Sneezing with my eyes open (or trying to at least)

I still can't figure out airplanes. How does this big hunk of metal stay in the air? I am currently in an airplane writing this so it is, needless to say, at the front of my brain. But my confusion about planes and lift and drag and all that business is neither here nor there. What I want to talk about is the window; better yet, what's outside this little window. It may be just me but I can never seem to take my eyes off of the quickly shrinking landscapes of earth as we take off. I have to watch the trees and roads and cars and lakes get smaller... smaller... smaller. I don't know why. (Now I am going to relate not looking out an airplane window while taking off to sneezing with my eyes open... ready?) It's kind of like sneezing with my eyes open - I can't. I've tried - doesn't work. And I sneeze quite often - just ask my wife. Just like I can't sneeze without closing my eyes, I can't leave the firmness of earth (in a plane) without watching it happen. I see people reading newspapers or books or just sleeping (these activities are all done in the meantime before the ding goes off and the flight attendants tell us that we can use approved electronic devices) during this big moment of rising above everything. I want to unbuckle, stand up and walk over to them and say, "Excuse me, but I wanted to let you know that... you're missing it. Just thought I'd tell you." What is my obsession here? Is it just visual or is it something more? I think its something more. It is out of the ordinary to see the world from this point of view, so I watch. Usually I watch (from solid earth) the planes in the sky. But on these rare moments it's my turn to watch from up high. I also get a chance to see the work of our huge God from a different angle. The sunsets from 35,000 feet are incredible. "Incredible..." that's such a human-word. I can't wait till heaven when we learn heaven-words. I guarantee that incredible won't be one. Awesome, amazing, and unbelievable are out too. Please remind me (when we get to heaven) to re-tell you this story about the sights from airplanes and I will be sure to describe the sights with with newly-learned heaven-words. Because they deserve nothing less.
This picture was taken by yours truly while my wife and I flew home from our honeymoon. Look at it closely from top to bottom - Black.... fade to blue-ish.... fade to orange-ish... then black. (The last black is the sea of clouds) Courtney and I couldn't figure out the color that separated the blue-ish and the orange-ish. What color was bringing these two together? This mystery color changed about 11 times during the "dusk-show." Every time we thought we had nailed it down, it changed. We laughed, then took another stab at it. All of this leads to a question. How big is our God? More appropriately, let's put an "Oh" at the beginning and a "!" at the end and repeat the previously stated question. Oh, how big is our God! Another questions, why are we so mesmerized by the creation of God (not a bad thing by the way) but not mesmerized by God? (that's bad by the way) We lose touch to quickly. Why? We get complacent. Why? We get used to things (like sunsets). Why? I want to encourage you to watch for God's beauty, and when you see it, tell Him you've seen it, or are seeing it and then praise Him for it. Thank Him for it. He made it, give Him the credit. When we are seeing something for the first time and we know it could only have been from God, it should stop us in our tracks and we should give credit where it's due. Don't feel like you're entitled to a beautiful sunset every night, or a beautiful sunrise every morning - let it shake you. Let it move you. Let it resonate deep inside you. You're God made that from scratch, just like He made you from scratch. Worship Him for that. Worship Him because He is God.

Psalm 95: 1-7 - "Come, let's shout praises to God, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let's march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns! And why? Because God is the best, High King over all other gods. In one hand He holds deep caves and caverns, in the other hand grasps the high mountains. He mad Ocean - He owns it! His hands sculpted Earth! So come, let us worship: bow before Him, on your knees before God, who made us! Oh yes, He's our God, and we are the people He pastures, the flock He feeds."

- Danny

P.S. - By the way, don't try the whole "sneezing-with-eyes-open-attempt." It hurts. I don't think our faces are supposed to do things like that.