wow!

"Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and-
glory and power be
to You the only wise King!"

...I'm sure I'm not the only one in Salem Oregon who woke up to the awesome display of God's power in this morning's unbelievable thunder storm! What a commanding reminder of the all powerful God I serve!!...scary and comforting at the same time...

I practically jumped out of my bed when the loudest thunder I've heard in a long time boomed right outside my window at 3:30 this morning, and to be honest, I was a little scared! go ahead and laugh, but seriously I don't know if I've ever heard thunder that loud! and the sky was so brightly lit up with lighting. . . it was unbelievable!

So many things sped through my mind as I listened and watched the storm while taking refuge in my blanket and pillow...could lightning strike us and start a fire? should I close the kitchen window? this is a powerful storm, God is a powerful God, is this how it feels when a hurricane/tornado is headed your way on the east coast? (and how much MORE terrifying would that be?)

. . .then my thoughts went to the discussion we had at Bible study earlier that night. . . we were studying John 10 when Jesus talks about His sheep and how they know His voice, hear His voice and follow Him. We were talking about ways we hear God's voice, and I whispered to Justin, I think I hear God's voice right now :) both terrifying and comforting, reminding me that even when I feel like life isn't fair and God isn't doing all He could be doing for my hurting loved ones, He IS doing everything that needs to be done, He IS in control, actively and undeniably in control above every other power.

and then I remembered we also discussed God's authority from John 10, in chapter 10 verse17-18 Jesus says: "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-- only to take it up again. No one take it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This commend I received from my Father." Who else has that kind of authority? Praise God!