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This Psalm is not part of our series, but it's a great description of a life refreshed. This last weekend was CWOW weekend, which is a Sunday that we practice being the church rather than going to church. But this Psalm came to mind...

Psalm 133 is focused in unity, relationships. A few years ago, the surgeon general of the United States said that the greatest epidemic we are facing right now is an epidemic of loneliness. John Cacioppo, director for Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, is the world's leading expert on loneliness. In his landmark book, on loneliness, he describes how profoundly the epidemic of loneliness is affecting the basic functions of human physiology. He writes: "When we drew blood from our older adults and analyzed their white cells, we found that loneliness somehow penetrated the deep recesses of the cell to alter the way genes were being expressed." In other words, when you are lonely, your whole body is lonely. Psalm 133 is a reminder of God's treasuring of community. We are created with a connection requirement! Let unity refresh your life!

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Nehemiah 12 is about a celebration and dedication. That word dedication means to set apart, to consecrate, to totally give over. As the people were dedicating the walls of Jerusalem, they were basically saying, "God everything inside of these walls belongs to you. You are the builder of this city. You are God of this city. Not just the temple, the whole city. The marketplace, the gates, the homes, the people, everything belongs to you." Dedication is more than a ceremony, it's a commitment.

But here's the deal when we commit our lives to God, our lives will make a difference in our world. We'll leave a mark. If I could choose the goal of my life, I want to leave a mark with my heart!

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Two things are taking place in Nehemiah 12, celebration and dedication. In this episode we'll focus on celebration. We celebrate what is important to us. What we celebrate tells the story of our passion. So what do you celebrate? You know what I was thinking about this week? I was thinking that every celebration contains a story. We celebrate stories, God-stories, places where God showed up in or through us.

Nehemiah chapter 12 is about a celebration. The people gather together to celebrate and dedicate. They are celebrating the places where God showed up in Jerusalem, where God showed up to rebuild their broken places... The wall's been built, the gates are hung...people have come to live in the city...and so they celebrate...because their city matters to them. Don't miss this, celebration goes deeper than having a party. It's all about gratitude. Living forward in faith finds it's fulfillment in looking back with gratitude.

Gratitude is a discipline we all need to practice!