SCL

Thanks Jon.

I live in an amazing city (I have mountains within walking distance of my office, and the ocean is just a 15 min drive) but I often fall into the trap of taking even that for granted. Thanks for the reminder that I should be looking even closer to home. (My wife would thank you too , if she was reading this)

Hey Jon

Great post, and so true. I had an experience like this (the ‘experience’ where I’m at as opposed to the experience away from the norm) and all it took was to ask one question of someone who was on the border between friends and acquaintance for me. I posted a poem I wrote about it today, on my blog. Thanks for reminding me about those amazing moments when you find the unexpected sweetness of God!

WV: ’nuffi’ – “I can’t get a nuffi your love Jesus!”

The wife-solving mystery will probably last you a lifetime as we are very complex, yet breathtakingly beautiful creatures, I might add.

SO worth the effort!

He says all things were created for HIS pleasure. SO sometimes, the big mystery is stopping and asking Him,
“Now just what is pleasurable about that?”

I’ve been surprised before when I started looking for something pleasurable within the non- pleasantness.

What I love about the experiences God gives his people is that they are in the midst of the ordinary. Moses was taking care of the sheep. The shepherds were too. The disciples were minding their own business. Jesus changed Zaccaeus’ life over dinner. Samuel was trying to get some sleep. The list goes on and on. More than that the people were extraordinarily ordinary.

Of course the best example of what you are talking about is Elijah running from Mount Caramel after a wicked awesome experience and setting himself up a top notch pity party which God crashes. He’s all, “what’s with the crying didn’t you just see what happened, you call I came and brought down the house.”

“Yeah but I’m all along there are none like me left”

“What, do you think you’re all that? Let me tell you I have a land full of people here. You are far from alone, now get ready for an amazing lesson. You know how I came in fire right? Yeah that isn’t my voice now check out this …” Amazing thing after amazing thing and in none of it God is speaking. Finally God speaks again, “Elijah, I hope you get it. I am talking to you but not through all those amazing things. My voice is still and small so you need to pay attention and be ready to move. Now lets shut down this pity party and let you get some rest in my goodness and mercy.”

Word Verification: drewsest
A cult devoted to Drew Carey. Members must have poor visions and be willing to wear thick black rimmed glasses.

Speaking as one who has been married for nearly 23 years, your wife is one mystery that will always be worth exploring.

Also, in the midst of all the ice that covered every blade of grass, bush, tree and powerline in Kentucky last week, and in the midst of being without power, heat, and water, God delighted us in nature. When the sun finally came out on the second or third day, all of they trees sparkled like a crystal forest. It was so simply breathtakingly beautiful that all I could say was “Thank you God for delighting me”

wv presca: A carbonated beverage tasting something like pomegranate and pineapple.

Thanks Jon – great post.

I’ve been blessed to see some amazing parts of God’s creation around the world and live in a city sandwiched between the sea and the mountains so finding God in nature is a wonderfully common experience.

Perhaps even better though, is seeing Him in a kind word or a simple act of love or a smile and a hug from friends when I need it most.

Dude…thanks for the reminder. I work in a Christian bookstore…in an office in the back, without even a window. I feel like I miss God a lot…even surrounded by Bibles.

Remember your crown, Jon….

Wow. Very well said.
-William

I love how God takes our prayers and answers them in the most unexpected ways. It keeps our eyes open and our hearts humble. And I agree with Donna, such timing on this thought with your Crown also…

I went to college overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Every day for dinner, I walked to the cafeteria with the sun setting over the water to my right. We could watch the whale migration from the cafeteria windows.

I don’t think I took it for granted too often, but I certainly got used to it.

I think it’s not so much about what you’re seeing as how you choose to see it. And whether you’re looking for it.

And like Nick the Geek said, after a mountaintop experience, we can be surprised and disappointed by the mundane life we find on our return.

It’s easy to see God in something unusual or out of place. I have to work to see him in the dirty dishes on the counter or the trees in my backyard.

I love how you are making each word a lesson. Seems to me that is taking everything God has to give and using it for good. Thanks. I will try to follow suit as I read the Bible. Sometimes I am just too lazy….

We live on the Gulf coast and recently discovered God’s power through Hurricane Ike. While looking at before and after pictures I see God’s presence in both the before with the beauty and after with the power.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/3096339409_782d6eeca4_o.jpg

Hope that works. That is before. One of my favorites.

WV carit–What God dangles before us to make us know he is there.

Great post Jon, yes our wives are a mystery which we’ll spend a lifetime trying to know.

Thanks for the reminder that we should be doing just that.

I spend too much time looking for God and not enough time seeing God.

Our pastor has often referred to God’s greatest mystery as ‘how he allows the coexistence of good and evil to accomplish his plan.’

How that relates to the spousal mystery I’ll leave to others to interpret.

I appreciate the fact that you extended this out from finding God in nature to finding God in the mundane…

…because I don’t like camping and it bugs me when people try to imply that they have a deeper divine connection through “digging” nature more than I do. While I appreciate the look of a landscape, to me it’s just a pretty picture. God is a Person, not a “creation force”. Hmm, seems like the Bible says something about God not being in the wind, fire, or earthquakes either…

A man came to our church last night that hadn’t ever been before– and his first words were- ‘It’s so beautiful in here.’ and he had awe in his voice and it made me look around and realize again that it is beautiful but I am already taking it for granted even though we’ve been in our new church less than a year. Sometimes it takes seeing things through fresh eyes…. Thanks for an eye-opening post, Jon.

“A thousand diamonds in a rapper’s grill…” Hilarity.

That said, my husband is a miracle. My kids are a miracle. All are precious creations given to me by God’s grace to enjoy, cherish, treasure, and wonder at His goodness. Thanks for the reminder.

That is great Jon. I will share our amazing sight for the day. It is cold and icy right now in Southern PA, this mornign after I cleared the coating of snow from my windshield, I sprayed the deicer on it. Once the windshield wipers did their thing, my daughter and I sat in amazement as we watched a very fine coating of ice form on the windshield, it looked like bursts of stars with small feathers everywhere. IT WAS GORGEOUS! We both said, ‘wow, God is so awesome.’

I will agree with TX Grandma that there is no greater reminder of God’s power and beauty than a hurricane. I, too, went through Ike. As the first bands of clouds started to roll in, the sky turned red. As the clouds got thicker, all sorts of oranges and purples mixed with thick bands of blue. It was gorgeous, but haunting because I knew this massive, destructive force would soon follow.

Anyways, if the hurricane was a reminder of God’s beauty and power, the compassion and service of my fellow Houstonians after the storm was a reminder of God’s mercy. While the rest of the nation quickly moved on to more exciting news, we leaned on each other to help rebuild our community. It has really been an amazing and beautiful thing.

I like the thought of a crown instead of a trophy. Very good. . .

I’ve had exactly one audible experience with God. One moment where He spoke in an audible voice, present in the room with me. It was startling. It was amazing. It was truly awe inspiring. And it was regarding a totally inconsequential issue. Something, in and of itself that had absolutely no lasting significance whatsoever. None. I wondered and prayed about that afterwards. If you’re only going to do something once in fifty-one years, wouldn’t you want to get the most bang for your buck? He wanted to remind me that He truly does count the hairs on my head. He cares about the small, insignificant details of my life. My life. How strange. How utterly re-assuring. How awesome. His charge to me is to love my wife in the same way He loves me. Big job.

I loved reading this post – and all the comments. I have nothing to add – they all said it first and better. Now my mind is full of beautiful pictures of ice crystals and whales (and Elijah’s pity party).

Great post. Living in Oklahoma, there’s not much scenery here. Yet I’ve learned to find God in everything…from the grass (or lack thereof), to the trees, to the sky, to my family, to my friends, to my life. God is in everything and sometimes that’s hard to find and remember. But He’s there.

Lana,

There is plenty to see in OK. You have to travel a little but it is super diverse from forests to deserts and very unique natural formations up in the pan handle. Plus where else can you go swim in lakes that are equally red clay and water? All these clean lakes make me miss lake dirty bird

I helped out in the Jr. High group the last couple of years at my church back home. At last year’s Winter Camp for Jr. High, after the last session when dozens of Jr. Highers had committed their lives to Christ, my best friend and I were walking back to our room. Snow was on the ground and it began to lightly start falling again. We looked out from the top of the mountain and just gazed for a few moments. We just looked at each other and new that we had just seen something majestic.

Ever since watching The Bucket List (Morgan Freeman Jack Nicholson) together, we have constantly been on a search to see majestic things. That was the first one.

wow.
I don’t know what to say to this other than wow.
I find myself thinking all of the time…why do I live here (Houston)? It isn’t a classicly beautiful place. But with God’s help, I am finding beauty in unusual and mundane places more and more. I also stuggle with feeling his presence when I’m in the middle of the monotony of the week. Beauty is hard to see sometimes but no one can deny feeling the wind. I like to go outside and feel the wind against my skin because it is such a sweet reminder of God’s infinite power and his presence right at that moment. Sometimes I just need something tangible to hold onto and that helps.

Thanks, Jon. That was beautiful.

thanks for the reminder.

When I think about where to find God – isn’t He where the people are? Shouldn’t we “see” God in the crowded dirty city? The creation that is in His image is walking around everywhere there.
An Interversity Urban Mission Project in Tampa, FL taught me this.

I usually read the first sentence of your posts to decide if I will read the whole thing. You write quality stuff, but sometimes my schedule doesn’t permit.

Today’s opening sentence made me stay to read the whole thing.

Great post. I’m liking this love month theme.

“You want to explore a mystery? Your wife is a mystery. You don’t understand her. There’s your mystery. Get to know her better.”

I laughed at that too. It would be so like God to say something like that. LOL

im the kind of person that could find God in the snowflake being flung from the wing of a sparrow trying to get a speck of bread on a street corner. forget about a sunrise over the rugged coast of cape cod, ma on a cool morning with seagulls calling and clouds parting- God is all over that like ice on lil wayne.
thanks for the reminder that my wife is just as amazing and mysterious. God was trying to tell me that last week- i just had to think it was me having a wierd thought…

we got married at a golf course, on a small bluff overlooking a beautiful lake with coastal mountains behind it. dh was kind of apprehensive at first because we were not getting married in a church. i told him we were doing one better, because outside in God’s creation is God’s church. better than any man could ever create. it was beautiful and i am so glad we got married outdoors, because every time i see my wedding pictures i’m reminded of God’s creation.

WV: pyerledy
the woman who sets off the fireworks. very un-pc, more commonly accepted these days is “female pyrotechnician.”

My husband and I moved to California on a whim after our wedding in September of last year…
Outside our apartment are snow-covered mountains, and thirty minutes away, you meet the coast.
We moved from Indiana, which is covered in cornfields.
Fast forward to now, and we’re moving back. And I’m glad, because I allowed myself to not focus on my husband and just be in awe of where we’d moved. Maybe Indiana is a little boring compared to California, but as long as my husband is with me and I get to unravel the mystery that is him, I should be very content.

Almost completely missing from discussions of the environment is the blighting spiritual effect on us of lack of contact with nature. Glad you’ve brought it up.

Regular contact in our day to day lives with a bit of nature helps humanize us. I think it’s especially helpful when we’re growing up.

“Dear God: I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool.” – a kid’s prayer.

My latest mystery is why is it that my own LAN is the only one not usually working in the office. Beats me all the time!

my kids reminded me of God today – their capacity for joy and living in the present moment – a two-minute pretend tea party with one and big smiles and snuggles from the other. also my work day got interrupted to drive a carload of grade school kids to our after-school program – they were so bright and funny and joyful, and their stories would probably break my heart if I knew them.

I’ve read a quote about children being “fresh from God” – and it is no small matter when they love us. not doing justice to the quote, but the principle is one I need to remember more often. thanks for the reminder.

My favourite experience of nature is wandering around my university campus around dusk, midsummer. The sun has just set, but the sky is still a rich blue, and the fluorescent lights put a nice red glow off the bricks, and green off the grass and trees. Its not hot, but not so cool you need a coat. Makes me think of how God even designs the basic things, like light and colour, to be beautiful.

That reminds me of a joke:
A man was strolling along the beach one day when he spied an old fashioned oil lamp laying in the sand.
He picked it up and, as he began to brush the sand and dirt off the lamp, a Genie suddenly appeared. As the man stood there, surprised and speachless, the Genie held up his hand and said “Before we start, here are some ground rules. First, I am not very good with this Genie business, so with me you only get one wish, not the usual three. Second, because I am not very good at this, there are no guarantees, so be careful what you wish for.”

After thinking for a few moments the man said, “well, I have always wanted to visit Hawaii but I am afraid of traveling on either ships or airplanes, so could you build a highway to Hawaii so that I can drive?” To which the Genie replied, “What? I just told you to keep it simple as I am not very good at this.”

So the man thought again and replied, “well, my wife keeps saying that I don’t understand her. So, could you give me the power to understand women?”

“Would you prefer a two or a four lane highway?”

Good post, Jon.

It made me think of G.K. Chesterton’s comments on community. Most folks think traveling the world and mixing with other cultures is the best way to get to know people. He says to stay put. Thirty years next door to someone will take you to far more mysterious places than global trotting will.

Man, we really need nature, but how empty that is without the body of Christ guiding us to find God through His word and through worship.

That was funny about your wife. Also – we forget about the mystery of looking into the face of our child.

This is beautiful. Thank you.