the beauty of nature

well my dear ones,

This past weekend,

my friend, Bill talked me into kayaking

down a piece of the Ocmulgee River.

Due to the cool temperatures down by the river

the leaves have started to turn early,

and I got some beautiful fall pics:

http://theeverencouragingword.blogspot.com/2012/10/fall-pic-1.html

(Here's my friend, Bill,

against a backdrop of awesome color)

http://theeverencouragingword.blogspot.com/2012/10/fall-pic-2.html

http://theeverencouragingword.blogspot.com/2012/10/fall-pic-3.html

http://theeverencouragingword.blogspot.com/2012/10/fall-pic-4.html

Since kayaks are so quiet,

I was able to sneak up pretty close

to this Great Blue Heron...

http://theeverencouragingword.blogspot.com/2012/10/heron-pic-1.html

...and I was even able to get a nice pic of it

in flight

http://theeverencouragingword.blogspot.com/2012/10/heron-pic-2.html

While looking at all the sights on this trip,

I was contemplating the beauty of nature

and thinking about this (James 1:18):

"God decided to give us life through the word of truth to make us His most important creatures."

Of all the beauty in the universe,

God wants us to turn to Him

that we might have life abundantly

and be the most important thing

in all Creation.

How cool is that?

Pretty cool, I think,

as well as a good thing to ponder

the next time we find ourselves

questioning our importance

in the overall scheme of things. J

Have a great week!

grace, peace, and love to you,

dave

Heron pic 2

Heron pic 1

Fall pic 4

Fall pic 3

Fall pic 2

Fall pic 1

reminders

 

 

well my dear ones,

 

A few days ago,

I was going out to take in the food

and a baby possum took off from one of the bowls

and ran under our shed.

 

The thing was tiny, not much bigger than my fist;

perhaps something happened to its mother;

but at least it was big enough to eat the cat food

so I guess it will be OK.

 

Just seeing that little spud for a few seconds

transported me back to when I was 14 years old

and saw an adult possum

trying to get its mate out of the road,

not realizing its mate was dead.

The little thing risked its life

in the traffic, trying to save its mate,

and teaching me a powerful lesson I never forgot.

 

Reflecting back on it after all these years,

and considering all the couples

I've seen in the interim,

and the way they've treated each other,

and the level of respect they had

(and often didn't have) for each other,

I think most of them

could learn a lesson from that possum, too.

 

I think that sometimes

God puts simple creatures in our path

as reminders of how we should be;

sometimes we humans over-think things,

and try to rationalize behavior

that has no excuse;

but when someone you love is down,

you simply try to lift them up...

 

...even a possum knows that. =)

 

Have a great week!

 

grace, peace, and love to you,
dave