From the wings of a bird, the sounds that are heard,

Of Love and Joy and Pain.

In the children’s choir and from the town crier,

From the righteous and those goin’ insane.

From the chronic liar and in the screech of someone’s tires!

And in the thunder and lightening and the rain!

Instrumental bit

But up here in the clouds, flyin’ high above the crowds

It’s still hard to keep from goin’ insane.

With all the noise from below, it’s as if they didn’t know,

that from the wings of a bird, it sound’s the same

The sounds are still heard, of love and joy and pain

From the children’s choir and the town crier

There’s still thunder and lightening and rain!

Instrumental bit

I learned to fly up here, high above the atmostphere,

Looking down on the chaos below.

But up here - I’m just higher and I can still hear the liar

Shouting over the choir and there’s still pain.

From the righteous and those goin’ insane,

And the chronic liar, and in the screech of someone’s tires!

There’s still thunder and lightening and rain!

Instrumental bit

There’s still thunder and lightening and rain,

….From the wings of a bird.

Peace doesn’t come from here.

tas – 2011

“But we all, with open (uncovered) face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord. – 2nd Corinthian Letter 3:18

I suppose, that we all have looked closely at ourselves at one time or another, as we were preparing to go out somewhere….  You know, when we stand in front of the mirror to make sure that each hair on our head is in place, that we are dressed “just so” for the event and that over all we look our best!  I suppose, we regularly place quite a bit of importance on “our reflection – in the mirror”.

The word “glass” is  old English speak meaning a mirror or looking glass.  I know from my own experience, we can’t hide ourselves when we look in the mirror.  I am reminded of when the face of Moses “glowed so brightly” that no one could look directly at him!  - Because the glory of the Lord was on the countenance of Moses!    Now that’s a reflection!  The more we become like Jesus Christ, being renewed in our heart, mind and soul – the more we too, “glow” and our “reflection” becomes His Glory.    Being “changed”, as it were, into the same image “from glory to glory”.  Picture the face of Jesus Christ.

“For we are His workmanship (masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained – that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10

Consider – upon Your 2011 Reflection – how to improve your looks in 2012

20 Questions for a Your 2011 Reflection

1.  What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
2.  What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
3.  What was an unexpected joy this past year?
4.  What was an unexpected obstacle?
5.  Pick three words to describe 2011…
6.  Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2011 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you). 
7.  Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2011 (again, without asking).
8.  What were the best books you read this year?
9.  With whom were your most valuable relationships?
10.  What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
11.  In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
12.  In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
13.  In what way(s) did you grow physically?
14.  In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
15.  What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
16.  What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
17.  What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
18.  What was the best way you used your time this past year?
19.  What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?
20.  Create a phrase or statement that describes 2011 for you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

One of the chief purposes of psychiatry is to separate fantasy from reality. It is reasonable to
expect that future psychiatrists will know more about this “borderline” than the
most learned doctors of today. Yet now and again even the best of them may
encounter situations that defy all logic.

by … Albert Hernhuter 1954

Meeting the little
man who isn’t there is rated an horrendous experience. But discovery that the
man is there may be even worse.

The slick
black car sped along the wide and straight street. It came to a smooth stop in
front of a clean white house. A man got out of the car and walked briskly to the
door. Reaching out with a pink hand, he pressed the doorbell with one
well-manicured finger.

The door was answered by a
housewife. She was wearing a white blouse, a green skirt and a green apron
trimmed with white. Her feet were tucked into orange slippers, her blonde hair
was done up in a neat bun. She was dressed as the government had ordered for
that week.

The man said, “You are Mrs.
Christopher Nest?”

There was a trace of anxiety in
her voice as she answered. “Yes. And you are…?”

“My name is Maxwell Hanstark. As
you may already know, I am the official psychiatrist for this district. My
appointment will last until the end of this year.”

Mrs. Nest invited him in. They
stepped into a clean living-room. At one end was the television set, at the
other end were several chairs. There was nothing between the set and the chairs
except a large grey rug which stretched from wall to wall. They walked to the
chairs and sat down.

“Now, just what is the matter with
your husband, Mrs. Nest?”

Mrs. Nest reached into a large
bowl and absently picked up a piece of stale popcorn. She daintily placed it in
her mouth and chewed thoughtfully before she answered.

“I wish I knew. All he does all
day long is sit in the backyard and stare at the grass. He insists that he is
standing on top of a cliff.”

Hanstark took out a small pad and
a short ball-point pen. He wrote something down before he spoke again. “Is he
violent? Did he get angry when you told him there was no cliff?”

Mrs. Nest was silent for a moment.
A second piece of popcorn joined the first. Hanstark’s pen was poised above the
pad. “No. He didn’t get violent.”

Hanstark wrote as he asked the
next question. “Just what was his reaction?”

“He said I must be
crazy.”

“Were those his exact
words?”

“No. He said that I was”— She
thought for a moment—”loco. Yes, that was the word.”

“Loco?”

“Yes. He said it just like those
cowboys on the television.”

Hanstark looked puzzled. “Perhaps
you had better tell me more about this. When did he first start acting this
way?”

Mrs. Nest glanced up at the
television set, then back at Hanstark. “It was right after Texas Week. You
remember—they showed all of those old cowboy pictures.”

Hanstark nodded.

“Well, he stayed up every night
watching them. Some nights he didn’t even go to sleep. Even after the set was
off, he sat in one of the chairs, just staring at the screen. This morning, when
I got up, he wasn’t in the house. I looked all over but I couldn’t find him. I
was just about ready to phone the police when I glanced out the window into the
backyard. And I saw him.”

“What was he doing?”

“He was just sitting there in the
middle of the yard, staring. I went out and tried to bring him into the house.
He told me he had to watch for someone. When I asked him what he was talking
about he told me that I was crazy. That was when I phoned you, Mr.
Hanstark.”

“A very wise move, Mrs. Nest. And
would you show me where your husband is right now?”

She nodded her head and they both
got up from the chairs. They walked through the dining-room and kitchen. On the
back porch Hanstark came to a halt.

“You’d better stay here, Mrs.
Nest.” He walked to the door and opened it.

“Mr. Hanstark,” Mrs. Nest
called.

Hanstark turned and saw her
standing next to the automatic washing machine. “Yes?”

“Please be careful.”

Hanstark smiled. “I shall be, Mrs.
Nest.”

He walked out the door and down
three concrete steps. Looking a little to his right, he saw a man squatted on
his heels. He walked up to the man. “You are Mr. Christopher Nest?”

The man looked up and stared for a
moment at Hanstark. “Yep,” he answered. Then he turned and stared at the grass
again.

“And may I ask you what you are
doing?”

Nest answered without looking up.
“Guardin’ the pass.”

Hanstark scribbled something in
his notebook. “And why are you guarding the pass?”

Nest rose to his feet and stared
down at Hanstark. “Just what are you askin’ all of these questions for,
stranger?”

Hanstark saw Nest was bigger than
he and decided to play along for a while. After all, strategy …

“I’m just interested in your
welfare, Mr. Nest.”

Nest shrugged his shoulders. He
reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a sack of tobacco and some paper.
Holding a piece of paper in one hand, he carefully poured a little tobacco onto
it. In one quick movement he rolled the paper and tobacco into a perfect
cylinder.

He put the sack of tobacco and
paper back into his pocket and took out a wooden kitchen match. He scraped it to
life on the sole of his shoe and applied the flame to the tip of the cigarette.
He puffed it into life and threw the match away. It burned for a few moments in
the moist grass, then went out. A thin trail of smoke rose from it, and then was
gone.

“Why are you guarding the pass?”
Hanstark asked again.

Nest resumed his crouch on the
grass. “News is around that Dirty Dan the cattle rustler is gonna try to steal
some of my cattle.” He patted an imaginary holster at his side. “And I aim to
stop him.”

Hanstark thought for a moment.
Strategy—he must use strategy … “Mr. Nest.” He waited until Nest had turned to
him. “Mr. Nest. What would you say if I told you that there was no pass down
there?”

“Why shucks, pardner. I’d say
you’d been chewin’ some loco weed.”

“And if I could prove
it?”

Nest answered after a moment’s
pause. “Why then, I guess I’d be loco.”

Hanstark thought it was going to
be easy. “Mr. Nest, it is a well known fact that no one can walk in mid-air. Is
that not true?”

Nest took a deep drag on his
cigarette and blew the smoke out of his nostrils. “Shore.”

“Then if I were to walk out above
your pass you’d have to admit there is no pass.”

“Reckon so.”

Hanstark began to walk in the
direction of Nest’s “cliff.” Nest jumped to his feet and grabbed the official
psychiatrist by the arm.

“What’re you tryin’ to do,” Nest
said angrily, “kill yourself?”

Hanstark shook free of his grasp.
“Mr. Nest, I am not going to kill myself. I am merely going to walk in that
direction.” He pointed to where the cliff was supposed to be. “To you it will
look as if I were walking in mid-air.”

Nest dropped his hands to his
sides. “Shucks, I don’t care if you kill yourself. It’s just that it’s liable to
make the cattle nervous.”

Hanstark gave him a cold glare and
began to walk. He took three paces and stopped. “You see, Mr. Nest. There is no
cliff.”

Nest looked at him and laughed.
“You just take one more step and you’ll find there is a
cliff!”

Hanstark took another step—a long
one. His face bore a surprised look as he disappeared beneath the grass. His
screams could be heard for a moment before he landed on the rocks
below.

Nest walked to the edge of the
cliff and looked down at the mangled body. He took off his hat in respect.
“Little feller had a lotta guts.” Then he added, “Poor little
feller.”

He put his hat back on and looked
down at the entrance to the valley. A horse and rider appeared from behind
several rocks.

“Dirty Dan!” Nest exclaimed. He
reached down and picked up his rifle.

The story goes that, Abraham Lincoln’s original 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation came—spiritually speaking—at a rather pivotal point in his life.  It was during the first week of July of that same year, when the Battle of Gettysburg was fought, from the first day of July until the 3rd - leaving this “new country” with a huge burden of loss, of some 60,000 American lives – the largest loss of life in the American Civil War!  It has often been said that the Battle of Gettysburg was the “pivotal point” in the war.  The ravages of war were still evident in Gettysburg more than four months later when, on November 19, the Soldiers’ National Cemetery was dedicated.  It was during this ceremony, President Lincoln honored the fallen and redefined the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.

The story goes, that it was while Lincoln was walking among the thousands of graves there at Gettysburg that he committed his life to Christ. As he explained to a friend:

When I left Springfield [to assume the Presidency], I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.

The following is the 1863 Lincoln Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation – celebrated shortly after Lincoln committed his life to Christ and celebrated while America was still in the midst of its Civil War.  It was this proclamation which led to the establishment of our national Thanksgiving holiday.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving
by the President of the United States of America

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the field of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony wherof I have herunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[Signed]
A. Lincoln

I have been to the local grocery “twice” this weekend!  That’s unusual, for me … go figure.    I’m not all that keen on shopping … go figure!  And I didn’t “shop”, of course – I merely, dropped in to pick up a few “very specific” things and hurriedly retreated to the jeep with my items and back home to Mayberry.  Then, the weather pulled me to the lake, “twice” this weekend!  That’s not at all unusual, for me … go figure!    I am very keen on being as close to nature, as often as is possible … go figure!

Anyway, while I was there, among the “masses gathering food”, as it were, for my empty stomach, I wandered up to the check-out counter, in the “ten-items-or-less” line, with a few items in hand - and a sullen teen scanned them, as they moved along the “moving table,” took my payment and then looked up with what was surely a forced smile, and said, “Have a good day.”  I smiled and responded, “You too!”  He shrugged his shoulders and said – still with a forced smile on his face and with a bit of cynicism in his voice, “I’ll try.” 

Walking away, I thought about how his answer was perhaps more honest than he may have intended.  And I was thinking – It’s true — having a good day doesn’t come very naturally to many of us.  And I thought about how, too many of us – some of “us” – - I was thinking of with specific reference to and matching up specific faces, too, in my thoughts – well … we tend to beat ourselves up an aweful lot – about that fact!  And I thought that in reality, when we are honest - generally speaking, our brains simply just aren’t wired to function in a ”Pollyanna” mode – the moment the alarm goes off and we are called to “roll out of bed” to begin a new day – - are we?

I suppose, that in order to help us “survive,” - God made our noggin’s with what researchers have called a “negativity bias.” – look it up!    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias  – In other words, we pay more attention to negative things in our environment and remember them more clearly as well.  What?  – - – Why in the world would that be helpful?   Well, paying more attention to that bear charging out of the woods than the brilliant ice cream cone there in my hand might just prove helpful…. - survival??  Hello!?!

Hmmm? …. I suppose this means that being a positive person requires being intentional and working at it – and It also seems to mean that we can actually let go of the guilt that comes with feeling “negative”, this way.  I mean, in my experience – this guilt is HUGE! in the lives of too many of us.  But our tendency to be drawn to the negative is not a moral or spiritual failure — it is simply part of being human.  And it’s “ok” that I might find myself feeling that way, on occasion.

The good news is: That God also made our minds to be incredibly flexible – and it is NOT at all an impossible task to ”retrain” ourselves to respond differently – to what is a human condition – with what amounts to a spiritual condition!    I can imagine, all of those little paths running through the hills and valleys of my mind – the researchers call these (neural pathways).    I like to think of them as “paths” into the woods, along granite outcropings in the Texas Hill Country, high above the Colorado River – (perhaps that is only because my head is so “full of rocks”)    Either way, - - – In the passing moments of life, it seems, our brain tends to naturally go down the paths that have most often been traveled before and are more often – “those beaten paths,” as it were, go figure! 

It seems to me that we can and rather must learn to teach our brains – to follow a new path – perhaps the “one less traveled” – and over time it will become the most used path and our brain will begin to naturally go in that direction instead of the “beaten ones”. 

We were made, to literally, physically, and spiritually - be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Talk about “brilliant”

That teenage fella at the check-out, may not have been receptive to a lesson in “positive thinking,”  right there on the spot,  I don’t know.  But in his reply of “I’ll try,” he may have just been on to something.

We all have the opportunity, in each moment of every day, to bring more joy and happiness into our lives and into the lives of those around us – - – and, while it does require some effort on our part – “I think I’ll try!” 

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

“A Wife for a Son”

I myself, have more than a little bit of an understanding – about what love, in a relationship between a man and a woman can be like – when God is Not at the center.    I am also very thankful to be aware of how True Love feels, and what it can mean, when God IS at the center!    And, I expect that most of us can relate to the human desire for love.  And, I expect, when we are honest, many of us have experienced love that was found, at some point or another, along the way, to be … missing – God.  I am rather certain that, “True Love” is - a matter that only comes from the Lord!  And while this lesson is one that believers are not likely to debate – it is sadly a lesson that too many of us do not learn until it is too late.  No matter how much faith we may have mustered, in many critical moments, of life and of love – Love, it seems, (maybe because it is so fundamentally emotionally and spiritually tied to our very created being) – has a way of confusing our faith in God, with faith, in ourselves.  (You might want to reflect on that idea for a bit, I have.)  Anyway, it seems that for some of us, when Love touches us – we too often become, too prone, to sieze control away from God and plunge forward, head long into relationship’s – steering our own way toward one-another – blinded by human pride, and lustful desire and ultimately … frustrated by the lack of God, in our relationships. 

I suppose, that putting the Love of God in front of our relationships with one-another, is without much doubt, one of the more difficult steps – in the walk of faith – go figure.

Anyway …

…. the love story goes something like this ….  there was a well of fresh spring water, outside of the city where Abraham’s brother, Nahor, had lived.  You might remember that this was the place that Abraham had left most of his family, in the city of Nahor (the city of Haran), years before, as he continued on in his walk of faith.  That was after his father Terah had died, there.  (You can read Genesis 11:31 thu 12:6 )  Anyway, Abraham had walked daily in faith, into the new land for many years – infact he was now 140 years old - about 65 years had passed since he had made his way from Haran, into the land of Canaan.  There is little doubt that this well was strong and dependable.  It surely provided for both the towns folk and the caravans of passers by, moving their goods east and west.

It was a dificult task, while a familiar routine, I expect, for a woman to draw water from this particular well – - – descending rather uneven steps of uneven stone, to kneel and dip her jar into the flowing water, then to lift the full vessel back up onto her shoulder and climb the steps again.  Animals didn’t go down to the springs, so jars of water had to be hauled up to watering troughs at ground level, one by one.

And the story goes, that at this well, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel was getting water for her family one evening when, a stranger stepped up to her and spoke.  He said something like, “Please,” can I have a drink from your jar?”  The strange traveler was no doubt dusty, tired, and probably seemed old enough to be her granddad! – which he was.    And Rebekah could see that there were at least 10 camels there with him - most likely with their heads stretched high on their long necks, expecting to be refreshed, too.   Perhaps if she had some friends there with her, they may have watched for a minute, then left.  It was getting dark and Rebekah could take care of herself.  Either way, “Yes,” she said as she lowered her jar, “Yes, please do drink.”  Abrahams servant took a sip of water and just stared at her in silence - maybe even causing her to blush a little.  And then she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, sir” - down and up the steps, again and again, while the man kept watching her.  I can imagine she may have given one of the camels a bit of a nudge so that it and the others rose and made there way to the troughs to drink, as she kept filling the troughs until all of the animals had had enough to drink.

Now it must have been getting late in the evening, because the man then approached her again and he asked her, “Whose daughter are you?”  And she told him that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor.  And when he heard her say this, he was surely a little bit more than amazed with expectation – “Nahor, I know Nahor.”  (I can imagine his grin that must have stretched from ear to ear)    He gently reached for Rebekah’s hand and presented her with a gold ring.  And he said, “Does Bethuel’s house have room for me and my folks to stay a night or two?”  And she explained that they had straw and hay for food and some room, “yes.”

Then this stranger fell to the ground and with his arms lifted high he chanted soft words of thanksgiving to God, for leading him to the house of his master’s kinsman.  Then he reached for Rebekah’s hand again and presented her with gold bracelets.

So, Rebekah gathered her jar of water and went straight home to get permission to bring this stranger of God into their home for rest.  And we know that Rebekah’s father, Bethuel was rather old and possibly weak - as it seems that her brother Laban made most of the family decisions.  Perhaps, Laban wasn’t all that keen on the story this traveler had been telling Rebekah – but when he saw the gold jewlery – he took notice – and ran himself down to the well to meet this stranger and he welcomed him and his folks into their home.  In fact, Laban ordered his own servants to bring water to wash the travelers feet and a meal was prepared for him.  But the stranger, was eager to tell the details of his story to Laban and to Bethuel – before he would eat anything at all.  So he began to explain how he was Abraham’s servant and how the Lord had blessed his master with flocks and herds, silver, gold, menservants, femaleservants, camels and donkeys, etc.

And he explained that Abraham only had one son, Isaac and that his master had made him swear in the land of Canaan to return to this land and to the house of his kinsmen here, to find a wife for Isaac.  He told them all about how he arrived outside the city and prayed that God would bless his task of finding a wife for Isaac, praying, “O Lord, when I ask a young woman to give me a drink, if she says, ‘Drink and I will draw water for your camels, too’ – then let her be the woman you’ve chosen for my master’s son.”  Well, sir – “before I was even done praying, your sister Rebekah came, and this beautiful woman did all that I had asked the Lord!”  Then the servant of Abraham spoke to Laban and Bethuel and asked them if they intended to deal with him loyally, and honestly before God – about his masters search for a wife for Isaac, and he said if they had no sincere desire to do so, then to let him know now, so that he might continue on with his search.

Laban spoke up and said something like, “Well, it’s clear to me that this thing comes from the Lord, so take my sister with you and go.    Let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord Himself has evidently spoken.”  I can imagine that as the men discussed this matter with each other, and Rebekah was just standing there, listening to them – she must have been, in some way or another – touched by the Love of God in this mans story – and then Abraham’s servant looked toward her and offered her more gold and silver jewels and clothing and he even gave some ornamental gifts to Laban and to Rebekah’s mom - and then, well … the matter had surely been settled.    So they finished eating and went to bed. 

What a really special evening this had turned out to be for everyone!

Anyway, the story goes on to tell that the next morning, the servant was preparing his things, for them to leave and go back to his master.  And he was telling them how that Abraham was very old and he wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to live.  But Laban asked them to stay a few days longer – to have time for all the “good-byes” etc.  But Abraham’s servant insisted, that the journey back home was a long one and you know, the rainy season was coming – and the Lord had blessed his journey, so they must leave and finish the Lord’s Will.  So Laban agreed to let Rebekah decide and she quickly made the decision to go, now!  She made the decision to follow God in this matter  – after all, it seemed so very much, to be controlled by God, Himself, why should she wait?  The journey back, likely took a month or more - to reach Abraham and Isaac in the land of Canaan – taking the same old paths that Abraham had taken into Canaan, some 65 years earlier – south beyond the Jordan River to Succoth and then further south than the Salt Sea, into the Negev.  Finally, after many days of traveling, weary and tired, Rebekah lifted her eyes against the sun and the dusty wind, and she could see a man strolling alone - across the fields in front of them, with his head bent down as if he was meditating or praying or something, which he was.  “Do you know that man?” she asked.  She got down from her camel and moved ahead of the pack to have words with Abraham’s servant, “Do you see that man out there in the field?, “Who is he?”    “Ah miss, that is the son of my master.  That is Isaac!”   So Rebekah covered her face with her veil and waited to be seen by the man who would be her husband.  And in the Negev, Isaac took Rebekah to his tent, and she became his wife, and he loved her completely!  I mean, He never in his lifetime – ever loved another! 

This story of Loving Relationship is so much like the Spiritual Love Story of the Cross – You know?  That Golden Thread of Relationship – that we have been seeing in Abraham’s faith-walk? – it seems as though that golden thread – kind of gets tied up in a golden bow of sorts – right here at the climax of this Love Story – around these two “lovers” – Isaac and Rebekah – A golden bow, wrapped around a wedding present of sorts – for all nations to come! – a “pRomise-pResent” of one sort or another - that is ultimately fulfilled in the Loving Relationship that we now know is possible between us and our Father God – through Jesus.

Stay with me here!    I mean, think about what the apostle Paul tells us, in the 11th chapter of his 2nd letter to the believers in Corinth – when he describes that we are called to become the bride of Christ – we are presented in Christ, God’s Son, as pure virgins – without sin.  Paul considered himself a servant of God the Father, bringing believers into Relationship with the Father, through Christ, as the very Bride of Christ!   And think about when James stood up in front of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) and said, “Look – by bringing His Son, Jesus – the Messiah into this world - this thing that God is doing in our world today - is that He is visiting the Gentiles to take from among them, a people for His name.”  Are you seeing the beautiful illustration – in the form of a love story – of our Father – obtaining a bride, the bride of Christ, the church, for his Son the Lord Jesus, through the spirit.

Remember that in Genesis, chapter 22, after Isaac had been offered up as a sacrifice – and then snatched from death by the Father God – to fulfill the promise of God – Abraham received news from his family back in Haran, that his brother Nahor and his wife Milkah, have had 8 new baby boys!!! – Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.     And the news of these children being born into Abraham’s family – was surely providential evidence to Abraham, in his walk of faith – that the the Lord would surely pRovide! - – and we now know that of these baby boys – Bethuel had a son named Laban and a daughter named Rebekah, who ultimately married Abraham’s son of pRomise and pRovision, Isaac!

Remember that …. this walk of faith – is all about our Father’s pRovision for a renewed Relationship with Him – through His Son!!  We talked about that here:  Genesis 22 – pRovision with a comittal R

I hope you can you see it!  The Golden-Thread – of Relationship with our Father, God – winding its way to your door – calling us, as His children – to a walk of faith? 

God blesses us by pRoviding for our every need – past, present and future – and when I obey God – when I surrender all of myself to Him, especially in the moments when He is developing within my life a LOVE STORY between myself and another - He gathers up all of the smaller blessings of this life that He has given us before – and he takes them back – then He combines them with His infinite resources – pRomise & pRovision – and pours them back into our life – in the form of His One and Only Son – whose sacrifice takes away the sins of the world! – and now we see that as the Bride of Christ – He brings us back into an intimate Relationship, with our Father, God!  Wow!  Love Stories! 

I suppose, the lesson is …. that TRUE LOVE STORIES!    Come from God!

Watch The Revolution Timeline (Part 2) on PBS. See more from Children of the Revolucion.

Watch The Revolution Timeline (Part 1) on PBS. See more from Children of the Revolucion.

The Recipe

Prep time: 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 tacos.

What You Need:

Baja Sauce

Ingredients: