405 - Love is an action

Dear Father - I just want to get my Mary, Mary music on and get stepping to the beat. I just want to praise you would sound so good right now if all the kids were not sleeping! The Zoo - it was incredible and You allowed us to see more than we had dreamed or imagined!! We saw the monkeys eating and holding food in the tales, swinging all over the place - it was way more than I was ever used to at a zoo. It was so amazing a huge crowd gather around and was oohing and aweing. It was wonderful!! Then we moved over to the zebras. On to this huge Tiger. Now mind you it was about 101 yesterday with heat index of................hot! Humidity was low, praise You again Lord, but still hot!! Animals are a lot like us when it is hot - they don't move. So anyway, the tiger - he was walking all around, finally jumped in the pool of water, and then out again! He was massive - never want to meet him even in a big car........ yikes!! The pumas, leopards, and Rhinos were pretty.............well, boring. But we rounded the corner of the apes section. In the far distance you could see Juntu sitting and just resting with a bunch of others resting in the cave. Then all of a sudden he got up and began running around and then came right over where we were. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was huge and was doing his thing! His thing is the very thing that brings my Lord honor and glory and we got to see it!!! Fabulous!! The huge grizzly bears were playing around swimming. Oh can i even begin to tell you all about the penguins. They were a hoot and showing off - doing their thang!! Diving in the water, splashing water at us onlookers, making funny sounds - praise music i am sure - and just having a ball. My Sarahjane wanted to see an elephant so bad. Not sure why - just likes them, i reckon! We were at the very end of the day and time was running out. We got to a point and could see an elephant in the distance, i mean far off. Sarahjane complained that she really wanted to see one. So once again we rounded the corner and low and behold was a momma and a baby elephant. It was precious!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh Lord, I asked and I believed and You came through!!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!! Your creation is gorgeous!! Awesome and deserving of respect. Once we got back in the car to take off I told the kids - all 6 of them - to clap their hands and give God a clap offering!! Reluctantly they did it, but thought i was weird. I was not dare going to miss an opportunity to praise Him with the fellowship of little ones in which He ordained praise through... Special - it was a really special day!

This morning my quiet times ties together with yesterday's events. My scripture was Gal. 5:6b, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." You see i really considered not going yesterday to the zoo. It was hot and i was thinking it would be miserable. I knew the church needed help in chaperoning, but when i bring my own 4 I don't do a lot of good in helping. So i almost backed out and just convinced myself that i wouldn't be of any help any way. When I got to the church and walked in to see everyone going I saw the most faithful of them all - Mrs. Cutchin! She is a retired lady that is just precious. She subs in most of the schools around here and is quite a special woman. She has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, but there is nothing i mean nothing, not even 101 heat that stops her from loving on those kids and hanging in there with them. I saw her there yesterday and knew - I am here and this is going to be fine. If she could do it with a smile - always a smile - I could do this.

The scripture above says that faith expresses itself through love. That "expresses" is translated to make due use of opportunities. I believe whether Mrs. Cutchin made a conscious decision or not, she made due use of an opportunity to express her faith in Christ by loving on these kids and going the distance!! Do you see it - she was Christ to them - her faith was expressed in love and once again that was an action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, yes, yes - there are times to write the check, there are times to sit and pray, there are times to just stay back - but not yesterday for Mrs. Cutchin!! She got out there and did her faith - loved the kids!!!!!!!!!! Oh I just love this!! Thank you Jesus for the revelation!!

And here is another thing - she gave me the run down on a few of the kids in my group so that i would know how to love them more effectively!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me - how cool is that! There was no gossip, not even a hint, just information so that i could express my faith at this due opportunity to love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is not a fly on the wall in the youth department - she knows how to love the kids individually!!! One in particular i remember - she said praise this one if you can. this one responds to praise so much more than correction. this one doesn't get it at home and so we have got to give it here!!! I just about cried after she told me that.

I know Mrs. Cutchin will probably never read this, but I just want to thank her for being my Jesus yesterday. She showed me how to go above and beyond at any age and that it requires sacrifice! It requires me getting off my toosh and doing!! It requires a little homework so that I know how to do the most with the opportunities He gives me to express that faith in love! She showed me exactly what my Jesus would have done yesterday. I saw your glory Father yesterday. It was in your most beautiful creation, mankind, Mrs. Cutchin! I love you!