Rousing Rambling

This weekend I drove over 8 hours north to Quebec City to say goodbye to a dear cousin of mine. To get there, we drove through the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. The scenery was magnificent, and it was as if we were looking at a beautiful palette of perfect colors, heights, and textures. We saw farms and ski resorts, high peaks and low valleys; and in the midst of the grandeur of the mountains, I reminded myself just how small I am in this world.  Reminding myself that it's not me that is the center of the universe, but that I live for the Center of the universe is a meditative practice that I should engage in more frequently. One of my favorite Christian songs is "Redeemer" as sung by Nicole Mullen. Immediately sensing my small self among mighty mountains, I recalled the Redeemer lyrics, "Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning? and Who told the ocean you can only come this far? and Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening? Whose wo

Ecclesiastes 7:2 tells us that, "it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart."  On this day after Thanksgiving, this passage speaks to my heart so profoundly.  Thanksgiving day is perhaps my favorite holiday, one that is about being grateful and being with those we love.  As always, this year I again enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving day.  There was an overabundance of food and drink, laughs, stories, sports, and family.  We ate in ways that we do not normally eat...and then continued to eat after we overate.  The wine jugs were refilled often.  No matter how many times we repeated, "I ate too much" we continued to eat some more.  Thankfully, intertwined in the moments of feasting, we paused to thank our God for all of His goodness to us.  Prior to our overeating, we stopped to give thanks, and to pray for those who have gone before us.  In a special way,