God's Glue- Laminin

A doctor wrote:

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio...and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned....but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder.

At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) ....and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking....'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???'

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer. And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!! It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin. Here is how Wikipedia describes them:

'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see....laminins are what hold us together....LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules.. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell... Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already.. But what I didn't know is what laminin LOOKED LIKE. But now I do.

And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....

Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it....if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!!

Amazing.

The glue that holds us together...ALL of us...is in the shape of the cross..

Immediately, Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things HOLD TOGETHER. '

Colossians 1:15-17.

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool.

Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together....one cell to another....by the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam even breathed his first breath!!

"Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future."

I wanted you to know and to understand that YOU are being held together by the cross of Jesus Christ! His love! His forgiveness and His marvelous power!

-Author unknown

Amazing! If you want to watch the video he was watching of Louie, it is definitely worth 8 minutes of your time.

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=152b5103d741aca61093

Evidence of Spring

Song of Solomon 2:12
Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

My daffodils are here and they make me want to sing of Spring. Praising God for the flowers and new life all around.

I'm Gonna Stand on the Rock

Little girl has been dancing around the house for the last couple of weeks singing this song. We videotaped it this morning for your listening and viewing pleasure. I hope it blesses you as much as it does me.

In the midst of frustration over bodily functions, she has remained full of joy. If anything she is more full of praise and joy than normal. I know right now she is covered in prayer. So many have heard our prayer request and are lifting her and our family up before the throne. It is so evident. And so appreciated.
This afternoon we go in for the renal ultrasound at 3pm (EST) She isn't scared. She has a peace about her. I think she is intrigued about seeing inside her body "and they aren't even going to cut me open to see in there."
The frequency of bathroom trips has lessened, she actually went an hour and a half yesterday without visiting the bathroom. Praise God, this fills me with hope. I don't know what is going on inside my daughters body, I have an idea of what's going on inside her heart. So for now we're gonna stand on the rock and believe that he has a plan and a purpose and His name will receive all the glory.

Blood (Juice) Shed

My boy asked to join me in service. I agreed. Hand in hand we entered the sanctuary. He clapped his way through worship. Deciphering words on the big screen as he sang along. He would look up at me with a smile of contentment. He admired the guitar player and said,"I want to play like that someday." I would like that too.
The pastor spoke on worship. It was such a good powerful message. Worship is not an experience for a few moments on Sunday morning. Worship could and should happen in the ordinary. Worship in all things. Take a moment to thank God and praise him. For who He is. For what He has created. What we have been blessed with. My son sat there listening respectfully. His face reflecting moments of Ah ha! I prayed his heart was understanding.
Pastor Alan spoke about a time in his youth when he would sit down at the piano and play hymns. How he loved the music. He was good at it. It became a passion. Hours upon hours of sitting there playing. Before long the old hymns became songs of praise as he sang them out to God. Written notes on the page became an impromptu song from his heart; a song to his God. His faith grew, God met him there in those moments. The boy soaked in every word. He loves music. I strongly believe God will use him with music in the future. His little strums each day continue to grow. They sound better and better with each passing day. He has yet to learn chords. Most of what he does is an impromptu song from within him. Something about this innocence, I love it. I can not wait to see what God will do in and through him as he grows in this passion.
As the service was ending it was time for communion. He took a cracker and a juice. He bowed his head. I whispered to him that he could thank God for all he has done for him. A minute later I whispered he could ask Him to forgive him for his sins. He kept his head down. Just as everyone had been served we were about to partake, he dropped his cup of juice. A puddle on the floor. We took the bread and ate it.I handed him my cup and he drank all but a tad bit . Then handed it to me so I would still have some. The lady next to us reached into her bag and produced a couple baby wipes. I went to work soaking up the crimson liquid. 'Blood shed and poured out for many.' My boy whispered to me, "What about what's on me? I'm soaked." I had not even noticed. Sure enough one of his legs was pretty wet. I dabbed the stain. Then whispered in his ear. "Christ blood poured out for the forgiveness of sin, looks like it was poured out. Don't worry about it." He smiled up at me. Somehow I think he gets it. And that is a reason to worship.

Blessed

Last weekend marked my 10th wedding anniversary. Amazing. 10 years. Married to the same man. Heehee.
In the midst of hubbies travels things have been a bit crazy. With him two weeks in Florida during our anniversary, I flew down to spend our anniversary with him. Not far from our original honeymoon. It was great seeing his home away from home. His favorite restuarants, he has many. We enjoyed walks on the beach. Hanging out on the pier, this was my favorite. We saw dolphins, pelican and tons of fish. We ate and ate and ate. Like I said, he so many places to take me. We had no agenda. So it was very laid back and relaxing. The kids were back in Michigan, cared for by loving relatives. God is so good how he prepared the way for all of it. He worked out every detail and provided in ways I could not have imagined. I am blessed!
Oh and I was able to add the states of Florida and Georgia to my geocaching list. We found 2 in Florida, near locations we were already planning on going and I found a virtual in the Georgia airport. YEAH!

Thank You Lord!

Friday afternoon I got a call from my sister-in-law. "A tornado is heading toward Lansing." I turned on the TV and all the local channels had storm alerts. I saw the path of the storm and knew I was not wanting to stay in the house through the storm. It took less than a minute to have shoes on the kids and everyone loaded into our car. It was still calm, even partly sunny. I spoke a quick prayer, "Lord, protect our home." and headed for my parents a mile away. There we watched the weather rolling in and the weatherman project the storms path. On of the focal points was the school at the end of street. Our house was the projected path. While a tornado did touch down 10 miles away, they lost sight of the funnel. At the projected time the rain begin to pour. Technology these days! We kept watch out the window ready to break for the basement at any moment. 5-10 minutes later the storm was passed. It calmed. I waited a few more minutes and then headed for home to see if the tree next door had fallen. The winds had been high as was the rain strong. I rounded the corner of my street and it appeared the tree was still standing. Praise God! Yes indeed it is still standing. In the one mile stretch back home I only saw one tree branch down. Amazing. The streets were flooded but all was well. At least for my neighborhood.
Reports came in. Destruction. Houses with roofs gone. Barns collapsed. Power outages. Trees down. A mobile home overturned. Later my husband called, he had to drive through one of the destructed areas. In the evening we drove by to see. A half mile from our home, it looked like the tornado had hit. Trees completely uprooted. Car windows busted out. It was crazy. AND a half mile from my home. It was heading directly for us veered to the south AROUND MY HOME and then veered back north continuing on its path. THE LORD PROTECTED MY HOME!
If the tree standed through that storm I am fairly confident it will stand until Thursday when the tree company takes it down.
Thank you to all who prayed and THANK YOU LORD!