Have you ever been asked to name 10 things about yourself that you like? I've been to enough self-esteem trainings that I've been asked this a number of times. Taking this question as a bit of a challenge (as it was meant to be), I have gotten to the point where I can write 10 things I like about myself without much of a problem. However the response I got at a training when I actually answered yes to this question amazed me.

At a self-esteem training, the presenter was shocked and overjoyed when she had one person in the group who actually was able to answer yes and seemed uncertain as to whether or not I really could do what I claimed. This made me question whether I really could, so I spent the remainder of the hour writing down the things I liked about myself and my life.

By the end of the presentation I have a list of 37 items I liked about myself that I excitedly showed the presenter. Again she was amazed that I was able to do this. She stated that this was an incredible thing in a world where liking yourself in this way was seen as arrogance or pride. I was raised, and said as much, to be grateful to God for all the blessings in my life. In order to be grateful to God, I have to know what I am grateful for. And by being grateful for my blessings, I can keep a right attitude about them, because gratitude is very different from pride.

So at this time of Thanksgiving, do you know what you are grateful for? Are you on the list? And have you thanked God for your blessings recently?

'In God's Hands' is the name of the musical I've co-written with Sean McCarthy. The story concept was mine many years ago, but it wouldn't have happened without the writing skill and musical talents of Sean.

Now that the play is complete, Sean and I are working toward getting it performed and would like to share our one-page with you. We hope after reading this you'll be as excited to see it performed as we are.

The story of Jesus' birth has been told a million times, but never like this. 'In God's Hands'
mixes humor, drama and imagination to weave the perfect story around one of the most
defining events in human history. It was an era when time itself was split in two, to introduce a world and a kingdom most were expecting, but still failed to recognize, for "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him."

Initially we are introduced to the unseen world where we meet two warrior angels discussing a new plan that has been formulated to save mankind. Their love and concern for men is evident as they prepare to engage in one of the most significant assignments in their eternal existence.

We are then introduced to the natural world, where we meet Mary and her family. She is a young virgin girl living in a time when chastity is a high priority, and violations are punishable by death. She is engaged to a young carpenter named Joseph and they are to be married in the near future. There is an excited aura in the air centered around deep Jewish traditions that involve the whole family. This was a time when the lives of families were very transparent, so nothing is hidden, and people still feared God.

The real conflict begins when this young virgin is given word that she will be with child, but not just any child, the expected Messiah, the one who was prophesied to come and rewrite history. Coupled with that, she has the full responsibility to tell those close to her what has happened to her, and how a young unmarried virgin could possibly be pregnant independent of sin. Every Jewish family knows that all things are possible with God, but that?

'In God's Hands' highlights our true dependence on God to walk us through the
circumstances in life, especially when no one else understands. We all struggle to believe
God, despite knowing His Word, and knowing that He will stand by what He says, but
walking that out in our everyday life is not so easy as we will learn from this young Jewish
woman who is given a task beyond human limitations. We will laugh, cry and celebrate like
never before the entrance of the Savior into our world.

In a recent discussion with a Christian friend, I was asked if a good person, who never believed in Jesus Christ would go to heaven. I answered with the hard truth, that they would not. She was heartbroken and asked the standard question, why.

God is God. Of course god can have all kinds of meanings. What does god mean to you? We can assume that you want him to be loving, whatever that means, but what about just? Do you believe in a god who punishes the bad people, the people who really deserve it? And how does this god know who really deserves to be punished? You can see how this defining god thing gets tricky really quickly.

According to the Holy Bible, God defines Himself as holy, righteous and just, loving and forgiving. But are we holy? Do we even know what that means? Again, the Bible says that there is no falsehood in God. Have we ever told a lie? It also says that He is pure, then the Bible lists a whole bunch of things we have to do to be pure – not as pure as Him, mind you, but pure enough to talk to Him. So have we ever had sex outside of marriage? Actually, the priests that served before God weren’t supposed to have sex at all during the time of their service. And we’re not supposed to eat any pork products, like ham, sausage, bacon, pepperoni. We can’t eat shrimp or crab, either. We can’t eat food that has been blended, like tangelos or pluots or GMOs. And we’re not supposed to wear clothes with blended fabrics, either. There’s a bunch more, but I think you get my point.

The Bible describes God as a refiner’s fire. To my understanding, standing before God is like being put through a super hot fire, where all of your impurities are burned away. Based on the list above, we have a lot of impurities. The Bible says our very nature is sinful. What is left if our very nature is burned away? Nothing. The only way we can survive is if we are protected.

Think of it this way. If a person takes a walk in space, it doesn’t matter if they are good or bad, if they aren’t wearing a spacesuit, they’re dead. Space is what it is and it can’t be anything else. God is what He is too; He can’t be anything else.

But space, you say, is not a conscious being, like God is. Space doesn’t have a choice about being space, but God, that’s different. But how different is it really? Remember, we've already established that God is pure, and that purity is like a fire that's destroys everything that is impure, so the only way God can differentiate Himself from space is if He provides the space suit, the protection needed to stand in His presence.

So let’s consider God as He gets ready to create a new self-aware being, who He, God, can have a relationship with. Obviously God can’t create an equal. There is only one God. So if the creation is not an equal, what are the differences?

Now God, through the natural environment He created for us, has shown that there is a give and take to everything. If God wants a personal relationship, what can He create? If He wants beings that have free will (which is the only way to have a real relationship), what is the affect the beings’ choices will have on their ability to have a relationship with God? And on and on.

Fortunately, we don’t have to guess how God’s dilemma worked out. In the Bible, He makes it clear that He wants a relationship with us and He designed a way. The choice is ours. The protective covering required is the blood of Jesus. Without it, entering into God’s presence after leaving earth is as impossible as walking in space without a space suit or surviving a fiery furnace without firefighting gear.