As God Walks

The famly and I had the wonderful oportunity to travel this past weekend to Baltimore to see the seniors from the school I used to serve at as they concluded their Senior Trip. It was a great blessing, as be we there or not, they are still "our kids." The visit was fairly short (about 2 hours), but most enjoyable. The visit was another example of God's unending goodness. The small blessings that He sends to remind us that He loves and cares for us are so very wonderful. After we left the FCA group at BWI, we spent an hour at Inner Harbor, then moved over to Fells Point where we ate lunch at a pizza place profiled on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives -- quite good. Next time I get to Baltimore we will visit a BBQ place profiled on DDD.

Colossians 2 begins with Paul commenting on his concern for those he loved in Colossae. It is somewhat the same feeling that I have, now settled into ministry in PA and yet having those we love halfway to China, or so it seems. God has shown that He is faithful and He continues to meet our needs, even as He allows us to serve here and keep up with our friends there.

One of the interesting aspects of God as reflected in Scripture is His personification. We know that He is a spirit, yet He is described with the qualities of a man. He sees; He hears, He listens; He walks. In Genesis, God walks through Eden seeking Adam and Eve, though in His omniscience He knew exactly where they were. In Colossians, as well in other books, we find the admonition to walk. We are to walk with God, living out our knowlwdge of God. If we are walking alongside of God, He does not need to go hunting for us as He did for Adam and Eve. We need to stay close to God through meditating on the Word, which in turn increases our love for Him. As our love for God increases, greater is the likelihood that we will heed the "put off" and "put on" commands of Col. 3. Christlike living is the result of godliness, it is not godliness of itself. Many people "do" to demonstrate their love for God; He wants us to "be" and understand the doing is simply the natural result of "being." It all starts with our walk. Does God need to find us or does He sense us close by?

Not Knowing Where You Are Walking

Though my schedule does not allow it so much these days, I greatly enjoy walking and bike riding. Though my schedule and finances do not allow, I also enjoy traveling. One thing that is for certain is that whether I ride my bike, go for a walk, or travel across the country, I need some familiarity with the area or a map (or GPS) to get around. Even with a map, sometimes one can get turned around and perhaps even, dare say it, lost. Perhaps more challenging than going to a new area is visiting an area anew after a long period away. You return and nothing looks quite the same. Landmarks have changed, perhaps even been removed; sight lines are different. These past few months have sort of had that feel. Everything is familiar, though only vaguely. it is the same, yet different. I can see that God is in control of everything and it is obvious that He has been meeting needs and providing, but is sure seems odd from this perspective. I know I am in the right neighborhood, but it seems to be a very large neighborhood. I just patiently wait to see if and when I arrive where I am headed. I must be close because everything looks sort of familiar.

One great blessing I had just this weekend was that the kids and I were able to go to Andrews Air Force Base outside of DC and see the Joint Services Open House Air Show. The show highlight was the Blue Angels. I have seen the Blues probably 8 times over the years, and every time is impressive. We had a blast. Justin took a couple hundred pictures. It was a long day, but we sure had a great time. God has given me a couple of great kids, that is for sure.

What a Week

My, was last week ever full. With Mothers Day upcoming, the shipping job went through the roof. Shari's Berries for mom -- seems like half the country was shipping them. There is a Shari's site close by, so we shipped MANY boxes of berries.

Looking for any excuse for a celebration, we recognized Cinco de Mayo in my class this week. It was a good reason to have Tres Leche in class. While on the topic of Mexican food, I have decided that there needs to be a Stripes convenience store located here in the Harrisburg area, just for the breakfast tacos. If they locate here, I will be first in line. I have found a decent Mexican restaurant, but still need a good breakfast taco.

The other need is to locate a good bar-be-que place. Haven't really looked yet, but that is on the horizon. Need to find somewhere to get some good flavor. Of course, with the current work schedule, the only real day to search for dining locations is Saturday. We have never really been a family that dines out on Sunday and I work until at least 9:30 every evening, so Saturday is the day. Becky works every other weekend, so it is me and the kids for lunch or dinner for the family. That being said, we do not eat out much anymore, so the word for the day: "whatever."

Enjoy dinner.