Ice in South Texas (with thoughts on Moses, the Sanctuary, and Grace)

We've had quite an event here in South Texas:  Ice.  See it there, barely hanging on long enough in the early daylight to be captured by the camera?  Our garden was all covered and fine during the whole event, and at no time did we see ice on the roads, but the whole thing yielded an unexpected day at home for my husband.  It has been great to have him around!

Given the more relaxed nature of our day, I'm not going to spend much time here in front of the screen, but I wanted to stop in and say hi.  Because by tomorrow, when it's back up to somewhere near 70 degrees, it won't seem appropriate to share photos of little ice droplets.

Here are some of the kinds of things that pass through my mind on a quiet, cozy day at home:

• I need to go through and count the number of times the book of Revelation uses the words, "And he cried with a loud voice..."  It's a lot.  I don't want to undervalue the still, small voice, but I think when we focus only on God speaking to us softly, we worry somewhere deep down inside that we'll miss an important cue He wants to give us.  But that's not like Him.  When it's really urgent, He's not afraid to use every decibel of His loud voice.  And something in me just loves that the everlasting gospel is proclaimed to the whole world in a loud voice.  (See Revelation 14.)
• It's easy to glaze over a little in Exodus when Moses recites all the details of making the sanctuary in the wilderness.  But did you notice that?  All those incredibly intricate crafts of woodwork, perfume work, weaving, and working with gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones, happens in the wilderness.  Amazing.  Skilled craftsmen, to say the least.
• And what huge responsibility would it have been for Moses to inspect all that work when it was finished!  You know what, though?  All the work passed on first inspection, maybe not just because the workers were skilled, but also because they knew they were working for God.  That idea gives new meaning to the words "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might" and "whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God".  (loosely paraphrased, probably)  I think it calls for more careful attention to quality in whatever I do each day.
• We talk so much about the grace of God being unmerited favor, and I think that's true.  It's just that I usually stop there.  Paul, however, is challenging me to think beyond the way I receive grace to the idea of what I do with it once it's in my hands:  "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:" (Hebrews 12:28)  Using grace, so to speak, to increase reverence in service?  Completely profound thought.