Encounters With God

This is Madeliene Gray! Is she adorable, or what? (I think I'll go ahead and arrange her marriage to Justus.) She is the 4-month-old daughter of my dear friend, Kristin. I gave this bow to her at her baby shower and she had it on Tuesday morning at Bible study. Kristin sent me pictures later. The way I see it, every little girl should have a big bow...especially one with four older brothers. Kristin said that the boys put a bow in her hair every day. I'm sure it is such a novelty to them!

Speaking of Bible study, it was really good. We've had a 6 week break because all the college girls who watch our kids have been on break. It was so good to be back. This week we are studying Daniel 6:10-28 There were three things that spoke to me the most during Beth Moore's video portion:

1) From Daniel 6:10-16. She said that there are three ways we can react in an emergency: 1) we can panic, 2) we can become paralyzed, 3) we can pray."Heaven IS going to move...Everything can be affected by prayer...There is power in the spoken word...You DO NOT have the one situation that God cannot change!" I love that. Do you believe it, friend?

2) From Daniel 6:17-28. The reality is that we are living in a modern-day Babylon (a culture of decadence, self-absorption, and over-indulgence) and we ARE in the lion's den. We have an Enemy who prowls around like a lion desiring to devour us...our marriages...our children. (See I Peter 5:8-9). Beth said, however, that we need to "consider the wonderful side of life in Babylon and the lion's den." She said, "we have opportunities to experience gloriously intense encounters with God" like Daniel did. Daniel would "not have experienced this if God had delivered him from trials or the lion's den." Often times, it is in the lion's den that we encounter his presence.

I long to "to experience gloriously intense encounters with God." I want my life to be characterized by it. I've often said that there is nothing I love more than seeing God do radical things in people's lives.

3) She also commented on Daniel's influence in Babylon. "We can be used of God to have great influence," she stated, "As long as we are here, we've got a job to do. In Babylon." God has put me in this culture, in this moment of time and I do not want to waste this life on things that do not matter. I do not want to hold on to things and get distracted by them. I don't want to miss out on "experiencing gloriously intense encounters with God" because I'm distracted by shopping for the next bargain on a cute outfit for my kids or clinging to living in this house. And I certainly don't want to model that to my children...or have them miss out on experiencing God.