deal, we took the plunge. That’s right, we went axe throwing. I could picture it all in my mind. The axe would spin in slow motion and the target would split. I’d have to apologize as they replaced the target. Since both my daughter and my wife stuck their axes on their first couple of throws, I knew that I would be a natural. I would be able to reach way back and draw on my inner Daniel Boone. I was so sure I tried a one arm throw first. The axe flew straight and true right to the spot I intended, more or less, but much to my chagrin it dropped to the floor with a thud. My inner Boone had some how failed me. I switched to a two handed technique with no better results. Now if you ask my wife and daughter, they will say that it took 30 or more throws before I got an axe to stick. I think it was more like about 10 or 12. I couldn’t have split a tree but I might have been able to knock one down with my repeated blows or at least beat it into submission. I could feel Daniel and Mingo hanging their heads in shame. Sensing my frustration and fearing I might hack the target to pieces in anger, one of the attendants offered a heavier dual headed axe. Finally, a man sized axe befitting my adulation of Fes Parker. As I took this new weapon in my hands, the skies opened up and I could hear the Daniel Boone theme ringing in my ears. I could feel the strength of Daniel Boone coursing through my arms as the axe flew straight and true. My scream of triumph froze everyone in the facility making them wonder who was having gall bladder surgery without anesthesia. With my manhood restored, I ended the afternoon on a high note sticking the axe 80 to 85% of the time with pretty decent accuracy. I had difficulty believing that they didn’t offer me the target to take home or at least a Daniel Boone coonskin cap for my accomplishment but such was not the case. It could be my over developed imagination but I have noticed that trees have begun to quake in my presence though. I guess they know a Daniel Boone when they see one.

Psalm 74:5-6

⁵ It was like men in a thicket of trees,
wielding axes,
⁶ then smashing all the carvings
with hatchets and picks.

Saturday Morning Revival

Each Friday I participate in the FiveMinuteFriday.com hosted by Kate Motaung challenge to write on a prompt word. Today’s word is enable. I must confess that I was less than thrilled about it. I had no idea what I was going to write until a thought popped into my head while preparing to teach Sunday school this week. The lesson is on Luke 9 and it reminded me of something our son did when he was little. He was an avid cartoon watcher and one of his favorites was He-man. Almost every time after watching, Ty would grab a plastic bat, a yardstick, or whatever was handy stand up on the couch, raise his arms and cry out He-man’s catch phrase, “I have the power!”. He would then go about defeating Skeletor and whatever bad guys he could imagine. He had the power right up to the time my wife would tell him to go clean his room. Talk about an instant power outage.

In the first few verses of Luke chapter 9. Jesus gave the 12 disciples the power to heal the sick, make the blind see, proclaim the Kingdom and even cast out demons. He enabled them to do His work. Jesus even gave that power to Judas who He knew would betray Him. A little while later, there were at least 5000 hungry people listening to Jesus. Jesus told them to give them something to eat. The disciples had already been given the power. They had been enabled but failed to do anything. Later in the chapter, a man brings his demon possessed son to Jesus saying he had begged the disciples to drive it out but they failed. Once again, they had been enabled but did not exercise the power given to them.

Before I can criticize them for their power outage, I realize that as a follower of Jesus that I’ve been enabled also. I’m supposed to be His salt and light not to mention, that I am to proclaim His Kingdom. I can’t get too proud because it’s not my power but God working through me. Sadly, far too often, I complain about the shape the world is in instead of plugging into the power that God is waiting for me to use.

I promise you that no one, my wife included, wants to see my dad bod dressed like He-man, but because “greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world” , I truly do have the power.

Acts 1:8

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends^[a] of the earth.”

Just for fun and to hopefully make you smile here’s a link to the old Chris Rice song What if Cartoons Got Saved.

Slip Sliding Away

Like a big part of the country, we were hit with a couple of winter storms last week. Now for our brothers and sisters to the north, it’s no big deal but down here in Tennessee, life came to a standstill. Some folks fussed about how slowly the streets were salted and plowed but when we’ve probably not had two storms like that in the past five years much less two in the same week, it’s not like the people that deal with that kind of thing have very much experience or even the equipment to deal with it properly. We were forced to take the good with the bad. Let’s get the bad out of the way first. I was on call the Sunday that everything started. Everything they say about black ice is true. Luckily I was about the only idiot out on the road as I slid from one side of the road to the other. Jesus and I got real close on the trip over and back into work. On Monday, the sleet started and it was time again for me and Jesus to get real tight. Tuesday any tracks that had been blazed through the ice froze which made the trek in to work an Oregon trail adventure I don’t long to repeat anytime soon. Like the song says, the near my destination, the more I was slip sliding away. After doing my best Nanook of the North impression, I was finally was able to spend some well deserved time enjoying the Winter wonderland right out our back door.

That brings us to the good part. I got to spend quality time with the fam as well as we explored the great outdoors. We took a walk along the river with our dog, Gertie and it was beautiful. It was so enchanting, I expected Mr Tumnus to step out of the forest welcoming us to Narnia at any moment. Gertie was in heaven and did her best impersonation of a snow plow. She never rode the sled but enjoyed running along beside it. In my mind, I believe I’m ready to compete in the Winter X games but in reality, I’m not too sure the bunny slope won’t be too much to handle. The mixture of snow and ice was the perfect blend for sledding and we took advantage of it. The problem was I tended to evaluate the slope, not for the ride down but more for the difficulty of the walk back up. What happened to the young man who once in college sought out winter thrills? No hill was too steep or jump too high to at least try once. I hope the statute of limitations has run out because I temporarily borrowed a tray (Sorry, Belmont cafeteria ladies) when we had a big snow. The hill by the girl’s dorm provided a great place to slide. Not content with challenge the slope offered, someone noticed the drain pipe at the bottom of the hill would make a great launching pad. We packed snow down and everyone was looking for a test pilot. Not yet having learned that discretion is the better part of valor, I quickly offered my services. Everything was going to plan as I gathered speed gliding down the slope right up to the point that the tray struck the concrete surrounding the pipe. The tray stopped but once again proving that an object in motion tends to stay in motion, I did not. My impact point with the concrete then the pipe and finally the ground was the end of my tail bone. As I lay in a heap at the bottom of the hill, I scanned the slope for fragments of my spine that I was sure that must be there. Since there were plenty of young ladies around, I acted as cool as one could having just experienced a concrete and snow enema. It is true that your sins will find you out because I had to enjoy my meals in the cafeteria standing up for the next couple of weeks. To show that there is no fool like an old fool, I had another humbling frozen encounter during this latest bout with winter weather. As I wrote earlier, we selected a rather tame slope at the back of our neighborhood for our adventure. I boasted to my coworker when she called to tell me all patients had been cancelled for the next day that it would be difficult to get injured on our chosen hill. Pride definitely goes before the fall because I discovered a way to make that happen. It was on my last trip of the day when I decided to go head first. Once again, everything was going smoothly right up to the time I hit a rut in the path. I bounced up off the sled and impacted the frozen tundra with my nose. Like another old song that talks about how the bones are connected, my tailbone sent a message to my nose saying “I know how you feel, buddy.” I rolled off the sled with the grace of a wounded walrus but with as much composure as possible. Luckily my nose was still in the place God placed it. I wish I could say no blood, no foul but it’s just now, almost a week later that I can touch it without it being tender.

Well, the snow and ice are almost gone and it will likely be a while before I get to tempt my fate in a winter wonderland. You would think by this time in my life I would have learned my lesson well, but we’ll see. Hopefully, I’ll recall these incidents and learn that gravity always wins.

Deuteronomy 32:35

³⁵ Vengeance^[a] belongs to Me; I will repay.^[b]
In time their foot will slip,
for their day of disaster is near,
and their doom is coming quickly.”

Deuteronomy 4:9

⁹ “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.

Did You Look in the Mirror?

My wife will often ask me the same question as we are about to leave home. Did you look in the mirror? Most of the time my answer is a quick yes without really stopping to consider if I actually had. Inevitably she will persist asking again, “You really looked in the mirror before you left the bedroom?” By this time, I’ve realized that something is up but usually become defensive about my appearance and fashion sense and respond with some measure of sarcasm. She will say something along the line of , “Oh, you meant to have your shirt on inside out or is that big stain supposed to mean something special or are you planning on using the shaving cream in your ear later or even have you given up combing your hair for Lent? No matter what the question is, most of the time, I must begrudgingly admit upon closer inspection in the mirror that she is correct. My usual habit in front of the mirror is only a cursory glance and then I go merrily on my way thinking everything is fine in my world. Luckily my wife is much more observant. She keeps me from going out in the world looking like someone who needs to wear a button saying “If lost, return to”. It’s not that I don’t care about my appearance, I just don’t bother to look that hard at myself. It’s so much easier to think everything is fine and go on about my business without having to change anything. It was different when my daughter was about to get married. We picked out a suit and I picked several ties so that I would look the best for her special day. On her wedding day, I was observant of my appearance and all the details of the ceremony and the reception.

I think that too often I don’t do that in my relationship with God. I take a quick glance and think I’m just fine never being observant about the things that need to change. The guy I see in the mirror really shouldn’t look like me. It should resemble Jesus a little more each day. In Micah Tyler’s song I Want to Be Different, a line from one of the verses says, ” I don’t need to recognize the man in the mirror, I don’t want to change Your plans for something familiar. ”

Lord, help me be observant of the things that need to change in my life. Open my eyes and my heart. Help me to look more like Jesus even though it means admitting that I’m not fine. Let me trust and follow Your plans instead of what I’m familiar and comfortable with. Give me Your eyes and Your Heart to those around me.

1 Corinthians 13:12

12 For now we see indistinctly,[a] as in a mirror,[b]but then face to face.Now I know in part,but then I will know fully,as I am fully known.

Philippians 3:13-14

Brothers, I do not[a] consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly[b] call in Christ Jesus.

I should have probably asked to help me be more observant so that I won’t embarass my wife when we go out but she usually has that covered. Today’s FiveMinuteFriday.com prompt word is appropriately observant. Below is a link to the Micah Tyler song mentioned.

Three Dog Night

No I’m not writing about the old rock band today. The expression actually originates from a region in Siberia referring to a night so cold that you would need three dogs in bed to stay warm. I guess that comes to mind as the sleet and snow are piling up outside with the temperature not expected to climb above freezing for most of the week. The problem is that our one dog is really not concerned with keeping me warm but is more concerned with stealing my body heat as she snuggles between my legs. Gertie’s nightly routine consists of getting her snack and then a teeth cleaning “bone” that is supposed to help eliminate bad breath with only has a modicum of success. She then must go outside to “take care of business” before settling in to what she feels is her designated spot. With the below freezing temperatures and the addition of the sleet and snow, her forays outside tonight have been more brief than usual. I’m afraid that Gertie would find the going very tough in Siberia.

Many years ago, the kids were much younger and we probably should have heeded then advise from the rock band that shares it’s name with this post when they sang “Mama Told Me Not to Come” on a camping trip. This was when we were going through our great outdoors phase. It was the kid’s fall break so we packed the tent and what seemed like half the house to spend a few days getting back to nature. Our destination was Cedars of Lebanon State Park which was only about an hour away from home. The kids even insisted that we take our old dog, Winston along with us. A decision I think he grew to regret. Sherry was always really good about packing everything we could possibly need on our camping trips but somehow we failed to account for near record cold temperatures that trip. Everything was fine while we sat by the fire but once we zipped up the tent old Jack Frost let us know who was in charge. Winston was shivering and I’m sure he wished we had brought along 3 or 4 more dogs for warmth. Having young kids, our camping spot was located close to a restroom but it felt like we still had to cross the frozen Siberian tundra when one of the kids had to go. I don’t speak dog but I think I got the message from Winston’s chattering teeth that we had better do something if we wanted him to stay another night. We ventured into Lebanon to Wally world after we chipped the ice off our bodies and purchased a small electric heater that was rated for a five dog night. Winston may not have been as smart as Gertie is but I think he figured out how to plug that thing in and had the tent all cozy for the remainder of that trip.

I’ve gotten too old to appreciate tent camping not to mention that we’re at least two dogs short on a night like tonight.

2 Corinthians 11:27

²⁷ labor and hardship,
many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst,
often without food, cold, and lacking clothing.

Fool Me Once

Each Friday I participate in the FiveMinuteFriday.com challenge to write on a prompt word for five minutes. Today’s word is once.

The old expression “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” has some truth in it. I embraced this truth on a high school graduation trip for our youngest daughter. We had some unused days on multi-day Disney passes and that is where she chose to go. We loaded everyone up the morning after graduation and headed to Florida. We stopped in North Florida and purchased some overall shorts for the new graduate but she stayed at the hotel because she was was exhausted from an all night celebration that was held at the school. The outfit didn’t fit quite right but my resourceful wife discovered that a store in Kissimmee had her correct size in stock so she called ahead to reserve them. In the past I had relied on my trusty road Atlas for directions but my adult son ridiculed me mercilessly so I was dependent solely on gps technology. Everything went smoothly until we reached Orlando. I don’t know if the satellite took the day off but the directions were less than stellar. It put us on a continuous loop of toll exit and entrance ramps that soon exhausted every bit of change we had in the car with no end in sight. I began to suspect a conspiracy between the satellite and to city of Orlando to generate revenue. On top of that, the wind shield wipers broke and it was pouring. I spotted an auto parts store at an upcoming exit and abandoned the gps labyrinth with it screaming for me to turn around. After installing new wipers, I spotted a road sign pointing toward Kissimmee. I decided that I had been fooled by the gps genie enough and would blaze my own trail. Apparently once we left the Bermuda Triangle, the gps technology began to work properly and we located not only the store but also our rental property with no more difficulties. After being burned like that it took awhile before I put my full trust in the technology but now I plug in destinations on my phone almost daily without a thought.

It’s too easy to apply the principle of fool me once to people. If I feel I have been wronged by someone, rather real or perceived, I’m willing to forgive them once but find myself wary of being burned and made a fool of from that time forward. Peter demonstrated that thinking in Matthew 18 when he asked Jesus if he just had to forgive someone seven times. Jesus replied probably blowing Peter’s mind seventy times seven. It’s great that God doesn’t think like me when I mess up time and time again. Even if I promise it won’t happen again. He sees me new each time I feel like I’ve let Him down. The truth is I was never holding Him up. In Isaiah 41:10, it says:

Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

Thank goodness that God doesn’t keep accounts and become wary of me. He removes my sins “as far as the east is from the west.” never thinking that I have made a fool of Him each time I go to Him for forgiveness.

Matthew 18:21-22

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

²² “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 time

It Must Skip a Generation

Mondays are busy with work, making an attempt to keep to some kind of exercise schedule, and tutoring so sometimes inspirations for posts don’t come easy. Just before I nodded off, the thought for this Tuesday edition popped into my head. For some strange reason I couldn’t get chickens out of my head so you can probably imagine that I had some pretty strange dreams last night.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love chicken. It doesn’t mention in Genesis what God created on the eighth day, but it had to be Chick-fil-A. Our diet when the kids were little predominantly revolved around chicken prepared in some form or fashion. Our kids referred to any meat in general, even steak, as good chicken. The first regular food I gave our son as a baby was the gravy from Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings so I definitely have an appreciation for our feathered friends.

I don’t have any kind of deep seated hang ups about chickens but I also don’t quite understand the current fascination with a return to poultry farming. I get with the pandemic and the concern about food shortages that the idea of sustainability is attractive but I am reluctant to get on board that train. On the other hand, my daughter and son-in-law have been bitten by the bug. They researched chicken farming techniques and went in whole hog at least on a small scale. They built a coop and even a chicken tractor. Until they explained what it was, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how the chickens could reach the clutch and the gas pedal. Up until now, they have only been harvesting eggs but hope to soon be raising baby chicks. I’m afraid with my wife’s love of animals, she’ll invite the grandchickens over for a sleepover. She even had her picture made with the one she says looks like me. I’m sorry but I really don’t see the resemblance. It probably makes me a bad grandpa but all I can think of when I see the chickens are what are the Colonel’s eleven secret herbs and spices. Maybe my lack of appreciation for the finer points of chicken farming is a genetic thing. Both of my brothers dove into the deep end of the poultry craze and we have enjoyed the benefits of their labor with all the eggs they have produced. Perhaps in my case, that particular gene skipped a generation because my Grandma Thompson loved raising chickens. Her love was so deep, I remember the time we went to visit in the dead of winter only to be greeted when going to get cleaned up in the only bathroom by about 50 chicks bunking in the bathtub. I could be slightly exaggerating that number but the amount of excrement I had to clean up before bathing maybe skewing my memory a bit. Grandma loved her chickens. One daily laid her egg on the window unit air conditioner and you had to collect it quickly before it rolled off and broke. There was also one that acted as a bobble headed hood ornament on Grandma’s car as she drove down the long pot holed, dirt drive to collect her mail. My daughter must have gotten that genetic trait from Grandma Thompson. I, on the other hand, have less than fond memories of being chased by the not so amiable rooster when I was asked to gather eggs. I will freely admit that my appreciation for these feathered friends leans more toward the culinary aspect of their characteristics.

Now that I look more closely, maybe I do see a little resemblance through the eyes.

• 

Matthew 23:37

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks^[a] under her wings, yet you were not willing!

Bank on It

Sunrise will be in the East tomorrow. I can say that with assurance. If I check my phone, I can even know the exact time with certainty. Even if it is cloudy and I can’t see it, sunrise will still happen. It’s a sure thing. That’s the way the world works.

The Super bowl is going to be played this weekend and predictions are everywhere. Odds are given on just about everything. You can call a betting hot line and get a “guaranteed” winner. Odds makers can study all the statistics, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each of the teams, and try to take everything into account but the actual outcome of the game can’t be determined until it is over. Sometimes the unexpected happens, a player gets injured, the ball takes a fluky bounce, or some unknown player has the game of their lives and the underdog wins. Despite what odds makers promise, there is no absolute sure bet.

God promised a Savior. He sent Jesus but He was completely different than what was expected. Jesus told everyone exactly what was going to happen but even his closest friends and followers couldn’t accept it. When He said on the cross, “It is finished”, the religious leaders of the day and Satan thought they had won big. Satan gloated over his winnings until early in the morning of that third day when the sun rose from the East to find the tomb empty. Upon further review, sin, death, and Satan had been defeated once and for all. It is really the only completely sure thing. You can bank on it. No matter how dismal and desperate of a situation the world seems to be in, the final outcome has been determined. As sure as the sunrise will be in the East, I can know with confidence Who has won.

Hebrews 13:8

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

In the past, our church did a passion play reenacting Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and resurrection. I would get chills with this song as the actor portraying Jesus stepped out of the tomb as the audience went wild with celebration. Here is a link to Arise My Love by New Song. It’s an older song but it’s worth the 5 minutes of listening if you have the time. It sure has charged me up this morning.

This is part of the FiveMinuteFriday.com writing challenge on a prompt word. Today’s word is sunrise.

Reading Is Fun-da-mental

Once again, I was reminded as I helped with reading tonight of reading with my kids. All the adult helpers talked about the different books we read to our kids. I read to my kids every night without fail. I love to read and I wanted to instill in my kids a love for reading. I absolutely relish the time I spent with each of them. I tried to make it fun by using different voices for the different characters. I sometimes messed up and used the wrong one and they would be sure to let me know. I also had certain actions that went with each story that I had to do with each reading and I mean every time. They definitely had their favorite books, that I probably read over a thousand times. Even now, I can almost recite Where the Wild Things Are from memory. One of the best compliments I ever received was when one of my girls told a friend at a sleepover while we were reading that story, “My Dad reads this story the best!” We would normally read one or two stories along with a Bible story each night.

Then we progressed to chapter books. Chapter books are great because they always give something to look forward to the next night. For my son, it was Bill Myer’s Wally McDoogal series. For those unaware, Wally is a kid who gets himself in all kinds of trouble and he almost always writes a super hero story within the main story. For example, My Life as a Smashed Burrito or My Life as a Big Foot Breath Mint were stories that my son loved. We would read and laugh at Wally’s antics. Then I began reading a page and have him read a page. I knew when he really started reading well when I heard him giggling reading ahead from his top bunk. I would pretend to be mad for reading ahead but was thrilled that he was getting it. He would say that it would be okay if we read back over it and I knew when the good parts were coming when he would be holding back the laughter because he knew what was coming. I tried the Hardy Boy mysteries that were some of my favorites as a kid but by this time, he was reading really well on his own so I was on my own.

My girls loved the Junie B. Jones series. We shared lots of laughs reading those books. There was one story that Junie B. takes a frozen fish for a walk on a leash that still makes me laugh. I would crawl up in their loft bed, cuddle and read with them. It was a time that I will always cherish sharing something with them that I love so much. They progressed to American Girl stories and they then started reading to their dolls like Felicity so I got kicked out once again.

The days of crawling up in bed to read with them are long gone. Hopefully I’ll still be able to do that if I ever have grandkids. Until that time, I’ll have to brush up on my Where the Wild Things Are. After all, I’ve got a reputation to uphold.

Proverbs 4

Listen, my sons, to a father’s discipline,
and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,
² for I am giving you good instruction.
Don’t abandon my teaching.
³ When I was a son with my father,
tender and precious to my mother,
⁴ he taught me and said:
“Your heart must hold on to my words.
Keep my commands and live.

Just Right

My wife is a seamstress or is it a sewist? Whatever the case, she sews. She is extremely talented and makes beautiful stuff. People were amazed at the outfits she made for our girls when they were little. She still sews some clothes for them now that they are adults as well as for herself. She even started a business where she creates custom embroidery items. She embroiders on towels, dish cloths, and just about anything someone might want. She also designs pillows for special occasions like weddings, births, and memory items when someone has passed. Almost always, the recipient comments how beautiful the design is and how much they appreciate it. Not once has anyone thought that the design just happened by itself. They recognize the intricate design and realize that my wife had to design it. My wife has a fully stocked sewing room with a seemingly endless supply of fabric and other sewing necessities so if anything could be created by mere chance spontaneously, her room has the ingredients that could make it happen. No, the designs come from my wife, the designer.

That’s why I have a hard time understanding how someone can look at the intricate design of our earth and even the universe and not marvel at the grand design. It goes against all the odds of probability to think that it all happened by chance. Scientists say that if the earth tilted a few degrees either way on its axis that life couldn’t exist. The same goes for our distance from the sun and the makeup of our atmosphere; they are all just right. There is a grand design to everything around us. Doesn’t it make sense that if there is a grand design, there must be a Grand Designer. I’ve studied science and can’t explain how everything happened but I see the wonderfully intricate, marvelously complicated Grand design of everything and know that there is no way that it was all the result of chance that everything is just right.

Even more incredible is the fact that the Designer didn’t abandon His creation when it went off course. We were designed to have fellowship with Him so He sent His most precious possession, His Son to get us back to His original design.

Romans 1:20

²⁰ For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

I participate in the FiveMinuteFriday.com weekly writing challenge hosted by Kate Motaung to write for five minutes on a prompt word. Today’s word is design. Check out the site for more posts from Christian writers or join yourself.