Is Eternity Physically Closer Than We Think?

Sometimes I wonder what clues God gives us about purpose and life in eternity and oneness with Him through His creation around us.
I know He has given us a few examples of this in the bible.
Matthew 6:28
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin."
Matthew 6:25
"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
Matthew 13:31
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in it's branches."
Proverbs 6:6-8
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.


What clues and surprises are all around me pointing to God's love for us?
Last night Dave and I were enjoying the life growing inside of me. Wells was dancing with every limb. Dave had his hands on my belly trying to soak in every bump and poke Wells was making when he looked at me and said, "what if Heaven is closer than we think? He began to explain a beautiful parallel between Heaven and the womb. I believe God gave Dave a hint of truth last night. I'll try to explain.
 Over the past 7 months we've rejoiced with Wells' every development, feeling him getting stronger and seeing my belly swell bigger and bigger each week we know he will be ready soon to join us in the world. We have so much love for Wells and yet he doesn't even know our love yet. He doesn't know every night Dave and I rub my belly hoping to touch him through the thin wall that separates us. Dave puts his mouth really close to my belly and he speaks beautiful words of love to Wells everyday yet Wells still cannot fathom the love we have for him. He would not be able to understand anything we are so excited to share with him when he is born. All he knows right now is the comfort of the womb. 
Wells does not know that we talk about him everyday and that we are preparing a place for him in our home.  We already love this child more than life. 
What if (as I've mentioned before in this blog) life on earth being our womb before eternity (preparing us for a life of eternity) is just as close to God and Heaven and our loved ones in Heaven as Wells is to Dave and I. Wells is comfortable in his womb being prepared and developed for a life on earth and we are enjoying him, longing for his birth. Drinking in his every movement. His grandparents and aunts and uncles are loving him and anticipating his arrival. He is with us and growing before our eyes yet he does not know of us. He can hear us and is wrapped in the warmth of our love but does not know of life on earth yet. 
He is only separated from us by a thin layer inside my body.
Are we being in the womb called life on earth only separated by a thin layer from those in Heaven? ARe they around us? Are we growing in character and developing spiritually inside of Christ while in this womb called earth until we are to be born into eternity with our Heavenly Father? Are our loved ones in Heaven rejoicing our growth and development in learning or God's glory and are they anticipating our arrival into LIFE. 
Life being eternity with God.
Are we all in the same room only separated by the thin layer? Does God and our loved ones hold us and talk to us and prepare for our arrival and rejoice with our every bump and poke as we mature excited for our birth.
I'm still praying for this to unfold inside my heart. I'm seeking God's understanding. I love this parallel and I praise God for glimpses of the life He prepares for us through His creation around us.

Reeling it in (Here We Go part 3)

1 cor 2:9

However, as it is written: 
   "No eye has seen, 
      no ear has heard, 
   no mind has conceived 
   what God has prepared for those who love him"

I like one of Mike Well's explanations of being made in God's image.
I'm paraphrasing:
One day God created an angel.
The angel looked in the mirror and saw his beauty and all the remarkable things he could do.
He said to the other angels, "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? We are glorious."
And that day satan and his angels were cast out of heaven because they thought the glory was theirs and not the Lord's.
God does not share His glory. We are given a reflection of His glory we only possess His glory through the Father.
How much more would we as God's children and made in His image look in the mirror and think we are beautiful and glorious. We would all the more than the angels because we were made in His likeness...

So when I was sitting on the couch that day, I saw those things I've already shared in parts 1 and 2 but there was more.
I saw that spending time on earth experiencing trials and hardships and our own sin results in us loosing our identity and loosing our righteousness and glory we recognize after time on earth that we are not priveledged heirs and co-rulers with Christ given gifts and crowns and royalty and robes because we deserve it but only because of God's goodness and righteousness and glory ~ (not ours, we have none).

In Heaven we are given authority, rulership, strength, righteousness, royal robes and honor...
When our loved ones that have died before us walk through the gates of Heaven and the beauty of God's creatures and creation and dominions and powers see a son of God walk by, as they bow down in understanding the magnitude of the child of God's existence, the child will know, 'glory to God in the highest.' and He seeing Jesus bows before him. Now using my baby brother as an example of what I'm trying to say, Jesus in the presence of all the roaring crowd places a crown on Jakes head. Jake has nothing to give. God has forgiven Jake for all of his sins, given him all of Heaven and eternity and creation itself as Jake's inheritance and all Jake can do is take the crown off lay it at Jesus feet and praise God in awe of God's awesomeness.

All we can give back is what God has already given us. We are nothing without Jesus in us and we know this after time spent on earth.

Just Jake's image and presence alone gives God glory because God made him in His image and His glory and those that look upon Jake praise God and marvel at God's goodness. Seeing Jake, a former sinner, forgiven by God and paid by Christ's sacrifice and blood all the more glory is given to God and those that look upon the children of God cannot help but bow before the Prince's and princesses of God and see the reflection of God's amazing love in these prodigal children.

ANOTHER THING :)  (Hope you are still with me) when the movie avatar came out it was a perfect example in my eyes of what I had recently learned about God's huge creation.

James Cameron came up with an imaginative world full of wonder and beautiful creatures and intelligent life. We watch that movie and think what an amazing place and wish possibly that there were creatures and a place that beautiful out there somewhere.
Well, I couldn't help but see some truth in the movie.
As God told me (as explained in part 2) "what if I didn't mean just the creation you can see" I knew as I was watching that colorful movie that God is bigger than His creation, and He is bigger than our imaginations! He may have given James a glimpse a small glimpse of His creativity that God is bigger and His creation is bigger than we know. It's not just what we see in our universe or know of, He's a whole lot huger than that.
So as an example of God's unseen creation we may be able to look at avatar and think wow, there may be creatures out there and in Heaven ultimately that are blue? and stand taller than us, and are beautiful but are not made in God's image yet STILL bring God glory.
We (pretending avatar is real) look in the face of these magnificent beings and think WOW god you are amazing! Look at what you created! and look at what beauty you have portrayed in them, and they looking at us made in their own creators likeness say WOW god you are amazing! Look at your glory, look at what beauty you have given your children.

I John 3:2 & 3, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
 It may not be those specific beings but there will be plenty of creatures that we will marvel and say wow this creature brings God glory as we look upon them and bow before God at the awesome creativity and beauty He has placed in them and they will look at us and marvel at God for His beauty in us.


The glory that God is preparing us for now for an eternity with Him, the position and jobs we are being fashioned for now are beyond our comprehension. We will be warriors and rulers and we wouldn't be given all of these powerful gifts if we thought we deserved it. 
As many children of God that are out there in existence, there are trillions more creatures and worlds and dominions and mights that are not made in His image. We are the heirs with Christ. His children.

Heaven's Currency

Listen, beloved of God, do you know that every decision you make has value?
Our decisions have either  Heavenly eternal value or earthly temporal value. Here's a few examples that the christian might give with a surface glimpse at this topic.
1. the good samaritan made an eternal decision with eternal value.
2. Daniel made an eternal decision to not bow down to Nebuchadnessar's idol.
3. lying for self gain would be a temporal decision with temporal value.
4. When knowing God's answer is no and still doing our will instead, would be a temporal decision with temporary value.
Even praying for our will and not surrendering to God's will would give us temporal value.
If I prayed for my will and ignored praying for God's will to be done in my desire, which is a shiny brand new house and God in His mercy and love for me grants that to me, I've been blessed with a temporal reward - temporal value. Congratulations Danae, you have a beautiful house.

What if when I prayed for my will instead of His will and received what I really wanted in my heart, what if I missed out on the big picture. God may be holding me out from the comfortable home I so desire in order to reveal Christ in me more and more through the trials of a tiny, creaky, dirty old house. My reward and eternal value would be so much greater, in Heaven I would be praising Him for not giving me what I thought I wanted...

We are either setting ourselves up for comfort in this temporary life on earth or setting ourselves up for crowns, jewels, authority, robes of righteousness etc.. in our eternal life.
Do you think maybe God gives us opportunity every new day to make decisions for setting ourselves up for glory with and in Christ ~ for eternity?
I think He makes it easier than that with even more reward than we can fathom.
Is it true that Christ lived for 33 years without sin?
YES.
Is it true that we were born with sin so even in our first few years of life we sinned without even trying hard?
YES.
Why do we think we can make the decisions then? If we have the Word, the one who knew no sin, the Son of God, God almighty living and breathing life in us every moment of our earthly existence than why am I even making decisions in my own strength?

I'll tell you the truth. The currency in Heaven is not our good decisions, or good works.

The only thing that gives us eternal reward is the works Christ does in our life.

Our opportunity then is to surrender to Christ's life in us and His authority in every decision we make!
Lord, I surrender to You this morning, not my will but Your will be done today and in every part of my day.
I had a dream not too long ago about Heaven.
I entered eternity with the Lord and I saw Him in a ceremony giving elaborate gifts, crowns and robes.
It was spoken to me in the spirit (without words) while I was there that those people were given the rewards not for their good efforts and good works but for the good works they allowed Christ to do through them. We actually do nothing and receive God's rewards. The less we do the more He blesses us. Our goodness has no value because we have no goodness. Christ is good and righteous and sinless. He does the good in us and we surrender to Him and His life in us.
Not my glory but Christ's glory in me. Not my abilities but Christ's abilities in me.
Not my decisions but Christ's decisions through me.
And our reward is given to us because of Him!

This is Not My Home

Satan does a very poor imitation of life. He tries to entice us with the counterfeit life.
I was walking to the park not long ago. As I crossed the street with an unthankful heart I began to complain to the Lord about our financial situation.
At that moment a shinny brand new land rover passed, and I coveted. This is a car I could really use. Don't we deserve it? We have been working so hard and with nothing to show for it.  I vented to the Lord.
Then I heard Him say "that is the best the world has to offer".
Well AMEN. It hit me like a semi-truck. That is the best the world has to offer!
And the best the world has to offer will not last in the first place not to mention it will be destroyed in the end. Why am I striving to accumulate the best the world has to offer?

The world offers disease, loneliness, slavery, poverty, lust, eyes that are never satisfied......

The Lord calls us child and offers citizenship of Heaven, crowns of glory, inheritance of His kingdom, co-rulers in eternity, robes of righteousness, love and acceptance.....

I'm an alien to life on earth for a short time, I will be a citizen in Heaven for eternity.

When I set a goal for our family to live as comfortably as possible and the realities of life on earth steal my joy and thwart my goals, I have to remember to turn my gaze upon Jesus. 

THIS IS NOT MY HOME.

As Dave and I are working towards being debt free, MBA/MASTERS, Harvard, owning our own business, working at Ouray and raising Oscar my plans and goals for us to FINALLY "reap what have sown" never seem to become reality. And on top of that the government doesn't follow my standards of comfort either.

My most recent concern is of loosing freedoms through our government.

My mind can take me to fantasies of a dark future.

This is where my mind goes:

'Does being an American mean socialism some day soon?'

'Will all the hard work we've put into our business, paying off debts and schooling mean nothing for us in the near future?'

'Will we be paying so many taxes we won't see the fruits of all our hard work?'

Life on earth certainly isn't getting more comfortable. It's starting to get scary not to mention painful and I personally have a fear of our freedom of religion soon being taken from us.

With prayer in schools already out of the picture and homosexuality being taught in a few trial schools I'm starting to really see the point Paul made when he said:

Philipians. 3:19-22 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

"Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." This sounds like our government. I feel like we are gradually placing our freedom in their hands to make decisions for us. 

I'm thankful for the glimpse God gives us of our real future. The future for us where we hold citizenship.

Our home.

Not only do we have citizenship in a most beautiful place that God himself is preparing continuisly in all His creativity and glory but we will have new beautiful unbroken, undiseased unblemished and glorified bodies!

That is the place we call home.

Tears

This woman has touched the depths of my heart through this picture.  I'm deeply affected by her genuine sorrow. I do not know the gravity of her loss in the haiti earth quake but in my own heartache in losing Jakey my anguish wells up in empathy for her.
God help this woman! Lord bless her tears that they grow a forest of glory, godly attributes and life to her and those that love her.
I'm looking forward to meeting this woman in eternity. I cannot wait to see her face glowing with joy and her mouth with singing! I will see the harvest of her tears and sorrow from this very tragedy  blossomed into life giving fruit that we all can enjoy in Heaven. I will savor the fruit God has grown through those seeds we call tears.
Psalm 126:5-6
"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their precious seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest."

The way the Lord has revealed this verse in me at this time is in picturing that the seeds are precious and valuable....
It hurts that our Jakey was killed at 17 only 2 months ago, but In my sorrow I've trusted God with the conclusion. I trust God's will. As I hand over my anger and my will for His, and as I trust God with all that doesn't make sense in Jake's death and the upcoming trial for his murder. I shed tears because Jake is precious to me and it seems hard to hand over the justice of his valuable life being ripped away from us.  It's like handing every fiber of my being over to God to do what he pleases. I'm crying in the process of surrender, but my tears will produce a bountiful harvest.

I think "planting the precious seed" is the trusting. I think my effort in handing it over to God is the planting and the seeds are my tears. The seed grows into a bountiful harvest of fruit to be enjoyed and to give life to me and others. Praise God!
The Lord knows what He is doing even when I do not know what He is doing.

Psalm 28:7
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped; therefore my  heart greatly rejoices and with my song will I praise him."

(sorrow is the sowing rejoicing is the reaping / Our mouth had never been filled with holy laughter if it had not been first filled with the bitterness of grief /  tears like seeds falling to the ground and god growing a beautiful fruit tree that gives life and nourishment to others and brings joy to us and glory to god.)

HOME AT LAST

It's hard to put into words all that the phrase Home At Last means to me right now. I've dropped my suitcase in the foyer, I've shed the Florida flip flops for more practical wool socks. I've even slipped into my favorite valour pants and snuggly sweater, yet with the heavy thump of an overstuffed diaper bag, I cannot help but release a heavy sigh of overstuffed sorrow grief and agony.

After 7 weeks of facing the finality of my beloved baby brother Jake Couture's murder in FL. I'm home at last. . 'But is this home?' I ask myself. Am I home 2,019 miles away from Jake's things and my parents and all the family that I love? Or am I still awaiting the day I can unload the painful and oppressive baggage of this world in the foyer of eternity.

Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Isaiah 41:10 says "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

I know that Jake is standing before the almighty God of infinity, God of all, the great I Am.

I know that as I praise God in worship, Jake is worshiping Jesus too. He is standing before God Himself and he and I worship the same creator at the same moment in time. I feel connected to Jake that way. We are one in Christ Jesus. Jake truly is home at last. The pain of loosing my irreplaceable Jakey is immense, but I trust you Lord Jesus.

"you give and take away, my heart will choose to say Lord blessed be your name" -(great song: blessed be your name tree63)

"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10