Abrams Creek Waterfall - “My Soul Finds Rest in God”

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. 

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. 

How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? 

Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. 

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-6

Broyhill Walking Park,Lenoir, North Carolina - “The Spring of Life”

But your loyal love, LORD, extends to the skies; your faithfulness reaches the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the strongest mountains; your justice is like the deepest sea. LORD, you save both humans and animals. 7 Your faithful love is priceless, God! Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the bounty of your house; you let them drink from your river of pure joy. 9 Within you is the spring of life. In your light, we see light.

Psalm 36:5-9

Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina - “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things”

  The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?  I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 17:9-10

Lake Junaluska, North Carolina - “The LORD is My Strength”

 

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

PSALM 28:7 (NIV)

Lake Junaluska - I Confess with My Mouth “Jesus is LORD”

 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:9-13

Little River Road, Smokey Mountains - “Speak through Me”

 

Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and don’t return there without watering the earth . . . so is my word that comes from my mouth; it does not return to me empty. Instead, it does what I want, and accomplishes what I intend.

ISAIAH 55:10-11 (CEB)

Lake Junaluska, Blue Ridge Mountains - “The Word of our God Endures Forever”

 

 

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:8

Big Witch Overlook, Smokey Mountains - “The Strength of My Heart”

 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

PSALM 73:26 (NIV)

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

Juney Whank Falls, Deep Creek Loop Trail, Smokey Mountains - “Love Brings Freedom”

1 Let my whole being bless the LORD! Let everything inside me bless his holy name! 2 Let my whole being bless the LORD and never forget all his good deeds: 3 how God forgives all your sins, heals all your sickness, 4 saves your life from the pit, crowns you with faithful love and compassion, 5 and satisfies you with plenty of good things so that your youth is made fresh like an eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-5

Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina - "The Eye has not Seen, nor Ear Heard"

But as it is written:

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for
 those who love Him."

1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV

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

Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina - “Unending Love”

 

“My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love
Amazing grace”

Lyrics by Chris Tomlin / Louie Giglio

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

Little River Road - “Let the Rivers Clap their Hands”

 

Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
Let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.

PSALM 95:7-9 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
 

Blue Ridge Mountains - “A Voice Calling in the Wilderness”

 

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

"A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
Make straight paths for him.'"

John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.  His food was locusts an wild honey.

Matthew 3:1-4

A voice of one calling:

"In the wilderness prepare

the way for the Lord;

make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain,

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

Isaiah 40:3-5

Appalachian Foothills

He who dwells in the shelter

of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of

the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, "He 

is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.

Psalm 91:1-2

If you make the Most High 

your dwelling--

even the LORD, who is my 

refuge--

then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his 

angels concerning you 

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike

your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion 

and the cobra;

you will trample the great 

lion and the serpent.

"Because he loves me," 

says the LORD, 

"I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he

acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I

will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation."

Psalm 91:9-16 NIV

Blue Ridge Mountains - He will wipe every tear from their eyes...

He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mournings or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Revelations 21:4