August 31

Friends,
If you have been following the blog all year, it is time to celebrate. We are 2/3 of the way done. AND, this is happening on a Blue Moon.
Do you know what a blue moon is?
A blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. It is exceedingly rare. As a matter of fact, another one is not scheduled until July, 2015. Not that we will make it there as the calendar ends in December, 2012.
OOOPS!
Wrong blog.
This is not the world-ending, apocalypse happening blog. You will have to search elsewhere for that one.
As a matter of fact, our OT (Job 37:1-39:30) has much to say about that very subject. Think God planned that?
"What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
Can you take me to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?"

and here is another that speaks to something else I have been thinking about all day:
"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?"

God is not mocking Job. He is stomping his silly, contentious arguments straight into the ground. It is like worrying about those two little pennies you dropped into the street while you are throwing hundred dollar bills into the air.
What is man that God should be concerned about his ups and downs.
And yet he is.

Back to the birth thing. Did you know that marsupial animals (kangaroo, platypus, koala bears) give birth to offspring that are not capable of living out in the open air? The infants are born and then manage to crawl up the fur of their mothers and into a pouch where they live for a period of time until they are weaned and able to reasonably fend for themselves.
(Just as a gross thing, yes, they do poop in the pouches. The roos live in the pouch for 7-8 months. I have no idea how a kangaroo cleans herself. You don't want to know all the ooky things I think about...)

Humans and other primates give birth to babies who are not mobile. Dogs and cats are typically born blind.
Sharks and other invertebrates lay eggs and when the embryo is large enough to fend for itself, it hatches.

The incident rate of birth failure -- i.e. animals being born before their species determined growth rate for birth is less than 20%. And most of those are birth defects that render the animal incapable of completing development. Less than 20%. I find that incredible when you consider the vast number of species, each with their individual growth rates and specifics.

Life is incredibly complex. Our world is incredibly complex. Is it any wonder that God answers Job as He does? What I find the most incredible thing of all, is that God wants to have a relationship with us.
I mean, I am busy. I know how hard it is to keep up with friends, family and loved ones. Imagine how busy God is. And yet, He wants to stay in touch with us.

Make time to today to thank God for all the wonders in YOUR life. Think you don't have any? Look down at your hands. Do you have 10 fingers? That, in and of itself is an amazing feat. Sorry if some of them are swollen and bent. Life is tough. But those 10 fingers make you the incredible human that you are.

Grace and Peace to each of you. And for goodness sake, go look at your Blue Moon.