God's Mountain Cabin

In prayerfully planning the 2016 Scarf Sister Reunion I felt that I was led to encourage us to focus on beauty.  That should be easy enough, right?  We were to be in a very beautiful part of the country during the autumn, a very beautiful time of year.  But as I thought more about it I was led to expand that idea to include personal beauty, the beauty in our sisters and of course, the beauty of the Lord. In preparation for our time together I asked that each sister spend some time with the Lord and bring one beauty product to share, as well as some thoughts on the beauty we see in each other and the beauty of the Lord to share in our devotional times.
We had a fun time experimenting with our beauty products and each of us were deeply touched by the encouraging words of the sisters and the beauty they see in us.  We also spent precious time in worship and in focusing on the beauty of our Lord, sharing Him together...which truly was food and drink for our spirits.
The sisters who attended have asked that I post the devotional I wrote for our time together focusing on the beauty of our Lord.

Ps. 27:4-6, to paraphrase...."One thing have I desired of the Lord...that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...to behold the beauty of the Lord, to inquire in His temple, the temple of the Lord. His beauty is in His house, His temple...He is found there.  In times of trouble He can be found in His house and He shelters me there.  He lifts me up and fills me with joy and praise."

As I meditated on this thought I said to the Lord, "This is beautiful...but the temple of old no longer exists, you no longer dwell with men in a house built of stone.  Where can we find you now since Jesus came?"

Eph 2: 19-22 came to my mind...

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

		And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
		In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
		In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."    The NT interpretation of God's House is this..."members of God's household, built together with Jesus as the cornerstone".  I see our relationship as Scarf Sisters such as this; we once had blogging and scarves and aprons to bind us together along with Jesus.  Over time all that has fallen away and we only have Christ.  He has joined us together and though I wouldn't call our group "Church", I would suggest that we are a small out building...a shelter He has built.    A place of comfort in times of trouble, a place of rest and rejoicing.  A place we can always go to find Him.  His beauty can be seen in this shelter, this dwelling...in the faces and lives of our sisters.  Here we can cry out or be lifted up and filled with joy and praise just as in the temple of old. We do that for each other and He is the One who has given us this opportunity, this place, this shelter....we have been joined together in Him and by Him to be a dwelling for His Spirit. A rare blessing indeed!  His beauty can be seen in our love and care and support for one another and in our hearts for Him in this little dwelling He has made for Himself.  And perhaps He finds respite here as well.... Not a church or true house of God....more like a getaway place...a cabin in the mountains.... My deepest love and gratitude to each of you, my sisters...