Smile Up

In the few emails my brother and I have sent to each other (we talk on the phone more than email) Frank has put "Smile Up" as the last thing in the email. I've always liked the phrase. I've used it myself in email and such. But I don't think I really got it until today!
I knew that Frank was saying "Smile up to God", but I think I finally got the significance of it. I was sitting here at my desk at work, no phone calls coming in, and I was reading some friends' blogs. All good things in them. One friend had song lyrics by my brother, Frank. My mind for some reason went to that phrase Frank uses, "Smile Up". I kept reading blogs and "Smile Up" kept coming to my mind. I did. Literally, I close my eyes, took a deep breath, leaned my head back and smiled UP! I cleared my mind except for thinking of smiling at God and I was filled with joy and peace. In fact, I think I might have giggled a little!
I was having a bad day today. I had to wake up early to take Chad to the airport for a 4 day business trip, I have sinus pressure/pain, I'm fighting a cold or something, I'm now at work, our house isn't sold yet...the list could go on. But instead of letting the list ramble on and my spirit fall deeper into the pit, I smiled up.
I hope that I can remember next time I'm feeling depressed or overwhelmed to take a few seconds or minutes to smile up at God and remember that He is in control and He will never let me go. Now that's something to smile about!
No, thinking about God's awesomeness and love doesn't take our problems away, but it sure does make them seem like something I can handle with God at my side!

Well...Smile Up. Let God pour Himself out on your soul! And I mean literally look God square in the face and SMILE!

The Old Man

I think I'm going to have a lot of posts from this book I'm reading. J.B. Phillips' book, "Your God is Too Small" is just a good reminder for me on who God is and how big He is!
Another view of God is God as a Grand Old Man, basically God is old and doesn't understand the complexities of modern day. I don't think I've ever had this view of God. This is a good thing and is probably due to my parents and growing up in our church in New Jersey. But I can see how many people could have this view. Many churches portrait this view by talking as if God is far away and using religious talk that no one would ever use today, and singing hymns with words like "doth" and "thou" and with tunes that sound like funeral dirges. (Not all hymns are this way.) From churches stuck in the days of yore, one could easily think that God is stuck back there too.
While it is important to know the Bible stories, it is also important to remember that God is just as active in the here and now as He was then. I sometimes feel that maybe God was more active in Bible times, but that's not true at all. He is very active right now. God has provided for Chad and I in ways that we couldn't have imagined. He healed me from asthma and kept me from being burnt in a fire when I was a child. He kept me from death several times in Africa. I should never wonder if God is active in this day and age!
I think that sometimes Sunday school teachers forget to teach the kids that God does miracles now too, not just in the stories. If God needed to have me swallowed by a giant fish so I would listen to Him...He could and would. Thankfully that hasn't happened. But I think this is a point that is sometimes forgotten and it is no wonder that people see God as being old. JB Phillips mentions a group of teenagers who were asked if God understands radar, all answered "no". Well, of course he does. He's the one who gave us the minds and creativity to come up with radar and all the other technology we have.
This was just a really good reminder that God is very active, He is God!