To A Butterfly

 To A Butterfly

I've watched you now a full half hour
Self-poised upon that yellow flower,
And, little Butterfly! indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless!-not frozen seas
More motionless!-and then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!

This plot of orchard-ground is ours;

My trees they are, my Sister's flowers;

Here rest your wings when they are weary,

Here lodge as in a sanctuary!

Come often to us, fear no wrong;

Sit near us on the bough!

We'll talk of sunshine and of song,

And summer days, when we were young;

Sweet childish days, that were as long

As twenty days are now.

By William Wordsworth 1807

Lower Tonahutu Trail

 

Big Meadows

Hiking Big Meadows at Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Parc National Jacques Cartier - The True Light that gives Light to Everyone

 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of god--Children born not of natural decent,  nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

John 1:6-13 NIV

The Light Shines in the Darkness

 

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He cam as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through hi all might believe.  He himself was not the light, he came only as a witness to the light.

John 1:5-8 NIV

In the Beginning was the Word

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 1:1-4

No Eye has Seen

 However, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived"-- the things God has prepared for those who love him"--

1 Corinthians 2:9

Faith is tasting the Saltiness of our Tears

Sometimes

faith is building an ark

when there is no rain,

dipping seven times in a muddy river

when you have open wounds,

 or marching in circles

and shouting praises

when your enemy is ready to do battle.

And sometimes

faith is

tasting the sweetness of God

in the saltiness of our tears.

Stacy L Sanchez

www.heartprintsofgodcom

Do Not Be Afraid

 

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Psalm 91:5-6

Ancient Mariner

"Farewell, farewell!  but this I tell

To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!

He prayeth well, who loveth well

Both man and bird and beast.

He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.

The Mariner, whose eye is bright,

Whose beard with age is hoar,

Is gone; and now the Wedding-Guest

Turned from the bridegroom's door.

He went like one that hath been stunned,

And is of sense forlorn'

A sadder and a wiser man,

He rose the morrow morn."

Excerpts from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798)

The Winds and Waves Obey Him

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?' 

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet!  Be Still!'  Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?' 

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Mark 4:37-41 NIV

Congaree National Park

 

Congaree National Park protects the largest remaining tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in North America.  The boardwalk is a 2.4 mile loop roundtrip.  The Weston Lake is an oxbow lake. It was once a bend in the Congaree River.  Over 2,000 years ago the river gradually changed its course and meandered south, leaving behind Weston Lake.  The standing dead trees are called snags and are full of insect, spiders and fungi.  The summer heat would make this park unbearable with flies and mosquitoes.   There are no ocean breezes or cool mountain air so hiking the park is best in the spring or winter.

God is with Us

 

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalms 46:1-7 NIV

Peace in the Storm

"Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise, and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock."

Matthew 7:24-25 

Keep Close to Nature's Heart

"Keep close to nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.  Wash your spirit clean."

John Muir

Jesus Commands my Destiny

"No guilt in life, no fear in death--
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or  calls me home--
Here in the pow'r or Christ I'll Stand."

Lyrics Stuart Townsend

In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found

"In Christ Alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ I stand."

Lyrics by Stuart Townsend

Princess Place Preserve - Letting Go

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Psalm 127:2

Whatever is True, Whatever is Noble...

 

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, what ever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Beauty is God's Handwriting

 

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's Handwriting."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Knowing the End of the Story

 

In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 NIV

Broyhill Walking Park - Let Your Light Shine

 You are the light of the world...Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to Your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16 ESV