Sunsets & Spiderwebs

I'm not sure what it is about sunsets that has me so enthralled. I've taken hundreds of pictures of sunsets through the years whenever the color and clouds turn particularly beautiful on an evening. Maybe its because I see many more sunsets than I do sunrises (Although I've been known to take pictures of those, too, when I see them!)


I guess part of it is that I enjoy the beauty of this creation so much. It's non uncommon for me to just stop and look at some tree or flower or spiderweb and just ponder it. How did it get it's shape? How was it conceived? For whom was it created? Maybe some of these things are just for our eyes. Where thousands of human eyes could have met with a particular vision of creation yet none even paying attention but your eyes or mine. Sometimes they may be just for us (or to quote a great James Bond film, "For Your Eyes Only.") I believe God is speaking through images like this, just to us!

These creations, trees, sunsets, and spiderwebs, are fingerprints of the Creator. They show us the constant imaginative and active hand of a creative God, who paints sunsets (and sunrises) from a palate of infinite colors, who weaves silk into the most delicate lace for spiders to dwell. They also show that this Creative God cares about the details of life, even the things we may not notice or ever see. This God is paying attention to the details of our lives as well, painting beauty even amidst our trials.

I've noticed that on clear days, without cloud in the sky, that the sunsets are not nearly as pretty. It's on days when the storms have ceased and many tall clouds remain in a speckled sky that the colors and beauty of the sunset explodes across the horizon. And our lives are made even more beautiful through our struggles because of our creative, artistic God.

I marvel at sunsets because God is busy painting...

...my life!


And yours.

Peace ><>
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A Vacation Promise

It's Monday and that means back to work for most of us, but for me it means back from vacation! Now it's true that I am glad to be back and ready to get to the piles of work that await me at my office this morning, the messages, the mail, the planning for next Sunday, but just look at the picture above and you'll see why I lament a little bit about coming back! This was taken one morning as we looked out over the Gulf, a full rainbow that met the water on both ends, one end right outside our condo.

We had a great time on our vacation. We rested our spirits and our minds (the body rarely rests during vacation. There's always some kind of work to do like driving, swimming, etc.), we read books, swam, snorkeled, basked in the sun, walked the beach and just enjoyed each others' company. It was a great family vacation.

We weren't seeking any particular revelation while away. We had no agenda except to rest and listen for the voice of God. That's what vacations should be about anyway. With what we saw, what we heard, what we experienced (which will be shared over the next couple of weeks.) the best way to sum up our vacation experience is with this rainbow.

It's the rainbow that God set in the clouds to remember His covenant to take care of humanity. It's the sign to us that God is remembering us! God is caring for us, watching out for us, doing all that God does for us! The very creation was given to us to enjoy. The sunrises, the sunsets, the amazing animal/sea life, the beauty of the ocean (Gulf), palm trees, white sand beaches, shells that hold all the colors of creation and even the taste of seafood is all for us to enjoy.

We were reminded that while we were away, God never is. While we rested, God doesn't. While we think we are doing the Lord's work, we aren't, rather we are just vessels through whom God is working. It's God's work that's being done at COFS, in my own ministry, in the world.

I did discover that I don't rest enough. It's okay to rest, to take a Sabbath, because it's God's work anyway, but now the vacation's over and God wants to work through me...

...and through you!

Peace ><>
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