The spirituality of wonder knows the world is charged with grace, that while sin and war, disease and death are terribly real, God's loving presence and power in our midst are even more real. In the grasp of wonder, I am surprised, I am enraptured. It's Moses before the burning bush… it's Michelangelo sculpting… it's doubting Thomas discovering his God in the wounds of Jesus, Mother Theresa spying the face of Christ in the poor… It's a child casting his kite to the wind, a mother looking with love at her newborn infant. It's the wonder of a first kiss.

Amazement and rapture should be our reaction to the God revealed as love. We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that he should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at his love, bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground.

God,
Grant us the grace of wonder. Surprise us, amaze us, delight us to see Christ playing out in thousands of ways around us. Open our eyes to the numerous marvels and reminders of your presence and grace. We don't ask for the reason for it all; we ask only to share the wonder of it all.
(adopted prayer of Joshua Heschal)

Forgive the lack of posting lately... our internet hasn't been available for the last few weeks. I just cleared out 93 emails from my inbox! The following is an excert from The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. A good read. Here are his thoughts on wonder:

By and large, our world has lost its sense of wonder. We have grown up. We no longer catch our breath at the sight of a rainbow or the scent of a rose, as we once did. We have grown bigger and everything else smaller, less impressive. God is being edged out of his world by science. As civilization advances, the sense of wonder declines. We get so preoccupied with ourselves, the words we speak, the plans and projects we conceive; we become immune to the glory of creation. We barely notice the clouds… the dewdrops… the wild blackberries… We avoid the cold and the heat. We buy prepackaged meat and vegetables and never think about the bounty of God's creation. We grow complacent and lead practical lives. We miss the experience of awe, reverence, and wisdom.

Our world is saturated with grace, and the lurking presence of God is revealed in spirit as well as in matter. So often we religious people walk amid the beauty and bounty of nature and we talk nonstop. We miss the panorama of color and sound and smell… We fail to be stretched by the magnificence of the world saturated with grace.

“For what we need to know… is not just that God exists… but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-by-day lives who may not be writing messages about himself in the stars but in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around down here knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God's existence that we want but the experience of God'spresence.” -Frederick Buechner

How do we live in the presence of the living God?

Do you ever wonder if you're dreaming TOO big? If the things you'd like to be/attain/achieve/do in life are so far-fetched that they are completely unattainable? That maybe you should reel your thoughts in a bit and be satisfied with where you're at? Now I don't mean that you shouldn't have hopes and aspirations and such. As a whole, I don't think we as Christians dream enough at all. We don't give God the credit for being able to accomplish more than humanly imaginable through His power in us. But I have to wonder if maybe there is a point in which you encounter reality and realize that some things that you might have pictured and hope for just aren't going to happen.

Thoughts?

About a week ago, Amber told me that in her down time at work she had started making a list of things that make her happy. I thought this a fantastic idea and encourage you to make your own list. As I typed things out for my list, I realized that the 'happy' list equally might be deemed a list of 'things to be thankful for'. Oh how we have way too many of those to count! I was also surprised how many of my list items weren't physical, material possessions at all. For when you really think about it, the things that make us truly happy are the memories and the people and the activities we're blessed to enjoy. And yes, the chocolate ice cream must be included if we're honest, but make you a list and see if you're not surprised at the outcome. Follow that with thanking God for so many blessings.

A list of 100 (in no certain order)

Short checkout lines.
Breakfast burritos with homemade picante sauce.
A stack of clean laundry.
A puppy.
Dwight Schrute and cast.
A morning of smooth traffic.
Orange juice with good ice.
Daisies.
Good art: Ansel, van Gogh, Cezanne, the like.
Micron Archival Ink pens.
The smell of crayons.
Running in the rain.
Heating blankets in the winter.
The feeling after a hard tempo run.
People who are passionate about life.
Standing on a mountain peak.
Making and crossing out items on a list.
The clone tool in Photoshop.
Libraries.
Life is Good paraphernalia.
Jeans that fit.
Summer tan.
Ted Dekker books.
Sundays at Fortress.
Wyatt Cody.
Black and white photographs.
Chocolate chip cookies.
Watching Alias with Kathleen & Amber.
Campfires and s’mores.
Catching up with old friends.
Fresh-baked bread.
Hammocks.
Sleeping during a thunderstorm.
Drive-in movies.
New running shoes.
Good coffee.
Setting up a tent.
Listening to The Afters.
Scrambled eggs at downtown breakfast diners.
Singing old hymns.
Road trips.
Running through sprinklers on a hot day.
Emails at work.
The mini-Gila at the 4N Ranch.
A good font.
Old days at COTH.
Bandanas and sunglasses.
A quiet day.
Things on sale.
Wading in a creek.
Small group Bible studies.
Little surprises.
Hanging out in a bookstore.
Ice cream runs with a best bud.
Walks in the park.
Crossing a finish line.
Kayaking down a river.
Cooking.
Finding good greeting cards.
Being held.
Encouraging words.
Pine trees.
Having people over.
Curling up on the couch.
Sunsets.
Saturday morning breakfast.
Snail mail.
Flip-flops and black heels.
Sandwiches in trees.
Good quotes.
Chick-fil-a billboards.
Monday night gym workouts.
Good test results.
Organizations like World Vision.
Mom’s apple dumplings.
Serving.
Gingerbread cookies and an old stuffed teddy bear.
Fridays at 5:00.
Ninja turtles and micro machines.
Journal writing.
John Denver.
People who are doing amazing things for the Kingdom.
The color blue.
Springtime weather.
Trips to the feed store.
Freedom to worship.
Organization.
Otters at the Dallas Zoo.
Leaves.
Looking at stars.
Fellowship.
Getting at least 7 hours sleep a night.
Did I already mention ice cream? Chocolate please.
Green bananas. So green you can hardly peel them.
Scrapbooking -n- photo albuming.
Having the best roommates.
Riding horses in the mountains.
Wedding cake. Vanilla.
Pride and Prejudice. The new one.
Knowing Someone much greater is in control.