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We are SO blessed to be a part of a small community of people within our church family. In our church, we call it "Life Group". We meet once a week and share a meal and get into God's word together. We share life. In our group, there are just as many adults as there are children from the age of 10 on up. Some might be baffled on how to study God's word and get to the "meat" of it with such a wide age span. Well.... Consider this your official invitation to come check us out! It's pretty amazing.

Last night we had our once a week gathering. We welcomed two very treasured people within our church body as newbies to our group. They are newbies to our group, but not to the Word. D has read through the bible numerous times and taught on it for many years. He is now taking our sweet group through the book of Hebrews. I am SUPER excited about this new journey to begin.

As we began our new study last night, D mentioned needle point. Needle point wasn't something I expected to hear about last night, but I sure am glad that I did. He talked about how the back of a needle point project is REALLY messy! There are threads crossing over each other, under each other, long stitches, short stitches.... Nothing can be made out. Nothing makes any sense at all. Then, you turn the project over and there is a beautiful work of art that makes you wonder (at least I do) .... WOW, how did she do it? How did all that mess turn into such an intricate piece of worth and beauty? Our lives are much the same.

Down here, it all looks so messy. We have this jumbled up life of all sorts of circumstances and nothing seems to fit together sometimes. We have short paths that take us this way, and then longer paths that take us another way and to us, it seems like it's anything BUT beautiful. Speaking for myself, I can say that I have even felt like the stitches sewn into the fabric are just one gigantic thread of mistakes that need to be unraveled and started over again. God doesn't see it that way though.

He sees the intricate, carefully placed beauty of each strand of thread. He sees where the thread has been and where it is going next. He sees this because He is our designer. He holds the needle. As He goes along, he sees the full work of art... Completed. He sees our worth.

Great analogy, don't you think? Thanks, D.... I'll never look at needle point the same again. I've never really done any, but now I have this overwhelming desire to give it a try. :)

Today I feel very grateful for this group that we get to share life with. Every Monday our boys wake up happier because it is Life Group day. They get to go and sit with some of their buddies and dive into God's word with them, and with their parents and a group of adults who see them with worth. They see them as needle point...