New York! Second annual.

I think our trip is best told in pictures. And they're more fun anyway!

We (just me and Andrew) arrived Friday at lunchtime. That afternoon we took the ferry to Hoboken NJ to visit Carlo's Bakery (from the show Cake Boss on TLC: I'm a fan and just had to taste it!). Andrew learned the phrase "wild goose chase" as we had a few missteps on the trip!



We bought and ate that Frankenstein cake (yum!) at a gathering of John's friends on Friday evening.

Saturday morning we went to FAO Schwarz!


Andrew learned from Uncle John how to hail his own cab. As usual, transportation was a major highlight: airplanes, boats, trains, cabs...a little boy's dream!


We also went to the top of the Empire State Building at sunset (no we couldn't have planned the timing!) and then ate dinner at Mars 2112 in Times Square. We also got a simulated helicopter ride (think theme-park-moving-seat-ride) that I think might have been Andrew's favorite thing on the whole trip. It was so good that I got motion sick!

Sunday was lovely. A walk to the park with the new puppy, Taz. Lunch out. (We even saw Bono eating at a place called "Isabella's" - right out on the street! Of course I would never have known him but John and Matt did in an instant!).

All in all - an awesome trip. So many little things to tell that I couldn't possibly do it here. We had a great time. These annual trips are the makings of some great great memories. We sure love Uncle John and Matt.

The Fear of God

"The fear of God" is a phrase used over and over again in the Bible. I get what it means, as in I understand the meaning of the words...but I always sensed that I was missing this truth within me. What does it mean to "fear God?" I think I'm respectful of Him, recognize His awesomeness, His vastness, His omnipotence, omnipresence, etc...doesn't all that add up to fearing Him? Well, I just kind of always assumed that it did. I figured because I acknowledged all these big/amazing/awe-inspiring aspects of the Lord, that - well, I must fear Him, right?
Wrong.
At least for me.

One thing that has been taking root in me lately is a fear of God. I think I'm making the first scratch on the surface of what all that entails. You see, I've been studying Him through the Old Testament...how He dealt with His people. I have been understanding what it meant to follow Him then - the Law, the sacrifices, the temple, the Kings and priests, etc. I've found myself being offended at some of what I'm learning of Him. I'm annoyed at the complexity of it all. I'm dismayed at the killings He ordered, the curses He brought down, the punishment of death that befalls folks way too often for my sensibilities. I'm overwhelmed by the (seeming) intolerance for what seems to me to be pretty expected fallen human behavior. I'm exhausted by reading about the hundreds of prescribed sacrifices and how the entire society had to pretty much revolve around worshipping God: not because of heartfelt love for Him but because if every waking moment wasn't focused upon it, it actually couldn't even get done. I'm seeing aspects of His character for the first time. The purity He is. The perfection that He is. The uncompromising nature of Him.
Beyond my feeling sorry for the Israelites, overwhelmed and exhausted by their lifestyle and annoyed with God for being so anal and over-the-top...I think what is beginning to set in is fear. Fear of God. I think I'm maybe cracking the door open on pieces of Him previously unexplored in my faith. I'm understanding why our casual approach to Him could be mistaken for disrespect or plain old ignorance of Who He Really Is.
I think I'm starting to get that He didn't DO those things to Israel to make their lives difficult and tempt them into disobediance...He just IS those things. And we can't be in His Presence like we are. And yes, there are a whole lot of hoops you had to jump through if you even wanted to try. I guess that means He is Holy.

If you've read this far, you're just reading some processing of mine about His Holy Nature and how it's beginning to enstill this "fear of God" thing that I've so often read about in the past. No conclusion. No answers. Just processing.
Do you know Him like this?