Is this wombat poop, and what does it teach us about God?
Hold up.
Wombat poop.
Where am I?
The world is full of amazing things, things our brains can't even understand or comprehend.
Like the Aurora Borealis which is basically a giant laser light show in the night sky
and this rainbow eucalyptus tree that looks like a legit work of art
and grand prismatic spring in Yellowstone National Park
and the fact that wombat poop is shaped like a cube
Yeah, that's true.
Yep, this world is an amazing and sometimes crazy place,
and our wild and crazy world can help us know more about God and who he is.
This shot isn't quite as awesome, is it?
At least it doesn't feel as awesome or interesting.
We just saw a few of the amazing things that exist in the world.
But right now, my world is pretty much just this.
My room, you've seen it before because it's where I spend most of my time right now.
Ah, okay.
I see what's going on here.
First let me introduce myself.
I'm T, and I'm gonna use this remote to pause and add some commentary during this episode.
Remember 2020?
People had to stay in their houses.
That's what's going on here.
Okay, let's keep going.
This is where I do my work.
It's where I relax.
It's where I exercise.
It's where I sleep.
Everything seems to happen right here.
It makes the world feel pretty small.
Sometimes I even forget that outside my door is a world of amazingness.
Yes, I said amazingness.
If it's not a word already, it should be.
That's true.
That's all.
Continue.
Here are a few things that are still amazing, no matter where you are.
Did you know a bolt of lightning is five times hotter than the Sun?
One million earths could fit inside the Sun, and the Sun is considered an average-sized star.
Gorillas burrow when they're happy.
Now, you know gorillas burp when they're happy?
I had to look that one up, but it's true.
Some can also communicate using sign language, and they sleep in nests at night.
Fascinating.
Now, I can kind of wrap my head around a gorilla burping when he's happy, but when
we start talking about a million earths fitting inside the sun, my brain just goes crazy bonkers.
I have a hard time even imagining that.
Sometimes the same thing happens when I think about God.
My brain can't even imagine how God could create the Earth
out of nothing or what God looks like or how he can talk to me and hear me pray or
how he was around when the world was made and he's around now.
It's too much for my brain to even make sense of.
But here's the cool thing.
There are some things about God that are a little easier
to wrap my head around, like the fact that God doesn't change.
Me?
I change all the time.
I'm different today than I was five years ago.
You're way different today than you were five years ago.
Me too.
Check out this classic picture of OT.
I still like that haircut but God hasn't changed in five years.
He hasn't changed in 500 years.
I don't know how to explain it, but I know that God is faithful.
That means he doesn't change.
Is this making your brain hurt?
Do you need a few more fun facts?
Well, here you go.
Did you know?
Not only do humans have unique fingerprints, they also have unique tongue prints.
Your nose can detect about a trillion smells.
Rabbits and parrots can see behind themselves without even moving their heads.
There's a hurricane on the planet Jupiter that's been going strong for 300 years.
Now you know
Okay, I needed that break.
You good?
Ready to dive a little deeper?
Absolutely.
Okay, good.
We've talked about how God doesn't change.
He just doesn't.
That makes me feel really good.
Even though things may change around me, God stays the same.
We've talked about how God is really big.
Not just big, huge.
Not just huge, ginormous, colossal, mega, astronomical, stupendous, gargantuan, massive.
Also enormous, super-sized and wumbo.
He made the heavens and the Earth.
That means he made black holes in the Grand Canyon.
Thunder, clouds and flamingos.
Gravitational pull and gummy worms.
He made it all.
He sees it all.
How does he see you and me and people in Thailand and
Antarctica and San Francisco all at the same time?
I don't know and I don't think I ever will know.
That's what I'm talking about.
God is so crazy out of this world amazing that he knows how many stars are in the sky.
He even has names for all of them.
He knows all that, and he also knows everything about me and you.
I think about this sometimes when I walk outside and see all the stars in the sky.
There are so many, and I remember that God knows them all by name.
Next time there's a clear night sky,
try looking up at the stars and remember that God is so big that he knows all their names.
And he knows your name or if you can't see the stars.
There are even apps that can help.
Sky Guide is my favorite.
You can check out some of the constellations and planets in the solar system and remember
that God made all of them and he made you.
Or if you want to get crafty, try this.
Hey, I'm Jen.
Hi, Jen.
And when I look at the stars, I'm reminded about how big God is.
And I love that feeling.
I love knowing that God is so powerful that he made all of the stars in all of the sky.
And also he's kind and he's gentle and he listens to me and he talks to me.
I just love that.
So let's make constellation cups so that we can see the stars anytime we want from our own bed.
You're just going to need a couple things around your house.
All right.
Paper cup and some scissors, a flashlight, a thumbtack, glue stick and some constellations.
These are ones that are on the internet, and you can print them out yourself
or you can just make up your own constellations.
There's all kinds of stars in the sky so use your creativity.
This one that I'm going to cut out and use today
is going to be the Little Dipper, also known as Ursa Minor.
It's one of my favorite ones.
I feel like the Big Dipper gets all the attention,
but the Little Dipper is always there when you need it.
So you just cut it out.
And then get your paper cup, flip it over.
Maybe a little glue on the back, doesn't take much.
Put it on the cup.
Get your push pin and where those marks are, that's where the stars are.
So just punch out your holes.
You can make all kinds of cups, all kinds of shapes.
Here I made a heart earlier.
Next step, this is the fun part.
Turn off all the lights, and then shine your flashlight
in your cup and shine it against the wall and you can see the stars from wherever you are.
And just know that the God who made the stars is the God who loves you so much.
All right, hope you had fun.
Bye.
So cool.
I want to see pictures of your constellation cups.
Post them on Instagram with the hashtag We Are Kids Club.
I can't wait so God knows and has names for every star in the sky and he knows your name
and my name and our birthdays and our favorite flavors of ice cream.
And if that weren't impressive enough,
the Bible says that God even knows how many hairs we have on our heads.
Now that might be kind of easy with this guy or this guy but what about this guy or this one?
I wouldn't know where to start, but God does.
He knows all about you and me and even those bald guys.
I don't know about you, but I'm glad that God knows the whole story from beginning to end.
Your life, my life, everybody's lives.
He sees the whole picture.
I may not be able to comprehend it, but I'm grateful for it.
Because me, I get all caught up in this tiny little room where most of my life happens.
Right now, I just see this tiny sliver of what's going on.
One little piece of the puzzle that doesn't give a very accurate picture, does it?
Let's look at it this way.
If I just spent time looking at one piece in a 50 piece puzzle,
would I ever really understand the full picture?
Course not.
It's not until you put all the pieces together that you understand what it is.
Now imagine a bajillion piece puzzle.
Edge pieces aren't even going to help you with that one, but God's a puzzle master.
He knows where all the pieces go and how they fit together always.
Has always.
Will, in fact.
He made the puzzle.
Me and you?
We're one of the puzzle pieces and God knows exactly where we fit.
We don't see the whole story, but God does.
He sees it all.
He made the galaxy, the stars, the planets, the continents, the oceans.
And he made you.
Let's thank God for that.
God, thanks for making the whole world and all the amazing things in it.
And thanks for making me.
I love you, and there's no one above you.
Amen.
Have fun out there.