A Good Word Wednesday #89 PERSPECTIVE

A little bit of goodness for you each Wednesday

Good Word of the Day: Perspective

For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever,
 and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalm 100:5

“Look, Mommy! I see an eagle.”

“That’s not an eagle, baby. That’s a chicken.”

I overheard this conversation recently in a local restaurant. The little girl, about four years old, pointed out the window to the bird.

What? No way! An eagle here on a busy highway in my town? I looked out the window and saw what the mother was explaining. It was a Chicken Express red and yellow logo sign with a flying white chicken. But to that little girl, it was an eagle. All a matter of perspective.

What is perspective? “It’s a view or vista — A mental view or outlook. The appearance of objects in depth as perceived by normal binocular vision.”

I learned about perspective when I took my first art class in high school. It’s drawing a line on your page to represent the horizon in order to focus your eyes on that one point. Everything you draw leads your vision to that point.

Many years later, I stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon. My perspective had grown from a simple drawing to a much more complex definition. As I stood looking at this breathtaking point of creation, I felt so small. I felt that again as I stood in awe sensing the majesty and mystery of Niagara Falls.

My perspective was challenged again this past Sunday at my church. Johnny and I sat in the balcony so we could offer our normal floor seating to Easter guests. The service was the same, but from where I sat, I saw stained glass windows I’d never really noticed before. I looked down on the worship leaders instead of up toward them on the platform. I noticed people in a different way. The same service, just a different way of viewing it.

Sitting in a different place in my church shifted my viewpoint. It challenged me to think about how I see the world and see people. Do I see others in the way Jesus sees others? Do I look past challenges to see how they can make me a better person? Can I pause in a hard moment and consider how big it will actually look in 20 years?

Wednesday in the Word

“He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.” John 3:31

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2

“As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

Share Your Good Words

Good Questions of the Week: When is a time your perspective on life changed? How did that change you and how you saw the world?

Photo: She Is Safe

Good Unseen People

This was written when I was in a season of life when my world was drastically altered.

New perspectives and deepened gratitude for the gift of life seem to come at a cost to us… and try to understand… as we wait for our world to change.

Read the whole story here: Journey to a new perspective

I invite you to read about how God calls us to see the unseen. Click the link below to read more on my website about Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life With Your Neighbors and the Nations.

To mark the progress of the book and to give you weekly insights into my writing life, please follow along and watch the videos on This Week in Unseen People. Click the image below to watch the videos on my YouTube channel. Please subscribe to my channel while you’re there!

CLICK HERE FOR NEW EPISODES: Episode 9: Chapter 4 — Seeing People Virtually—Questions at the Crossroads

CLICK HERE TO Preorder the book

Good Words I Recommend

A Good Music Video: Please take time asap to watch this video: Perspective - CCV Music. “Give me perspective. Open my eyes.”

A Good Book: View Jesus through the lens of Him being Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers, Dane Ortlund

A Final Good Word

My perspective is constantly challenged when I attempt to look at the world through the eyes of my grandchildren. When a yellow dandelion is a beautiful flower. When a frilly pink dress transforms you into a pretty, pretty princess.

Help us, Lord, to have the simple faith of a child and to see the world through eyes of wonder, trust and love.

I’d love to hear from you. This is your chance to share with me whatever is on your heart today. Please share. I value your thoughts!

Thank you for reading these words. I’m deeply honored to share this time with you each week.

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. Jeremiah 30:2

Gratefully yours,