Monthly Archives: August 2019

God in all things, Scenery

Addition by subtraction

I usually carry my phone with my when I run and often stop to get a photo of something that catches my eye. This photo was taken in Kiawah this summer. The bird caught my eye and I was fortunate to to get my phone out quick enough to catch it flying across the water.

Of course, photos taken in a rush are seldom framed perfectly. I’m posting the original photo below. As you can see, I’ve cropped the original quite a bit. Hopefully you agree that I’ve improved the image.

I have come to understand that much of the process of being “fashioned” in God’s image means that there are things which need to be removed from my life. Things like anger, hate, jealousy and distrust.

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God in all things, Scenery

What is beauty?

When I traveled to Nebraska for a marathon last year, I really wasn’t expecting much scenery. However, I was intrigued by the name of the race, Bohemian Alps. I didn’t think of Nebraska as hilly, let alone mountainous.

The race director explained that many of the people who settled in that part of Nebraska were from a region in Czechoslovakia, also known as Bohemia. And while there were no mountains, it was certainly rolling with one hill after another. And quite scenic. He had lived there many years, and it was clear that he had a strong fondness for the area and the course.

It is said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.“ I think it should be said “if you want to see beauty, open your eyes.“

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God in all things

Shadows

This photo was taken on a flight from Dallas to Salt Lake City earlier this year. I’m fairly certain that is the Colorado River seen at the bottom left.

While there are many things I like about this photo, I find myself amused by the clouds and their shadows seen almost directly below them. The shadows look so different from the clouds themselves, yet it is easy to recognize which shadow belongs to which cloud.

I think this is a beautiful metaphor for God’s presence in our lives.

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God in all things, Scenery

Unseen Damage

This is the view overlooking Coral Bay, Saint John VI. It looks amazing from this spot. But when you drive down to the town, you can still see significant damage from Hurricane Irma one and a half years later. Damage to buildings, abandoned cars, dead trees.

How comforting that God not only sees the big picture, God is with us in each moment and knows whatever we may be suffering.

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God in all things, Scenery

Sauntering

This photo was taken at Indiana Dunes NP last weekend. This park was recently designated a National Park and we thought it might be a good place to meet some friends from Chicago and do some hiking. Was it ever!

It is hard for me to conceive of all this starting as sand blowing from the lakeshore beach. Thousands of years ago. Sauntering through these dunes, it’s hard to not see God’s hand at work.

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Scenery

The Desert

Generally, if I think about the desert, the word that comes to mind is barren. The first two times I was in a desert were both while driving to California, in cars without air conditioning. Neither trip did anything but re-enforce my idea of deserts as being lifeless and void of beauty.

Nothing like actually spending some time exploring to change ones mind. This photo was from a trip to Moab, Utah. I found a place of amazing beauty, actually full of life. Nothing like getting out and exploring God’s creation!

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Scenery

The Familiar

This photo was taken as we were approaching to land in Athens. Athens is near the center of the photo. When I took the picture, my focus was on the city and how it seems to be creeping up the bordering mountains. I didn’t notice the layer of white near the top of the photo until I was editing it. My initial thought was that these were mountains, maybe even the Alps! But on closer inspection, I realized they were “only” clouds.

Why do I find it disappointing they are not mountains? Maybe clouds seem more common or ordinary. While there is comfort in the familiar, excitement often lies in the unknown or at least the less known. Conversely, there is a tendency to fear the less known. May we be grateful for both the foreign and familiar.

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Scenery

God do!

This photo was taken at Tent Rocks National Monument near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The rock formations inspiring the name of this park can be seen just to the right of center. The tent rocks are actually hoodoos that come to a point and resemble tents. We also saw hoodoos in Turkey that were so large people carved out homes and lived inside of them.

Hoodoos form in an area where there is a thick layer of soft rock covered by a thin layer of a harder rock. Cracks in the thin hard layer allow for erosion of the softer layer underneath. As the underlying layer erodes, pieces of the upper layer break away leaving small “islands“ which develop into the hoodoos.

For me, learning about geology reminds me of learning about the human body; God‘s creation is so amazing!

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