Thanksgiving Sunrise

Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

-- Psalm 102:25

 Lord, thank You for the breathtaking beauty of this earth.  Make Your awesome presence known in my heart as well.  Amen.

Solace, if Staggering

 
                                 "Let it be..."  
                                       - Luke 1:38

                    

                                 

          https://youtu.be/RCQC4-Amoho

"Faith lifts the staggering soul on one side, hope supports it on the other, experience says it must be, and love says let it be."  -- Elizabeth Ann Seton

Lord, help me not to stagger in unbelief, but let me be strong in faith, hope and love.  Amen.

Jesus When the Sun Goes Down

But Christ is all, and in all. 

--Colossians 3:11

The Greatest Power

But his answer was: "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak."

2 Corinthians 12:9 (GNT)

MY grace is all you need...

     My GRACE is all you need...

   My grace IS all you need...

       My grace is ALL you need...

        My grace is all YOU need...

           My grace is all you NEED...

Sacred Strains

These were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord.

--- I Chronicles 25:6 (KJV)

A world-class musician sits within the rubble of an iconic bombed-out cathedral, playing poignant music.  

With his heart and sacred surroundings ravaged by the wounds of senseless war, cellist Sevak Avanesyn resiliently tuned his thoughts and talents to produce beauty.  What he played -- a piece composed in the early 20th Century by a priest who once identified with this holy, now-suffering space.   .  

O God, our Help in ages past, when ruin surrounds us and the beauty of former times ceases to exist, grant us Your strength to produce worshipful sounds amidst devastation.

*Artwork as seen on armenpress.am

Beauty by Surprise

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

-- Ecclesiastes 3:11

I was surprised to discover this picture among my photos -- an accidental snapshot.  See my sneaker at the bottom?  Amidst the plain dirt and spotty grass are scattered beautiful leaves of various colors.  Creative bursts that add beauty and interest to an otherwise ordinary path.  I never would have appreciated this winsome, natural perspective had the moment not been captured by accident.  

How often do we barrel through life, not recognizing the subtle beauty which lies about us?  

Lord, thank you for showing me a special perspective in an ordinary moment.  Give me eyes for the small delights which You place along my path.  

Subjective View

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,  neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

-- Isaiah 55:8

We were sailing on the bay when I noticed something strange afar off on the horizon.  From a distance, it looked like a big black blob sitting atop the water, with smokestacks protruding out from various places.  My husband grabbed the binoculars and gasped at what he saw. 

Atop a barge sat half of a submarine!  As it headed up the channel and loomed closer, we gazed upon it in fascination.  Clearly some sort of big project was in the works.

Later, I thought about that submarine – ugly and unrecognizable from afar, cut completely in half, yet an amazing project was in process. 

Life can be that way.  We can’t make out what is happening, and we feel cut to the quick.  Yet as time passes, and we seek the Master planner, things can become more clear.  We may realize that God has us in the middle of an amazing project.  Although we don’t fully know what is going on and we are cut in half, we seek God and trust that He is doing something big and beyond the scope of our imagination.

Lord, help me to believe that you are doing something good when all I can see is a black blob.  Please keep me in Your channel -- on my own, I will run aground.