A Magnificent Evening

This evening was the perfect ending to a gorgeous day.  I met with Jessica at Orange Mango for yogurt, then we ventured over to Wilson Park for Bible study.  We are beginning to work our way through Ephesians.  We read several verses and then discuss what we think it means, or any questions we may have.  I love doing this type of study, as I always love hearing other interpretations of verses that I have read many times before.  The main concept that we got stuck on was the idea of predestination.  Does God predestinate those who are believers?  In other words, did He choose beforehand those of us who would believe and accept Christ?  Or is this concept of predestination simply the idea that God knew beforehand which of us would accept and believe in Christ and who would not on the basis of free will?  This idea is so confusing to me, and really had us stumped.  We are going to do a bit of research this week, but if any of ya'll have any wisdom, we would definitely appreciate it!
Another discussion we had was about God's will for our lives.  I think so many times we are so consumed by the details that we miss the big picture.  I believe that God's will is simply for us to follow His word and commandments and to show others His love and grace.  How, or where we do this is merely the details.  Too often, we procrastinate doing His will by saying that we are waiting to hear from Him.  Honestly, I don't think it truly matters if we choose to go to India or China, to spread His love through Habitat for Humanity or by working in a Soup Kitchen.  The main idea is that we DO it.  That we show love, TRUE abiding love in Christ to every person we come into contact with.  That we seek wholeheartedly to follow Him and not worry about the details.  He will work those out according to His plans, just love God and love people.

To put a perfect finish on such a sweet time of study, as we were wrapping up we looked out across the lawn and there were hundreds of fireflies lighting up the sky.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  It looked like glitter had been tossed across the lawn.  Jessica brought up a good point when she said "some things God created for us to simply enjoy".  The firefly is one of those.