Eternal Perspective...

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The

Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of

the earth. He does not faint or grow weary;

His understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 40:28

Let me just paint this picture! As I sit in the dining room of our condo with the balcony door open, I gaze out the window and reflect on God's glory and sovreignty and, in reality, a perfect picture of God's unending grace! As I listen to the waves crash and watch the ripples of the ocean, I can't help but think that God's love is so much wider and deeper than the vast ocean in front of me! While veiwing this world's paradise, I can't help but think of the true Paradise that awaits me and reflect upon how incredibly blessed I am. I am so thankful for the things that I have been granted and I pray that I not be a bad steward of those gifts. God is so gracious to me and my family!

I have spent the last several days with my family, 16 people, at the beach. It has been a fun time of fellowship with family and a great time of refreshment from the hustle and bustle of this hectic world! The serenity, the calm, the breath of fresh air that the sand and sea bring, I can't adequately describe the scene. As far as my eye can see, from a three story balcony, I compare the view to nothing but the grace of God. His grace has stretched beyond the distance of this ocean and more numerous than the sands on the shore to cover my sin and shame. And just as the sun rises and falls each morning and night, displaying the awesomeness of God's promsise to restore new mercies each day, I rise and consider the blessing that I have been bestowed. I don't deserve His grace, yet so richly given. I can't comprehend His love, yet so sacrificially displayed on Calvary's cross. This side of glory, I will never understand the sovreignty of God, but praise the Lord that He has not called me to understand it! I am called to live by it. To turn from myself and this world each day and proclaim the love of Christ and Him crucified and by the grace of God alone, I have that strength each day. Just as the sunrise restores light to the day and the sunset restores calm to the night, He restores my soul each day.

In the midst of these next few weeks of holiday season, may we be truly grateful, not for the things we have, but the for the ONE that paid it all for us. Yes, I am thankful each day for my family, my mom, my siblings, my precious niece, and I am thankful for the "stuff" that I have, but none of that means anything without acknowledging the price that was paid for me, for my wretched soul. May God continually remind me of the cost of sin, the grace that abounds like the sea, and the promises that outnumber the sands. He alone is the Creator of this beautiful masterpiece in front of me, and He alone is worthy of all glory and honor for the beauty that it brings. That really gives "going to the beach" an eternal perspective. God is so good... :)