Scripture - Isaiah 58:1-9a Just about everyone has a story to tell about the first time God let you down. Maybe you were 8, 10, or 20 years old. You did everything right, just the way you had been taught. You knelt by your bed, clasped your hands in front of you, & prayed with all your might. You gave yourself away; you held nothing back. You asked God for a sign, a hand, a map, or a cure, & you waited, confidently, for God’s answer to your prayer. Only it never came.

Scripture - Matthew 5:1-12 Have you ever stood on your head? I’ve never been good at it, but when I was young a neighborhood friend was great at it. Just about everything in the world was taller than he was, taller & very boring he would say, but by standing on his head he could liven things up. He would describe the grass hanging in front of his eyes. Trees grew down, not up, & the sky was a blue lawn that went on forever. For as long as he could keep his balance, birds