We are the Body

It's amazing...the body is made up mostly of water. Without it, the body would be no more than a worthless, very small, pile of dust. Probably smelly too. Trillions of cells surge through the body at any given moment, billions are grabbing oxygen from the lungs and rushing it to the arms, billions more digest food, skin requires the work of billions more, and so on....

Interesting too is my experience this week as I contacted several dozen churches. So many different ways of doing things, so many sizes, so many phases of maturity, so many different priorities. Each hardly aware of what the other is doing, yet all directed by the same Holy Spirit to move in directions and with power that could never be duplicated or comprehended by individual parts of it.

The church in China is millions strong. Millions more are responding to the Gospel in Muslim countries. Missionary efforts are reaching millions more in other corners of the world. Even though we could never wrap our minds around the scope of the world movement of the Gospel, and certainly the daily concerns and heartaches of each individual believer, Jesus Christ can! He is the water that fills the entire body, giving it shape, flowing and encompassing every living cell in the entire body. Amazing!

TOO LOUD!!

So...the fourth of July. We all got together as a family, ate, and decided to set off our own fireworks before heading to the park for the "big show!" As you can see in the first photo, Shelby was not too enthralled with the resulting noises! She spent the entire, and I mean entire show with her hands over her ears. We kept telling her, "It's ok, they're far away, they won't hurt you. " But she did not believe it! We were so proud of her, though. By the finale, she kept saying, "Wow! Wow!" Her decision was that she would stay, not cry, and enjoy the brilliant colors, even though the sounds scared her. HMMMM.....How many times does God tell me, "Do not be afraid or discouraged, " and I stand with my hands over my ears, not listening, not believing. I can choose to run away and miss the big show He has for me, or, like Shelby, I can stay and push past my fears. I'm gonna stay. I don't want to miss the finale!!