Great Smokey Mountains - “Do You Not Know? Do You Not Hear?”

 

Do you not know? Do you not hear? 
Has it not been told you from the beginning? 
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, 
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; 
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, 
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 
Who brings princes to nothing, 
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Isaiah 40:21-23

Clingmans Dome Mountains, Great Smokey Mountains National Park, North Carolina - "The Heavens are higher than the Earth"

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways."  declares the Lord.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9

In Solidarity with Ukraine - “Do Not Fear, for I am with You”

 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

Isaiah 41:10 NIV

Smokey Mountains - “Search With All Your Heart”

 And you will seek me and find me

when you search for me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13  NKJV

Smokey Mountains - "Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled"

 

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God' trust also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going."

John 14:1-4 NIV

Smokey Mountains - “A New Heart, A New Spirit”

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you, I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Ezekiel 36:25-27
 

Clingmans Dome - The God of Daniel

The King Darius wrote to all the people, nations and men of every language throughout the land:

"May you prosper greatly!"

I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

"For his is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed,

his dominion will never end.  He recuses and he saves; he performs signs and wonders on the heavens and on the earth.  He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."

Daniel 6:25-27 NIV

Smokey Mountains - Hope in him

 

The LORD is good to those whose hope 

is in him,  to the one who seeks him; 

it is good to wait quietly 

for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is young.  

Let him sit alone in silence,

for the LORD has laid it on him,

Let him bury his face in the dust--

there may yet be hope.

Let him offer his cheek to one

who would strike him,

and let him be filled with disgrace.

For men are not cast off

by the LORD forever.

Though he brings grief, he will

show compassion, so great is his

unfailing love. For he does not 

willingly bring affliction

or grief to the children of men.

Lamentations 3:25-33 NIV

Shaconage My Ancestral Home

Rich Mountain Road

 

We drove to Cade Cove and turned onto a dirt road that took us on an adventure that was more then what we had anticipated.  Rich Mountain Road is steep, winding, and rough with many a sharp turn and very risky for a car.  We crossed Indian Grave Gap Trail and one will have to be physically fit to hike that trail.  It was a 8 mile, one-way gravel road winding around Rich Mountain that leads to Tuckaleechee Cove and Townsend, TN.  The road has stunning views down into Cades Cove.  You can see Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church.  It is one of the most remote locations in the Smokies.

Clouds Came Down to Earth

"Clouds Came Down to Earth"

 

Clouds came down to Earth

And sit at my feet,

No place to wander

Not far the eye could see,

For thick and grey was the air,

The trees did not bend,

from the whisper of the wind

Nor did the birds whimper

As stillness fell on the earth

Covering her in blankets of grey...

By PL Fallin

August "Land of Blue Smoke" Gallery

Cloudy but hot August day in the Smoky Mountains.  The pictures speak for themselves. 

Shaconage "Blue, Like Smoke"

I set my camera to take black and white pictures of the cloudy mountain peaks.  The clouds were so thick you could not see the mountain range or even the steep cliffs.  It was a visual "smoke without fire" effect.  The Cherokees called the Smoky Mountains Shaconage meaning "Blue, Like smoke." 

The Snow Maiden

 

I call the snow covered trees the snow maidens of the Smoky Mountains for the beauty of the white delicate snow flakes that cover their branches. We have a snow maiden in our family who has a delicate beautiful soul that she needs to discover. 

 

The Snow Maiden

 

The Snow cascaded, swirled and blew,

In the Magical Kingdom

Of The Land of Snow;

Amidst The snow flakes and fairies,

The Snow Maiden dances,

Twirling on pointed toes

From moonbeam to shadow;

Her silhouette we follow

From forest to meadow;

Snow and Ice are her friends,

The coated white earth is her floor;

Center stage from heaven

The stars shine on her,

Seeking no other;

She is The Snow Maiden

Graceful and Fair,

In her fairy white dress

With star light in her hair;

Delicate and graceful

From finger tip to toe,

She's eloquent to behold;

Her eyes sparkles like Crystals

Amidst the snow fairies and sprites

She waltzes in solace

With mystical delight;

From winter's breath she came

Twirling and dancing in the chilled air;

Through the forest and the fields

The wind whispers her name,

Brilliant and translucent...Crystal

The maiden of heaven's white veil.

 

by PL Fallin

 

"Pleasure in The Pathless Woods"

These are random photos of different rivers and woods I took at Deep Creek and within the Smoky Mountain Park.  It was approaching sunset and the orange glow within the trees is from the sun rays hitting the mountain side in the background.  I took over thousand pictures on this trip and only used a select few to post on this blog.  The mountains and forest with its many rivers and waterfalls brings me great pleasure.  Lord Byron describes my feelings of nature best...excerpt from "The Deep Sea."

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man less, but Nature more
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal."

By Lord Byron

Author George Gordon Byron [1788-1824] quote 'I can never get people to understand that poetry is the expression of excited passion, and that there is no such thing as a life of passion any more than a continuous earthquake, or an eternal fever.'