Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak
"Spacious Skies"

Monday, April 17, 2023

Cumberland Island, Dungeness Estate Ruins, Georgia - “The Way of Life and The Way of Death”



  "Now you shall say to this people, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I set before you the   way of life and the way of death. 

He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. 
For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good," says the Lord. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire." ' 
“And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, 'Hear the word of the Lord, 
O house of David! Thus says the Lord: "Execute judgment in the morning; And deliver him who is plundered Out of the hand of the oppressor, Lest My fury go forth like fire And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings. 
“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, And rock of the plain," says the Lord, "Who say, 'Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter our dwellings?' 
But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings," says the Lord; "I will kindle a fire in its forest, And it shall devour all things around it." 
Jeremiah 21:8-14

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

Grand Tetons, Wyoming - “Hear and Give Ear”



Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the Lord has spoken. 

Give glory to the Lord your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness.
Jeremiah 13:15-16

Chasm Falls, Estes Park - “My Affliction and My Wandering”


 

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.   I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Lamentations 3:19-24

Estes Park, Rocky Mountains - “Great is His Unfailing Love”


 For no one is 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 Grieg to anyone.

Lamentations 3:31-33

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Crescent Beach - Easter Sunday

 



Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
 
JOHN 20:1 (NIV)

Friday, April 7, 2023

Estes Park, Rocky Mountains - “By His Wounds You Have Been Healed”


“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

1 Peter 2:25

Shores Waterfront Park - “Tree of Shame”




 
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:8


looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

Matanzas River, Crescent Bridge - Good Friday


 

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane.  He said to the disciples, “Stay here while I go and pray over there.”  When he took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, he began to feel sad and anxious.  Then he said to them, “I’m very sad. It’s as if I’m dying. Stay here and keep alert with me.”  Then he went a short distance farther and fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it’s possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. However—not what I want but what you want.”  He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you stay alert one hour with me?  Stay alert and pray so that you won’t give in to temptation. The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.”  A second time he went away and prayed, “My Father, if it’s not possible that this cup be taken away unless I drink it, then let it be what you want.”  Again he came and found them sleeping. Their eyes were heavy with sleep.  But he left them and again went and prayed the same words for the third time.  Then he came to his disciples and said to them, “Will you sleep and rest all night?   Look, the time has come for the Human One to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Get up. Let’s go. Look, here comes my betrayer.”

Matthew 26:36-46

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Jewel Lake Trail - “The LORD is Good, a Refuge in Times of Trouble”


The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies. 
The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. 
He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. 
The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. 
Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him. 
The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,
Nahum 1:2-7

 

Canopy Park - A Walk in the Woods - “Your Word, LORD, is Eternal”


Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. 
Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. 
Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.
Psalm 119:89-91

 

Pellicer Creek Canoe Trail - “Seek the LORD”


Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.

Zephaniah 2:3
 

Horseshoes Falls - “Love One Another”


Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
 
JOHN 13:34 (NIV)
 

Rocky Mountains - “The Son of Man came to Serve”

 


The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. 

Matthew 20:28

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Matanzas River Sunset - “By His Wounds We are Healed”

 


But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

Monday, April 3, 2023

Garden of the Gods - “I am the Living One”


 

I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Revelations 1:18

Favor Dykes Park - “I Am the Alpha and the Omega”


 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelations 1:8

Lake Irene, Rocky Mountains - “Behold, He is Coming with the Clouds”


“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”  So shall it be! Amen.

Revelations 1:7
 

Kawuneeche Valley, Colorado River - “Who Is, and Who was, and Who is to Come”


 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne…

Revelations 1:4

Jekyll Island, Georgia - Choose to Rejoice


Though the fig tree doesn’t bloom, and there’s no produce on the vine; though the olive crop withers, and the fields don’t provide food . . . I will rejoice in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance.
 
HABAKKUK 3:17-18 (CEB)

 

Saturday, April 1, 2023

West Horseshoe Park - “Who Shall Separate 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?
 
ROMANS 8:35 (NIV)

Pellicer Creek - “God Knows Us”




 You are always righteous, LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? 

You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. 
Yet you know me, LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! 
How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.”

Jeremiah 12:1-4

Princess Place Preserve - “Living Signs”

 


God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.”
 
GENESIS 1:14 (NRSV)

Friday, March 31, 2023

Garden of Cliffs - “God Surprises”

 


Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
 
MATTHEW 6:8 (NIV)

Cummins Falls, Blackburn Fork River - “My Heart Trusts in Him”


 
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
 
PSALM 28:7 (NIV)

Colorado River Trailhead, Rocky Mountains - “Lost and Found”


If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
 
MATTHEW 18:12 (NIV)
 

Estes Park, Rocky Mountains - “ Marked with a Seal”


In order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:12-14

 

Hiwassee River, Cherokee County - “Perfect Peace”


 

You will keep in perfect peace

    those whose minds are steadfast,

    because they trust in you.


Trust in the LORD forever,

    for the LORD, the LORD himself, 

        is the Rock eternal.


                Isaiah 26:3-4


Garden of the Gods - “Who Are You?”



John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
 
JOHN 1:23 (NIV)

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Pellicer Creek Paddle Trail - “Encourage One Another”


Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

Historic Fort Matanzas - “I Stand at the Door and Knock”


 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.  Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Revelation 3:19-20 

Old Barn, Abingdon, Virginia - “Great is Your Faithfulness”


 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

Faver Dykes Nature Trail - God is Listening


 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Middle Fork Holston River Abingdon, Virginia - “Do Not Be Anxious about Anything”


 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023