Split wood

Psalm 24
A psalm of David.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
2 For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.

I helped my Father-in-Law split some wood this week. It struck me that this tree was so well designed to be used by us humans in so many ways.

Fruit, shade, a place for a swing.

Then, homes, boats, and a place to sit.

Finally, heat, which is going to feel more and more necessary in the next few months in Minnesota!

The logs that had been cut split into smaller pieces so neatly, it was as if it were made for that very purpose. It was just beautiful to see the inner structure of a couple old oaks that had seen so much, but had died in the yard.

God made us just as beautifully.

We each have our calling and our gifts to be shared with others.

How will you split?

Faith of a Mustard Seed

woman in mustard field
Originally uploaded by lily b

I'm preparing for a sermon this Sunday on the Mustard seed/servant reading in Luke 17:5-10.

I'm always stuck on the seed, the mustard seed, because I have held them in my hands when my mother was canning, and I know they are not as small as, say, a carrot seed.

But the plants do grow larger than carrots, or lettuce. It is, perhaps one of the smaller seeds grown as a crop. Flax is smaller, and slipprier, and a whole 'nother sermon could be written on that seed.

So what's the deal with the mustard seed, and faith?

The deal is you've got all you need.

God gave it to you as a gift. Remember "my grace is sufficient?"

The second half of the lesson reminds us that we don't even deserve what we've got.

The disciples asked for more faith please.

Jesus says, use what you have and you can do anything!

We are so wrapped up in more is biggering and biggering and biggering, that we forget that we have all we need, and more.

That slip of faith that you recieved as an infant at the font

The kernel of faith that you found in the darkness of life

that small spot of light in the darkness of this world is enough to share

So, spread those mustard seeds around. Share your faith, and your future