God of creation
There at the start
Before the beginning of time
With no point of reference
You spoke to the dark
And fleshed out the wonder of light
And as You speak
A hundred billion galaxies are born
In the vapor of Your breath the planets form
Lyrics from So will I, Hillsong United
Photo from Galena Breeze, Jamaica
This was our first day of hiking at Glacier NP. As such, this was first of many chipmunks we saw. I am certain that chipmunks avoid larger animals as a part of self-preservation. I don’t know if they experience fear or if it is a simple “fight or flight” response.
I have noticed that as I get older, I am a little less fearless. I wouldn’t call it irrational fear, but I am definitely more aware of the risk of injury than when I was younger. Things like climbing ladders. Riding skateboards. Walking down steps with my arms full (ok, that one might be irrational).
I know I also avoid confrontation. Which means there are many subjects hard to discuss. We no longer seem to be interested in searching for common ground or what we can agree on or even able to agree to disagree.
The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge, of whom should I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
This was the first time (and last time) I ever saw a flower that looked anything like this. The photo was taken during our visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden 2 years ago. It took a little effort (actually, not that much) to find the name of the flower – Passion Flower ‘Inspiration’ (Passiflora inspiration).
It continues to amaze me how much information we have available to us through the internet. Even more amazing- knowledge of God’s Word.
This is a photo of St Mary Lake and Wild Goose Island in Glacier NP which sit at an elevation of 4,484 ft. In the distance (just right of center), you can see the point of Gunsight Mountain peak (9,258 ft). Citadel Maointain (9,035 ft) is just to the left, and Little Chief Mountain (9,541 feet) a little further left.
One of the most striking features of the views in Glacier NP is the dramatic contrast between the mountains and valleys. It is an old cliche, but it is hard to appreciate the highs without the lows in life.
This photo was taken at the Portland, Oregon Zoo last year. Marylynn and I were expecting to see mountain goats at Glacier NP when we were last year. While we got some up close views of deer, bighorn and moose, we were never close enough to a goat to see more than white dots on the landscape.
So it was a pleasant surprise to see this goat at the zoo. Part of the surprise was that we weren’t going through the zoo, we just went right inside the gate to buy coffee.
A “God wink” is a moment when something happens that could simply be passed off as a coincidence, but you recognize as a small gift from God.
As you may have guessed, I have stopped believing in coincidences. 😉
This photo was taken towards the end of a long and memorable day of hiking at Glacier NP. The jagged ridge (arête) seen near the center of the photo is the result of parallel glaciers many years ago. A ridge we climbed to the top of for an overlooking view of Grinnell Glacier. It looks a lot different from where this photo was taken as compared to halfway up the trail to the top!
For me, this is a great reminder of the value of reflecting at the end of the day. Very often, events take on more or a different meaning when we recall our day after allowing some time to pass.
Signs Along the Way 