In the center

 In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In the middle.....in the center....smack dab in the center of where I would move and work and wander every day.It is in the very center of everywhere you live and work. If Adam and Eve could eat of any tree, and didn't choose The Tree of Life, I wonder why.....quite frankly it would be the first one I would run to. Especially because it was in the center....it obviously has some importance.  THE TREE OF LIFE (imagine this in a deep booming voice)         I want to try it now!                But they didn't........................  I can't for the life of me imagine why.

In the middle......was also the tree of of the Knowledge of Good and Evil....This one I can understand a little easier.....it would or could be something scary to tamper with. I think I could stay away from that one, (especially since it came with a warning). 


Maybe God was telling us that in the center of the world.......is Life. Pure, unadulterated life.......without knowing about all the crap of good vs evil. So, we were warned to keep away from that knowledge and move in and around life.  Life is good and desirable, not a situation to be tolerated. Someday we will live as we were meant to. You will find me at the tree in the middle.....eating fabulous fruit!

Make, Form, Plant

Gen 2: 4-10

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dustof the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God is active. 

God could have spoken.....and had it all "be", but he didn't.

 He chose to..............  make it, form it, plant it. What does that say about God? Well, it tells me He doesn't sit on his butt in a rocking chair! It tells me He enjoys making and creating......and gardening! He is a maker, a creator, and even a gardener, a florist, a landscape designer, a sculptor,and more. 

So, some things I "get"....like clouds, and coral, and water droplets......but then I look at the picture above and I wonder....just... what was He thinking? There are some wierd animals/insects/mushrooms etc out there in the world. If He is the Ultimate artist, and they are usually considered to be people that are a little "different" from the rest of us.......He must be WILDLY different, and what do I think about a God like that?

I like it!

I like having a God that "does" stuff.....it almost makes me a little excited for heaven....no way will we be sitting around on clouds! There are so many things I want to learn to do that to me that will be heaven!

What about having a God that is "out" there? Well, I think that if we are going to be around together for eternity then having a God with multiple dimensions will be pretty entertaining and exciting. I can wait to see what He has in store!!!!!!! 

I will bet He likes to cook too! and.......

Day 6 Muddy Animals?

So, today I mostly have questions........ The first is Gen 1:24 "And God said, ' Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock,creatures that move upon the ground, wild animals, each according to it's kind." (NIV) So,if I were standing there as this happened...what would I see.....would the earth boil and roll and begin to birth out all of the different animals? What a sight that would have been....watching the birth of each animal species.....rising up out of the mud, covered still in their muddy placenta's. Wallowing around for a bit, walking down to the water for their first birth bath. Cleaning themselves off, and helping each other wash the last of the earth off. I am not saying that is what happened...I am just saying ....what if?

My second question is verse 29    "...'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." Just wondering if anyone has cataloged every tree on the face of the earth (I think so).....and do we eat ALL of them as food, or could we? Are there poisonous trees? and have they always been that way?

Last verse 30 " And to all of the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground---everything that has the breath of life in it----I give every green plant for food. And it was so."
Ok so here I am wondering about carnivorous animals.....is that just due to evolution and sin in the world? Should they all really be eating just green plants? Should we?




Someone once said "if you can answer a question with just one word it wasn't a very good question" Hopefully the questions here can create a dialogue for you....
Peace,

Day 5 Barac/Blessing

4.11.14

I was struck today by the fact that God created the birds and the fish.....and then blessed them.   " God blessed them and said 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." This is the first part of creation that is blessed. So, exactly what is a blessing.....?

The blessing definition is to speak audibly words in the power of God's name that bring spiritual, physical, and material tangible benefits to an individual's family or nation that continue from one generation to the other.

Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/blessing-from-god.html

Which would mean that even today, so removed from that creation day birds and fish are still experiencing the effects of having that blessing spoken to them. God cares for his creatures....even the sparrows! It is amazing....and how much more so that He cares for me, quite humbling. God blessed me with a son when I was past the "normal" age for children. After experiencing infertility for 19 years I feel as though I experienced the desert and came through to his blessing. I wonder how we are still experiencing that blessing?

The Hebrew verb for bless is 'barac' with its noun 'berekah', which means bowing down (someone kneeling down); in fact, it shows God bending over to make us prosperous. The New Testament word for the same is 'eulogeo', which means to speak well of a person.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/blessing-from-god.html  
I revel in the thought of my God bending over me to bless me....what a personal feeling, what an awesome God. It is part of the reason I am a Christian....I don't see that in other religions. Be at peace today with the thought that the Creator of the Universe is still bending over you to bless you!


Barac!

TED talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_hidden_miracles_of_the_natural_world?utm_content=awesm-publisher&awesm=on.ted.com_b07gf&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=on.ted.com-facebook-share&utm_source=facebook.com

This is a great video detailing what I was talking about yesterday....makes you think about the "stuff" we don't even see....so many layers to our world!

underlying purpose

4.9.14
There have been days when I have wondered about the sun burning up or simply ceasing to exsist  ....but then I remember the fourth day of creation.....and I am simply reminded again that God  set the moon and sun there with a purpose. So, my daily bread for today is that His purpose is not yet fulfilled.....and I rest in that thought.
The moon sun, and stars were placed there....not just for looks but for a purpose, which makes me wonder about all  the rest of the "purposes" out there. When I teach my students about pollination we look for the "purposes" in the plant parts.....why is top (stigma) sticky? Why are the petals colorful, etc. If we are His crowning glory, each part of our beings also have purpose. I know about the book "A Purpose Driven Life", but I think here I am even thinking smaller......why was I given a propensity toward certain behaviors? Why is my hair stick straight (when God knew I love a little curl) He must have a reason......If I accept he is a God of perfect intellect, reason, and  .............            underlying purpose. It makes me think about everything differently, it gives me another lens.
May God bless all of your purposes today....

Seed=Life

As in everything in life plants can go one way or another.......they can go off and become invasive or they can become a source of life for us.  For me it is always a holy experience when a seedling emerges.....a special time in life when promise/potential is laid out.

Day 4 ..."Let the land produce vegetation: , seed bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."(NIV) God didn't have to create plants with seeds in them, but there is something special about holding an apple and knowing that in your hand is     VAST POTENTIAL.           I love the thought of that............... and I am sure our multi faceted God thought of that also. In side of each of us is the "seed" of potential, and each of us will produce "according to their various kinds" or "gifts".  Cool. Again, I am struck with the complete order of God.....it may look disorganized but underneath there is so much order. 

You know seeds can germinate even after years of laying around, I think God also knew that when he created them.......

Go Grow,

just me

Between waters

4.5.14

Ok
so this round through the Bible I am going to journal/blog. I think it will take me the rest of my life.....but that is ok.


"And God said, 'Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." Instantly my mind goes to where else is there an expanse between waters? The Red Sea.....and what have we learned from the Red Sea?....that God carries us over on dry ground, in safety. All the trouble that is following us doesn't touch us...
We live in that expanse between the waters...we aren't living under the water, nor do we live above....but in the expanse, where it is dry, and safe because that is where God has us on dry ground. No trouble can eternally touch us. I recognize that this world is not perfect ...yet.      In a deeper sense we are living in the expanse between also.....between what was (past history) and will be to come. It's  pretty scary here sometimes and we want to turn back toward whatever safety we came from, but rest in peace knowing it is ok.
Ok
over and out....
Laura
ps Can you think of any other examples of "between" the waters?

...just wondering about the start

....in the beginning......""God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness." (NIV)  I am wondering if this was separation of Himself from Satan and the fallen angels? We know from Revelations that there will be no more dark/night, and he didn't create the sun and moon until the fourth day.
Just a question for today...



(http://www.kenbushe.co.uk/html/last_light_-_sidlaws.html)
You know that is why I love the Bible so much....most books I read and I am done with....but this one always amazes me no matter how many times I read it!

God's Peace