belief, Bible, Christ, Christianity, Devotional, eternality, faith, garden, God, Gospel, hope, inspirational, Isaiah, Jesus, love, Maine, Maine garden, Maine photography, Meaning, meaning and purpose, meditating on scripture, meditation, meditation in the Bible, meditative methods, New Testament, Old Testament, peace, perfect peace, photography, Psalms, purpose, reading Bible, redemption, religion, religious, salvation, Scripture, spirituality, spring garden, Sullivan,Continue reading “Finding Peace”
Tag Archives: nature
flight or fight
Perceiving a threat, these spooked wood ducks noisily retreated to a more isolated, protected area down the river. Wired physically, physiologically, and emotionally to either flee or confront threats against bodily harm, we react similarly to difficult circumstances or to spiritual and emotional insults which might endanger our peace and joy or rob us ofContinue reading “flight or fight”
Running Shoes and Eagles
Some obscure sage named Agur was so enthralled by the sight of a soaring eagle that he wrote that the way “an eagle glides through the sky” is one of three things that amazed him. (Proverbs 30:18-19) Although this beautiful raptor with its stern, disgruntled, uninviting, disturbingly scary face seems an odd choice, America’s foundingContinue reading “Running Shoes and Eagles”
From Disorder to Order
We live in a magnificently beautiful, physical world from which we gather inklings and snippets of something even more grand, but these glimpses quickly fade because something is wrong! We do not live in Eden. We live with imperfections—dead trees, decaying vegetation, fading colors, dark clouds, dangerous mountain passes, rocky shores, raging waters, and tragicContinue reading “From Disorder to Order”
Behold!
Maybe it’s a butterfly on a tangerine cone flower or an expansive, breathtaking vista. It might be minuscule and cellular or cosmic and grand; simple and stark or intricate and complex; lovely and serene or loud and boisterous; man made or God created. It might be a song, a symphony, a discovery, or an idea.Continue reading “Behold!”
Life: A Butterfly Journey
Butterflies are beautiful creatures, but their midair flutterings and apparent irregular, undirected courses beg the question of why they don’t just make a bee line to their destination? (Probably because they are not bees!) However, their erratic flying makes it difficult for predators to pick them out of the air! Their flight pattern is metaphoricalContinue reading “Life: A Butterfly Journey”
Inexhaustible Questions
In a voice trembling with suffering and grief, Job cried out to God, whom he felt had unjustly allowed a series of tragedies to befall him. A righteous man, he believed he had been wrongly treated and deserved better. He did not just complain to his friends; he was so distressed that he wanted GodContinue reading “Inexhaustible Questions”
The Grace of Sun and Rain
As this storm blows across the Camden hills and down Penobscot Bay, rain will fall indiscriminately on those in its path, a reminder of a statement Christ made in his inaugural sermon: “God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5-7)Continue reading “The Grace of Sun and Rain”
What Saith the Heron?
Sitting on the river’s edge at dusk watching and listening to heron fish and squawk, I wonder what messages they are conveying to each other. Creature communications are complex, but the idea that God speaks to us is vastly more intriguing and mysterious. In the Bible narrative, God made His purposes known in visions andContinue reading “What Saith the Heron?”
A Reminder
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling… The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice,Continue reading “A Reminder”