An Outreach...and a Mathematician

Hello again everyone.  I have been longing to write, but the days are filled...and my computers and server at home have been psycho - allowing me no access to pics that i really wanted to include in this post, but am unable.  So, here i am with a moment to write - and i will wait no longer!

2 things to write about in More than more's journey:

First, we had the very distinct pleasure a couple wks ago to serve a neighbor.  We spent the evening cleaning out weeds, trimming bushes and cutting out stumps.  Some of us were even given some remembrances of this outreach for a couple wks after it was done, as there was some poison ivy the size of alaska that we were trimming (and some of us thought we could not get it...in spite of being warned!).  It was awesome fun to work hard, side by side, to help someone who needed some loving in the form of sweat and hard work and yes...even rashes.  We totally shared the evening, cared with our muscles, and made a difference in the life of one lady.  See, we particularly love these times!  It is one thing to talk and talk and talk about the hurt in our world, the issues and problems that people face.  But it is quite another to give yourself fully to bringing a slice of healing to those hurts and some solutions (even though they are small and partial) to the issues and problems.  We are sick of talking about caring - we are ready to care - actively!  I hope to have some pics to share soon - especially one of Jason riding down the road on his riding mower, pulling his cart, hat turned to the side like he was some kind of hoodlum!

Second, ~10days or so ago, we had the joy of having James Gilmore, our resident Math teacher, come and visit with us.  He told us the story of a math guy who started putting plastic cubes together with rubber bands and made a math puzzle.  His name?  Rubik.  Yes, he invented a cube.  It is one of the hardest puzzles to solve in the world.  So, our friend James passed out one cube (or some kind of puzzle) to all of us  - he even had cubes with princesses for some of us! - and talked to us about them.

Well in order to grasp what we noticed that was particularly cool, we have to talk a little about something else and will tie it all together.  There are some people you see, who think that this world, all of it, including us, happened by accident.  That millions of years ago this mix of chemicals came together and got a shock of lightening and made amino acids (which are the building block of proteins - there are 20 of these, from simple to complex).

Now, back to the Rubik's cube - if you have one, go get it, preferably all messed up - it turns out they have got all these statistics on this cube...and on the whole amino acid thing.  Get this:

   It is more likely that a BLIND person, with no training, can pick up a Rubik's cube and solve it spontaneously on the first try (before you hurry past that, stop and think, how would they see the colors to solve it?), than it is that a current of lightening could make even 1 amino acid, the most simple one to make.  This would still leave 19 more amino acids, much less form them into proteins to make life, etc, etc, etc.

   In other words - it is so far fetched to believe that all of life came accidentally!  much moreso that to believe that there is an amazing, beyond intelligent, loving, caring creator who made life.

So, the next time you feel abandoned, hurt, lost.  The next time you feel so alone you feel as if you might be a cosmic accident.  Grab that thought, go get your Rubik's cube and remember that there is a fantastic God who loves you very much.  He made this world with so much complexity and so much care that He gave us green grass and a million flowers and hugs and smiles.  I know there are also tears and pains and all kinds of difficulties too - am not denying that at all.  I am just saying that maybe, He will help you through.  Maybe there is More to Notice than you have.

If you are sick of seeing only what the rest of the world sees, we would love to have you join us this Thursday, the 8th of August, from 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.  There will be free, wonderful, childcare as always.  We are determined to live life differently, even if it means playing some games sometimes!