Sunrise

In the morning when I rise
Give me Jesus

Sunrise on July 3, 2014 
Kure Beach, North Carolina
Before Hurricane Arthur passed by!

Sunrise
Kure Beach, North Carolina July 5, 2014

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Summer and winter And spring-time and harvest, Sun,moon and stars In their courses above;

Join with all nature In manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, Mercy and love

A Beach Vignette

My favorite place is the beach! While walking on the beach in Jupiter, Florida looking for shells, I discovered a fascinating vignette.  The tide was out and there were so many rocks with holes and crevices only covered by a shallow bit of water.  I bent down and looked closer.There were tons of the most perfect, tiny shells that I love to collect!  As I reached in to pick one up -it started to move! As I looked even closer I saw this wonderful little world that I had never seen before! So many different kinds of tiny shells scurried here and there going about their lives.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  I was so excited, I had to share this with someone-I couldn't keep it to myself!!  Here came a woman walking up the beach towards me, "Look! I exclaimed, "This is amazing"!  "You're not from around here are you?" she asked calmly.  "No", I replied ,and then somewhat embarrassed and almost sheepishly I added "I'm from Ohio". We chit -chatted a bit about how the area has changed in the 20 years she has lived there and then she walked on.  I really began to think, but wait, so what if I wasn't from "around here"?  Does that mean that if I was from "around here" I would take this wonderful world I had discovered, for granted?  Would I become calloused to this amazing beauty all around me?  Would I just keep walking and not stop to treasure every little thing that I saw?

And why was I so ashamed to be from Ohio?? We don't have things like this in Ohio.  Or do we?  Well, not exactly like an ocean full of shells, but we have many beautiful and wonderful natural areas.Right in our own backyards. Really, they are everywhere if we would just look for them!

This tiny vignette of life that I found in that shallow, rocky, tide pool that day was a perfect example of many vignettes in our lives.  If we don't look for them and  sometimes really search for them, we'll walk right by and not be blessed by God's gift of beauty and inspiration.  If we don' look for them and recognize them we will become calloused and miss God's glory all around us.

Sometimes if we just look at the "big picture" we will miss many small wonders waiting to be discovered!

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Psalm 95:5

Dragonfly

I will praise you,O Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Psalm 9:1-2

Purple

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

Amazing Clouds!

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17

Mohican Sunset

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

Purple Coneflowers


Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8