Good morning to you! I hope that you're doing well today! I'm praying for you each of you every day... and I'm SO THANKFUL for each of you in this study. For those who are quietly reading... and for those who are joining in our discussion. I'm just glad that we're all in this together!

Today we're going to spend a little bit more time in Genesis, building our foundation, before we dive back into Psalm 1. Ready?

Please open your Bible and read Genesis 1:26-31. After filling the darkness with light, after creating the land and the seas and all that are in them, God made man. And He made us in His own image. I don't know about you, but I've often thought about what that means to me. I've thought about the incredible honor that realization is. I've thought about the responsibility that lies with it. I've thought about what it means about my place in creation. But have you ever stopped to think about what this act of creation tells us about who God is?

Honestly.. it blows my mind. I'm not sure that my little mind can wrap my head around what it means... but it sure does make me love Him to realize that this was His personal desire. Have you thought about the purity with which He loves us? That He knows every hair of our heads, every thought, every memory, every hurt and every joy?

That's our foundation.

And do you know what else I've realized as I studied the first few chapters of Genesis?

The first time a heart was broken, a loved one was rejected, a back was turned on, a perfect plan was shattered... that first time belonged to God.

Not to man.

God was the first to feel the pain of rejection and heartbreak. God gave control of man's choices to man... and man did not chose God. He chose self.

And God forgave and loved Him anyway.

He had to adjust His plans.

He had to face heartbreak.

He could have wiped out man and started all over. [But He didn't.]

He could have prevented what He knew from this point on would mean a future of heartbreak for Himself.

But He loved us... He loved us... He saw who we were... and He fixed His eyes on leading us to...

“Blessed is the man...” (Psalm 1)

So. Will you follow Him to that understanding of blessed? He KNOWS that sometimes circumstances don't follow what you intend to be “the right plan.” But He knows a deeper meaning of blessing, of joy, of love, and of peace... than we can even understand.

The 5.2 Project is a lifestyle built on what we KNOW. On allowing that to impact our lives, more than what we don't. So no matter what you're facing today, no matter where you've been or where you're going... all of these things apply to YOU. I KNOW it. I KNOW Him. Do you? His evidence is undeniable. His love is more than we can understand. And He has offered us His word to guide us.

[ONE. STEP. AT. A TIME.]

What a wonderful Savior!

If you have any questions about knowing Him... please e-mail me TODAY. If you already know Him, than praise Him for what we know about our foundation!!! Be comforted that you have a God who not only provides a way for us to stand through suffering....

But who understands and has been there Himself. Because He's been hurt beyond comprehension... by us.

For Discussion: Please read Genesis 3. What can we learn about who God is through the way that He handled the betrayal of Adam and Eve? Do the consequences exhibit love for those who betrayed Him, or selfishness?