Hiking the Colorado Trail

Last Sunday, I heard two sermons.  What are the chances they'd be on the very same subject?  Faith.  Real faith, as though you really trusted that God is who he says he is and will do what he says he'd do.  Hold us in his arms, carry us when we can no longer walk, hide us under the shadow of his wings.  This week my son arrives from North Carolina and he plans on walking alone the whole 485 miles of the Colorado Trail.  He's 44 and looks like either a mountain man or a homeless person, I can't decide which.  As a mother, I worry and fret about all the things that might happen...he could get West Nile disease from the mosquitoes, be mauled by a bear, trip over a log and break his leg, get struck by lightning.  Leave his son father-less and his mother son-less.  

Then I heard in those sermons:  get out of the driver's seat or God can't take the wheel.  You can't trust and worry at the same time.   If you really trusted, you would be at peace.   Choose peace in every circumstance.  Nothing can happen to you outside the permissive will of God.  How I needed to hear those things again!  The next five weeks will be easier now as I pray and rest in these promises.  

Every Year Miracle

Every year I take a picture of my catalpa tree
     A few petunias snuck in
        (My mother says all pictures need a bit of red)

The scent heavenly
    Blossoms orchid-like
        (Heretically. I like them better than orchids)

Our beauty-loving God created these perfect flowers
    And others all over the world
        (Even the ones no one sees but Him)

Beyond words, overwhelming

Making a Joyful Noise

Happy Robin

Purest Song

Singing Praises
All Day Long

Worship

Those of you who observe the church calendar know yesterday was Pentecost Sunday.  It is the day marked in Acts 2, fifty days after Christ's ascension, when the Holy Spirit descended upon and infilled the disciples, marking the grand entrance of our Comforter, Helper, Guide, and Powerful Person of the Trinity.

When we entered for worship yesterday, we were overwhelmed by the art hung from the sanctuary ceiling:  a moving portrayal of the beauty and presence of the Holy Spirit. At one point in time a gentle breeze wafted the fabric, for me the utter wind of the Spirit.  What a celebratory morning with anthems, scripture, homily, communion, and last, a magnificent organ postlude on "Crown Imperial," a fitting title for Pentecost.

Prayer For All Times

This is a quote from Gene Stratton-Porter's A Girl of the Limberlost:

"To the extent of my brain power I realize Your presence, and all it is in me to comprehend of Your power.  Help me to learn, even this late, the lessons of Your wonderful creations.  Help me to unshackle and expand my soul to the fullest realization of Your wonders.  Almighty God, make me bigger, make me broader!"