why discerning wonder?

I chose Discerning Wonder as the name for this ministry for a variety of reasons. I'll share some of the other reasons another time, but today I want to talk about the most important one by taking a closer look at those two words.
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DISCERN - perceive or recognize someone or something

Discernment is where we begin. It is crucial in both life and ministry. We use discernment everyday in big and small ways. Throughout Scripture we frequently see discernment partnered with wisdom and are repeatedly called to practice discernment with the help of the Holy Spirit.

We need discernment from God in our daily lives, and while there are many important things we should be discerning, perceiving or recognizing each day I would suggest that wonder is a very important one.

WONDER - a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.
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When we're young, the world is filled with so much wonder, but as we get older busyness, pressures, and cynicism so easily keep us from seeing the wonder around us every day.

As someone who has been in church ministry for over thirty years, I've also seen how easy it is to lose our sense of wonder. We start out full of wonder at who God is and what He has done in our lives and the lives of those around us. That wonder and gratitude fuel our passion for our calling and ministry and service.
                   But along the way we get busy.
                   We get stressed.
                   We get burned out.
                   We get misunderstood, hurt and taken advantage of.

We lose our focus on what God has done. We lose our focus on GOD.
We've lost our wonder.
               Wonder at the amazing things He does every day.
               Wonder at what He has allowed us to be a part of.
               Wonder at His love for you and me.

I don't know about You, but I could use more wonder in my life. I want to start noticing the beautiful, the unexpected, the inexplicable and even the unexpected and feel the surprise and admiration, awe and thankfulness of the Mighty God who saves and sustains!