Pointe Aux Barques, Lake Huron, Michigan - “If You Lack Wisdom”

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

 James 1:5

 

Lake Huron, Port Austin, Michigan - “The Gift”

 

By grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

EPHESIANS 2:8 (NIV)

Harbor Beach, Lake Huron, Michigan. - “Wait for the Lord”

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27:14

Port Austin, Michigan- “Finding the Light”

Though I have fallen, I will rise.

Though I sit in darkness,

The Lord will be my light.

Micah 7:8
 

Port Crescent State Park, Michigan - "Who Walks on the Wings of the Wind"

O LORD my God, You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

 He lays the beams of His

upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

Who makes His angels spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire.

Psalm 104:1-4 NIV

Pointe Aux Barque Lighthouse - "Nothing will Separated Us from the Love of Christ"

 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39 NIV

Mackinac Island, Michigan - "Joy Comes in the Morning"

 

Sing praise to the LORD,
  you saints of His,
And give thanks at the
  remembrance of His holy
  name.
For His anger is but for a
  moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a
  night,
But joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:4-5 NIV

Port Austin State Harbor, Lake Huron - "Voice over the Waters"

 

The voice of the LORD
  is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders.
The LORD is over many 
  waters,
The voice of the LORD is
  powerful;
The voice of the LORD is
  full of majesty.

Psalm 29:3-4 NIV

Port Austin, Lake Huron - "In the Land of the Living"

 I would have lost heart,
unless I had believed
That I would see the
goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen

your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

Lake Huron, Port Austin - "The Earth is the Lord's"

 The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.  Th world and all its people belong to him.  For he laid the earth's foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.

Psalm 24:1-2

Mackinaw Island - Speak to the Earth and It will Teach You

 

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.
Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?
Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?

"To God belong wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his.

What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;

those he imprisons cannot be released.

If he holds back the waters, there is drought;

if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

To him belong strength and insight;

both deceived and deceiver are his.

He leads rulers away stripped

and makes fools of judges.

He takes off the shackles put on by kings

and ties a loincloth around their waist.

He leads priests away stripped

and overthrows officials long established.

He silences the lips of trusted advisers

and takes away the discernment of elders.

He pours contempt on nobles

and disarms the mighty.

He reveals the deep things of darkness

and brings utter darkness into the light.

He  makes nations great, and destroys them;

he enlarges nations, and disperses them.

He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;

he makes them wander in a trackless waste.

They grope in darkness with no light;

he makes them stagger like drunkards.

"My eyes have seen all this,

my ears have heard and understood it."

Job 12:7-25, Job 13:1 NIV

Lake Huron - Finding Your Good Way

 

Thus says the LORD:  "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."

Jeremiah 6:16 ESB

Keep your face toward the Sunshine

 

Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows bill fall behind you.

Walt Whitman

Be thou my vision

 

Be Thou My Vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word;

I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, and I thy true son,

Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;

Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

Thou and thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Ancient Celtic Hymn is a traditional Irish ballad melody  translated by St. Dallan, a 6th century Celtic monk, poet.

Let Your Light Shine

 

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds nd glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 NIV

Wait and Hope

 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen."  Matthew 28:5-6  NIV

"Song of the Sea"

Song of the Sea

by Rainer Maria Rike

Timeless sea breezes,

sea-wind of the night;

you come for no one;

if someone should wake,

he must be prepared

how to survive you.

Timeless sea breezes,

that for aeons have

blown ancient rocks,

you are purest space

coming from afar...

Oh, how a fruit-bearing

fig tree feels your coming

high up in the moonlight.

Lake Huron - "I Will Wade Out"

I Will Wade Out

By E,E, Cummings


i will wade out
                    till my thighs are steeped in burning flowers
I will take the sun in my mouth
and leap into the ripe air
                                  Alive
                                          with closed eyes
to dash against darkness
                                in the sleeping curves of my body
Shall enter fingers of smooth mastery
with chasteness of sea-girls
                                       Will i complete the mystery
                                        of my flesh
I will rise
              After a thousand years
lipping
flowers
           And set my teeth in the silver of the moon

"The Lighthouse" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Lighthouse

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


  The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
  And on its outer point, some miles away,
The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
  A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Even at this distance I can see the tides,
  Upheaving, break unheard along its base,
A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides
  In the white lip and tremor of the face.

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
  Through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light
  With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!

Not one alone; from each projecting cape
  And perilous reef along the ocean's verge,
Starts into life a dim, gigantic shape,
  Holding its lantern o'er the restless surge.

Like the great giant Christopher it stands
  Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave,
Wading far out among the rocks and sands,
  The night-o'ertaken mariner to save.

And the great ships sail outward and return,
  Bending and bowing o'er the billowy swells,
And ever joyful, as they see it burn,
  They wave their silent welcomes and farewells.

They come forth from the darkness, and their sails
  Gleam for a moment only in the blaze,
And eager faces, as the light unveils,
  Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze.

The mariner remembers when a child,
  On his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink;
And when, returning from adventures wild,
  He saw it rise again o'er ocean's brink.

Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same
  Year after year, through all the silent night
Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame,
  Shines on that inextinguishable light!

It sees the ocean to its bosom clasp
  The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace;
It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp,
  And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece.

The startled waves leap over it; the storm
  Smites it with all the scourges of the rain,
And steadily against its solid form
  Press the great shoulders of the hurricane.

The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din
  Of wings and winds and solitary cries,
Blinded and maddened by the light within,
  Dashes himself against the glare, and dies.

A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock,
  Still grasping in his hand the fire of Jove,
It does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock,
  But hails the mariner with words of love.

"Sail on!" it says, "sail on, ye stately ships!
  And with your floating bridge the ocean span;
Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse,
  Be yours to bring man nearer unto man!"

"Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep"

This is one of my favorite poems.  The words creates a wonderful imagery that ones life force does not die but becomes part of the natural world:  a thousand winds, sunlight, autumn rain and soft star light.


"Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep"


Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
                        
                                               

By Mary Elizabeth Frye 1932