Category: Nature

Life

Life is a mystery.  We cannot see the bigger pattern.  According to author and speaker, Richard Rohr, life is a river.  He asks an interesting question, “Are you trying to change the course of the river? Or are you in the river?”   So often our focus is on how we can change things instead of simply living in the moment.  One of my favorite expressions I learned in college during a LaVida trip with Rich Obenschain …. “BE HERE NOW!”  It means that we should soak up every moment and enjoy life.  Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:34   God wants us to be able to experience all that He has for us in each moment.  Life is so often about “letting go.”   Let the river carry you.  Trust that God is in control.

Quote From Richard Rohr on Contemplative Prayer

Autumn

My daughter posted this on Facebook recently:  “Everything about today hinted at fall. The woodsmoke smell, the crisp cool air, the few scattered leaves on the ground, the rustling of wind in trees and the taste of hair blown into my mouth. Each lingers teasingly in my sensory memory.”

Autumn is beginning to reach Georgia now.  The sky is so blue.  As I sat under the shadow of some pine trees today I was struck by the beautiful contrast between the deep evergreen and the azure sky and also by the gift of the senses that God gave us.  As I enjoyed the feel of the breeze in the cool air, I smelled that distinctive smell of sap from the trees and enjoyed the intricate variety of God’s creation.  

The ability to form pictures from words is a gift given to some, but enjoyed by many.

Art

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” – Henry Ward Beecher

Your art, be it watercolor, poetry, music, or photography, reflects who you are.  The creative impulse is deep within us.  Our creativity is a gift from God, a reflection of His Creative nature.  When we create something of beauty, we feel a sense of satisfaction because we are following the instinct to create beauty.  The act of creating something allows us time to reflect, to use our hands and our brains, and to produce something which can be enjoyed. 

Nature

In The Outermost House, Henry Beston says, “Nature is a part of our humanity, and without some awareness and experience of that divine mystery man ceases to be man.  When the Pleiades and the wind in the grass are no longer a part of the human spirit, a very part of flesh and bone, man becomes, as it were, a kind of cosmic outlaw, having neither the completeness and integrity of the animal nor the birthright of true humanity.”

He talks about the “meditative perception of the relation of ‘Nature’ to the human spirit.”  This classic book is about his experience living on the shore of Cape Cod for a year and observing the natural world.

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”  Through time spent outdoors in nature, savoring the creation, my spirit is refreshed by communion with God’s Spirit.

Spring is Coming

eventually … i think … i hope!  we’ve had lots of rain and too much cold weather this year.  the daffodils are here and the trees have buds.  can’t wait for the warm weather to stay.  the night before last it was so windy that the lake had 6″ waves, then in the morning it was like glass.  i love seeing the many moods of God’s creation throughout the day.  i love to look at the goldfish in my pond and see them come up for food.  the water is warm enough now that some birds have come to splash and take baths in the pond.