Happy birthday to my good friend Oscar Hyde in England! Oscar is now 16 years old. We send our love across the Atlantic to you, my friend!
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This Saturday I will be at the West Town Mall in Knoxville along with some of my students, ringing and singing for the Salvation Army. We're going to be having a little songfest as people come by to put their money in the kettle for the Salvation Army. This is going to be fun! I am not a singer, not at all - but I enjoy the Christmas carols, and I've always had a desire to help out the Salvation Army at the kettle locations. If you are in the area, we will be at the mall between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. near the main entrance.
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"The eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy. " —Psalm 33:18
I think the one thing I missed most in my childhood is that I didn't have a daddy who was around to see the important things that mean so much to a child. I first learned to ride a bike on my own. My baseball games, wrestling matches and football games had no fatherly spectator.
It heartens me to know, though, that my Heavenly Father is watching over me with a constant and loving eye. Just when things get hardest, I get the gentle nudge to remember that I'm not alone.
Yesterday I read the blog of a fellow who angrily wrote that he could not find God evident - he couldn't see Him, hear Him, smell Him... the fellow was not a Christian, and was trying to put God on his own terms. I felt for the young man, because in reading, I saw that he was putting God on the level of a policeman, theater usher or a schoolteacher - a limited level. God's so much more than that.
I've felt God's hand as I prepared a message to deliver to a congregation. I've experienced God's power as we heard a dynamic message in school chapel yesterday. I've seen God when I saw the conversions of numerous people, from business executives to Viet name war vets.
And I've felt Him when I've been hurting and needed Someone to help me through a struggle.
To quote David Enger,
"One of the wonderful joys of being a believer in Jesus is knowing that our Father in heaven is always watching over us. The promise expressed by David in today’s psalm applies to us wherever we go. Whatever confronts us, the “eyes of the Lord” are on us and His ears “are open to [our] cry” (Ps. 34:15)."
