Monday, August 25, 2014

BURNING BUSH MOMENTS


Radiant Sunrise, Wrightsville Beach, NC

The third chapter of Exodus tells about the first encounter Moses has with God in the desert. Moses is tending sheep after killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew and he is now a fugitive. God has selected Moses to rescue his people from Egyptian bondage. It was not uncommon to see fires in the desert due to lightning strikes and all of the dried vegetation. But Moses encountered a burning bush that was not being consumed by the fire. God wanted to capture his attention and he certainly did so.

Many of us have wrestled with a troubling problem when we suddenly had one of those sudden “Ah Ha” moments where the solution appears to us with brilliant clarity. And I bet many of us have also experienced one of those “burning bush” moments when God has sought our attention for the solution to a problem or to discern a meaningful insight. There’s an old saying that sometimes you have to smack someone with an ax handle to get their attention. But fortunately, God has other less painful methods to employ.

One of our Creator’s most common attention getters that we frequently overlook is the sun’s seemingly never consuming flames. Sunrises and sunsets are generated by an enormous ball of gaseous flames every day of our lives. Many of these “burning bush” moments grab our attention and give us pause to reflect. We need to regard them as daily reminders of new opportunities to make a difference in our individual lives, our family, our community and our world. And its beautiful brilliance sure beats a whack on the backside by an ax handle!

Saturday, August 23, 2014

SUMMER HIBISCUS


Summer Hibiscus, Jamestown, NC

A summer hibiscus bloom has very little time in the sun.
And yet, it is time enough.

CHOOSING YOUR PATH


Water Power, Nantahala National Forest, NC

Water is one of the most powerful forces on the planet, yet it has no power to choose the high ground or the path less traveled. It is a slave to gravity and the easy path.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

TWILIGHT ROSE OF SHARON


Twilight Rose of Sharon, Jamestown, NC

Beauty can easily be a matter of perspective. I learned long ago that viewing creation from an out-of-the-ordinary position can be extraordinary!

Bright sunshine would wash out this image, but the vanishing filtered light of the setting sun adds just the right amount of back lighting to reveal the intricate veins of the flowering petals. And these veins are not unlike the extraordinary life-giving blood veins and sensitive nerve branches that permeate every square millimeter of our extraordinary bodies that God created to sustain our own lives.

And if you view all the rivers and streams on the surface of the earth from high above in the skies, the same patterns that sustain our planet are readily apparent.

Monday, August 18, 2014

SUMMER ROSE


Summer Rose, Jamestown, NC

Don't overlook the beauty that exists just outside your back door.