The WONDERS of our WONDER-ful God

On their daily EMnation YouTube video, my daughter held up a loaf of Wonder Bread and mentioned that Alexia, her daughter, prefers her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on white bread. Obviously nutrition wasn’t the topic of Larry and Staci’s video, but the “Wonder Bread” story was. In 1921, the Taggert Baking Company of Indianapolis was planning to launch its 1.5 pound loaf of bread. Elmer Cline was charged with finding a name for the new bread. Inspiration struck while he was visiting the International Balloon Race at the Indianapolis Speedway. He was awestruck by a sky filled with hundreds of colorful balloons. To Elmer, the image signified a sense of “wonder,” and Wonder® Bread was born. Notice all those balloons on the packaging! Now you know the rest of the story. You’re welcome!

That word, “wonder” is what inspired me most. There’s something about children that God wants us to see. If you want to witness a natural display of a sense of wonder, just observe a child. A child's whole world is viewed through the eyes of wonder and excitement. A child has no judgments of why things are so, but rather a child is in awe of life and views life through innocence, purity and curiosity. You may have often heard the term "be childlike," referring to our adult self to let go of the adult ego and be more open and curious. The truth is that we lose our sense of wonder as we become adults.The future is wide open for them, and they seem to know it. Their wide-eyes of wonder are easy to recognize. Wide-eyed with wonder, filled with potential, children are ready to try new things and build new possibilities. Unhindered by the past, they are free to chase after whatever the future holds. And you know what? That’s the childlike spirit that God wants to give all of us.

There is no theme park or even the seven wonders of the world to compare to our “wonder-working” God. Think of it: The one true God is a God of wonders. The Bible is full of accounts of the great acts God performed for His people. Psalm 77:11–14 says: "I will remember the deeds of the Lᴏʀᴅ; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples." God’s wonders are supernatural acts beyond human understanding. Through extraordinary signs, the God of wonders demonstrates His limitless power, His inescapable presence, His divine protection, and His sovereign purposes. In each instance, God’s wondrous works are designed to draw people to Himself. Through His most stunning of all miracles, the God of wonders revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, overcame the power of sin and death, and redeemed His people for all eternity.

So, when you are “wondering” about your mistakes, that you are too old, too wounded, too limited, too whatever……I suggest that you remember --- with wide-eyed wonder -- about our loving and faithful God Who is up to something WONDER-ful in your life. None of us are so bound by our past that God can’t open new doors for us in the future. Our Father has great plans for us. He has a future full of hope laid out for us. Now it’s up to us to run into that future with all the confidence of a little child Whose Dad is the WONDER-worker and miracle-maker.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

This blog today was inspired after a Bible trivia game Tuesday night. There are over eighty groups to get involved with in the community where I live. It's great If you’re a social butterfly because there are plenty of opportunities to hobnob and interact with others. I’ve picked and chosen those I most enjoy of which my favorites are the Bible studies and fellowship groups. At the Stonebriar and Friends group meeting on Tuesday night, besides a yummy pot luck meal, we played Bible Trivia. I’ll admit. I’m a pretty good Bible tool, but not the sharpest tool in the Bible shed. Thankfully, another gal at our table brought us home to victory with her quick thinking. We were tied with another table but because we finished our questions first, we won the prizes of these “Our Daily Bread” Promise Boxes.

Immediately, I had to share this story with my fellow winners. “This little Promise Box reminds me of one of my mother-in-law’s precious treasures. She and dad received their Promises Loaf of Bread box as a wedding gift 73-years ago. Today, the little cards are frayed on the edges and many words are faded, but if you were visiting her for any length of time, you’d likely be asked to pull a card that has a Bible verse on it and asked to read it and own the words because “those are God’s words for you”.

Before Mom moved to my sis-in-law’s home, in any given day, you could walk into her home and you'd find her at her kitchen table -- reading her Bible, praying or visiting on the phone with a soul who needed her words of encouragement. And, if you were really on cue, you’d draw one of those Bible verses. The words on those cards were just words unless you knew the Author of those verses. For mom and dad, they knew the Author and Finisher of their faith very well and those words proved true in the many years of their lives together. No doubt – if we’d draw upon those scriptures, they would point us in the way we should go, too! It’s time to increase our daily intake of God’s Word. It will be like nourishment and medicine to our bodies, souls and spirits – and if ever we needed to be operating at full capacity, our fuel topped off for the day’s long haul, with our hearts renewed and filled with the Word of God – it’s today.

"Give us this day our daily bread...." are words from the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:11. Obviously, Jesus wasn’t telling His disciples to pray only for bread – in the loaf-of-bread sense. He was teaching us to come to God in humble dependence, asking Him to provide what we need and to sustain us from day to day. As I read my scripture readings yesterday morning, this scripture popped out at me from John 6:35: "Then Jesus declared, 'I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'” He is the Bread of Life so we pray: "Give us YOU, Lord, as our daily life-giving (and I love that He promised “abundant life”) bread. He is our sustenance Who daily manifests His Word to and in us.