As I was meditating in this mornings group prayer session the Lord keyed me in to the beauty of a particular song playing in the backgorund.
His voice echoed in my ear, “I wrap myself in beauty like you wrap yourself in clothing. Just remember my wrapping is only an outward expression of a deeper reality. The surface beauty you can perceive overlays a deeper beauty that you cannot.”
The Scripture came to mind, “Eye has not seen and ear has not heard the wonderful things God has prepared for those who love Him.” Corinthians
He may wrap Himself in beauty but He is more than that. He is beauty incarnate.
He may wrap Himself in light but He is more than that. “God is light and in Him is no shadow of turning!” I John
I know it ia past midnight here in my little part of the globe but I just wanted to get this post done on my last big event of the autumn season. This has been a BIG fall and I am so grateful to God for all he has done. Saturday we had my daughter Melanie’s wedding and tonight our church played host to the band Cloverton all the set up tear down set up tear down set up tear down again has been a little tiring but soooooooo worth it.
The night was opened by Ben Schaffer and then Cloverton took the stage. I think by the time Lance sang his third encore his voice was truly spent. But it was a great night.
Lance, Lane and Ben with Pastor Risto our lead pastor, Michelle King our concert promoter and Janet Girouard Michelle’s mom.
Lance at the piano
This concert happened because of a group of very dedicated volunteers
The band Cloverton played to a nearly sold out house in our church last week.
Photo ops at the signing table
One of my favorite songs of the night was Great Plans
My fellow Americans, there are three things you should know if you plan a driving tour of Ireland. Well there are probably more than three things but let’s start there Okay?
1. Think small! I don’t care if you are from Texas, bigger is not better in Ireland no matter what Hertz rent a car might tell you. Starve yourself, practice yoga, do whatever you have to do to get into a small car because the roads are TINY!!!!!And the parking garages at hotels are even TINIER!!!!
Amanda and I named our car “Little Me”. It was an Mii and I praised God everday for that car as I watched other self-driving tourists curse their mid-sized sedans.
Amanda and Little Me
2.For goodness sake don’t be bold and order a standard from the rental car company. Driving on the left and having to drive backwards on rotaries is hard enough without having to remember that you are shifting with your left hand and backwards.
3. Rent a GPS from the rental company or order maps of Ireland for your GPS. One of the advantages of taking a self-drive tour over a bus tour is that you can drive into places where buses cannot go. Driving the little mountain pathways or heading out into farm country is half the fun but unless you are a cartographer and can read directions from the position of the stars or the incline of the sun in the sky a map will be of little help. It becomes even less helpful when you have to read it while driving corkscrew turns down mountain roads at 80 KM an hour. Oh and if you happen to rent maps for Ireland from the Garmin do not use the elf. He couldn’t direct you out of the North Pole. Use the woman voice. She seems to know her way around (not even kidding here).
This is not really point four but I am very thankful that I did not have to start driving until Sunday morning. It seems the whole island sleeps in until about 1 P.M. so I had about five hours with the road all to myself. It was a perfect transition to driving on the left and going backwards on rotaries. I am not sure if I have the touring company or God to thank for that wonderful transition so I guess I will thank them both here and leave a word to the wise. Sunday is a great day to cut your teeth on Irish roads!
Amanda and I left the tour buses behind and headed off the beaten path through Killkenny and down through Port Laois into Tipperary so we could see the Rock of Cashel.
The rock of Cashel was once the ancient seat of the kings of Munster. Around the year 1100 they gave the rock to the church and it became the seat of the bishop for hundreds of years after that. The Rock today is a ruin of the once great cathedral that overlooked the countryside.
Me on the pathway up to the rock
Ancient Monastery seen from the Rock Of Cashel near Tipperary
A Celtic Cross in the cemetery atop the Rock of Cashel
The song this day’s drive inspired came as we drove into the region.
Ireland is calling my name. My daughter Amanda and I started planning this trip a year ago. It was paid off in May and by August I was having misgivings as I looked at how packed the fall schedule was. There have been moments in this journey toward Eire that I wondered how I was ever going to squeeze it in between worship leading, camps, Fall fests, art shows, committee meetings, concert promoting, preparing for double worship services starting OCtober 19th and two weddings (one of which is my youngest daughters).
As I sit typing this last live post before boarding Aerlingus (the rest of the next two week’s posts are scheduled so please be prepared to keep reading) I see God had this in mind after all.
I am completely spent. Weeks of hard work both physical and mental have left me spent and hurting. I have developed tendonitis in both wrists and I have two fingers that are completely numb. I am having trouble lifting one of my arms above the shoulder and I just really need a break from details.
What amazes me is that God knew even when I did not that I would need this twelve day respite in the midst of my autumn harvest if I was going to make it through. He is a God who calls us to peace and even though we cannot predict our path He can! All we have to do is keep committing our way to Him and He will direct our paths aright!
Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself
It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.Psalm 80:14 KJV
It has been a while since I wrote a Heaven post. When I started these posts back several years ago it was with the intent that I would do a word study of the word “Heaven” throughout the Scripture. It was a bigger undertaking than I thought at first and here I am three years later only having reached the Psalms. Yet we plod on… You can find previous Heaven posts at
Doesn’t it feel sometimes like God has set Himself up against us? We get into situations and wonder where God went and often we begin questioning God’s loyalty and His love. In those moments we are prone to cry out things like,
Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; (or at least I have been prone to it)
But I wonder has God really left us? If so how can He be fulfilling the promise never to leave or forsake us?
In my own life when I have ended up away from God it is not because God has moved but because I have. God may never leave us nor forsake us but our own disobedience can often put us outside His sphere of protection or help. It is us who moves not God.
This is exactly what happened to Israel. Israel stepped out from under God’s protection by continuous disobedience. The Chosen people chose another way and that way led to death and destruction.
The good news here is that because the choice to walk out on the relationship was theirs not God’s walking back in to the relationship was their choice as well. God was always faithful to His promise to Israel and God is faithful to His promises to you as well. If you find yourselves at cross-purposes with the Almighty this afternoon and you would like to change that, the choice is entirely yours. God made His choice for you at the cross. He is just waiting for you to make your choice for Him.
Lillie-Put 