Musings on a fall Sabbath day

Pictures... Pictures... I've actually taken a few recently.

This is Brian's Halloween/ Birthday/ Blackmail costume.

It actually scares me how well he pulled it off.

This is Shantel and I last weekend

My street! It's gorgeous in the fall.

Unfortunately most of the leaves have fallen by now.

It was my last week before I join the productive money earners of society. Eekk... my first patient day is Monday! For now I'm bored and I've been creating my own kingdom on knighthood. Kind of getting addicted. We shall see how this changes once I don't have so much free time.

Yesterday was Brian's Birthday / Halloween. The night before we went our for Morrocan food. Way fun. We had to sit on pillows on the floor and eat with our hands. The food was really really yummy. And there was a belly dancer. On his birthday he actually dressed up as above and went to work. EEK!! Then we went out for Chinese and I answered the door to all the trick-to-treaters. Wow.... I got him a bunch of stuff for his birthday but one of the things he was really excited about was a nativity set. It is really cute and I am excited about displaying it for Christmas as a reminder of the Christ's sacrifice.

Speaking of that... church was pretty awesome today. We are holding evangelistic seminars so the place was packed and we sat in the overflow room with the needs to be replaced speaker. Our guest speaker was talking about God sending Jesus down to die for us and what a sacrifice it was. He had some points I hadn't thought about lately such as if Jesus had sinned while he was on earth then God would have had to excommunicate JEsus and all would have been lost. Basically sin separates us from God. Jesus came down to be a sacrifice for us so that he could be the bridge between us and the Father. IF JEsus had sinned and not lived a perfect life on earth than all would have been lost and he would have never seen his son again. He was talking about the difference between a gift and a loan and how God gave his only son to us. He gave him not knowing if he would ever see him again.
Then my head springs up with arguements like okay... if God doesn't exist in time such as we do was it really that much of a sacrifice since he knew the end from the beginning??? I do not know how God works... I think that's what it means to walk by faith. God is so big and I am small.

One of my favorite Ellen White quotes from the Great Controversy is this one:

The plan of redemption will not be fully understood, even when the ransomed see as they are seen and know as they are known; but through the eternal ages new truth will continually unfold to the wondering and delighted mind. Though the griefs and pains and temptations of earth are ended and the cause removed, the people of God will ever have a distinct, intelligent knowledge of what their salvation has cost. The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity.

Right now (As it says in Corinthians 13) I am looking through a glass darkly. When I see Jesus face to face my understanding will increase in regards to salvation and what a sacrifice it was. I look forward to learning more and more about what it means to be redeemed.
Right now I take it for granted more than I am amazed by it.