:Reading from Tuesday, November 2

Hey hey kids. What's goin on? So for the past few months we've been looking for a new place to live. Our lease is up at the end of the year and trying to find an apartment complex that allows dogs and is affordable and is close to work is fairly difficult.

Well we finally found a place and we just got approved today and it's incredible. Let me just say one thing about it: on site movie theatre. I didn't even see what the apartment looked like - I was sold from that point on. So we're moving in mid December and should hopefully be all set up by the time the new year rolls around. Exciting times.

Reading for November 2
Ezekiel 3:16-6:14
This book gets stranger and stranger. There's a section in this reading where God commands Ezekiel to construct a clay model of the city of Jerusalem, and then to lay on his side and stare at it for a year. A YEAR! Then he has to do it for another month and half on his other side. God tells Ezekiel what he should eat and gives him a recipe for a specific meal that he is supposed to eat at set times during the day. But how is he to cook it? God suggests that Ezekiel use burning human poop to heat it up. Ezekiel objects to this - who knows why - so God relents and says "OK, you have a point, that's pretty gross. You can use cow poop if you'd like."

How about this. How about no one uses poop to cook anything ever. How about we make that a commandment.

Hebrews 4:1-16
This is something that is fairly commonly known among Christians, but I think it's a good thing to reinforce. 

 ¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,^[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jesus was tempted in every way possible so he knows what it was like to come face to face with our human weaknesses. The fact that he did not give in to those temptations is what should give us resolve to be better people. Sure he was God, but he was also human - we cannot be perfect like he was perfect, but we can sure try. 

Psalm 104:24-35
I'm always a big fan of the interplay between God and nature and this is about as beautiful an image as you could conjure.

²⁷ All creatures look to you
   to give them their food at the proper time.
²⁸ When you give it to them,
   they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
   they are satisfied with good things.
²⁹ When you hide your face,
   they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
   they die and return to the dust.
³⁰ When you send your Spirit,
   they are created,
   and you renew the face of the ground.

The idea of God taking away breath to end life and sending his spirit to create life is awesome. It makes the whole lifecycle of things seem so peaceful - as if God was conducting an orchestra of intricacies of life on Earth. 

Proverbs 26:27
²⁷ Whoever digs a pit will fall into it;
   if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.

I dug a small hole last week to plant a flower...and sure enough I fell into it. I also dropped a 50 pound tripod on my toe and shaved off a chunk of thumb skin from a handtruck that collapsed unexpectedly. I'm sure that's what Solomon meant though...