It’s not like there had been Christmas choir rehearsals in heaven – this was not part of the opening ceremonies for God’s arrival on planet Earth. This was a supernatural flash mob!  The angels were blown away by what God had done. By what He had become. How do you amaze an angel??

The angels were among the first of God’s creations.  They saw God make man in His own image and breathe life into him. They guarded Eden when Adam & Eve were evicted.  They saw it all. Creation. Fall. Flood. Babel. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph. Sodom. Egypt. Babylon. Writing on the wall. 12 Plagues. Red Sea. Manna.   Joshua & Jericho. Elijah & Elisha. David & Goliath. David & Bathsheba. Solomon & … you get the picture.

Usually, it is we who are amazed when angels appear.  Amazed and terrified.  It’s pretty much a knee-jerk reaction for the appearing angel to say “Do not fear.” Humans historically end up with our faces in the dirt when one of God’s messengers make an appearance.  But angels are not omniscient and they don’t know the future.  When the God’s messenger announced to the shepherds what God had done -

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 

TODAY!!!

In the town of David

The Saviour has been born!

It is the CHRIST!

The LORD!

“And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”      Luke 2:13-14

BAM!

SUDDENLY! Angels EVERYWHERE!

PRAISING God!

SHOUTING

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!!! 

HALLELUJAH!!

GLORY TO GOD!! 

And since that day the angels have not ceased to be amazed.  They are amazed at the love of God poured out on sinful man.  They are amazed at what God does with spiritually bankrupt lives that are surrendered to Him. The are amazed at what our Lord suffered, all for sinner’s gain.  They are amazed at the love that held Him to the tree, when a word would have unleashed them. They were amazed as they watched God die.

Alone.

Angels are amazed, far more than we, when they see person repent. Perhaps because they see how very great the disparity is between God’s Holiness and our sinfulness.  They know, more than we can understand, how far we fall short of the glory of God and Heaven REJOICES when a sinner, dead in their transgressions, is born again. They WOOP it UP!!

They are still singing HALLELUJAH!  They are still shouting, WONDERFUL! COUNSELOR! ALMIGHTY GOD! EVERLASTING FATHER! PRINCE OF PEACE! And they, along with all of creation, groan with anticipation for what will be revealed.  They know what has been promised and they know it is coming.

FALL ON YOUR KNEES!  O, HEAR THE ANGEL VOICES!!

O NIGHT DIVINE! O HOLY NIGHT!!

I am thankful for Even the Angels, an article I found while doing some digging for this post.

With our nose we smell, with our mouth we taste, now thank you very much!”

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”  And Charles Spurgeon opens his short essay on faith and the senses with:

Faith, in the Scripture, is spoken of under the emblem of all the senses. It is sight: “Look unto me and be ye saved.” It is hearing: “Hear, and your soul shall live.” Faith is smelling: “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia”; “thy name is as ointment poured forth.” Faith is spiritual touch. By this faith the woman came behind and touched the hem of Christ’s garment, and by this we handle the things of the good word of life. Faith is equally the spirit’s taste. “How sweet are thy words to my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my lips.” “Except a man eat my flesh,” saith Christ, “and drink my blood, there is no life in him.”

If faith is to be sensed in an order, it seems to me that these senses reflect an order of intimacy.

Our attention may be got by hearing before sight, even if we are unwilling. We have little choice in this. Stopping our ears or stuffing our head under a pillow will not silence the voice of God calling us.  Adam hid from God, but he could not hide from the sound of his Maker’s call.  Samuel, was roused repeatedly from his adolescent sleep by a voice he did not recognize, until his teacher, dear old Eli, told him how to respond.

But, as our hearts begin to respond to our Savior, we begin to look toward Him.  We see where our help comes and we look to Him as the handmaiden looks to the hand of her mistress. We may learn to fix our eyes upon our hope, our goal, even though it be distant and not yet within our grasp.

Drawing nearer, we can apprehend the aroma of our Lord’s goodness. We catch the scent of the feast to be laid before us.  Even if we are traveling a road that leads through the valley of the shadow of death, we smell preparations being made for that table being set for us, in the very presence of our enemies. This smelling and not yet grasping that whets our appetite and drives us more swiftly and surely home than the crop of any taskmaster could.

And finally we meet!  We are embraced as prodigals to our Father’s bosom.  We wash His feet with our tears and wipe them with our hair, all the while never ceasing to kiss His feet.  We have begun to grasp, even in part, of just how very much we have been forgiven. We recline against our Lord, as at His last meal on earth, and feel the beating heart of the one true and living God.  We place our fingers in the holes in His hands at His behest, if that is what we need to believe. We wrap our arms around the One we thought had been lost to us forever, wanting never to loose our embrace, until we are gently reminded that it is not yet time for the eternal reunion; that we must be patient just a little while longer.

Then, finally, after we have understood what can be gotten of our Lord through these external senses, we are able to taste and see that He, indeed, is good. That His kisses are sweeter than honey. We eat the bread of life and are fully and forever satisfied. We drink living water, and never thirst again. We are revived, sustained, strengthened and encouraged as we take in His word and share this feast with those around us.  We eat His bread and drink His cup in remembrance, thus proclaiming His death until He returns for us. What we have heard and seen and smelled and felt of His Holy presence is taken into our body, and we know the love that surpasses knowledge.  We know within our being, and not just our head.

On that day, when He brings home His bride to the glorious wedding feast that will not merely meet, but will completely eclipse our expectations, we will be joined with our Maker and finally enjoy the fellowship for which we were created. Even as all creation groans to be released from the law of sin and death, and waits with longing to sing when that freedom is realized, so every fiber of our being will sing, overcome in joy as we are made one with Jesus, the joy of man’s desiring. Ecstasy.  Rapture.  As sand in our mouths, these words will be pale in comparison to the joy that will be ours on that day.  For we will know Him, even as we are fully known.

you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Rev 3:17

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Heb 12:1-4

Sophia 11/3/10

Jesus Messiah, Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel
Rescue for sinners, Ransom from heaven
Jesus Messiah, Lord of all
All our hope is in You
All our hope is in You
All the glory to you, Lord
The light of the world
Jesus Messiah, by Chris Tomlin

All my hope is in You

Not some, or most or even my religiously appropriate hopes

My hope is in my Shepherd, who leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

ABLE to do

IMMEASURABLY MORE

than ALL I CAN ASK OR IMAGINE.

   with fondness or regret,

   considering the time past and moments lost?

Our hearts walk so closely today, this day,

   it seems our souls could never part.

We know each other so very well

But time steps in,

   and distance,

   and life.

We stave off the advances,

   connecting "as if nothing ever changed"

But change advances nonetheless

   a phone number, an address

   a city, state or meeting place

   a child, a spouse, a level of comfort

   the ability to silently ignore or willingness to share

   time to sit, or time to walk,

   time to laugh or play

We thought nothing could ever separate us.

I will know you when we walk together one day.

I will know you then more than I know myself today.

We will be naked with each other, and not ashamed.

We will know truth and be set free

   to hold nothing back,

   to celebrate with abandon,

   to bask in love,

   to rest in peace

Our hearts will fear no more.

Sophia Hansen

One of her Fourth of July standards was Blueberry Delight, a no-bake cream cheesecake on a graham cracker crust with blueberry pie filling on top.  It’s a  pretty standard recipe, but special to me nonetheless.  I lost my card and searched her recipe boxes in hopes of finding her original recipe.

My efforts were not in vain, yielding not only the recipe, but Mom’s source for this dessert.  So thank you Ellie Haugauer, wherever you are.  (I sometimes have difficulty deciphering Mom’s handwriting, so that last name is really iffy.)  I think she got this recipe in the early 1970′s.  Which means we were either going to the AOG or the Evangelical Lutheran church at the time.  I suspect the Lutheran church, it was full of Norwegian ladies that made great desserts.

Blueberry Delight

Mix and press into 9 x 13 pan:

• 2 1⁄4 c graham crackers, crumbled (1 pkg)
• 1⁄4 c sugar
• 1⁄2 c margarine, melted (I use butter)

Bake @ 350° for 8 min.  Cool.

Combine:

• 1⁄2 c sour cream
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1⁄3 c powdered sugar

Fold in gently:

• 2 c dream whip, whipped (I just made some whipped cream – added confectioner’s sugar & vanilla)

Spread gently over cooled crust.

Chill until firm.

Spoon blueberry (or cherry, strawberry, whatever you want!) pie filling over top, return to fridge.

Serve chilled.

It’s a really easy recipe, and a very light dessert (to eat, probably not calorie-wise.)

Leave a comment here if you try it.  let me know how it comes out!  If you can keep the hounds at bay, send me a pic!  Mine always gets devoured before I can get to a camera!

Psalm 139

from Isaiah 43

Shalom

I like stories that teach me, surprise me, amuse me, even confound me.  I like stories that make me think.  I am willing to be patient with poor delivery and less than stellar productions if the story interests me, but I really appreciate a good storyteller.

A good storyteller will only include details that move the story along.  If it’s on the page or on the screen, it should be there for a reason.  Whether it be to set a mood, reveal motivations, or set up conflict; if it’s included,  it is noteworthy.

I love it when a director surprises me with something that barely caught my attention earlier, or a writer who puts something completely random in the beginning of the chapter, only to reveal its major relevance to the plot later.  A perfect example of this is Douglas Adams’ use of completely unrelated bits of obscure galactic trivia which end up being key elements of the storyline.  (ie. His entries on Cricket, and my personal favorite, Flying.)

I have learned to pay close attention to seemingly innocuous objects and obscure pieces of information presented to me in stories to see if I can figure out where the plot is going, or at least recognize the significance when the twist is revealed.

If we consider that nothing is included on page or screen without the goal of revelation in mind, is it unreasonable to suggest that there is nothing included in his creation that the Creator does not intend to use to reveal his story to his audience?  We’re talking about the God who has named the clouds, numbered the hairs on our heads, and takes note when a sparrow falls.  What part of creation does he not reign sovereignly over?  Is it too much to suppose that he is not able to reveal his message through silk worms as well as super novas?  Can we not look at a speck of dust and be prompted to wonder:  Though I could be compared to that speck in light of all creation,  the Maker of Heaven and Earth gave up his only son so that I might be in relationship with him.  Under what circumstances would I sacrifice my child to be in relationship with someone who hated me?