So my perception was a little off

Once I decided to be a stay at home mom I thought that this would be my days:

• Get up and do a long devotion and study time.
• Get fully dressed, including hair and make up
• Gently wake my precious children with smiles and happiness
• Make a nutritious home-cooked breakfast
• Write a witty blog post that will encourage and lead others
• fill the day with fun, easy-going family activities, learning opportunities and restfulness
• Welcome home my White Knight with his favorite dinners and a sparkling clean home
• End the day with a quiet devotion and the sense that I am exactly where I am supposed to be and the satisfaction of being a stay at home mom.

During the school year I would also patiently help my son with his homework, bake cookies for my daughter's class and be the perfect sports and room mom.

You know, The Proverbs 31 woman for the year 2012.

Bahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

I have discovered that to be THAT woman I need to be a different woman! One that God has not either a: made me to be or b: started working in me to be. I have spent the last year being more disappointed in myself and my abilities than anything else.

Why in the world did I think I could be the P31 mom to perfection?

This summer I was more the crazy, unfocused, unorganized, scattered and stressed mom. But as the summer went along, and I got more focused about talking to and with God, and getting intentional about studying to better myself through God's Word I learned some things.  See if any of these sound familiar, or maybe something will let you take a deep breath and let some things go.

You can't be what God hasn't made you to be, but you can try to be a better you every day.

More often than not, I am going to screw up at some point each day. I will forget something, lose my temper, forget my priorities etc. God is really awesome about getting me back on track and helping me make amends where I need to, so there is no need to carry around the less-than-perfect mommy guilt. His mercies are new every morning.  Let. It. Go.

A clean house isn't an indication of my abilities as a mother. My children are. I learned that if my kids have clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat off of, then the rest can wait.

When my daughter tells me I am the best mom in the world, instead of feeling sorry for her that she has no better frame of reference, I can now honestly be thankful that I filled her love tank and I can also know that maybe, just maybe, today I earned an "atta girl" from my Heavenly Father as well.

Four short devotions, done with complete attention for 5-10 minutes throughout the day will help me stay focused on what is truly important as well as, if not better than, one long session in the morning. If I only get three pages of a study done, but I really think about those three pages for the rest of the day, I am growing and learning. It's not how much, but how deep.

Praying sounds more like day-long off and on conversations, muttering and exclamations these days, but God really really likes to hear from me whenever, wherever.

I will have so much time to blog when my kids are grown and gone. I miss being here more regularly and I hope to get back to my two a week postings soon, but watching my son play football, planting flowers with my daughter, and doing home repair and improvement projects with my White Knight, well those need to be done while I still have the opportunity to do them. Time flies away unnoticed all too often. I am trying to be here (in the moment with my family) which means sometimes I can't be here (blogging).

So what I thought being a stay at home mom would be like isn't anywhere close to what actually is. For me anyway. But I am getting more and more OK with that every day.

Why I decided to give up

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."                              1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV

"I am clearly alone in a sea of insanity. No one is coming to help me, I will never get my brain to slow down. The thoughts are too numerous and too fast. And so unorganized. Like me. And what I can get done doesn't seem to ever be enough. Or just plain good enough. I am so inadequate for and at this."

"What in the world was God thinking?"

These are all thoughts that were running through my brain after six days of spring break. I was counting down the hours until school started up again and in the back of my mind, beginning a dread and terror of what will happen in a few short weeks when they are out for summer break. 10 weeks. Are you kidding me!? I couldn't even handle six days! Oh, Lord. Help me.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Lately I have been struggling with my abilities as a stay at home mom. I struggle with discipline. I struggle with feeling like a good spiritual leader and role model. I struggle with my ability to help my children academically. I struggle with my house keeping and organizational skills. I struggle with .... well you get where I am going with this.

I am very sure that I am being obedient to God by leaving my job and committing to staying home. I couldn't have had more confirmation unless the Lord Himself came down, took my hand, and wrote my resignation for me then lead me home with a fanfare of angelic choirs.

 I am quite sure I am where I am supposed to be.

But.

I have been thinking it would be better if I did go back to work. I have a list as long as my arm (folded over, alphabetized and dot-pointed) of all the ways I am not good at this. I think of how I am not capable. I read all these wonderful blogs and websites of women that seem to have no struggle or question about what they are doing, or more importantly, their ability to do it. And I feel less than. And so alone. I see put-together moms out and about with their well dressed and clean and nicely mannered children. And I want to run home and hide. If I could have figured out how to give up, I am sure I would have.

But God.

One day a stay at home mom friend made a comment about how her family has been struggling with some of the same things we (I) are. What? Really??!

Then I read an amazing blog from Proverbs 31 writer Tracie Miles. (Linked below)

Then there was a blog from Orange Parents that made me cry. (Linked below)

Then my email updates sent me an article from Mom Life that opened my eyes. (Linked below) #s 4, 10, 14, 15, & 28 really spoke to me.

Then my daily devotion was about seeing clearly. (Linked below)

Then the focus verse for today popped up in my mind. You might think it out of no-where but really, who are we kidding?

Sometimes God tests us. He gets quiet and waits to see what choices we make. What direction we will go. Who we will turn to to get us through. If we have enough trust in him, and faith, to make it through.

Other times God can see we want a way out. We are drowning and can't seem to figure out which way to reach. We have lost our perspective and our faith is running thin. Can I just say that He will never never NEVER leave us in that place?

As you can see above, God didn't leave me in a place of self-doubt, fear, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed about my ability to be a good mother. Quickly, clearly, and leaving no room for doubt that He was talking to me, aware of me and helping me, God gave me back my direction and reminded me of some truths I have lost sight of.

• No matter how many times I commit my life to him, I am going to lose perspective.
• No matter how many ways I try to be perfect, I will never reach perfection.
• No matter how many times I stop looking to Him first, he is always ready to get me back on track.
• God chose me to be the mother of these kids. He loves them more than I do. He won't leave me alone to raise them.
• God would never say a single one of those hurtful things that were running through my thoughts. Never.
• I am a chosen child of God, holy and dearly loved.

 I tend toward perfectionism in many ways. By this I mean that I expect things of myself that are unrealistic and when I can't obtain them, I consider myself a failure. I get really hard on myself and God can't get a word in edge-wise with all my negative self-talk. Sometimes He has to be really obvious to get me back on track.

Been there? Are there now?

If any of this strikes a familiar note with you, give up! 

• Give up trying to be perfect.
• Give up trying to do it all alone.
• Give up thinking that everyone else is doing so much better than you (as I am now reminding myself: NO ONE is perfect so quit trying to project it onto people! They mess up just like me!).
• Give up listening to, and believing, the lie that we as mothers will single-handedly screw up our kids.
• Give up believing that we are supposed to be a perfect mom if we stay home full time and also believing that being a Christian should in some way make us perfect in this calling.
• And last but definitely not least...give up control!

 A great song is Kari Jobe's "My Beloved". If you have time, google it and listen or watch it. Let God sing over you. You will see you are not alone. You can do this. And He loves you.

Links:  

Hope on a napkin

 

Seeing Clearly

Getting through one of "those days"

28 ways to connect with God ( let me know which ones you really connected with!)

City on a hill

Sometimes the most profound thing you will hear is also the simplest.

I am posting a video by Kari Jobe. It is a song called We Are. The lyrics are based on some of my very favorite verses.

I am posting this on Good Friday because this song spoke of Jesus' love in just the right way to me, and is calling me on to share it. I hope that it might do the same to you.

This song simply says:

We are the light of the world

We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine
Let the light shine, let the light shine
We are called to the spread the news
Tell the world the simple truth
Jesus came to save, there's freedom in His Name
So let His love break through

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others" Matthew 5:13-16

"So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me." Philippians 2:15-18

Broken Prayer

I'm so thirsty
but there's water next to me.

I hurt inside
but tears won't help me mend.

I'm lost in time
with my schedule by my side.

I'm oh so lonely
but there are friends all around.

Looking all around me
When it's my neck I need to bend.

Asking only to hear you
I don't stop talking for you to speak.

My broken heart is healing
as your peace pours all around.

Take me.

Break me.

Mold me.

Fill me up again.

Worship washes this heart clean.
Your Word directs my thoughts.
Your spirit guides my ways.
All the good you've done in me
started with an open upraised hand.

Face to you, face on the ground.
laying it down, spilling it out.

Over and over.

Overwhelmed by you,
My forever Emmanuel.

In His Arms

I recently realized I was so disconnected from God I hadn't even noticed it had happened. I had been praying my list, trusting him to be in my day, but I couldn't remember the last time I had spent any time with him to just be near him, just us two in the quiet.

Last weekend I went to a wonderful conference called RefresHER. It is a one day conference that is to do just that. Refresh us. Renee Swope was the speaker. She spoke on confidence and allowing ourselves to be seen, built and established through the love and redemption of God's plan for us. I taught a workshop on praying for your children. It was a wonderful day and I felt very refreshed and re-purposed to focus my vision on God, so I would remember to see myself as he does.

Then I realized, I hadn't focused my eyes upwards in quite some time.

God had been speaking to me, blessing me, guiding me, and I hadn't taken any time to just rest with God and be in his presence. To be thankful for all he has given me.

Has that ever happened to you? You realized you were living in the blessing, soaking it in, and giving nothing back? I don't know about you, but when I realized it, I felt like a spoiled, ungrateful brat. Not so much as a "thank you" had been sent heaven-ward in who knows how long.

Wednesday, I got my daughter off to pre-school, came home, turned off everything but my laptop and settled into my favorite chair. I turned on my praise and prayer playlist, grabbed my Bible, my Priscilla Shirer study on Jonah, and my favorite devotion book. I spent the whole afternoon singing, lifting my hands, reading my Bible, and doing my study. I had, in essence, curled up in my Daddy's lap to spend the afternoon cuddling. When I closed my Bible and shut off my music, I felt like a completely different person.

Can I encourage you to do the same? It might not be a whole afternoon. it might be an hour, thirty minutes, or 10 minutes waiting in the carpool lane at school. You will not regret the time you give God to just love him.

One of the songs I listened to, and that really helped me to feel close to my Jesus, was a song I heard at the conference. It is called "In Your Arms" by Meredith Andrews.

For the next four minutes and thirty-one seconds, would you turn off everything but your speakers, close your eyes, and just sit in God's lap? I guarantee it will be time well-spent.

Blessed is she...

"Blessed is she, who has believed, that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished."

Luke 1:45

My entire relationship with Jesus can be summed up in this one verse. From the first time I read it years ago it has been the one verse that I feel completely reflects my relationship with Jesus.I quote it all the time, it is the tag-line on all of my email, I sign it on cards, I share it to encourage others.

Why? I am currently studying Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study and in it she talks about speaking out truth from Scripture. Following are 10 wonderful promises that we can name and claim as our own as Daughters of the Most High King.

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 12:2

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:8-10

“Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”

Psalm 28:6-7

“The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

Isaiah 58:11

“Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:14-15

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

Romans 8:26-27

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Colossians 2:15

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

James 1:5

“But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

James 1:25

Thanksgiving

Before the holiday season is off and running away from us, I thought it would be nice to just sit quietly for a few minutes and think about what we have to be thankful for.  To look at God and just say, "thank you" in the quiet of our thoughts and hearts. 


I found this song and it was the perfect background for this activity. I hope you are blessed by it.


"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."


Colossians 2:6-7


"I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you."


Psalm 35:18


"But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content."


Psalm 131:2



For more things to be thankful for, head over to Signs, Miracles and Wonders for her Thanksgiving week offerings.

Where Oh Where and Dreams Are Coming

Where oh where did all this life come from?

It seems the days get shorter and my to-do list gets longer. As the kids get older they have more activities. 

As I grow in my spiritual walk I have more "God appointments".

As I get busier outside the home the housework doubles.

As I focus on all that, I have to figure out how to get a date night in for my hard-working hubby.

And somewhere in all that, a day just for myself would be just peachy-keen, jelly bean!

I miss my writing, but can't seem to find the time to put more than a sentence or two together. Then the thoughts are gone completely. I am writing this at 2:30am. It is the only alone-time I have for now. That's ok, but sometimes what seems inspired at 2:30am sounds wacky and slightly concerning for my mental status at 10:00am. If this post ends up falling into the wacky instead of inspired category, well, at least I finally posted something, right?

I love my life right now. I wouldn't change it for anything. But I am left to wonder, where oh where did all this life come from? 

God constantly reminds me to have margin, to organize and to prioritize. And now, all of a sudden, I am being told that I need to dream. In devotions. In conversations. In other's blog posts. In a random web-page that I found while searching for something completely un-related. Even in songs. 

I have so many dreams. So many things I want to do, to see, to experience. I was over at Beth Moore's Blog and she asked a question in her "If I Could, I Would..." post. My answers?

1.            be a stay-at-home mom/writer
2.         learn to read, write and speak Russian and Italian, then spend a month or two in each country,    coming alongside ministries working with women and teens caught in and rescued from the human trafficking industry.
3.         spend tons of my time with my family traveling to see all of God’s amazing artistry in nature

The amazing thing is that these dreams are just the tip of the iceberg. I have so many things, but those three just rolled right out of my keyboard and onto the screen. 

Sometimes to begin dreaming, you have to let go of the old dream.

Bob and I are ending our time in youth ministry this month and I am so very sad. It isn't as if we are leaving the church and will never see them again, but things will be different. 

Change.

I usually like it, but in this instance, eh, not so much.

We have been in the Barn for almost five years and I have grown to love the ministry, the work, the potential, the frustrations and the joys. Now we have to step away.

We will begin our new phase of in-church ministry October 1st as the new leaders of the new college and young adult ministry. I am very excited about this opportunity, and a little nervous.  Just as I should be.  And on the bright side, I will have all of my current students back in my ministry within a few years at most. 

Is this what all the dream-focused God whispers are about?

I don't think so.

We are developing our women's ministry. I am excited to see what part I will play in it over the coming year. 

I never, ever, EVER would have guessed that I would speak to a group of women for an hour and a half, but I did it this summer, and it was an amazing God-thing. I came away happy and convinced I had done just what God had wanted me to. 

What a feeling!

Is that where all the dream-nudging is pushing me? More and deeper in women's ministry? 

I don't think so.

You see, I can dream and hope and imagine all I want, but I will never see as much as God does. And I know that He has dreams for me.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

“your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

Psalm 139:16-19

God has big, God-sized dreams for me. 

It is so important to be open to the desires and longings I feel. To the talents I have, the gifts given to me. These are the things that God will use. 

But if I only look for the dreams that I can comprehend, then I am going to miss that big, God-dream that He created me for. The thing that will glorify Him above all others. 

“everyone who is called by my name,
       whom I created for my glory,
       whom I formed and made.”

Isaiah 43:7

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

So, as I move forward, I will do my best to keep my heart, my eyes, and my hands open to the dreams that seem to be on their way to me. Soon I will sit down and write a list of all the dreams I could possibly dream for myself. Wishes, hopes and desires that will make up my "if I could, I would..." list. Then I will keep my eyes open for God to take my dreams even further than those.

So, dear reader, when was the last time you let go and just dreamed, then gave it to God to take your dreams even further than that?

Come As You Are

Lately the theme of worthiness seems to be prevalent in my conversations. How we, as those that love and strive to follow Christ, tend to buy into the lie that we should become a little better before we lead. A little less sinful before we dare to go before Christ in worship.

That we need to be "good enough". 

Where did we get the notion that salvation stops at the acceptance of Christ as our Lord and only hope? That is just the beginning of our salvation. 

Our true and ultimate salvation, freedom from eternity in hell, separated from God, covered by grace, yes, it only comes once. 

But there is more to it than that. Salvation is not just an event, it is a life-long, no, it's an eternal commitment from God to us.

God offers us daily salvation, over and over, until we are truly free. We will never be perfect until the day we stand before God's throne, but we are to strive for perfection in our daily life, as it is held up to and reflective of Scripture. God is holding out his hand of salvation. For every sin, every self-doubt, every fear and every uncertainty. He knows we will fall short. He knows we will need chance after chance. And he is more than willing to offer that chance. 

But in the meantime...

He wants us. Just as we are. Just where we are. 

We don't have to be good enough. Only desperately in love with him. Jesus took care of the rest.

My song for this week is Sixteen Cities "Come As You Are".  Some of the Scriptures (NIV) that apply to this discussion are listed below the video.

Hebrews 7:25 

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

2 Corinthians 9:8 

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Romans 8:31-39

 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 

   "For your sake we face death all day long; 

      we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 3: 14-21

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family, in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

More songs over at Signs, Miracles and Wonders

With Everything

We sang this at youth camp this week. It is one of my favorite songs off this album so of course I was very excited.  I think I have posted this before but when it is this good, that's ok!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."   

1 Peter 1:3-9

ENJOY!

post your favorite song and link to Amy at Signs, Miracles and Wonders. Happy Weekend!

I AM

This is the song of my salvation. This is the song that was playing when I gave my life to Christ. I may have officially prayed the prayer a few weeks later, but this is the song that broke my heart to Christ, the song that was used to call me home. It is still my prayer and thanksgiving song to my precious Jesus.

I love you my Jesus.



More songs at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

Only You Remain

My words are just so small and insufficient to describe My God.


 I have better words than mine that I can use. These verses help us to start to see how big our God is.  How amazing to know that the God of these verses is still so much bigger than we can ever comprehend. 

Genesis 1:1 (NIV)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Isaiah 40 (NIV)

 ¹ Comfort, comfort my people, 

       says your God.

 ² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, 

       and proclaim to her 

       that her hard service has been completed, 

       that her sin has been paid for, 

       that she has received from the LORD's hand 

       double for all her sins.

 ³ A voice of one calling: 

       "In the desert prepare 

       the way for the LORD ^[a] ; 

       make straight in the wilderness 

       a highway for our God. ^[b]

 ⁴ Every valley shall be raised up, 

       every mountain and hill made low; 

       the rough ground shall become level, 

       the rugged places a plain.

 ⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, 

       and all mankind together will see it. 

       For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

 ⁶ A voice says, "Cry out." 

       And I said, "What shall I cry?" 

       "All men are like grass, 

       and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

 ⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall, 

       because the breath of the LORD blows on them. 

       Surely the people are grass.

 ⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall, 

       but the word of our God stands forever."

 ⁹ You who bring good tidings to Zion, 

       go up on a high mountain. 

       You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, ^[c] 

       lift up your voice with a shout, 

       lift it up, do not be afraid; 

       say to the towns of Judah, 

       "Here is your God!"

 ¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, 

       and his arm rules for him. 

       See, his reward is with him, 

       and his recompense accompanies him.

 ¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd: 

       He gathers the lambs in his arms 

       and carries them close to his heart; 

       he gently leads those that have young.

 ¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, 

       or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? 

       Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, 

       or weighed the mountains on the scales 

       and the hills in a balance?

 ¹³ Who has understood the mind ^[d] of the LORD, 

       or instructed him as his counselor?

 ¹⁴ Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, 

       and who taught him the right way? 

       Who was it that taught him knowledge 

       or showed him the path of understanding?

 ¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; 

       they are regarded as dust on the scales; 

       he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

 ¹⁶ Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, 

       nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

 ¹⁷ Before him all the nations are as nothing; 

       they are regarded by him as worthless 

       and less than nothing.

 ¹⁸ To whom, then, will you compare God? 

       What image will you compare him to?

 ¹⁹ As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, 

       and a goldsmith overlays it with gold 

       and fashions silver chains for it.

 ²⁰ A man too poor to present such an offering 

       selects wood that will not rot. 

       He looks for a skilled craftsman 

       to set up an idol that will not topple.

 ²¹ Do you not know? 

       Have you not heard? 

       Has it not been told you from the beginning? 

       Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

 ²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, 

       and its people are like grasshoppers. 

       He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, 

       and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

 ²³ He brings princes to naught 

       and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

 ²⁴ No sooner are they planted, 

       no sooner are they sown, 

       no sooner do they take root in the ground, 

       than he blows on them and they wither, 

       and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

 ²⁵ "To whom will you compare me? 

       Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.

 ²⁶ Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: 

       Who created all these? 

       He who brings out the starry host one by one, 

       and calls them each by name. 

       Because of his great power and mighty strength, 

       not one of them is missing.

 ²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob, 

       and complain, O Israel, 

       "My way is hidden from the LORD; 

       my cause is disregarded by my God"?

 ²⁸ Do you not know? 

       Have you not heard? 

       The LORD is the everlasting God, 

       the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

       He will not grow tired or weary, 

       and his understanding no one can fathom.

 ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary 

       and increases the power of the weak.

 ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, 

       and young men stumble and fall;

 ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD 

       will renew their strength. 

       They will soar on wings like eagles; 

       they will run and not grow weary, 

          they will walk and not be faint. 

Revelation 21: 22-27 (NIV)

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

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