Let the giving begin!

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. - Luke 6:38

I was so blessed yesterday to spend a couple of hours with the Bible School girls out in town shopping. But it wasn't just your average shopping trip! It was truly a special time.

We piled 12 of us into a couple vehicles and hit the dollar story, a regular girl-gang! There was much laughter and smiles as we grabbed baskets and headed through the aisles in search of special gifts; gifts not for ourselves, not for each other, but for little children around the world who have never received anything before. That's right, we were filling shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child! If you have never heard of OCC, let me explain. Samaritan's Purse organizes the program every year in which you fill a shoe box with gifts, hygiene items, school supplies, etc and then they give them out to children in different countries around the world as Christmas gifts. Along with each box, they give the Gospel message. Lives are changed, whole villages are impacted and a child is given a special joy.

Moreover, it is such a joy to be the giver. One of my very favourite Christmas traditions, (and appropriately placed around thanksgiving time as well when we are all very aware of our own blessings) I enjoyed every minute of scouring the store for each special item. I packed the box with love and then my friend,who joined me in buying the gifts for this specific little girl, joined me in prayer for her and the whole program. I know that God can really use my little efforts and make a difference in this little girl's life and I'm excited to perhaps be a part of that blessing. I encourage all of you to get out there and fill a box. National collection week is November 14-21 so there's still time, no excuse people! Check out the website if you have questions: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/FAQ 

Prepare to Believe

It's impossible to really describe a walk through the creation museum. All the emotions you feel as you take step after step through it...it's hard to describe. It's like walking through our world and yet not - more like standing helplessly watching it revolve around you. It's like being a part of our history but not - more just watching from the outside. The exhibits come alive and it feels like it's you that is frozen in one state. I don't know how I appeared on the outside but my heart was in turmoil as the minutes turned to hours and I was drawn through the different scenes. Slowly I began to see. Slowly I began to understand. Slowly I saw our world, our history, through different eyes.

This is one of the very first exhibits you see and when I looked up at it and read the two quotes, it really hit me hard how pathetic we are. Descartes' famous line looks so weak next to God. With all our knowledge, our stacks of books, our years of searching, mankind is still so far from understanding. We are helpless to explain our purpose, our very existence. And yet we have such a high opinion of ourselves. We think we have accomplished so much. "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (James 4:14 emphasis added). In contrast God says"...I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me" (Isaiah 44:6); "...I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone" (Isaiah 44:24); I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God...that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these" (Isaiah 45: 5-7)

The questions resonate deep inside because we've all asked at least on of them at some point in our lives. Taking the time to stand and take in the devastation that follows from the wrong starting point really helps you to appreciate the hope presented by the truth.

This exhibit displays some of the ways God brought His Word together

Satan has been attacking God's Word since the beginning, since the garden. He questions God's truthfulness, God's authority; he tries to get us to doubt and many times he succeeds. Just read through a few of the attacks on Scripture throughout history and you will be astounded at how the evil one has made this such a priority. After all, if we doubt God's Word, how can we trust the God who wrote it?

Reject God and our world falls apart. Walking through the hopelessness and destruction caused by a life in rebellion against God was depressing and humbling. We are truly, wandering in purposelessness without Christ.

After this dark room of sad reality, you leave our present world, walking through a dark tunnel filled with blinking stars and start right at the beginning...

Adam naming the animals in Eden

Pure innocent bliss. The garden is beautiful, the music is soothing. Everything is perfect, unique and good. I love this exhibit because it just shows the two amazing created beings, living in pure joy and yet above them the snake is watching, planning, waiting. Satan is never absent. He is ever ready to make a move and destroy.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

The contrast from this quiet place of happiness and peace into the dark, bleak rooms following is an amazing portrayal of the devastation caused by sin. You begin to walk in a subtle descent as the perfect world dissolves into one of terror and violence. I shuddered inside as I walked past angry animals, Abel's murder, a room accosting me with images and sounds of fighting,and  bombs,and  floods, sickness, anger, jealousy...black black sin. My heart ached and I felt tears welling up.

And then the ark. The beautiful yet tragic story floods my heart with sadness but also hope. Righteous judgement is placed alongside unwarranted grace. The contrast in this miniature display is clear. I stood studying the tiny desperate people, startled at the detail added to each one. They were real human beings who rejected God and faced His wrath. And I can't help but think how it is really no different today. Are you on the ark, safe from destruction? Or clinging to the rocks, facing impending doom? 

And then...the new start. A new, clean world. The jagged mountains, a testimony of the past destruction, all around them, Noah and his family praise God among the flowers. What a devastating truth must have hit them as they walked out of the ark. The only human beings alive on the whole earth, nothing familiar, starting over by themselves.

Yet, it's sad to think that it wasn't long before mankind again rebelled collectively at Babel. And then imagine the grief of separation; the fear in all the confusion, the anger, the resentment, as man is scattered around the globe.

Will we ever get it?

The walk-thru exhibits end with a short but convicting film of the life of Christ, the Lamb of God, the Last Adam. And I walked out quiet. Contemplating all I had seen and read and felt. It was overwhelming. Not only amazingly well put together and detailed and beautiful, but if you let it, a walk through the museum will touch your heart and teach you truths in a way you've never known them before.

I really can't tell you any thing more. I mean, I could go on and on but really, you must visit this place yourself to understand. Even if you've grown up in a Christian home and think you know all the answers, all stories, all the true history...go. You will be glad you did. You will be encouraged in your faith, strengthened in the truth, and emboldened to share.

And even if you have never touched Bible, never stepped inside a church...go. Just check it out. What can it hurt? I must warn you though, if you go, prepare...to believe.

Fork, knife or spoon?

Our trip was a one of new experiences for me and the world of food was no exception. As you can probably imagine, we ate out quite a lot being on the road for so long. Incredibly we stopped at only TWO places that I had ever been to before: Starbucks and Subway. The rest of the fast food places or restaurants were new to me, so I got quite a good sampling of American food. :) Those who know me, know that food is rather important to me and I can be quite passionate about it. I like a lot of different foods, LOVE to cook and try new things and just really enjoy eating good food. I'm particularly a fan of intelligence displayed in cooking and always look for creativity in making a dish go beyond your average chicken and potatoes. Of course, I wasn't expecting particularly awesome food on this trip as I knew it would be mostly fast food places, which are generally less than exceptional, but it was fun to try new places.

Early in the trip we went to a Steak and Shake which was pretty cute and quick with satisfactory food. The shake I had was a little disappointing as it was pretty much just ice cream which I had to spoon into my mouth or risk fainting from the exhausting task of sucking the sludge up a straw. (wow that makes it sound REALLY distasteful...it really wasn't that bad.) My favourite part of this place was just the setting. Little 50s diner-ish with happy music and lots of natural light. Arby's was also pretty good. I had a beef sandwich...kind of their big thing...with a beef dip. Nothing really to rant and rave about, oh except I REALLY liked their curly fries. Those were pretty fantastic. Mostly I was impressed that their food wasn't swimming in grease or flattened into a smushy mess. Also, there was quite a stack of sliced meat on the sandwich...which is important :)

I also went to my first Chick-fil-A! I had heard SO much about this restaurant and didn't realize it was only a fast food place. My expectations were pretty high as I walked in and I wasn't disappointed. I mean, not that the chicken sandwiches were anything really all THAT incredible but they were definitely good. They're fries were rather lovely tasting as well. Mostly I just had a lot of fun there with my friends.

doesn't it just look so yum!!

I must say, the giant fresh leaf of lettuce was pretty beautiful and the spicy cheese was delish. Oh and I must give them some points for having real LIVE flowers in those vases. That was nice to see in a fast food place.

bawk bawk bawk

ketchup, a must-have

cracking up because Cort was taking a million pictures

Our trip to Cincinnati for the express purpose of a meal at the Cheesecake Factory was pretty fun. Now THAT was a great restaurant. Jess and I shared a teriyaki chicken meal which was rather wonderful. The white chocolate raspberry cheesecake we shared was AMAZING. One bite and I pretty much melted. So creamy and silky and AWESOME. It was just a beautiful taste, exquisite...if that makes any sense. Suffice to say, I'm a fan.

Cincinnati as we were leaving. For some reason I like this shot even though it was taken rather spazztically out the window as we were flying over the bridge and is therefore just awesomely blurry. Just a happy memory I guess.

Drove the half hour back to the museum with Cort, Caela and I in the backseat. Pretty much my favourite part of the night as Caela and I spent the whole time giggling, while everyone took turns teasing, making ridiculous jokes and just having a blast.

The last place worth mentioning was actually at Silver Dollar City in Missouri. There were various little food places throughout the park that cooked their dishes in these HUGE skillets. Lots of great spices, flavourful meats and perfectly fried vegetables made this meal one of my very favourites on the whole trip! Simple yet impressively well put together and basically a party in your mouth. Loved seeing the chefs at work, hearing the sizzle of flaming hot skillets and the parade of happy smells delighting my nose. Eating under the shade of a million rainbow-coloured leaves added to the atmosphere making the experience sublime.

impressive right????

oh wow, I'm hungry just looking at this!

Oh and I have to mention Andy's, the fabulous ice cream place we ate at 3 nights in a row while we were in Branson. Pretty incredible soft serve there! Open late, made fresh every hour, tons of options, just basically a lot of fun to stop at. 

And so that concludes the food part of my journey. I encourage you all to head out to a new restaurant some time soon and try something out of your ordinary. Who knows, maybe you'll find a new favourite!