how does worship look?

the last 8 chapters of ezekiel go into great detail of how the Lord's temple is supposed to be build and what is the perfect way to worship God.

Ezekiel 46:9-10
"When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out."

what a perfect picture of what our worship is to look like today! we should NOT go out the same way we came in! change happens to us when we worship God correctly, and the change in us is like going out a different door than the one we came in.
if i go into worship harboring anger, i see God's perfection and my shortcomings, and it causes me to forgive.
if i go into worship with sin in my heart, God's presence brings it to light and i have to choose to give it up. i canNOT choose both; it's either choose God or choose my sin.
if i go into worship as king of my life, His ultimate Kingship puts me to shame, and i have to give up the throne.
when we worship God, our focus is to be on HIM alone. it causes us to examine ourselves and realize that we come up short. our love for Him causes us to desire change and then to make it happen.
and i love how the 'prince', though it is referring to an earthly prince here, reminds me of Jesus. He is among us as we worship, going in as we go in, and going out when we go out!

the best parts of life

• safety of family
• driving
• drinking icy coke on a hot day
• snuggling under my husband's arm to watch our favorite shows
• seeing faraway family
• summer
• colors
• traveling to new places
• climbing trees
• deep blue clouds full of thunder and lightning arriving while the sun is still shining
• realizing an new insight about a Bible verse
• eating
• warm cat purring on my lap
• gardening (flowers)
• flying
• sun shining through the leaves
• toes in soft, cool grass
• laying inside while the rain steadily pounds outside
• singing amidst the huge swell of voices in church
• watermelon
• flickering candles (that smell good)
• hugging
• laughing till i cry
• taking the perfect picture
• smelling perfume
• tingly skin from sitting in the sun
• blasting meaningful music in the car... and sometimes crying with it
• reading a good book all evening, uninterrupted
• twinkly lights on a winter night
• getting my feet rubbed
• colorful flowers
• watching people at airports (and hearing languages and accents)
• skyping with family
• watching the green bay packers WIN
• understanding an inside joke
• tapioca
• laying in the grass with the breeze blowing and puffy clouds overhead
• stars
• laying down after a long day at work
• finding something i thought i'd lost
• the smell of baking bread
• successfully communicating in a different language
• eating with my husband at a favorite restaurant

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!