GLORY!

Hi Everyone!  Long time, no blog…  I know!  I don’t like using the word “busy,” but I have been BUSY!  There’s just no other way to say it!  If you read my last entry, you might recall I said I had some opportunities to share come up (though come “down” from God would be more accurate).  One of those involves leading worship at church (a couple weeks per month) and that by itself is taking up a bunch of time I wasn’t aware that I had.  I have also been occupied cleaning up after Timothy who has learned how to climb onto tables and drag stuff ALL OVER THE HOUSE (oh, and I’m trying to keep him off the tables, too.) especially when I’m trying to get ready for worship practice.  Sooo, thankful as I have been, I haven’t found much time to blog about it.  Or anything else.

 

But at the moment, I’m having an issue I thought you might be able to help me with.  AND I’m hoping to catch 2 birds with one cage (because that sounds nicer than killing 2 birds, don’t ya think?)  Tomorrow morning (in oh, about 12½ hours) our church is having a women’s Christmas Tea and I’m helping coordinate the program part of it (because I’m too lazy to decorate a table and would MUCH rather talk and sing than cook, thankyouverymuch).  I get to introduce the theme of the morning and also introduce the theme of our women’s retreat (coming in February 2009!)  Trouble is, I haven’t written anything out yet.  And I’ve learned that I ramble a lot more and sit down afterward thinking “why in the world did I say THAT?” when I don’t write out my thoughts before I get in front of a microphone.  But I was having trouble figuring out where to start writing…  which is why I’m “talking” to you.  I thought maybe if I tried to explain what I’m talking about to you, I’ll feel less pressure and catch both birds (have the intro’s written and a blog post, too!)  So, after that RIDICULOUSLY LONG intro, here’s what I think I’m going to say about our theme “The Glory of Christmas”.

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A week or so ago, my son Toby told me he had figured out why the moon was normally in the sky at night instead of during the day.  It had something to do with the moon not shining brighter than the sun.  I let him finish his explanation and then I tried to explain to him that the moon doesn’t really have any light of its own.  The only light the moon has is a reflection of the sun’s much brighter, more brilliant light.  The moon is a reflection of the sun’s glory!  Many times in the Bible, glory is talked about in a way similar to light.  In talking about a new heaven and new earth, Revelation 21:23 says “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.”  I think light is amazing .  You can see a source of light like a light bulb or the sun, but you can also see light reflecting off something else.  Think about it for a second.  Look around and see if you can see any light.  What you will see is either a source of light or light reflecting off of something else. 

 

God’s glory is the same!  We see God’s glory in 2 ways:  By experiencing God (through His word and  Spirit as He reveals Himself to us) and by seeing His glory reflected in the world He created and in the people He has created in His image.  We were created to reflect God’s glory!  When Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds and “The glory of the Lord shone around them”  Then a GREAT host of angels appeared with the first angel praising God and saying (say it with me): “Glory to God in the highest!”  And after the shepherds hurried off to see the baby, they returned “glorifying and praising God.”  God’s glory was shining and being proclaimed like never before that night in a manger and the hills of Bethlehem and today we are celebrating the Glory of God that still shines when we celebrate Christmas today.

 

(And that’s all you get for now…)  J