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