God is not always a show off because sometimes the Lord does amazing things that are very quiet and out of view. Like even as I write this, God is putting the ritz on some wildflowers growing beautifully in a rocky crag in the mountains of Ecuador or priming the colors of a Clown fish in a barrier reef with the good chance that neither flower nor fish will be seen by anyone. They will be beautiful to the delight of God alone.

But there are other times when God does some very visible things to show us how great and wonderful he is. When a human being does something for that same motive it is usually pretty gross, but somehow God is both humble beyond imagining and simultaneously worthy of all our adoration so when God shows off, it is for our benefit, not for the bolstering of the God ego!

The Leadership Council shared with our people that our goal for Year End Giving for 2011 was an additional $50,000, an amount we felt we needed to stop being a wobbly toddler of two but to start walking with confidence as we move into our third year. Well, God showed off and so many of you came through in such an amazing way that exceeded our goal and have been blessed with$63,833 for our Year End Giving! Thank you, thank you, thank you God, and thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for your part. You have encouraged the faith, hope and joy of both the staff and Leadership Council through your faithfulness.

This Sunday we will have one of my favorite services of the year as we being 2012 together. We will make a stone memorial to the goodness of God, just as the Israelites did when they passed through the Jordan River on dry land into the Promised Land. At God's instruction, they piled up 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel so that, said the Lord, "When you pass this way with your children and they ask what the stones mean, you can tell them how I delivered you from your enemies into the land of promise."

I hope you'll join me to hear some of the marvelous stories of God among us as told from the perspective of various people from Highlands church.

In love with the Show Off who is sometimes quiet and hidden,

Mark