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Archive for the ‘Nature/Creation’ Category

Into Each Life a Little Rain

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #ijustwannabeaplant, #iknowthegardener, #intoeachlifealittlerain, #rainandsunshine, gardening on April 29, 2018| 1 Comment »

I enjoyed taking pics of various plants in my garden on Friday, as the warm spring sun shone brightly in the sky. I am certain that my garden never looked better!

Then it rained. It rained Saturday, and it is raining again today.

As I growled under my breath to no one in particular (because all others in the house were still sleeping) about the grey skies and the rain, I scrolled, aimlessly, through my social media feeds.

“It takes both rain and sunshine to grow a garden”

The words (above) caught my attention. Immediately I recalled the images from just two days prior, when the sun was shining.

As a gardener (very much in experimental practise) I could not deny the truth of those words, for, on Friday, I had to water a patch of new grass that appeared quite parched. I watered, knowing that my action was not a bad one, but one that was needed for my garden, and what I had planted there.

So, as a gardener who takes joy in the warm sun, and who understands the need for water for my plants to grow well, why do I fret and sigh and complain when it rains …

why do I fret when there are (metaphoric) rainy days in the various seasons of my life?

I know the gardener, and I trust that he will do what is best for my growth … or do I?

My only job is to grow. He will provide all that I need to accomplish that growth.

May I accept that rain as I do the sunshine.

(PS: the sun just came out)

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When I Look at the Night Sky

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #creationcalls, #godpursuesme, #naturecallsmeback, #whenilookatthenightsky on April 19, 2018| 2 Comments »

starry

As I drove down the street, preparing to drive up my driveway, I noticed two bunnies hopping across my neighbour’s green grass … and smiled.

After parking, after getting out of my vehicle, I heard the song of the spring frogs, echoing in night air. Their song drew me out of the garage, and my eyes lifted to the indigo sky, so clear.

Moments of creation calling my soul, slowing down my mind, soothing my rapidly beating heart.

The day of blood, sweat and tears was coming to an end, but not without succour from nature, from Creation, the Creator.

It was as though all of Creation was reminding me, teaching me that life will go on, that the God who painted the sky like a mood ring, who gave voice to the frogs, who put a hop in the steps of the bunnies … loves and cares for me, who cleans up my blood, cleans the sweat from my brow and wipes away my tears.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them?
Yet you made them only a little lower than God
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made,
    putting all things under their authority—
the flocks and the herds
    and all the wild animals,
the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
    and everything that swims the ocean currents.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Psalm 8:3-9

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In Everything You’ve Made

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #createdbyhim, #creationspeaks, #godincreation, #ifcreationsingsyourpraises, #ineverythingyouvemade, #sowilli, Creation, Hillsong, thisismyfathersworld on April 12, 2018| 4 Comments »

cloud

“I can see your heart in everything you’ve made”
Hillsong

The words caught my attention as I drove to work one morning, sun peeking through the heavy clouds, opening up a segments of the mountains for my view.

Sign …

That’s my soul language … the amazing nature of creation.

If I feel heavy with the struggles of life …

the light of a sunrise or sunset can catch my breath,

spring flowers can bring a smile to my face,

a surprise path-crossing with a coyote can make my heart sing,

a ladybug holding tightly to a rose bush can give me child-like glee,

or (like last night) the song of an owl late into my sleepless night,

can remind me that I have a heart within me created by the same one who spoke life into all creatures, who set the Earth on it’s axis.

“For once you have spoken,
all nature and science follow the sound of your voice”

For me it is God’s beautiful, amazing and wonder-filled creation that reminds me that, no matter the weight on my shoulders, no matter the sadness in our world, no matter that I do not have the answers, He does. He’s got it. He is big enough for whatever I am not.

Not only does creation realign my mind, heart and soul, it also reminds me that my calling, like the rest of creation, is to praise the creator.

“If creation sings your praises, so will I”

This is my father’s world, and it teaches me about the one who created it, and the pride he has taken in each and every part of it. Through what he created I come to know his heart, he attention to detail (just look at a bee under a magnifying lens), his vastness (just look up at the stars on a clear night, or the changing moon), his miraculous ways (the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly), his redemption (just look at how a dead seed, planted and watered, comes alive again), his love (just look in the mirror).

“This is my father’s world
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres

This is my father’s world
The birds their carols raise
The morning light, the lily white
Declare their maker’s praise

This is my father’s world
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas
His hand the wonders wrought

This is my father’s world
Oh, let me never forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong
God is the ruler yet

This is my father’s world
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is king, let the heavens ring

God reigns, let the earth be glad”

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The Wonder of Spring

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #renewal, #thewonderofspring, Easter on March 20, 2018| 2 Comments »

Screen Shot 2018-03-20 at 8.18.25 AM.png As the Spring Break is underway for myself, and others, in my neck of the schooling woods, we get to also take in the signs of Spring.

Already I have examined the bulb plants growing, daily from their warming soil, Magnolia trees with flower pods getting heavy, the Forsythia blossoms starting to peek out, and buds on every tree. Even the grass is starting to dart up.

The gardening stores and nurseries are becoming the hubs of spring seekers, Seeds are being started, colour being added to the beds, pots and gardens. New gloves and clippers purchased to replace the broken and missing (no doubt to be found only days after new ones purchased). The blades are being cleaned and sharpened for trimming.

We breath in the air, fresh and clean, reviving our senses, our imaginations and dreams.

There is no sweeter start to any season. In a sense, spring is a sanctuary … a season of rebirth, renewal. A season of wide-eyed excitement and wonder. A time apart from the day to day of the rest of the year.

It is no coincidence that Easter also falls in the spring of the year. It, too, is a season of renewal, a season of wide-eyed excitement and wonder. It marks the end of waiting for the risen Messiah.

It reminds us that he rose once … that, like the crocuses, tulips and daffodils, he will rise again.

“Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God; believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am you may be also.”
John 14:1-3

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Spring always Follows Winter

Posted in Faith, GOD, life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #dawnchorus, #springalwaysfollowswinter, #springbirds, #springishope, Spring on March 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

What was that?

I stilled my breathing, listening beyond the thunder of the furnace.

There it was, again. It’s the sound of birds singing the dawn chorus.

I opened the window to hear more clearly.

This was the first morning I have heard it, and though it was just one bird, it’s morning return lifted my face, my heart.

I awoke with nothing, the well was empty of words of hope and life, and here it was … music to my ears, theology for my soul.

” the time of the singing [of birds] is come …”
Song of Solomon 2:12

Spring is coming,

and spring always follows the winter.

The winter may be cold, and snow-filled, and dark.

Your winter may be heavy with burden, heart-ache, and despair, with little light to shine the way through.

But spring always follows the winter.

” the time of the singing [of birds] is come …”

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Looking Up

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #iliftmyeyesup, #lookingup, goddoesntsleep, Hope, sunrise on October 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Lift-Up-Your-Eyes-Blog-sm

It was Monday … morning.

My wonder dog had had me up in the middle of the night in gastric distress (sigh … I wonder what he ate now).

I was bone tired and just didn’t feel I was bringing my best to work.

As I drove East I reached the first point in my drive to work when I could see Mt. Baker and the mountains of the North Cascades.

My jaw dropped, and my eyes popped.

I wish I could have pulled over to take a picture of the sunrise, the light peeking through the clouds and the shadows on the mountains had a spectacular visual effect.

Wide-eyed, for the fist time that Monday morning, I smiled broadly … and felt a lightness begin to grow within me.

I lift my eyes up to the mountains
Where does my help come from?

I smiled all the way to work.

Devotions in first block were done by a student, a student who exceeds in joy, in love, in tenderness and care to all who cross her path.

She nourished us, treated us with foods to nibble and a message of hope.

The message that I received, visually, while driving to work, after a night of poor sleep.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.”

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Sunrise Sunset

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #creationstory, #lightcameafterthedark, #sunrisesunset on August 15, 2017| Leave a Comment »

FullSizeRender 2 Another summer day, another sunset.

It is guaranteed that every day the sun will rise and the sun will set. Though some days we cannot see the occurrences each day, they have been happening since the Creator first said, “Let there be light” (and there was, evening and morning).

There was evening … then there was morning …

Evening first, because before morning light “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). So it was that evening was followed by morning.

And “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). The light is good, and after prolonged times of darkness it is life-giving to once again see the light. Somehow, when we have been deprived of the light, it is so much sweeter than before.

“God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night” (Genesis 1:5a). They were given names, as all of creation has been named. It is as though with their naming they were included in the living creatures whose breath was breathed into into them by the God of all creation.

Then the story of evening and morning, darkness and light is identified with it’s place in the timeline of life, “and there was evening, and there was morning—the first day” (Genesis 1:5b). This was day one, which was started in utter darkness and ended with light.

All of our days end with the darkness that follows a sunset, sometimes it is not just the sky but also within us that contains shadows. But each sunset is followed by the light of the sun, rising in the dawn.

“Sunrise sunset, sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly flow the days,
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers,
Blossoming even as they gaze…”
Fiddler on the Roof

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Sweet Sacrament

Posted in GOD, life, Nature/Creation, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #communion, #forthebeautyoftheearth, #sweetsacrament, #unitedwithbeauty on August 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

beaut7

CS Lewis has said, “We do not want merely to see beauty… we want something else which can hardly be put into words- to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.”

beaut3

Though I have the benefit of living in a place of great visual beauty, it is when I am on vacation, travelling, that I have opportunity to not only see the beauty around me, but also to breath it into my lungs, into my very soul … so that what I see pierces into who I am, providing an experience of oneness, like communion.

beaut2 These experiences are deeply spiritual, deeply personal and immensely rejuvenating, reminding me who I am, what I am part of and to whom I belong.

beaut6

As hubby and I traverse this week, I participated in such a holy service, in the cathedrals made of rock, wood, sand and water. I partook of the elements offered to me, ““in remembrance of him.” (1 Corinthians 11:24a, 25a).

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you … For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:23a, 26)

I find, in these wide-opened, sacred spaces, that I feel the words of hymns or spiritual songs whose words were inspired by similar services of communion. It is such sweet sacrament.

In this case, it was the hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth, written by Folliott S. Pierpoint, sometime before 1864

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the Love which from our birth

Over and around us lies:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flower,

Sun and moon and stars of light:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,

For the heart and brain’s delight,

For the mystic harmony

Linking sense to sound and sight:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above;

For all gentle thoughts and mild:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

For each perfect Gift of Thine

To our race so freely given,

Graces human and Divine,

Flowers of earth, and buds of Heaven:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

For Thy Bride that evermore

Lifteth holy hands above,

Offering up on every shore

This Pure Sacrifice of Love:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

For Thy Martyrs’ crown of light,

For Thy Prophets’ eagle eye,

For Thy bold Confessors’ might,

For the lips of Infancy:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

For Thy Virgins’ robes of snow,

For Thy Maiden Mother mild,

For Thyself, with hearts aglow,

Jesu, Victim undefiled,

Offer we at Thine own Shrine

Thyself, sweet Sacrament Divine.

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I Know He Watches Me

Posted in GOD, life, Nature/Creation, Walking with God, tagged #godinthegarden, #hiseyeisonthesparrow, #iknowhewatchesme, Hope on July 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »

sparrow

I had a great morning yesterday.

I spent the morning in the garden, cleaning up an area where the roses needed a trim.

I had, intentionally, planned to do anything that resembled work (though the garbage can full of clippings and weeds might indicate that work did occur).

It was in the garden that I experienced the most joy. Earlier in the day, I had listened to a song produced by my daughter’s friend, that I loved in my youth, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. As I wandered through the thorns of the roses the song was still in my mind, on my lips (thank goodness not a human pair of ears were within listening range, for I am only a large group singer).

The garden was a mess. The last time I had weeded and trimmed was mid March. The weeds had gone to seed, the roses were bundles of withered mess.

I sing, because I’m happy
I sing, because I’m free
For his eye is on the sparrow,
And I know he watches me.

The words played in my mind the whole time. The longer they played, the more daringly I sang (no one was home, and our neighbours live a safe distance to avoid ear damage from my version of singing). As the moments ticked on, the affirmation of security in the truth of those lyrics created the beauty of sanctuary in my weeds.

And that is what my life is often full of … weeds, and the need to have what is withered, what is worn and draining energy snipped, pruned and carried away. But, whatever state my heart and life are in, I have a heavenly father who is also the master gardener of my soul and life, and he watches over me.

“Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me”

“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?
And yet not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from your Father.
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
“So do not fear;
you are more valuable than many sparrows.”
Matthew 10:29-31

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A Well Feathered Story

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #atimeforlife, #awellfeatheredstory, #babybirds, #birdsinanest, #blessingsandcurses, #ecclesiastes3, #joyhaltedbynature, #robinseggs on June 15, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I cannot even remember how we discovered it, but my first view of it will stay with me always.

On a sunny springtime day, peeking through the floorboards of our second story deck, at three perfect blue robin eggs, snug in their nest.

The only thing better than seeing them, was watching and listening to our kids as they caught their first glimpses of the little bird family.

The momma robin hovered in and around, under and over her littles, constantly reminding us of her protective maternal presence. We tried to give her space in her season of nesting, though the temptation to peek at the progress of the eggs was near impossible for our family of five.

We scanned the internet for information pertaining to the gestation of robin eggs.

What we didn’t read about, were not prepared for, was the sad day that started with a fluttering, squaring momma robin, fighting off the evil Steller Jay.

I remember our animal-loving daughter coming into the kitchen after standing on the deck and giving heck to the Jay, in support of the robin family … now reduced to one whole egg and two mounds of shells.

Then, when the school day came to an end, and our kids went out to look through the floorboards, anger mixed with sorrow, as the realization that the jay had gotten number three.

Our anticipated joy in nature halted by … nature.

This well-feathered story makes me think of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes:

“There’s … a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.”

I do not always appreciate how life goes. Yet, when I look back I see that the hardships, the sorrows and the defeats are intermixed with the delights, the joys, the wins.

Last week, fifteen or so years later, we made an unexpected discovery … a perfectly constructed nest, nestled into one of my hanging planters. Inside were four eggs, white with reddish spots.

The tiny little momma bird was vigilant in staying with her family, with short jaunts out of the nest to care for herself and check the premises for enemies.

As I led a friend to the nest, earlier this week, my heart sunk as there were no eggs. Instead there were … feathers. As I moved the leaf on a plant I saw four eager, wide opened beaks opened up as high as they could reach.

Now there’s still a neighbour cat who is thinking that we are providing fast, feathered food. So the threat of nature is still in the air.
the threat of nature is always in the air

But, maybe this is a time for birth, a time for life.

birds