"Orange Moon"

"Orange Moon"  

  

    Over the years, we have received reports of orange moon sightings from people all over the world.  The greatest of all came recently when our son Noah spotted one while doing a freefall parachute jump in the desert of Arizona, at an altitude of 11,000 feet.  "It was so bright it looked like a sunrise" says Noah.  It's going to be hard for anyone or ourselves to top that scene, particularly as viewed while engaged in such a thrilling and challenging activity.

    I thought I would take the occasion to write about the origin of the Orange Moon emphasis in our lives.  It's been quite awhile since I've done so, and our newest readers may not be familiar with the story.  For those of you who have heard or read the story, well, this provides opportunity perhaps to do something else, like maybe some freefall parachuting!

    On Frances's birthday (I'm pretty sure the year was 1988), we returned home from a celebration at her parents' house.  The evening was clear and warm, so I grabbed my guitar and headed for the back porch.  Awaiting to greet me there was an absolutely beautiful orange moon, rising through the trees.  Also awaiting me was a piece of music and the words for a song for Frances.  I worked on it while looking at the moon, and finished the song over the course of a day or so.  She loved it (to this day, it's her favorite song), and orange moons became a personal remembrance of our bond with each other, and with the Lord.

     Several years later, we had an idea for opening a coffeeshop here in Mobile.  One of us said to the other, "We'll call it the Orange Moon Cafe!"  This sounded great, and we allowed our minds to venture down that road the point we shared the possibility with some friends.  One of them invited me to breakfast several days later, looked across the table, and very effectively convinced me that we were out of our minds to consider such a possibility.  "You have no business experience, Glen, and owning and operating such a place will distract you from the ministries God has given to you."  My friend's words rang more than true, and we shelved the idea of an Orange Moon Cafe for five years, until…

   …Until we decided to send out a daily email devotional, the one you are currently reading.  It occurred to us that we could open an electronic version of our previous dream.  We were already using the Orange Moon as a logo for other pursuits.  It seemed natural to incorporate it into the theme of the devotional, and 17 years later the Cafe is still open, to my surprise.  We started sending out the messages to family and a few friends, not knowing it develop into something beyond our plans and expectations.  I cannot imagine what our lives would have been like without this blessing, and most importantly, without your fellowship and friendship.  It is pure joy to write the messages, and pure joy to know that people whom we love and respect read them.  You greatly inspire, encourage, and challenge us in our walk with the Lord, and your responses to the messages often greatly illuminate us regarding the wonder of the Lord Jesus and His Truth.

    Noah returned from his time in the desert last night.  We picked him up at the airport and on the way to his home, a beautiful half moon, an orange half moon, escorted us part of the way.  I don't recall ever seeing an orange half moon before, and the scene was quite special.  All this to say, thank the Lord and thank you for so many very special years of blessing in the beauty of His light and His love.

An orange moon rises through trees tonight

as I think about our time together.

And the promise made so long ago

that we'd gladly share our lives forever.

Well I guess we've kept our word,

for the seal is undisturbed.

What is the mystery of the tie that binds,

how burns the flame of love in winter?

And who are we to know with certainty

that a bitter chill can never enter?

Well "the twain shall be as one"

is the promise that is written.

(And we dance unfettered through a world

that no one else can see,

my strings your wind, a perfect blend,

a single melody.

And I'm amazed that I will always be yours,

and you'll be mine.)

The risen moon now casts its pale blue light

on silhouettes lost in each other.

And in silence we communicate so much more

than words could ever utter.

For we speak the silent prose,

the language only true love knows.

(And we dance unfettered through a world

that no one else can see,

my strings, your wind a perfect blend,

a single melody.

And I'm amazed that I will always be yours,

and you'll be mine.)

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

 Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

Weekly Memory Verse (one of the first Bible verses I ever memorized)  

   Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.

(I Peter 1:22)