Beach Walk

 As we walk barefoot along the beach, the waves crashing and pulling the sand from beneath, we feel the might of the waves, the power of the ocean. We gaze out on the horizon at the endless waters. Though we know there is land on the other side, somewhere, our hearts feel the endless, fearful sea. The sea whose undertows and riptides can drag us to our death without the knowledge and calm of how to counter such dangers. The sea that seems to have no ending against the horizon line as if we could sail off the edge of the world. For thousands of years, this mighty sea has roared, drawing people and yet creating a fearful reverence. 

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

    the floods have lifted up their voice;

    the floods lift up their roaring.

4 

Mightier than the thunders of many waters,

    mightier than the waves of the sea,

    the Lord on high is mighty!

~Psalms 93:3,4 ESV

Our God, the Creator of that sea is more mighty, more awesome,  more endless, and more mysterious, drawing us, pulling us to himself because on the other side of his love is a land of endless day, with mansions for our home. Our father has spread a table of welcoming fellowship. 

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns.

 Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

 it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

~Revelation 19:6-9 ESV

The sea of life is full of dangers that would drag us away from the Father, drowning us in a sea of endless loss. Daily we receive warnings of how to traverse that sea of life, beginning with repentance and faith in God's Son. Learning to swim the ocean also takes practice and study. As Christians, we need to implement the practice of prayer and the study of scripture to teach us how to swim the ocean of life. 

Enjoy that vacation at the beach. Take the Father and His word with you. Look for the things he has placed in your life to draw you and show you about himself. 

Father, help us see you in all that is around us. Teach us to listen to the words of your voice. Help us as we try to live this life to glorify your name and show others the way to you. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

Hey Kids:

Do you have a favorite vacation spot or a favorite place to be alone at home? 

How do you see the Lord in that place? How do you meet with him there? 

Can you see things or find things that remind you of the Bible stories you learn? Maybe holding a shell to your ear you hear the ocean roar. Can that remind you that we must purposefully listen to hear the voice of God speaking to our hearts? 

Perhaps you see the sparrows nesting and bringing food for their young. Does that remind you that God provides homes and food for his creatures and he will provide a home and food for you? 

This would be a good week to tell the Lord how thankful you are for his provision and care.

Disappearing Words

 

In the backmatter of The Keeper of Wild Words Brooke Smith says she was inspired by an article that said the Oxford Junior Dictionary removed over 100 natural words because they felt the words no longer held relevance. They replace them with words like Chatroom, Analog, MP3 Player, Database, and Vandalism. 

What wild words did they replace? What are wild words? 

Some of the words no longer of relevance were:

• wren
• violets
• poppies
• blackberries
• acorn
• minnows
• beaver
• brook

Why were these words no longer relevant? Perhaps because children are rarely taken on walks or allowed to explore the Creation, to ask questions, to research the natural world. Most of their life is centered around technology. 

Words disappear if we don't share them when we talk.

If we don't write them in our stories.

If we don't read them in our books, 

If we don't use words, they can be forgotten. 

And if they are forgotten...

they disappear. 

~Brooke Smith

(emphasis mine)

In Deuteronomy 6:7 the Lord commands us to teach his word to our children. How? 

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them

diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  ~Deutoronomy 6:6-9 ESV (emphasis mine)

Are we guilty of replacing God's word with other words? Are we teaching technology over the Word? What about sports words? Do our children know more about TV and movie characters than the real men and women, boys and girls whose true stories fill the pages of scripture? 

Maybe our answer to these questions is, "We take our children to church. Shouldn't they know?"  I know adults who have been in church all their lives but cannot retell a Bible story other than Christmas and Easter. Ask your children to retell the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors or the story of David and Goliath. 

As parents we are the keepers of God's words. The grandmother in The Keeper of Wild Words took her granddaughter for a walk and showed her the wild things that were being forgotten. With all the political correctness in today's world, it's not just the wild words that are being forgotten. It's God's word that is being forgotten. 

Father God, thank you that your word is settled in heaven and will never disappear. But we know it may be forgotten. Help us show this generation your word, your truth as we talk about it, read it, write it, and use it in our daily lives. 

In Christ Jesus name,

Amen

Hey Kids:

What is your favorite Bible story? How can you share it with others? Here's a few ideas.

• Retell the story to a friend, sibling, or perhaps a grandparent. 
• Draw a picture of the story.
• Write the story from the perspective of one of the characters.
• Read a story you are not familiar with.
• Apply the story to your life.

Do you know these real people with real stories to share? 

• Daniel
• Esther
• Moses
• David
• Noah

Share your favorites with us and others. 

Blessings,

Gail

Sinking Sand

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 

~ Matthew 7:26 (NIV)

Wouldn't you just love to build a house on the top of that hill? There's a great view of the ocean on the other side. You can see the sunrise on the left and the sunset on the right. There's just one problem. 

Jesus and The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

 

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, NC photo by pixabay

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

~Mark 16:15 KJV

We're planning our vacation to the Outer Banks of NC this summer so I've been doing a little research on the lighthouses we want to visit. Cape Hatteras is probably the most famous so that's the one I want to share about today. 

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has been built in a variety of ways. First, it was short and made of sandstone. It wasn't very visible to mariners. Later in the 1800's it was built on a floating foundation, built much taller, equipped with a Fresnel lens, and painted a distinguishable color. I'd like to examine some of these important features. 

The Sandstone - As we mentioned, the sandstone lighthouse was too short and too hard for mariners to see. It couldn't do the job. 

• When God commanded that sacrifices be made, they were only to be representations of the true sacrifice. They were simple altars made of stones. Even when the brass altar of the tabernacle was constructed it was still a symbol of the true sacrifice to come.

The Floating Foundation - When the foundation for the new construction of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was made in the 1800s the water table was only four feet down. Construction workers had to make a floating foundation by laying wood crossways below the water table. Then they placed granite on top of the wood to build the new lighthouse. 

• Jesus, the Rock of our salvation was placed upon a wooden cross. 

The Color and the Light - The Lighthouse Board regulated the color and the light patterns of each lighthouse so mariners could distinguish by day and by night where they were located. The area off the coast of North Carolina is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The lighthouse needed to be tall enough to see and the pattern of the light flashes at night needed to reach out far into the ocean so mariners knew how close they were to the rocky coast. The intersection of the ocean currents caused many ships to go down, casting the ships against the coast. Having the lighthouse to guide the way saved many ships and lives. 

• The Israelites were guided in the wilderness with a cloud by day and a fire by night. It guided them through a wilderness they had not traveled before. 

The Fresnel Lens - A Fresnel Lens is made up of triangular prisms of glass. This helps the light to go farther. Lighthouse lights are white lights because they go farther than colored lights. There were 1000 triangles in the Lens made for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. 

• Jesus is the Rock of our foundation. He is the Light of the world.  He is also our Savior on which the church is built. But, the members of the church are the ones commanded to take the gospel to the world. We are to reflect the Light in all we do. There is a world full of shipwrecked people out there who need the light of Jesus to safely guide them to salvation. 

Be the Light. 

Father, help us be aware of how we reflect your Light to others. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

Are you going somewhere for a vacation? 

Have you researched the area, the possibilities?

How will your travels help you reflect the light of Jesus to others? 

Staying home this summer? 

There is always an adventure in our backyards. 

Kids' magazines are always looking for drawings and writings by kids! 

What will you discover this summer that you can share with other kids? 

How will you reflect the light of Jesus?