going without my sight...

how incredible our eyes are!!! light bounces off the world and into our eyeballs, and the perception of it all gets transmitted to our brains! God is SO gorgeous!
i remember thinking, during a college course on our 5 senses, how completely foolish it is to count God out! the eye alone could NOT have come about by chance. and when you discover all the processes and body parts that depend on each other and cannot exist without each other, it would take more faith to believe that 'chance' caused them all to come together at the same exact second than it does to believe that God created it all!
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20
i appreciate my eyes specifically tonight. i have always known that i depend on and love having sight, but tonight i did 2 simple tasks with my eyes closed, just to remind myself to appreciate them. i fed the cat and put the dishes from the dishwasher away.
so to begin with, i had to walk across the living room/dining room, and halfway across, i started wondering where exactly i was and if i might run into something. i heard nardo (the cat) make a noise and my eyes popped open without me even thinking about it! oops! ok try again...
as i went along with these tasks, i realized how much of being blind for me would depend on remembering where things were, on planning ahead, and on my other senses. i started noticing sounds to reference where i was and i sure spent a lot of time with my hands stretched out in front of me to prevent me from bashing my face into stuff... i needed to plan ahead and open all the cupboards wide so i didn't hit my head on them and so that i wouldn't be trying to get the door open with my hands full of dishes. i started thinking about what part of the dish i should hold out so that it would be less likely to break... these are things i don't contemplate with my eyes open! and as i put dishes away where they always go, i thought, 'hmm.. orlondo thinks i am a stickler for 'where things go' NOW!' haha... i needed to be able to expect an empty shelf or a clean countertop.
when i was done and opened my eyes, it was so comforting to SEE! and, i must admit, i was a little proud of myself when i saw everything 'in its place'. and glad that i came away without a bruise.
i realized again how blessed i am to have my sight. and how blessed those people are who are graceful and kind amidst being blind. i'm not sure how i would be, especially at the beginning, if i went blind.  but i pray that God would grant me patience and trust. and i pray that i never take my eyesight for granted while i have it!

not at home

do you ever feel like this world is not a comfortable place to be?
do you ever look around and feel discombobulated or out of place while driving down the road? like there's more happening than your eyes actually see?
it's a kind of weird and unsettling feeling, like you're not sure what's reality and what isn't...
it's like being in another, unfamiliar country, not understanding the language or the norms... wondering how safe you are... wondering if something strange is about to happen...
you're not alone.
this physical earth is not supposed to be our home. we are just here for a little while. and while we're here, we have a choice: choose God, or choose Satan.
there is no in-between. there's no sitting on the fence... no middle of the road.
not choosing God IS choosing Satan.
Satan wants your soul. he wants you not to care, not to choose. he wants you to shrug your shoulders and say, 'maybe later.' he wants you to reject Jesus because you once met a 'Christian' who wasn't nice to you.
don't be that shallow. don't believe his lies. 'he was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. when he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.' (John 8:44) 'Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.' (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Satan's sole desire is to find a way to keep you from knowing God and the AWESOMENESS of life with Jesus, who is God's Son.
Jesus Himself said, "for my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.' (John 6:40) and 'if anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.' (John 7:37-38)
the choice is yours. God or Satan. living water or unquenchable fire. God wants a relationship with you. Satan wants to destroy you.
either way, your home is not this earth. if you choose God, your true home is heaven, which is eternity with God in all His glory. if you don't, your true home for eternity is hell, an everlasting fire and the home of true evil.
we humans are creatures made for a different land, like foreigners in a strange world. our hearts and our souls know that we do not really belong here. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, '[God] has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.'
somewhere in you, you know that this world is not the end.
eternity is waiting. where will you spend it?
please don't throw away your eternity in heaven. 
seek God with all your heart, and you will find Him.

Look Around.... and Praise GOD!!

1 Chronicles 16:25-27

For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
     He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols,
     but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him;
     strength and joy in His dwelling place.