Scripture:
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38 About the Image: I took this image this summer at sunset at the Snake River Overlook in the Grand Tetons. It is one of those iconic images of the park - at the place where the photographer, Ansel Adams, stood to take his famous image of the Tetons. I took the picture at sunset and I chose it for today because the cloud looks to me like a crown about to be placed on the head of a king. So what does that have to do with the scripture taken from the Song of Mary called the Magnificat. In the verses preceding this verse Mary had been visited by the angel, Gabriel - the messenger of our God, the King of Kings. After the angel appeared to Mary, the scripture says she was "greatly troubled." She had been told an amazing story. She asked questions - "How can this be?" And after listening to all the angel told her, she submitted to the will of God. She understood and accepted the authority of God. This is not an easy thing to do, but it is only when we do submit to God, the great King, that we find true peace. May this image of the crown cloud remind us of the only way to peace - to bow before the King of Kings.
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Scripture:
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them me afraid. About the Image: This was one of the first pictures I took that I actually wanted to show to people. I took it one morning when we were camping at the tailwaters campground at Douglas Dam. It was another one of those mornings when I got up early to get a sunrise - which didn't happen that day. (One day I am going to get a good one.) What I did get was the water quiet and still right before they turned on the turbines. I knew the water would soon be rising and moving rapidly, but right at this moment it was so quiet and peaceful . . . . and I was alone on the edge of the river; just watching. This is the second Sunday of Advent and at our church it is the Sunday of peace. These words of Jesus were spoken to the disciples on the night that He was betrayed. If you think about it - this is hardly a time for peace for the disciples. Their world is about to be turned upside down and Jesus promises them peace? For Jesus peace didn't come from the world - it wasn't a lack of strife. Peace came from his assurance in God, even when he was facing his darkest hour on earth. The same is true for us. Peace comes when we submit to God and let him lead us to quiet, peaceful waters. Peace to you, my friends. Scripture:
You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. Nehemiah 9:6 About the Image: I took this image of snowflakes caught on a spider web with my new macro lens. A macro lens is a specialty lens that can focus on very small objects at very short distances with an up to life size magnification of the subject. Even though I took this with a macro lens, I still had to crop and enlarge the image to see this much detail. Since this was my first time using this lens, I still have a lot to learn about the best way to focus and set up the camera to take the pictures I want. Even with this not so great picture it is amazing to see the intricate detail of this small snowflake and the single strand of a spider's web. (You may need to click on the image to see it larger.) When we look at God's world it is easy to see the big - a field or mountain covered with inches of snow. But each inch of snow was made up of an unimaginable number of snowflakes - each individual and unique. We serve a God who not only made the heaven of heavens but all that is on the earth, each tiny snowflake. Take time to look for small things and to worship our God who makes beautiful things even if they are too small for us to see. Scripture:
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Psalm 84:5 About the Image: Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains is a beautiful place. In the summer and fall the loop road around the cove is open to only bicycles and walkers until 10:00am on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Last summer we were over there early on a Wednesday to walk on the road. At first I was disappointed that it was foggy and I wasn't going to get a beautiful sunrise, but I got some of my favorite pictures that morning. This one was taken along the road that morning. I don't know who the people are, they were just ahead of us and I never really saw their faces. I just liked seeing them together - one bigger than the other walking side by side. For the children of Israel a way to demonstrate their faith was to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Zion. As Christians we may not have a physical highway on which to make a pilgrimage, but we are still blessed when, relying on His strength, we keep our heart set on walking with God. Scripture:
Teach me your way, O Lord. and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Psalm 27:11 About the Image I took this image on the trail that goes around Sting Lake in the Grand Tetons. This was one of the last hikes we did on our long trip west and I think it was our favorite. We had hiked many miles during our 5 week adventure, many above 7,000 feet (for those of you that live where we do, Clingman's Dome is 6,643 feet) and we were tired. We decided to do this trail and found it wonderfully flat, even if the elevation was 6,800 feet. Part of the trail was on a boardwalk that kept our feet above the marsh land close to the edge of the lake. We walked high and dry on a level path. We all enjoy level path times - those times when it seems to take little or no effort to go through our day. We also face times when the path is difficult. While our enemies may not be people who are trying to do us physical harm, as David was talking about in this Psalm, we do all face enemies - enemies that try to steal us away from taking the time to let God teach us his way. But the more we become students of our Lord, the more we find those level paths, like this boardwalk to keep us above the yucky, marshy trail. May the Lord lead you on a level path this day. Scripture:
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1: 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the Father, full of grace and truth. About the Image: I am reading a wonderful, thoughtful book during Advent written by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Alexander Stewart, The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation. Today I read the chapter based on John 1 and I was blown away by these words - actually I cried when I read them and I quote them here: You see, the Gospels don’t give us the gospel in the form of abstract propositions or a list of creedal formulas. Instead, God, through the four Evangelists, has given us an incredible treasure trove: reliable accounts of Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, pitching his tent among us and showing us how God would have us live. To be sure, we are not Jesus. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can aim consciously to follow the example of the God-man who once lived in our midst and still empowers the mission of his people. The image is a picture of Thomas, my husband, holding our grandson, Thomas’ hand when he was only a few days old. As you look at this picture of the small hand of an infant in the large hand of his grandfather, rejoice in the hope of the incarnation and be amazed again by the grace and love of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Scripture:
But he caught me - reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out Of the ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me. He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved - surprised to be loved! 2 Samuel 22:17-20, The Message About the Image: This is taken from the North Rim Trail of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone looking down on the Lower Falls. If you look closely at the right of the image you will see the end of the "Brink of the Lower Falls" trail. We took that short trail and stood there in awe of the power of the water. (I have an earlier blog post with another image of these falls from further away if you want to see more of these falls). There were guard rails but still it was a little scary to look over the edge. The scripture today is from David's Song of Deliverance. Even though he had been anointed as the next king of Israel, he was hunted down by King Saul for years - yes years. He remained faithful through those difficult years. If you are facing a difficult time right now, know that you serve a God that will rescue you from the most turbulent waters and put you on level ground - put your hope in him. He will be the guard rail that will let you look safely into the roaring waters and experience his power. Scripture:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 About the Image: There is something about seeing a flower in bud that brings me hope - hope of something new, of something that is to come, of beauty yet unseen. It is a promise like the promise we have in Christ that we are new creations. I took this image early one summer morning walking on Sparks Lane in Cades Cove. I have always loved Queen Anne's Lace and this one, because it was early morning, still had a drop of dew hanging on. On this week after the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of hope, may your hope be renewed by remembering this promise that we are new creations in Christ. Scripture:
Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace. Luke 1: 78-79 About this Image: Today is the first sunday of Advent, the season of light. The scripture is closing verses of the Benedictus hymn, the prayer of Zechariah after the birth of his son, John the Baptist. Zechariah and Elizabeth had waited a long time and had even given up on ever having a child, which in that culture was a terrible disgrace. They were "both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of the Lord," (Luke 1:6), but like the nation of Israel, they sat in darkness, in sadness. Every human will face times of darkness but Jesus is a promise to us that all of us can have a new day, a sunrise to lead us out of darkness and into this season of light. The image was taken at Clingman's Dome, a fire that lit up the sky with bright, orange light. May the light of Christ burn bright for you this season and guide your feet in the way of peace. Scripture:
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10 About This Image: I took this on our trip to Roan Mountain State Park last summer. This is actually outside of the park a little ways up the mountain to the Pisgah National Forest. There is a short walk from the parking lot out to this small overlook that faces west. From here it seems that you can see forever. It reminded me that God always sees us and will always guide us if we only take his hand. Scripture:
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, wil he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith. Matthew 6:28-30 About the Images: I am breaking my rule of one picture per day -but these pictures are of the same thing. These are pictures of a Trout Lilly. The first one just beginning to bloom and the second one in full bloom. They were right beside each other on the Cove Hardwood Nature Trail (short 1 mile trail at the Chimneys Picnic area - great place for wildflowers in the spring). There are many flowers on this trail and I had looked over my Flowers of the Smokies book in hopes of being able to identify them. I wanted especially to see a trout lily because it looked so interesting in the picture. What I wasn't paying attention to in the book was the size. Because I was looking for something big like Tiger Lilies, I almost missed these. This flower was only about 4 inches tall and the bloom is only about an inch. It was hard to get this picture because I actually had to lay the camera on the ground and get down on the ground myself. God made this very small flower, easily missed by someone who is not looking for one, so intricate and unusual and beautiful. He promises to meet our needs so we need not worry but only trust him. And I think this flower and this promise tells us that he will do more then just provide for our basic needs but will do so in the same way he makes the flowers, beautiful in the smallest detail. |
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Soli Deo Gloria,
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan