Monday, May 19, 2008

Forget sunsets, I'll take slugs.

When most people cite examples of God's creativity in nature they choose sunsets and waterfalls and frolicking dolphins. Me? I'm going with slugs. This is a page of slugs from the current issue of National Geographic. I think it's such a funny reflection of God's sense of humor that slugs are so beautiful. As we ooh and ahh over waterfalls, He must giggle knowing the fireworks He has disguised as slugs. (Please, let's not argue about evolution or dinosaurs on the ark or the age of the bubbling magma in the core of the earth. Let's just enjoy some slugs.)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

I have the faith capacity of an Australian Grass Finch.

I know, I know, you were thinking I'm more like a European Finch or a Mannikin Finch, but I feel pretty good about my selection. Although this next statement will make me sound like Cliff from the show Cheers, as I spout obscure information, I still think it is applicable:

Because a finch's metabolism is very active, starvation can occur in as little as 24 hours.

I read that today because I am thinking about getting a bird. I find them to be the colorful punctuation in the song of creation God sang long ago. (Not sure if someone else compared birds to punctuation, if they did, sorry I stole that.) But what that sentence made me realize is that my faith is the same way.

I have a fast faith metabolism. I process or burn up the energy I get from God and the Bible pretty quickly. Life is not always good, it is easy to expend the small amount of encouragement you get from a morning quiet time in the period of a day. And when I go without God for a day, whether that is without prayer or Bible or fellowship, I starve.

I can't make it passed 24 hours. I make bad decisions. I morally and emotionally starve.

I need to do a better job of this. I need to spend more time with God. I need to remember the Australian Grass Finch the next time I skip my quiet time.