Wonderstruck (21 page)

Love is laced with wondrous discoveries of God’s handiwork. Consider the people in your life—especially those you don’t naturally connect with or who intimidate you. Go out of your way to express kindness to that person today. Demonstrate God’s goodness and love in a practical, tangible way. Reflect on how
your actions affect your attitude with this person and celebrate the wonder of relationship.

We spend a lot of time with our spouses, coworkers, and children, but we often miss opportunities to simply
be
with God. Go to a place where God is most real to you—church, chapel, at the beach, or in the subway. Take twenty minutes today to sit beside your Maker. Allow prayers, worship, thanksgiving to emanate naturally from your soul. And, of course, don’t forget to pray for wonder.

Gratitude is the acknowledgment of God’s wonder in our lives. It keeps us from walking past wonder unaware. Set an alarm every three hours throughout your day. Whenever the alarm goes off, write down three things you’re grateful for today. Such a simple discipline invites the wonder of gratitude to blossom in our lives.

Flip through your music collection and select a song that’s particularly meaningful to your spiritual journey. Close your eyes and listen to the lyrics and the tune. Reflect on the phrases or
words that catch your attention. Consider how this song reminds you of God’s presence and faithfulness in your life. Spend some time thanking God for his faithfulness in your life.

Thankfulness beckons us to discover the wonders of God. The wonder of gratitude isn’t just found in expressing thanks to God but also to each other. Find a missionary or person in the military that you, a friend, a family member, or your church knows. Write a letter expressing gratitude and encouraging this person serving overseas. Consider asking if there’s anything the person needs and sending a care package. You may even want to pray for the person regularly. Live the wonder of gratitude by expressing thanks to a stranger.

Wherever we find God, we should celebrate his presence. We should share our stories and encourage others to awake to the wonders of God all around us. My hope is that through this thirty-day challenge you, too, will pray for wonder and find yourself awestruck by God in more ways than you ever imagined.

Remember to #livewonderstruck.

Contents

1
. If you’re intrigued by the unusual numbering of the chapter titles, you’re not alone. Several readers have asked me, “Why do you call chapter 1 ‘.001’?” Here’s the scoop: I began numbering my chapters this way in 2007 when I wrote
The Organic God
. Other books that feature this detail include
The Sacred Echo, Scouting the Divine
, and
Hungry for God
. I chose this numbering system because I liked the clean layout and design, and I wanted to subtly communicate to you, the reader,
Slow down. Pay attention to the details. This isn’t like other books you’ve read. Don’t rush—you’ll miss the hidden treasures within
. Since then, the books I pour my whole self into all share this style of chapter numbering. These are the books my best friends read and say, “I didn’t know that about you.” When you see this numbering, know that you’re getting the treasures I’ve dug the deepest to mine in life and faith.

.000: Captured by the Night Sky

1
. I discovered that these mysterious night illuminations begin on the surface of the sun when a cloud of gas is emitted. Whenever that cloud reaches the earth and collides with our planet’s magnetic field, the energized atoms create mesmerizing colors and patterns. Alaska is famed for its northern lights, and the best time to see them is on a clear night in the winter, when the days are shortest.

2
. Philippians 1:6.

.001: Hidden Among the Highlands | the wonder of divine expectation

1
. This is Mary Poppins’s word
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
backward.

2
.
Sesame Street’s
the Amazing Mumford is a purple magician with pronounced black eyebrows whose magic tricks all too often go awry. With his overeager assistant, Grover, at his side, the Amazing Mumford declares, “A la peanut butter sandwiches!” and a puff of smoke appears. When the scene clears, viewers can see how yet another magic trick has gone wrong. Some of the Amazing Mumford’s more celebrated tricks include making four pineapples disappear one by one so kids can learn subtraction. My favorite is when the Amazing Mumford waves his wand over a glass cookie jar, which becomes full, then empty again, much to the frustration of
Sesame Street
cohort Cookie Monster. This detail might be important for any children who are enjoying the book alongside of you.

3
. Mark 10:1–16.

4
. Mark 10:16.

.002: Shock and Awe | the wonder of God’s presence

1
. For me, the phrase “on the throne” reminded me that God was still in charge, God still had things under control, God still held the whole world in his hands.

2
. Exodus 3:2–4.

3
. Exodus 5:22, emphasis added.

4
. Job 1:20–21.

5
. Job 13:25
MSG
.

6
. Job 3:11 paraphrased.

7
. Job 13:24 paraphrased.

8
. Job 7:21 paraphrased.

9
. Job 7:19 paraphrased.

10
. Job 24:1–12
MSG
paraphrased.

11
. Job 38:4 paraphrased.

12
. Job 38:6 paraphrased.

13
. Job 38:25 paraphrased.

14
. Job 38:37 paraphrased.

15
. Job 38:41 paraphrased.

16
. Job 39:5 paraphrased.

17
. Job 38:12 paraphrased.

18
. Job 38:19 paraphrased.

19
. Job 40:4 paraphrased.

20
. I find great comfort in a single extraordinary sentence of Frederick Buechner concerning Job: “As for the children he had lost when the house blew down, not to mention all his employees, he never got an explanation about them because he never asked for one, and the reason he never asked
for one was that he knew that even if God gave him one that made splendid sense out of all the pain and suffering that had ever been since the world began, it was no longer splendid sense that he needed because with his own eyes he had beheld, and not as a stranger, the one who in the end clothed all things, no matter how small or confused or in pain, with his own splendor.” From
Peculiar Treasures: A Biblical Who’s Who
(San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1979), 77.

21
. Thank you for honoring my privacy in such matters. I don’t wish to share more about the illness.

.003: Alpenglow Evenings | the wonder of creation

1
. Psalm 1:3.

2
. Psalm 90:5–6.

3
. Psalm 51:2.

4
. Marc Berman, John Jonides, and Stephen Kaplan, “The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting with Nature,”
Psychological Science
19, no. 12 (2008): 1207–12.

5
. M. Bodin and T. Hartig, “Does the Outdoor Environment Matter for Psychological Restoration Gained Through Running?”
Psychology of Sport and Exercise
4 (2003): 141–53.

6
. Kathryn Rose and Ian Morgan, “Outdoor Activity Reduces the Prevalence of Myopia in Children,”
Ophthalmology
115, no. 8 (2008): 1279–85.

7
. Richard Louv,
The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder
(Chapel Hill: Algonquin, 2011), 11.

8
. Psalm 36:5.

9
. Psalm 33:5.

10
. Psalm 36:6.

11
. Psalm 103:12.

12
. Psalm 74:12–17, 29:3–9.

13
. Psalm 148:6–8.

14
. Psalm 107:23–30.

15
. Psalm 1:4, 32:9.

16
. Proverbs 25:14.

17
. Proverbs 17:12.

18
. Psalm 84:1–4.

19
. Matthew 6:26, 10:29.

20
. 1 John 1:5.

.004: A Sanctuary in Time | the wonder of rest

1
. See, for example, Genesis 1:5, 8, 13.

2
. Abraham Joshua Heschel,
The Sabbath
(New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1951), 14.

3
. Here’s Leif’s almost-world-famous recipe for green chili chicken.

4 trimmed chicken breasts (no excess fat)

1 diced medium onion

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

4 tbsp. taco seasoning

1 bay leaf

4 cups of chicken broth

1 27-oz. can of whole green chiles

Place first six ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or more. With slotted spoon remove chicken and onion mixture and place in a container. Discard the bay leaf and all cooking liquid. Place entire can of green chiles including liquid into a blender and puree. Pour green chile puree into slow cooker. Add chicken and onions back in. Heat for 20 minutes or until warm. Shred chicken using two forks while in the slow cooker. Serve with heated corn tortillas, lettuce, tomato, avocado, cilantro, and lime (optional).

4
. Some may not be able to take a full day off, but perhaps two half-days are possible. Everyone’s Sabbath will look different, but the invitation is to set aside time for rest and worship.

.005: Forgotten Longings | the wonder of prayer

1
. Stephen H. Shoemaker,
Finding Jesus in His Prayers
(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004), 40. I’m incredibly grateful for Shoemaker’s book that accompanied me throughout this season in my life, shaping and influencing much of the material in this chapter.

2
. One of our friends makes her own handmade candy bars in small batches and pays close attention to the geographic origin and quality of every ingredient. Check out her delicious work at beesandbeans.com.

3
. Abraham Heschel,
Man’s Quest for God
(New York: Scribner, 1954), 6–7.

4
. Psalm 46:10
KJV
.

5
. Psalm 42:7.

6
. John 11:41–42.

7
. Mark 14:36.

8
. Luke 23:34.

9
. Matthew 27:46
NIV
.

10
. Luke 23:46
NIV
.

11
. For a more in-depth look at the prayers of Jesus, check out the
Wonderstruck
7-week DVD curriculum from LifeWay, which invites participants to explore the prayers. You can learn more about and order the curriculum at margaretfeinberg.com.

12
. Leon Morris,
Luke: Tyndale New Testament Commentaries
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 211.

13
. Matthew 6:9–13. The version in Luke 11:2–4 is even shorter. Please note that I added the word
Abba
before
Father
to emphasize the intimate relationship Jesus enjoyed with God. The Greek word used is
pater
, which means “father,” but in Aramaic, the word is
Abba
, which can be translated “Dad,” or almost as “Daddy.” Also, the doxology of the Lord’s Prayer is, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” This mention is not included in the Gospel of Luke or the earliest manuscripts of Matthew but was added later, as noted in Matthew 6:13.

14
. Matthew 6:7
NIV
.

.006: Treasure Hunting in Africa | the wonder of restoration

1
. See Ezekiel 37.

2
. Ezekiel 37:3.

3
. The Torah forbids the mistreatment of the blind. Giving misleading directions or doing anything to cause a blind person to stumble was strictly prohibited. See Deuteronomy 27:18 and Leviticus 19:14.

4
. Kenneth E. Bailey,
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 172–73.

5
. Mark 10:47.

6
. Mark 10:51.

7
. Mark 10:52
NIV
.

8
. Mark 10:46, 52.

9
. Matthew 10:8.

.007: Magic in the Table | the wonder of friendship

1
. John 10:1–7, Revelation 3:20, Luke 13:24.

2
. Genesis 4:7.

3
. Genesis 7:15–16, Genesis 19:9–10.

4
. Revelation 3:14–21.

5
. John 15:15.

6
. Abraham is called God’s servant (Genesis 26:24) and friend (Isaiah 41:8). Prophets were referred to as servants (2 Kings 17:13), and the nation of Israel was collectively referred to as servants (Isaiah 41:8–9), but individuals called the Lord’s servant were rare (Moses: Exodus 14:31; David: 2 Samuel 7:5; Isaiah: Isaiah 20:3). In Exodus 33:11, Moses comes close to receiving the title of friend, but it’s not a direct address—it’s a simile.