The Works of God

I do believe that deeply rooted in every human heart is a longing for beauty. Why do we go to the Grand Canyon, the Boundary Waters, art exhibits, gardens? Why do we plant trees and flower beds? Why do we paint our inside walls? Why is it man and not the monkeys who decorated cave walls with pictures? Why is it that in every tribe of humans ever known there has always been some form of art and craftsmanship that goes beyond mere utility? Is it not because we long to behold and be a part of beauty? We crave to be moved by some rare glimpse of greatness. We yearn for a vision of glory.

John Piper, Jesus Is Precious Because We Yearn for Beauty, March 28, 1982

I would agree!  And we found some while we were away.

Paul wouldn’t have enjoyed all the hiking that required.  But we had different ways for him to enjoy our time away from home, like a second celebration of his birthday with his other grandma.

I finished three books and made good progress on a fourth while we were away.

One of those books is being released at the end of this month.  When I finished it and turned off my iPad, I praised God for the man and the book.  I’ll have more to say about that book later in the month.

And then I thought about Joni & Friends and The Elisha Foundation (among others) and books by Greg Lucas, Nancy Guthrie, Paul Wolfe, and Paul Miller (among others) and the churches that have done disability ministry long before Bethlehem like Grace Church in Eden Prairie and College Church in Wheaton and McLean Bible Church in Virginia (among others) and the good pastor-fathers of disabled children I know like Kempton and Paul and Steve (among others).

And Desiring God’s conference on disability and the bible this fall.

God is up to something big. I don’t know exactly what, but let’s keep praying for more!