Monday theology - it's the first day of the rest of your life...

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits – Psalm 103

Two of my favorite smiles

I’LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT I’ve been a little bit paparazzi-esque as a photographer over the past 24-hours. All grand-baby slanted; all opportunistic. Not a single picture taken with my fancy-dancy Nikon D3100; every image captured on the iPhone 4.

I couldn’t help myself. I mean, what can you do when you see a mug like this?

Good photographs, and I’ve said this a dozen times, stand on the story they tell well before any level of aesthetic. And this one tells it well.

We were down on the blanket, playing with some toys that are so cool I might be looking for some in my Christmas stocking this December. Then David and Naomi were doing this balance thing where he holds on to her fingers and pretends he’s standing. Finally he topples, his mom catches him, and they both look over at me at the moment I find the trigger and take the shot.

JOY! I’ve used this word before to describe Naomi, and I’ll use it again because I’m convinced it’s part of why she’s already such a great mother and why David is probably going to learn to engage life with the same kind of passion. My word is “ebullient.”

Latin ebullient-, ebulliens, present participle of ebullire to bubble out…

"Hi, Grandaddy!"

Naomi has an appreciation for life that animates not only her but the space she occupies. David can’t help but get the message. It’s the kind of enthusiasm that you can’t miss.

My brother Geoff, just a few weeks before he died, responded to someone’s suggestion that he, “Live each day like it were your last.” “Last days typically don’t go so well,” he pointed out; “I plan to live each day more like it’s my first….”

That’s how our grandson David approaches things. But it’s not surprising because everything really is brand new and exciting. Naomi has the same kind of approach.

THEOLOGY OF POSSIBILITY: There’s something to be learned here:

• Every day, a new beginning.
• Every relationship, a fresh start.
• Every experience, an opportunity to walk in with eyes open wide in wonder.
• Every moment, a new creation in God’s dynamic love.

This should be a fun week! - DEREK

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day