The Look

The look. There are a few different, yet very specific ones that I thought about today. The reason for this post has to do with the one that I received this morning at church. It came from a young lady who turned to see who was settling into the row behind her during the last song before the message. I was caught aware because of her welcoming smile. (That’s not what you thought I was going to say is it?) But, the reason for this post is truly because of her. I thought about how kind it was of her to excuse me for my tardiness and for entering during a time when she was meeting with the Lord. Her smile, although brief was so unselfish. It made me stop and think about whether I’m like that to others. Does the look on my face say to them, “It’s ok, come on in” or does it say, “Ugh! Really?” What a stark contrast. Every female who’s ever been given the latter knows what a difference a look can make.

Considering further how important a look can be in life, I couldn’t help but hear a really important verse come alive in my mind. It’s in the book of Numbers, chapter 21. The people of God were whining and complaining against him and so God sent fiery serpents to bite them. (I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of sermons in that alone, but I’m just going to bring out the most important part.) It’s the part where God tells Moses to make a fiery serpent out of brass and place it on a pole and when someone is bitten, all they have to do is look to the symbol and they will live. The Jews themselves say it was not the sight of the brazen serpent that cured; but in looking up to it, they looked up to God as the Lord that healed them. [1]So much gospel here!  The picture is this: as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, (that’s Jesus) that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish. John 3:14 & 15 says that precisely. Sin bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder. Compare the application of their remedy and ours. They looked and lived, and we, if we believe, shall not perish. It is by faith that we look unto Jesus, Heb 12:2.

So, there you have it. Looks are really, really important. I guess the greatest thing a person could ever do is look to Jesus for their eternity. And then secondly, they can live like they did.

(Thanks sweet  little gal on the front row…you were a blessing to me today!)

Beginning again…

Sometimes it’s hard to start over. Actually, it’s really hard. The New Year affords us that glamorous opportunity. It’s all wrapped nicely in a concise title called; Resolution. But, resolving is no easy task. It requires reflection. I’ve learned in this life that beginnings can be as wonderful as they are AWFUL! I wish I could say that in my times of reflection I’ve been proud of the way my life went. You know, the things that made up life, most of those things were within my control to decide the outcome of. Things such as the ways I handled conflict, injustice, misunderstandings, tiredness, criticism, even good memories…and the list goes on. Nonetheless, the past is still the past right? So with tenacious stubbornness, I push forward. Today, it’s with enthusiasm and excitement for what lies ahead. This year I’ve resolved to pay closer attention to the moments of my life.  The “THINGS” that I will reflect back on as I go into 2014. I’m still in January and my sweet husband, (who is celebrating our 22^nd Wedding Anniversary with me this weekend) has taken a whole day to build this site for me so I could achieve one of my goals as a blogger. I will be blogging about many things. I hope you will enjoy reading and chiming in. I love when I find a blogger who writes like I think. (It discourages me from believing I’m loony ) I did this two years ago and the blog set there…growing mold and eventually died.  So…here I go again. May this prove to be a great journal to keep my resolution alive. Daily.

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