His Presence

This morning, I read Psalm 26, where I found this in verse 8:  I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where Your glorious presence dwells.

It reminds me that "the sanctuary" or the temple is no longer a fixed point of architecture.  Today that sanctuary is where ever the believer is.  WE are the sanctuary.  WE are where the Spirit of the Lord dwells.

A few weeks ago, a team from our church went to Peru.  On that Wednesday night, the team in Peru and the church in Agricola had a Skype conversation.  We were able to see and hear each other and ask questions and get a feel for what they were doing.  I remember Mark saying that the place felt cold, not from the temperature, but from the spiritual darkness.  The message of Christ had never been there.

Last weekend was Praise in the Park in Lucedale.  Mr. H and I took our beach chairs and found a place on the hill.  As I looked out on the crowd, I recalled what Mark had said and realized that this was just the opposite.  These thousands had come with one purpose and that was to Praise the Lord.  The presence of His Spirit was tangible.  It made you look around, expecting to catch a glimpse of His back.

That's what happens when people who love the Lord come together.   Our churches should feel the same way.  There should be that expectation of' something wonderful is going to happen!'   It's up to us as the sanctuary to lead the way.

Pre-Dawn Coffee

This morning before light, I took my coffee out on the front porch.  I haven't done that in a while.  It was not too cool for just a long sleeve T-shirt.  I sat on the swing and looked out over the yard. The moon was exceptionally bright in the back yard, casting a very distinct shadow of the house into the front yard.  It was pretty low in the sky because the shadows were pretty long.

There are not a great number of trees within our neighborhood.  At one time it was a 100 acre pasture.  This morning the yards of our neighbors all had a thin layer of fog hovering just above the ground.  I wonder if I had been on one of their porches, if I would have seen the same in my yard.

It's always amazed me how noisy it is outside in the dark before the sun comes up.  I counted at least 7 individual rooster voices.  There may have been more, but loud sounds tend to echo around here and these guys are loud.  They provide a non-stop soundtrack for the pre-dawn hour.  And somewhere in the vicinity is a large pack of dogs.  I've always wondered if all that barking in the dark was actual communication (like that scene in 101 Dalmations when the dogs are putting out the alert for the missing puppies) or just the irrisistable urge to make noise.

Amid all that screeching and barking, there was a much mellower sound:  an owl.  I have no idea where this bird was located, but its "Hoo-hoo-hoo Hooooo" was a nice change from the frantic emanations of the canine and fowl variety.

The sun will be up soon.  Already, I can see a lacy pattern beginning to form through the leaves of the pecan tree outside our front door.  The sun is brightening the sky behind it.  The dogs and roosters and that owl will be drowned out by the light.

Treasure Chest

We were looking for furnishings for the eldest to take back to school for her new house.  I missed out on a great buy at a yard sale, but it did make me think about coffee tables.  At one time in our early married life we used a foot locker made by Mr. H's dad many, many years ago.  

Yes, we still have it, and yes, our eldest wants to use it.

So we found it out in the storage shed and brought it in.

And it was full of treasure!

There is a copy of The Reflector dated November 3, 1980, just after MSU defeated Alabama.  The little football on top is from Homecoming that same year.  Right there together, you have the Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat.  USM beat us at homecoming 42 - 14 that year.  (The Maroon Band, however, was AWESOME at halftime!)  That was the last game MSU lost that season.  We went on to beat the Bear 6 - 3 in one of the most amazing football games I have ever witnessed.

The other 2 objects are evidence of how the world has changed in the past 30 years.  When we registered for classes, we looked through the catalog, picked our classes and signed up accordingly.  I'm not sure that there is such a publication any longer.

And the real prize is the Radio Shack pong game!  You could play tennis, hockey, or squash.  The angle, ball speed and bat size each had 2 options.  The 2 sliders  moved the paddles up and down.  That was it:  no sideways, no diagonal.  But ground-breaking for its time.

Definitely a treasure box.