Hi, I'm Joni and I have a favorite memory I want to share with you.
As a child, my favorite part about visiting the beach at Ocean City, Maryland was definitely going to the boardwalk. After a day in the ocean, we’d shower, dress, and run up to the boardwalk for ice cream cones. My sisters and I would sit on a bench, lick our cones, and watch all the people stroll by: kids with cotton candy; lovers ambling arm-in-arm; older ladies in flowered dresses with parasols (don’t see that much anymore, do you?).People-watching was the neatest part and I still enjoy looking at people, thinking about where they live, wondering where they work, and if they’re happy; studying people, for me, is a habit.
Wouldn’t it be great if we were as conscious about studying God as we were people? Watching Him, wondering about Him, looking closely at what makes Him who He is, and just ... enjoying Him. Charles Spurgeon said, “To contemplate God is a subject so vast, that our thoughts are lost in His immensity, so deep that our pride is drowned in His infinity. No subject of study will tend to humble the mind more than thoughts of God. But while contemplating God humbles the mind, it also expands the mind. Nothing will so enlarge your intellect or magnify your entire soul than a devout, earnest investigation of God.”
Just listen to what Psalm 63 says. The psalmist writes, “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” Wow! Perhaps the best time to contemplate God is on your bed, even through the watches of the night. Without noise or distractions, and with your mind at rest, your thoughts will become lost in His immensity. Even Psalm 4:4 repeats the idea where it says, “When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.”
Lately I’ve been trying to imagine what many scenes of Jesus in the Bible must have looked like. I was reading the other night about Jesus walking along the beach with His disciples… and how He stopped when a crowd gathered and He stepped into a boat… and He preached a great sermon… and everyone was sitting in the sand, hugging their knees and listening. Our Lord is wonderful to behold, isn’t He?! I remember when I was little sitting around the campfire on the beach at Ocean City and listening to my father tell Bible stories – no memory is sweeter than that: just thinking about, just contemplating the goodness of God and the sweetness of Jesus, our Savior.
It’s true, if Ken and I head east to the beach at Ocean City this summer, we’ll be doing a lot of people-watching, as always, and probably watching people up at the boardwalk. We might even have Dumsers’ ice cream or, should I say, frozen custard – it’s so good. And later, crab cakes – can’t go to the beach without eating crabs, right? Which reminds me that today is your last day to come visit me at my radio page at joniandfriendsradio.org to download a copy of my mother’s fantastic recipe for crab cakes – absolutely the best on the eastern shore. Or you can call us at 888-522-5664 and I'll send you a recipe card with all the instructions. And when you do visit my radio page, please, please take a minute to watch this wonderful video of my dear mother, Lindy Eareckson… it’s just a short few minutes of her singing the hymn we always harmonized on together; I think it’ll really inspire you, truly I do. So, friend, it’s summer… time for the beach and a little people-watching. But no matter what season of the year, it’s always time to watch God, to study and contemplate and muse over and enjoy our great God and Savior. And once again let me remind you of our website. Come by and visit us at any time; it’s joniandfriendsradio.org. Of course, you can always call and talk to one of our team members by dialing 1-888-522-5664. Don’t forget to come and see my mother and me at joniandfriendsradio.org and God bless you until next time on "Joni and Friends."
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends