Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus had been teaching the crowds and the day was getting late. He asked his disciples about where to get the bread to feed the crowd. Peter’s response was we don’t have enough money to buy that much food. Then his brother, Andrew, replied, here is what we have. Sometimes I wonder how Andrew knew that someone in the crowd had those loaves and fish.
Sometimes I also wonder how I write this blog and take these images. The words are hard to come by on my own for I was never a writer - and a lot of my images still need work. Yet they are offered to God who can make them into something that someone needs to hear and see. And then sometimes I get an image I didn’t expect or plan for - like this sunrise from our motel on the Blue Ridge Parkway. And sometimes there are words that just come. You need to remember the rest of the story - Jesus fed the crowd with those loaves and fishes that Andrew found. I am grateful for the unexpected gift of photography, something that I would have never planned to do or become. I am grateful for images like this one that speak to me of peace and hope for a new day. What will you give and trust to God this day for his service - even though it may be small and insignificant? It may not feed a crowd of thousands, (only about 15 people read my blog) but trust it to God to feed someone who needs to be fed. Prayer Lord Jesus, We offer our lives to you this day to use how for your glory. Amen
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One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Wildflower season was over. The excitement for finding that rare specimen was waning. Instead of taking all the famous wildflower hikes I just took a walk on the nature trail in the campground where I saw this trillium with the petals and leaves loosing their color. I had never seen a trillium in this state. Even though most would just pass it by, it seemed to be calling my name - offering me a chance to see its special beauty. I am so thankful that I got to see it.
At times I think we all feel small, unimportant, and past our prime like this trillium. We need to remember that we are so loved. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem when some men, outcasts because of a skin disease, called out to him. He told them to go show themselves to the priest and they would be healed. They all ran to new life and new hope, except one. One who was the Samaritan, a double outcast, ran back to Jesus praising God and thanking him. He was loved and healed and he just had to go back before he went to the priest. When those feelings of being small, unimportant, and past our prime, come back to us, we need to remember that we are so loved by God. Then we need to remember to run back and thank him. Prayer Loving God Help us to be the one who does not forget to thank you - for loving us, for healing us, and for beautiful wonders of your world, especially the small and unnoticed ones. Amen Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. We had hiked down to see the waves crash against the rocky coast at Cape Perpetua. The sheer power and beauty of the waves was breathtaking. But on the way back up the trail, I noticed this little fern with ice crystals. Other people on the trail passed by the fern but I noticed it, maybe because I had my camera in my hand. Both the powerful waves and the small delicate ice crystals on the fern were wondrous in their own way. I am grateful for the wonders of God’s world. In the same way God’s law is filled with wondrous things. We just need to stop and notice them. It takes effort, I was after all on hike carrying my camera gear in my back pack, but it is so worth the effort.
What wondrous things have you seen in God’s word? Prayer Lord God Open our eyes to see the wonders of your world and your word this day. Amen I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? I live where I can see mountains everyday and can drive to the top of one in a short time. I think I have come to take them for granted - something that is always there. The ancient Israelites didn’t take mountains for granted. They saw mountains as special places where God meets with man. The scriptures are filled with stories of humans meeting God on mountains; remember the stories of Abraham and Isaac, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus and Peter, James, and John.
Recently I had an experience on a mountain that changed the way I view them. On our trip to the Pacific Northwest I made a reservation for us to stay at the the Paradise Inn at the foot of Mt. Rainier. I had never been so close to a mountain so large. It was majestic and beautiful in many different ways. The rock and glaciers above the tree line are strong and foreboding. Large conifers encircle the mountain at the tree line. The meadows below are filled with color in both spring, summer, and fall and covered with snow in the winter. One of the mornings we were there I got up just before sunrise and walked in the cool, damp air to the foot of the mountain. There was a snow cloud at the very top of the mountain and I even felt a few flakes. The cloudy day left a pink Alpenglow on the mountain and made the autumn meadows at the foot explode with color. I stood there amazed at the beauty and power before my eyes. I have no words that can adequately describe my experience that morning. I felt that I was in God’s very presence. All that was left to do was to worship silently at the foot of this great mountain. I worship a great and mighty God who each day is the source of my help if I only look to him. This experience will remain in my heart as a special gift, a reminder of how much the Lord, maker of mountains, loves me and wants to meet with me each day. Where and when do you look for help? Prayer Lord, Maker of Mountains May the mountains remind us of the love you have for each of us. Help us to look up and see you as the source of everything we need. Amen I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. It was a chilly morning in early November when I took this image of a tree at Cherokee Dam. It reminded me of another day I that I had taken a picture of a tree at the dam, an even colder Sunday afternoon, January 7, 2012. I had just bought my new camera, my first DSLR, to take pictures at my son’s wedding. I had always had a camera, even a digital camera, but this one was different. Unlike my previous cameras that worked mostly in “automatic” mode this one had all kinds of options. I decided that if I had a camera with this many possibilities I needed to learn to use them. I had no idea that this was the beginning of a journey to places I had never planned or expected to go.
When I look back on that day, now 10 years ago, I don’t think it was a coincidence that it happened in the season of Epiphany. My camera has been a gift that God has used to help me develop a new and deeper perspective of His world and His word. While learning to use my camera, I also found new writers like N. T. Wright, Diana Butler Bass, Scot McKnight, Michael Card, Nancy Guthrie, Makoto Fujimura, and Tim Mackie and Jon Collins of the Bible Project who have opened up a whole new way of reading the Scriptures. I give thanks with all my heart for the epiphany that God has given me through my camera and the resources he has put in my way. I pray that my images and words tell of God’s wonderful deeds. What has God used in your life to bring an epiphany, a new way of seeing who He is? Prayer Lord God I give thanks to you with all my heart for the beauty of your world and your word. Amen For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. This morning I was able to walk at the dam again for the first time in several weeks. It was one of those beautiful spring mornings with clear, blue skies filled with white, fluffy clouds. The leaves on the big tree are mostly out now and the daises encircle it in full bloom. The day was one of hope, a reminder of God’s new creation that he is making in each of us who follow him.
The past months have been difficult for my family as we have watched my mother enter hospice care after a long slow decline in her health over the past several years. With each trip to help take care of her, each hard thing or decision, I had friends who I could count on to pray for me. They have supported me with emails, texts, cards, and even meals. I will forever be grateful for their love and care. My mother’s long journey of illness is over now. Even in our sadness there is hope for we know that she is with Jesus seeing beauty we can’t even imagine. Prayer Lord Jesus Thank you for the hope we have in you and the new creation you have begun. Thank you for friends who encourage and support us during dark days. Amen View the post for February 27 for an explanation of my Lenten Project And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Today I saw something that I have missed before in these familiar words of Jesus. On the night that he was betrayed, the night he would face his greatest temptation, the night before his crucifixion, he gave thanks.
He gave thanks. Because Jesus gave thanks in his darkest hour we have a hope that allows us to give thanks in the dark days we face now. Today I give thanks for the simple beauty of the blossoms on my cherry tree. What will you give thanks for this day? Prayer Jesus, Our Lord We bow our heads in gratitude today for your great love that gives us hope. Amen Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” I had a hunch that there would be fog at the overlook that evening since it had stormed a lot during the day; and I was right. We got to the overlook soon enough to watch the fog slip in. It was gradual at first only over the river but then overtaking almost the whole ridge. Greed is like the fog. It just quietly slips in and gradually overtakes you. You see some material thing that looks pleasant, some new item of clothing or camera accessory. The material thing isn’t a bad thing, but you just think about it a little more each day. It doesn’t take long for the desire to become a demand and there it is - greed. No one says, "I think I will be a greedy person." We don’t want to admit that we are greedy, after all, it is just this one little thing. We say to ourselves, “I have worked hard and I deserve this.” Like the rich fool in the parable that Jesus told in response to the man’s request for help with his inheritance, you begin to think about building bigger barns, acquiring more stuff. Instead of being grateful for what we have, our greed overtakes us and our things become our idols. We think more about the gift than the giver. We must learn to be on guard against greed to keep it from slipping into our lives, turning our desires away from God and toward things.
Prayer Lord God Teach us to be on our guard against greed; to notice the subtle signs of desire for things becoming an insatiable demand. Reveal our greed that leads to idolatry. Forgive us when we make our things our greatest desire instead of you. Amen Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I got up very early that morning so that I could be at the gate to the loop road at Cades Cove when the sun came up. I knew exactly where I wanted to go to get the sun shining through the fall leaves, the Missionary Baptist Church. I drove through the dark and sat at the gate and waited for it to open. But as the sun rose what I saw was fog, heavy fog. There was not going to be a beautiful sunrise that made the gold of the autumn leaves shine even brighter against the white of the church. So instead I got this image of the trees made more beautiful by the fog, their branches and leaves becoming an intricate gate over the lane softened by the fog. The circumstances we face are not always the circumstances we want. It is hard to always rejoice and give thanks. I do believe that when we do face difficult circumstances if we pray without ceasing that God is faithful and will give us a new way of seeing. It may not be the image we wanted to see but it will be the image we need to see. And we will see what Jesus has made especially for us to see.
Prayer Loving Father We rejoice in your greatness. We give thanks for the circumstances we face right now. Show us your will. Amen Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. To take an interesting picture you always have to consider the background. Sometimes you want the background to fade away and sometimes the background is the focus of the image. For example, without the mountains in the background this image would just be a picture of a dilapidated old gate. As with images, we need to think about what is in the background of our lives. For what is in that background impacts our own growth and our relationship with others. Timothy Keller in his book, The Prodigal Prophet, encourages us to make God’s grace the background music of our lives.
“Grace becomes, as it were, the background music of your life. If that is the song your heart sings much of the time, it changes you.” In this season of Thanksgiving, sing praise to God for his grace with all your heart and let that grace change your heart and fill your relationships with others. Prayer Father God Remind me today to be thankful for your grace. Make my background music always be a song of thanksgiving. Amen Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Gates mark protected areas. When you enter a gate you enter into that protected place. To enter the gates of the Lord is to be surrounded and protected by his steadfast love. Enter his gates today with gratitude not for good things we have that may come and go. Enter his gates with gratitude for a good Lord whose steadfast love will endure every circumstance we face, good or bad.
Prayer Good Lord and King Today we thank you for your great love. We praise your name. Amen For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Deep lakes surrounded by tall and imposing mountains tell of the greatness of our Creator, God, for he holds these massive mountains in his hands. And if he can hold these mountains in his hands then he can and will hold us in his hands. May your heart be filled with joy and praise to our great God.
Prayer O Great King We bow in awe and wonder at your greatness. We praise your name. Amen If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, I love mornings in the campground. Usually I get up earlier than most campers and I sit and watch the sun gradually rise above the trees in quietness. The darkness of night moves into the brightness of day, most of the time. Sometimes there are cloudy days, the sun still rises, we just can’t see it for the clouds.
There are days of bright sunshine in our lives but also days that are filled with clouds. During those cloudy days it is easy to focus on our own problems and let a feeling of gloom fall over us.I have found in times of gloominess that when I find ways to help others I began to quite focusing on my own problems and I move from darkness into the light of day. Prayer Loving Father, On those days when we get lost only looking at our own problems, remind us of this promise of light that comes when we make the effort to help those in need around us. Amen It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; There is something so special about the golden light of morning. In morning light things that we don’t even notice in the harsh light of day are made beautiful. There is a special kind of quiet in the mornings, too, especially if you are in nature. It is a good thing to make the effort to get up early and watch the night gradually turn to day. God has kept us safe through another night and the golden light of morning reveals his wonderful world. Now is the time to give praise, to begin our day with gratitude for the steadfast love of our Lord, to see the joy in his works.
Prayer O Most High, We humbly bow in gratitude for your steadfast love. We rejoice at the beauty of the works of your hands. Help us walk through this day remembering your steadfast love and to share the joy of the morning with all we meet. Amen Scripture:
Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:11-14 About This Image: My grandparents and their grandparents before them lived in what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While they weren't members of this church (the Methodist church in Cades Cove) they were part of other mountain churches like this one. This is my heritage. I am grateful for the inheritance of a family on both my mother and father's sides that loved and served Jesus. But the greater inheritance is the one provided to all "his people in the kingdom of light," by Jesus Christ who purchased our redemption. Scripture:
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:16 About This Image: At one time many families made their home in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, like the Tipton family. The Tipton Cabin is one of the few cabins that the park kept when this land became part of the park. When I see these cabins I try imagine what they looked like when people lived in them full of furniture and household goods instead of the empty the way they stand now. I think that the bible can be empty like this room in the Tipton cabin to us if we just occasionally read the words. Paul admonished the Colossians to do more than just listen to the words but to let the message of Christ dwell among them richly. When something dwells with us we spend lots of time with it; we get to know it. Dwelling is more than visiting a place, more than just reading words from a book. For when we do let the message of Christ dwell richly within us then we can help one another and develop real gratitude in our hearts. |
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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