Sunrise Galveston, TX with background mosaic from Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary, Lourdes, France
As we commence this Advent season, preparing our way for Christmas, I wanted to share this picture from our Christmas 2018 post.
This Advent season let us “prepare the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3).
Moonset, Woodward Bay Conservation Area, WA USA
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunset in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado USA
The light of the Christian comes from the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love that we may renew the face of the earth.
Amen
Autumn leaf, Woodward Bay National Conservation Area, Washington, USA
Point Wilson Lighthouse, Washington, USA
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” ~ Hebrews 11:1
Naches Peak Loop Trail, Washington, USA
Lord, help us see clearly. Jesus may our relationships flow from our love of you. Let us understand that love doesn’t come from a conformity of beliefs but from your grace in helping us to desire the good of the other. Help us to look beyond our differences and see people as the neighbors that God has asked us to love.
Amen
Tilllamook Rock Lighthouse, Cannon Beach, Oregon
“Christian joy is about the experience of a peace that remains in our hearts, even when we are pelted by trials and afflictions, for then we know that we are not alone, but accompanied by a God who is not indifferent to our lot. When seas are rough: the storm is always on the surface, but the depths remain calm and peaceful. That is also true of Christian joy: it is a free gift, the certainty of knowing that we are loved, sustained and embraced by Christ in every situation in life. Because he is the one who frees us from selfishness and sin, from the sadness of solitude, from inner emptiness and fear, and gives us a new look at life and history…” ~ Pope Francis
Monarch butterflies, Wildseed Farms, Fredericksburg, TX USA
“The screen door slammed behind me as I ran out of the house chasing a butterfly.” This is just one of the many pleasant memories I have of my childhood. JRR Tolkien would have called the place where I was raised “The Shire”, the biblical authors may have called it “a land of milk and honey”, I simply called it home. As I have aged, I have discovered that the memories that were formed in my “Shire” were not based on its location or riches, but rather from an atmosphere of humility and love. It was a home where my age of innocence as a child was protected allowing me to grow in virtue before being subject to the challenges to virtue.
Each of us has a responsibility to create dwelling places of love, virtue and hope. If we as a society are to flourish, we must work by cooperating with God’s grace, in humility and sacrifice, to create homes, churches, communities and a nation where children, and all the vulnerable; particularly the unborn, the orphaned and the elderly, are treated as precious children of God. It is our responsibility to transform this world into a foretaste of the eternal home we hope to dwell in, heaven, by creating little places of “milk and honey” here on earth.
Jesus said, “it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost” ~ Matthew 18:14
Sunlight breaking through forest canopy, Olympia, Washington, USA
“Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” ~ Jesus, Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:16
“In God, no act of love, no matter how small, and no “generous effort” will ever be lost. Just as we recognize a tree by its fruits, so a life full of good deeds radiates light and carries the fragrance of Christ to the world.” ~ Pope Francis
Purple (Naked) shore crab (Hemigrapsus nudus) at Crescent Beach, Washington, USA
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
~ 1st Stanza, A prayer for the Earth, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis
High tide at Crescent Beach as viewed from Tongue Point, Washington, USA
Twelve hours later the tide was out. The scene was no longer picturesque and as I walked across the muddy tidal flat toward what earlier was a coastal island, I noticed tidal pools full of marine life.
Sometimes we cannot visibly see God’s grace in our lives but the Christian must see with the eyes of faith.
“On the path of life and faith, as we seek to achieve the dreams, plans, hopes and expectations deep in our hearts, we also come up against our own frailties and weaknesses; we experience setbacks and disappointments, and often we can remain imprisoned by a paralyzing sense of failure. Yet the Gospel tells us that at those very moments we are not alone, for the Lord comes to meet us and stands at our side. He accompanies us on our way with the discretion of a gentle fellow-traveler who wants to open our eyes and make our hearts once more burn within us. Whenever our failures lead to an encounter with the Lord, life and hope are reborn and we are able to be reconciled: with ourselves, with our brothers and sisters, and with God.” ~ Pope Francis
Sunrise, Broken Bow, Nebraska, USA
It was so quiet that I could nearly hear the light as the sun’s early rays cut across the Nebraska farmland. It was a quiet peace-filled morning, just me and the Lord.
The gospel of Mark, more than perhaps any other gospel, depicts the chaotic life that Jesus must have had during his three years of public ministry. Jesus was like a magnet drawing lost souls to him as he healed and preached the gospel. He hardly had time to rest. It must have been such a sharp contrast to his time as a laborer. Yet even Jesus needed time alone, listening to his father. We see Jesus satisfying this need in the early morning hours in this first chapter of the gospel of Mark. In our overly busy world, we need to imitate Jesus, we need to find our deserted place where we can be alone listening to our heavenly father.
Douglas Fir, Lewis and Clark State Park, WA USA
Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all. I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures. I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul. I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands, without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father. ~ Prayer of Abandonment, St. Charles de Foucauld
Washington State Capital as viewed from Port Plaza Park, Olympia, WA USA
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ~ Mark 12: 28-31
Olympic Mountains as viewed from Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, WA, USA
Contemplate the mystery of Christ….
An Admirer of beauty,
The Source of all beauty.
Born of a woman,
Creator of all women.
A Craftsman by trade,
The Craftsman in being.
A Man of pure self-giving love,
The Source of pure self-giving love.
All Glory be to the one God, father, son and Holy Spirit, for Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity. Amen
Additional meditations on Christ, through which all things were created, are available in the scriptures at John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1: 1-14 and 1 John 1:1-4.
Sunset, Nehalem Bay Beach State Park, OR, USA
“How difficult it is, at every level, to defuse conflicts!... Jesus knows that on our own we are not able to cultivate peace, that we need help, that we need a gift… This peace is the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit of Jesus… It is He, the Holy Spirit, who disarms the heart and fills it with serenity. It is He, the Holy Spirit, who loosens rigidity and extinguishes the temptations to attack others. It is He, the Holy Spirit, who reminds us that there are brothers and sisters beside us, not obstacles or adversaries. It is He, the Holy Spirit, who gives us the strength to forgive, to begin again, to set out anew because we cannot do this with our own strength. And it is with Him, with the Holy Spirit, that we become men and women of peace.” ~ Pope Francis
Dard-eyed Junco Chicks
Watching these Dark-eyed Junco chicks grow under their mother’s watchful eye was a real pleasure. It made me reflect on my childhood and these words of Jesus regarding our needed disposition toward God.
As a child I was fortunate as I had very loving parents. I was convinced of the total and unconditional love of both mom and dad. I had complete and total faith that mom and dad would provide all I needed, perhaps not all I wanted, but definitely all I needed. A child’s faith may be limitless but as we grow older, and the experiences of life don’t always seem to go our way, we often become skeptical and loose that childlike trust. We begin to worry.
Our heavenly Father, desires us to have childlike trust in him, knowing that he will provide all that we need, perhaps not all that we desire, but all that we need (see Matthew 6:25-34).
A series of pictures of these Dark-eyed Juncos growing up is available on our website at Nature Education Briefs — A Nature Walk with God.
Killdeer brooding over eggs, Olympia, WA
Happy Mother’s Day!
Let us take time this week to reflect on the beauty of motherhood by reflecting on the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the mother of God.
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” ~ Luke 1:46
Sunrise, Salida, CO USA
The Son of God has risen,
let us be agents of his love,
let us show others his Mercy!
Truly, the LORD is waiting to be gracious to you,
truly, he shall rise to show you mercy ~ Isaiah 30:18
If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ~ Matthew 6:14
