Birthday party

Ok...so today is my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! I got up and thought...what exciting passaged am I going to eat for my birthday. Well...it didn't start out so hot. "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep" (Ex 22:1). On and on it goes with all these rules and regulations. I was thinking that there wasn't much for me to glean for my 30 year anniversary. Eventually I got passed all the rules and then there is the beautiful amazing picture that appears. When God confirms the covenant with Moses and the elders of Israel it says, "Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank" (24:9-11). God loves to throw parties. God's grace is evident in this passage. Even though the leaders were mere humans, he allowed them to fellowship with him. Then...I kept reading where Moses went up Mount Sinai to recieve the commandments and this is what the last sentence read: "And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty night" (24:18b). This to me is the Sabbatical I will be taking in March. I will be heading to the mountains and spending time face to face with God.

Lord, may my whole life bring you much glory!