S.O.A.P. for Today: Our Creative God

We FINALLY made it home! Praise the Lord. After a four and a half hour delay in Quito, then another five hour layover in Atlanta, we pulled onto the church parking lot somewhere around 3:30 pm Saturday afternoon. We had been awake since 7:00 am Friday morning. Needless to say, we were some very tired travelers. But even though we were tired, we were so full of excitment, thanksgiving, and memories of a great ten days in Ecuador. Please allow me to share a few more photos with you.

Dan and Susan Madison at the top of a mountain overlooking Quito. This is an actual picture. It looks like they are in front of a painting, but they are not. God's handiwork at its finest!

This picture was taken at the Center of the world at the Equator. Bobby Kennedy is checking out a balanced egg on the head of a nail. Fascinating!

This is just one of the MANY views that we enjoyed in the beautiful country of Ecuador. God is indeed an artistic and creative God.

Wow! What a beautiful view over Quito. Pastor Clayton and I, along with a few others from our group, climbed a little higher to get a better view. It was simply overwhelming!

I had one leg in the Northern Hemisphere, and one in the Southern Hemisphere.

Roger Woolbright riding down the mountain on a Llama. (Ok, it was a doctored photo)

Bob Smrt making the most of one of the LONG airport delays.

Thank you so much to everyone for your prayers during our trip. We could feel your support. We went into the job a week and a half behind, and ended up a week and a half ahead. We had beautiful weather, and great health. Stephen Nichols, one of our team members was sick for a couple of days, but thanks to your prayers, he ended up being fine, and continued to work.

I would like to share a couple of thoughts with you this evening.

How many are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom You made them all. Psalm 104:24 NIV

One day in Hyde Park, London, author Frank Sheed was speaking about the remarkable order and design of the universe, when a heckler shouted, "Even I could make a better universe than your God!" Unruffled, Sheed replied, "I won't ask you to do that today, but would you mind making a rabbit just to establish credibility?"

Author Bob Gass says, "Know what? If the earth was as small as the moon, its gravitation couldn't sustain our needs. On the other hand, if it were as large as Jupiter, its extreme gravitation would make human movement almost impossible. If we were as close to the sun as Venus, the heat would be unbearable; if we were as far away as Mars, every region would experience snow and ice nightly. If the oceans were half their size, we'd get only 25% of our present rainfall. If they were one-eighth larger, annual precipitation would increase 400% turning the earth into a vast, uninhabitable swamp. Water solidifies at 32 degrees below zero. But if the oceans were subject to that law, the amount of thawing in the Polar Regions wouldn't balance out and we'd all end up encased in ice. To prevent this catastrophe, God put salt in the sea to alter its freezing point. Not a bad day's work!

David said, "How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom You made them all… I will sing praises to my God as long as I live" (Psalm 104:24-25 NIV). If God's workmanship doesn't make you want to stop and praise Him, what would?

I love you guys, and want to thank you once again for your interest and prayer support during our trip.

I will continue to post devotions and thoughts on this blog. I hope you will continue to visit with me here as we "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" together!