The Greatest Story of All Time

As we are quickly approaching Easter Sunday and in the midst of Holy Week, I wanted to take some time to write through my thought processes on the Greatest Story of all time. We just finished a sermon series at our church called "News Flash! Getting the Sacred Story Straight." Pastor Tucker went through the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of the gospel message. And it wasn't a deep theological series, but it was about how we, who claim to be Christ followers, are called to share the good news to the whole around us and about being prepared to give an answer for the HOPE that we have in eternity! We are constantly bombarded with news all around us, but there is only 1 message that truly matters, one story that has the power to transform lives, bring healing, and give hope. And it is this......

Our world today is not what God intended it to be. When He created the earth and the entire universe, it was perfect. It was flawless, holy, and good, peaceful and right. All of creation was a testimony to the power and grandeur of God.
 But once Satan (an angel who rebelled against God) tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God, and they did.... Sin entered our world. Not only did sin enter into the fabric of our entire being, but it has literally broken the universe itself. The entire creation is under a curse. The bible says, "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." (Romans 8:22) As a result, we live in a fallen, sinful, broken, evil world. We see the effects of sin all around us.. death, sickness, pain, and suffering.

Because our God is perfect, holy, and without sin.. we, who are stained by sin, are separated from God. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) There is nothing we can do to bridge the gap between ourselves and God. And this is where the GOOD NEWS comes in....

The most amazing story of all time that has forever changed the course of history... God came down to us in the form of man, Jesus, fully human yet fully God, who lived a perfect life without sin! He sent Jesus as the Messiah, Savior of the world. And he died the most awful death on a cross as God laid on him the sins of ALL mankind, the sins of the entire human race, past, present, and future. His dead body was buried in a tomb. And 3 days later when a few women went to visit his tomb, they found his body was missing. An angel appeared to them telling them that Jesus is alive, He has risen! I love the stories recorded in the bible of Jesus appearing to people after He had risen!
When Jesus rose from the dead, God conquered DEATH, SIN, AND the DEVIL for eternity! He made a way for humankind to be restored into fellowship with Himself once again. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are reconciled to God and all who believe in Him are guaranteed eternal life! Romans 3:22 says "This righteousness from God comes through FAITH in Jesus Christ to ALL who believe.. for ALL are justified FREELY by his GRACE through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."!

So yes, we currently live in a broken and fallen world... Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) THIS is the HOPE that believers have! 1 John 3:9 says "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) God promises that He is returning for a second time to create a NEW heaven and earth and restore all of creation to how He intended it to be. He is coming again to do away with sin and suffering once and for all! But, He is waiting. He wants ALL people to believe in the atoning work of Jesus and receive eternal life in heaven. What an amazing GIFT, that we do not have to do anything but to accept it.
And THAT is the greatest story of all time! THAT is what we celebrate this Easter Sunday!

I've been listening to this song today, and plan to listen to it all week, "The Scandal of Grace."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpsjgdLRf7E
Grace, what have you done?
Murdered for me on that cross
Accused in absence of wrong
My sin washed away in your blood

Too much to make sense of it all
I know that your love breaks my fall
The scandal of grace, you died in my place
So my soul will live

... The grace and love of our God is hard for us to wrap our minds around! It is like a "scandal" that someone took OUR place for the punishment of sin and we receive the free GIFT! That is just like our God =) Happy Easter!

A Pause

I've had a couple posts in mind I've been meaning to get to and now that it is the eve of Wyatt's 2nd birthday I know I will have pictures to share over the next few days.... but I didn't feel right without at least pausing to mention the horrific tragedy that has forever changed the lives of the people in Newtown, CT. I have sat down to write about it a couple of times, but there are just not words adequate enough. I will be coming back to it though.
For now, just lifting those families up in prayer that they would feel the peace, comfort, and presence of Him Who has come into the midst of our darkness to bring hope.

Hanging on to this promise and awaiting that glorious day when He comes again.....
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." Revelation 21:4

A little off topic from the usual day-to-day posts, but I couldn't let this go by without writing a little something about it. Last week I finished up a bibly study at church as one of the small group leaders, which was a pretty big deal for me. So let me back up a little bit... I've grown up in church so, of course, I know all the common bible stories (Noah's Ark, Daniel in the Lion's Den, David and Goliath, Jesus!, ect, haha). I really haven't been involved in actual bible study since high school youth group though. At our last church in Florida, we didn't really get all that involved.. we didn't go to Sunday School, just church. And we didn't attend the women's/men's weeknight bible study. To many excuses I guess you could say.

So we move here to San Antonio a year and a half ago and find an awesome church that we join! I immediately feel the Lord's nudging on my heart to connect and get involved and really become a part of the church family. So one of the ways I do that is start attending the women's bible study. I started last fall in 2011 and did 1 study and then did 2 in the spring of this year. God ever so gently laid the idea on my mind of me leading one of the small groups for bible study. To which my inital response was, "NO WAY, God!" haha

Fast forward to July.... I get a voicemail one afternoon and it is from Sheila who is the leader/coordinator of women's bible studies. She just asks me to call her back. I KNEW that she was going to ask me to be a group leader. Insert - Freak out moment, ahhhhh!!!! Sure enough, I call her back and she says, "I need you to pray about being a bible study leader. I've been praying about it all summer and God has put you on my heart." Even though I knew it was coming I was still not any more prepared for it.... I was literally sick to my stomach the rest of the day. Not even joking. And here was my list of excuses, "I'm to shy, I don't even like talking in front of people." "I don't know the Bible well enough." "I've hardly ever even prayed in front of people." "I'm just not the right person! I'm introverted and keep my thoughts to myself." .... and the list goes on. I may not be a bible scholar, but I know enough to know that God always uses the least likely of characters and he never, ever leaves their side when He calls them to do something.

The rest is history and we just finished up the study last Wednesday. We did "The Patriarchs" by Beth Moore, Genesis 11-50. And if you just think that Genesis is just about the creation of the world, pick up a bible and read, because, WOW! It has love stories, wars, infertility, adultery, angels, death, miracles, family dysfunction and betrayal, stolen birthrights, famines, weddings, dreams coming true, and more!! And the most amazing thing of all is that it is history and it is true and we have it recorded for us in God's Word! It all took place in modern day Syria and Egypt and it is amazing to learn how it relates to a lot of what is happening in those countries even today.

I think my biggest "take away" from the study is the amazing sovereignty of our God. Just when the situation was looking bad and it seemed no way could it be fixed, God would step in and turn it around. Romans 8:28 says that "God works all things together for good" and it was true back then and it is still true today. He take impossible situations and makes them possible for the glory of His name. He told Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and that a whole nation would come from him, yet he and Sarah struggled with infertility and couldn't even have 1 baby! Yet, God kept His promise and answered their prayers and blessed them with Isaac (which led to Jacob, which led to the nation of Israel). And there is story after story that testifies to His sovereignty.

My second "take away" is how personal God is with people. It will always continue to amaze me that the God of the universe pursues us, individually, into a relationship with Him. He did this in Genesis and He does it today. Sure, He doesn't speak audibly or send bright shining angels down to us but He sent His Son and the Spirit and now we have all access to the Creator of the universe. We can talk to Him and question Him and He hears us and answers us.

So, I didn't have to be a bible scholar or super outgoing or experienced in speaking to lead a bible study group.... He was with me the whole way and I am glad I took a step of faith. I would have missed out on experiencing yet another way that He has proved faithful in my life. (And now I am actually looking forward to leading the next study that we start on January 9th! That. is. a miracle. LOL)

Mighty Is The Power of The Cross

Reflecting on the work Jesus accomplished on the cross for you and me.....

Holy Week

Today will be my last Sunday post as it is the last Sunday in Lent! It begins Holy Week which is Jesus' last week of life before his death and Resurrection (next weekend). Our church put on an Easter pageant this morning.. a play that re-enacted from Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness to the crucifixion and empty tomb. It was powerful.
Ya know, it got me thinking.. how awesome it would have been to live during those 33 years that Jesus walked this earth! God in human form, performing miracles, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, raising the dead all with the touch of his hand! I was thinking how easy it would be to believe that He is the Savior if I could have walked and talked with him. But as we know... even (some) of his closest friends, men He called his brothers, His disciples.. betrayed him. In those final hours, Judas led the soldiers to Jesus to have him arrested and Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times. To think, when it comes to life or death, even his disciples did not stay faithful.
This week is a time to focus on the crucifixion of Jesus. And it's hard. It was hard just watching it re-enacted in a play! Much less to think about that it really happened. Jesus had all the power of God at his fingertips.. he could have easily fought back. But He knew that "the Scriptures must be fulfilled. "(Mark 15:49) To think that He took our place and bore the weight of the sin of the whole world... "He too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death- that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14) If you get a chance this week, read Hebrews chapter 10. It discusses how it was the religious duty in the Old Testament to offer sacrifice after sacrifice to God to forgive them of their sins. And how Jesus was part of God's plan to redeem all people.... He was the final, once and for all, sacrifice for our sins. There is nothing we can or have to do to receive eternal life but just receive what has already been given to us! The greatest story of all time! I am so grateful for the hope and joy and peace we have in Him!

P.S. I have 4 tomatoes now! It may be a success after all!

I'm Horrible At Coming Up With Titles

Ack! The weekend just flowed right into the start of the week and I realized I didn't post Sunday's Lent inspiration. We did have a wonderful weekend though! Saturday night my MOPS group put on a date night out catered by a Mexican restaurant for dinner and our pastor and his wife spoke about marriage and parenting. Tyler's mom came down to watch Wyatt and we just had a really nice night out. Sunday after church, we went out for lunch with 2 other families (both have 15 month olds!)... and then Sunday night Tyler had some fellow flight students over for a study group and we grilled out for them. It is such a blessing that we are both starting to connect with people and build friendships... I have a lot of thoughts on that, hmmm, maybe that will be its own post.

Anyways.... this week I wanted to link up to this devotional from Grace Notes, by Philip Yancey. It goes along with what I am studying right now in my bible study and that is that we will experience suffering. Sometimes I think people have the (wrong) impression that life for a Christian is just happy and perfect and everything is hunky dory! Sure, God does bless with good health, and finances and possessions, and overall happiness.... but, he does not promise these things. Ever. All good things come from His hands (James 1:17), but they are not a guarantee. In John 16:33, Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world!" There are several places in Scripture that we are told that we will experience trouble, suffering, and heartache.
What a Christian is promised by God is... "Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 This is how a Christian can experience hope and peace and joy in the midst of life's sufferings. We should expect suffering as a part of our time here on earth. But that is the beautiful thing about this Easter season...... we are reminded that Jesus conquered death when he rose from the dead and we have eternal life free of suffering awaiting us in heaven! We need this reminder all year long, not just during the Lent season.

Also, this is unrelated but I know I have a few young moms that read so I wanted to share this post "Ten Fun Ways To Keep Easter About Jesus" at the blog, "We are THAT family." (I don't have a problem with taking part in the commercial aspect of Easter and Christmas, but as Wyatt gets older I will make it a priority to keep the focus on the real celebration of those holidays!) That post has some great ideas for Easter!

Growth

This Sunday's post isn't necessarily directly about Lent, but it is related. I came across this post titled, "What's Growing?" written by Holley Gerth. It's super short, but the message is that our relationship with God takes time and growth. It is not about immediate production. This reminded me of the Lenten season because it is a time of reflection and refocusing which (hopefully) brings about growth in our faith walk. In the last bible study I did ("James-Mercy Triumphs by Beth Moore) she talked about how we want a "Holy Spurt" instead of the "Holy Spirit" (lol).... We always want to hear from God in our time and on our terms, or have him show us a "sign" when making a decision, or read a bible verse and have it speak directly to our current circumstances... but the truth is, it takes time and commitment and effort on our part to cultivate our relationship with God. We must be in His Word and seeking His will daily and in all things, giving thanks in all circumstances and God will work in our lives and we will feel the Holy Spirit in His time. It is a growth process... much like gardening. And I am learning more and more that it is lifelong journey. We will never know God fully here on earth,we won't always seek His purpose for our lives, we will have doubts, we'll never have all the answers to our questions, we'll stray and get distracted by the things of the world, we'll stumble and sin... BUT, God is faithful. And in spite of all those things we can come back to Him and continue our journey and grow in our faith.

Speaking of growth.... something my tomato plant is struggling with (ahem).. =/ It desperately needs SUN, and it's been so cloudy here! I'm totally bummed. It has started flowering, but it is also kind of whithering, lol. And I had to pull some dead leaves off. hmmm. I'm in it for the long haul! But it's not looking hopeful.

"For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord." Psalm 117:2

Sunday's Post (on Tuesday)

Well, we had to cancel our camping trip due to cold weather and lots of rain! We planned on going with some of the Mr.'s family and we were all pretty bummed. But that's ok... we ended up driving up to Dallas for the weekend to spend time with the Mr.'s sister and husband. And it all worked out because we had a wonderful time! Pictures to come from our weekend =)

For my Sunday's Lent post this week, I am just sharing a link to Rachel Held Evan's blog and her post "40 Ideas for Lent (2012)." It is a great resource!

And some words from Psalm 139 to focus on today -

You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.
 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.

Knowing You...

Every Sunday in Lent I am posting something that spoke to me throughout the week....

If you have 4 minutes to spare, take time to read this post by Ann Voskamp (a real author, lol), "The Secret to Fasting in a Lent that is Failing." I love her definition of her Lent and fast, " Letting go of more of the world, to lay more hold of God." It's what Lent is all about, but really, it's what our lives should be all about.

This morning in church we sang, "All I Once Held Dear." One of my favorite church songs! =)
"Knowing You Jesus... There is no greater thing" Those words speak truth. There is nothing greater, nothing more satisfying, no higher joy than knowing Him....

Happy Sunday!

Lent

A little different of a post than the usual Wyatt updates... but, I've been thinking a lot about Lent lately since we are now in the Lenten season of the church year. Lent began this past Wednesday and it includes the 40 days preceding Easter. It signifies the 40 days that Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness (and was tempted by the devil).  Matthew 4:1-11 Traditionally in the church, people would fast from meat. Nowadays, to observe Lent, people "fast" from just about anything! Soda, sugar, candy, TV, internet, certain types of music, certain activities, etc. I personally have always enjoyed this time in the church year. Every year, I try to "give something up" but I don't think I've ever actually followed through with the entire 40 days, nor have I allowed the "fast" to fulfill its purpose of drawing closer to God.

I think I have some extra motivation this year having just completed Beth Moore's powerful and convicting bible study, "James: Mercy Triumphs." This study has inspired me to take on the most challenging bible memorization task I have ever done. So while in the midst of that and with Lent just beginning, this year I decided to give up Facebook. I know, I know.... it sounds kind of silly. But if I'm being honest, I spent way to much time of Facebook throughout the day. And giving up Facebook really kind of resembles the "internet" as a whole. It had just become a "habit" to check my FB rather than something I needed to do. So on Wednesday I disabled my Facebook account and just 4 days into it I have spent way less time online.. imagine that, lol. So that is my "fast." I am trying to spend more time in the Bible and particularly working on memorization (something I just started this year after not doing it for much too long now!)

I see Lent as a time to set aside distraction, just one of many that we have in our lives, to focus on all that God has done for us. It's not so much a religious ritual as it is just preparing our hearts to once again be in awe of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Fasting from something of this world to remind of us that we are sinful, flawed, and imperfect. While we know our sins are forgiven and we will spend eternity in heaven, we constantly have to humble ourselves and turn back to Him. I'm reminded of the hymn (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing) that says, "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." .... We do wander, we go astray, we doubt, and we forget to Whom we belong. Lent is a time to "sacrifice" so we can be reminded of the ultimate sacrifice. When we take time to reflect on how much we really do need a Savior, we can truly celebrate the victory in that glorious Easter morning!

So those are just my current thoughts on Lent and what I am doing this year =) I'm going to post something Lent related every Sunday until Easter.

Advent - "Coming"

We are in the advent season, awaiting the "coming" of the Christ. Things have been pretty quiet around here since Thanksgiving. We did make a trip to San Angelo and had a wonderful weekend just spending time with family and friends, staying inside since it actually felt like "winter"! But other than that, the Mr. is on Christmas break from classes and we are just spending our days together, sticking to our routine, relishing in these days before our little one turns ONE, and counting down until Christmas.

We are doing the Jesse Tree advent devotional book countdown by Ann Voskamp, an amazing author. We do them after dinner, before the bedtime routine, and Wyatt is usually running around with spatulas in both hands, squealing, so we read and pray while giggling but it makes for good memories! Of course, he doesn't understand the meaning behind our countdown or even why there is a tree in the living room and lights all over the windows, but we "teach" him the reason for the season anyways =)

"How Many Kings" is a song that I listen to over and over during the Christmas season, and sometimes throughout the year too. It is truly amazing that the Creator of the universe would reach out to us, individually and personally, by sending His Son in the most unlikely way... as an infant, in a stable, among farm animals.. literally becoming the least to love, serve, and save all people.

The chorus says, "How many kings step down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? .... Only one did that for me."

What a story it is!

So the blog is quiet in December as we countdown to His birth day... we are also preparing for the Mrs.'s family coming from Georgia to spend the entire week of Christmas with us! And finishing up the details for Wyatt's 1st birthday party.
Merry Christmas! I'm sure we will have lots of pictures to post at the end of the month! =)

Giving Thanks

It is crazy to think about where we were just 1 year ago... Our lives have changed drastically in such a short period of time. 

A year ago we were living in Florida in a condo (our “own” house), the Mr. worked full time in the Marine Corps and the Mrs. had recently gone from 2 jobs to 1 job as she was 8 months pregnant! We had all the security and benefits that come from  life in the military... We frequently went out to eat, on weekend getaways, vacations, ect. We were comfortable and of course, happy… but not necessarily fulfilled =) 

So, after almost 2 years of prayer and discussion, we decided we wanted to take a different route. We had 6.5 years of marriage under our belts, were getting ready to start our family and we wanted to make some changes. We were still young enough to “start over” and truly follow our dreams. 

So now, here we are 1 year later... Our little family of 3, living in Texas, renting a small apartment and just barely squeaking by. The Mr. is pursuing his dream of a career in aviation and is truly happy at the end of the day. The Mrs. is living her dream of being a mommy and being present for every moment of Wyatt's "firsts." 

Sure, we've had to give up a lot.. Our “own” home, job security, fun cars/motorcycle, vacations, and luxuries such as cable (lol).. But we are together and happy and living life for the everyday, ordinary moments.

 We are on a journey and we are growing as individuals and as a family.... Our hearts are more grateful for the things we so often take for granted... food, shelter, health, family, time spent together. 

We are so thankful God gave us the faith and opportunity to go forward with our plans and for providing and being present each step of the way. We can’t see where He is leading us, but we know He is and look forward to His plans to unfold.

We have so many things to give thanks for this year, but here’s some top ones:

We could never put into words how thankful we are that God gave us Wyatt. He has made our lives so full of joy and we continue to be in awe that he is ours!

We could not be more thankful for our marriage and friendship. What a blessing to have a partner to live and enjoy life with <3

A big thanksgiving this year is that we were able to get rid of the house in Florida without going into foreclosure, what an answer to our prayer the whole situation was.

We are thankful that the Mr. is able to pursue aviation at an awesome flight school through the GI Bill, which also covers our basic needs while he is in school.

We are always so grateful for both of our families. We have such wonderful relationships with both sides of our families.. all the way to extended family, who support and love us so much.

We are thankful for our new home and church in Texas. We love our church so much… every week we are challenged in our faith and we have so many opportunities to serve and fellowship with other Christians.

And lastly, but most important, we are overwhelmed with thanksgiving that God would love us so much to send His son to die in our place so we can know we are spending our eternities in heaven. We are so far from perfect and so undeserving of His goodness, we struggle with fears and sometimes we doubt and worry and even question His plan… but our true joy lies in our salvation, in such a dark world we can truly rejoice knowing that is He is our only HOPE.

We will be spending the rest of the week with the Mr.’s family! To the Mrs.’s parents,brothers, sis-in-law and niece and nephew… we love you and will miss you this Thanksgiving!

 Happy Thanksgiving! 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34

"Do not worry.."

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" - Matthew 6:21

Last night was the last night of a 7 week Women's Bible Study I have been attending, and I have a couple of stories that have been on my heart since last night that I just had to share.

One of the ladies had to go to the hospital on Sunday (unexpectedly) for some issues she was having. She went on to explain that finances in her household are extremely tight right now. She was getting ready to be discharged and was laying in the hospital bed with worry and despair because she said she knew they were going to send her home with a prescription for several medications and there was literally no money for her to buy these medicines. On top of that, her daughter was coming home that evening also, and she had not been able to buy groceries, nor did she even have anything for dinner that night. Just a few minutes later..
A member from our church (she said a lady that she is not even really close friends with) walked into her hospital room with flowers..... and not only that, but she had also brought her dinner for her to take home AND a VISA gift card with enough money to cover her medications and additional groceries. WOW!
There was not a dry eye in the room as she shared this last night. How awesome that God used that church member to be such a blessing to this lady. That is an experience that I'm sure she will never forget.

Another lady shared last night that she has been teaching her 10 year old son that God provides for us and gives us all of our gifts. Over the weekend, her son was in the backyard and she heard him shouting, "Mom! Look what I got! Mom! Come look!" She rushed out to see what he was so excited about and in his arms was a big pumpkin! She asked him where he got it and he told her one of the neighbors gave it to him! She told us that her budget was very tight and she had told her son that they may not be able to buy a pumpkin this year... she used that as an example to teach her son that God knew he wanted a pumpkin and look how He blessed them with such a simple gift! And now she doesn't have to worry about buying her son a pumpkin.

Last night, I was literally taking a nap on the couch while Mr. put Wyatt down for the night and just 15 minutes before I was supposed to leave for Bible Study. I almost did not go but I am so glad Tyler pushed my butt out the door in time for me to make it =) It was not a coincidence that these stories were shared last night.
They had nothing to do with the topic we were actually discussing, but somehow our conversation drifted and these ladies shared these stories..... Stories that God knew I needed to hear. Real life reminders that I needed that He. will. provide. We are in a season of life where our trust is being stretched and we are leaning on God more than ever to provide for all of our needs. And not only will He provide our basic needs, but out of His love for us, he often goes beyond that to just bless us with gifts that make our hearts happy. =)

These verses in Chapter 6 of Matthew about "Do Not Worry" were recently  verse of the day on our Christian radio station and I came across them in a devotional I read just a few days ago....

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry..." - Matthew 6:25-31