God-wink coinkydink

Hi friends.

Not sure where to start... lots to unpack here (I hate that phrase).

I had an... interesting day.

Before I start, I need to give you a little context here. For a while now, I've been doing sort of self-guided mystical Bible/geographical semiotic studies.

Here's how this works: I'm interested it latitudes/parallels on the Earth's grid (that's for another blog). Certain latitudes correspond to certain Scriptures (well, in the standard Protestant Bible canon anyway).

For example: Omaha is on the 41st parallel, and the 41st book of the Bible is the Gospel of Mark.

Bergan Mercy Hospital, where I was born, is on latitude 41 14 22 North.

Mark 14:22 reads "And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, 'Take, eat, this is my body.'"

I'll explain the significance of this in another blog.

Anyway... So I wanted to go to Divine Truth Christian Store to pick up a new book.

The latitude for Divine Truth is 41 11 23.

Mark 11:23 reads "For verily I say unto you, That whosover shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith."

Faith that moves mountains... interesting, no?

So I was Google Earthing for places in Omaha. I think I Googled "Bethphage"... can't remember for sure. One result came up... a place called "Blest Art."

It just so happens I was looking for a gift.

Turns out this place sells hand carved sculptures made of olive wood... from the Holy Land.

Talk about serendipity... or maybe something more?

Oh, I could go into more detail about this tucked-away building I'd never heard of before...

But once again, that's for another blog.

The last place I wanted to visit turned out to be even more unbelievable. I had been Google Earthing the coordinates corresponding to a Scripture I had been studying:

Mark 16:6 "And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

Powerful verse, that.

Turns out there is a United Methodist Church in Elkhorn on this parallel.

You'll never guess what was hiding in the vacant lot behind the building.

Check it out...

No. Freaking. Way.

A giant smiley face?

Was somebody telling me, "Don't worry, be happy?"

I had to check this out for myself. This could not be real.

So I drove to the church, and walked to the lot. Sure as shootin', somebody mowed a giant smiley face into the grass. This was not a one-off... there was some thought put into this thing. It's professionally done, and perfectly round...

Like a big ol' goofy crop circle.

So what do you say to that?

All I can say is...

Keep on smilin'