Hi everyone! I hope that your week is getting off to a good start and that you're able to maneuver through this study and website easily. Please e-mail me at any time if you have any questions!

This study is about STANDING. No matter what. And we're going to focus on that word... stand... tomorrow. For today, let's take some time to address just what... or who... it is that we're standing on.

[Our Firm Foundation. Our cornerstone. Our God.]

Even in the first chapter of Psalms we encountered the reality that God is the beginning... and the end. He can address things with the end in perspective... because He's God. Janet pointed out that sometimes it's not about what we DO... but what we don't. Because then we allow God to work more. And He can see more than we can. He sees farther than we do.

Because He is God.

And so let's take a look at our beginning. Will you first take a moment and stop... and thank Him that He has been since the beginning of time... that His knowledge has all of history in it's scope? And that His love for you allows us to know Him.. the Author of creation? (That's a lot to take in... isn't it!)

So. Before we worry about those wobbly legs and feet beneath us, let's fix our gaze on the SOLID ROCK... and the Foundation that has been... for centuries far beyond our comprehension.

Please read Genesis 1.

There was darkness. Nothing else.

Until God began to fill it.

God IS light. He filled the darkness. He [took away] the darkness. And then He filled it with things... more wonderful than we can understand, more complex than we can imagine... and more loved than we can fathom. He did that because that's just who He is. And that's just what He does.

What does suffering feel like? What does pain and struggle remind you of? Darkness?

It's hard to see other things when you're hurting, isn't it. It's hard to know what to do, where to turn, or where to go.

You have to find the light. And only the light can once again fill your vision, and fill your emptiness. And we know the light. We have access to him. His evidence is undeniable. It's written out in this first chapter of the Bible especially! His creation is daily, physical, undeniable evidence that THERE IS A GOD. And He is good. And He LOVES all that He has made... All that He has filled the darkness with.

As I studied this chapter this weekend I thought about we can learn about God from the way that He created us to have our own children. I remembered that every night before bed, I tell my children “I love you SOO much... you just DONT UNDERSTAND!!!” To which my daughter, Hannah replies “YES I DO UNDERSTAND!” But her realm of understanding is far smaller than mine has become. For me, the stakes of love and of parenting are higher. The cost is greater. The love is deeper. My desire for her life and her days are of deeper impact than what she sees. She wants to play, eat candy, and put diapers on her baby dolls. I want to shepherd her. I want to guide her and see her build a life that will bring her joy. I want her to make good choices, not just the ones that make her happy for the moment.

And I think that's how we see God's love. We just... can't understand.

But for our first days of study... for our first glimpse of our foundation... I hope that like it has for me, this realization will make you feel so very safe.

For Discussion: What are some things about who God is that stand out to you in this first chapter of Genesis? And what exactly was it from the beginning that made God pleased? What does creation teach us about the creator?