Sharing photos by Steven and Darlene Faucette of God's Natural World. We miss so much that God has to tell us about Him and about our relationship with Him by not taking time to really look at this beautiful world He has given us to enjoy. I hope this blog will inspire you to explore nature up close and be reminded of how God loves you so much for you are the pinnacle of His creation!
Friday, July 6, 2012
God's Natural World: Where can you go to escape?
God's Natural World: Where can you go to escape?: Have there been times in your life where you just wanted to escape from everything? Well I have! Sometimes the pressures and stresses of e...
Where can you go to escape?
Have there been times in your life where you just wanted to escape from everything?
Well I have! Sometimes the pressures and stresses of every day living just get to you and you find yourself wanting to get away from it all. At times I've thought "If I could just move to another town or place where no one knows me and get a fresh start on life...."
But then I remember that even if I could do such a thing that I'd still have "me" there.
The late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said "No matter where you go, there you are."
You can change your surroundings, your friends and even your job but you can't change who you are down deep inside.
I was reading Psalm 139 this morning and felt like I just needed to share it with someone. Maybe today you're wanting to fresh start on life. Maybe you'd like to get away from everything, even God!
No rules to follow, no boundaries, no failures.
Psalm 139 is a song that King David wrote. Perhaps it will change your perspective. Quoted below is verses 1-10. I challenge you to read the whole song.
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in -behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there too.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, or if I settle onthe far side of the sea,
even there your right hand will hold me fast.
God knows me better than I know myself. Now my parents know me pretty well and my wife and kids know me too. They know all my faults and weaknesses, my passions, and even my strengths. But God knows me even better than that! He made me in His image and since I have accepted his one and only Son Jesus as my Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit lives in me and changes me to be more like Him. What you may consider to be a weakness, God can use to bless others and bring glory to Him! God knows what makes you tick. He knows you and loves you "warts and all."
Today, be honest with God. Confess your weaknesses and your shortcomings. Ask God to use you and to help you to overcome your inadequacies. Also ask God to use your strengths so that He may get the glory and honor.
There's no escaping yourself and there's no escaping God. You can't be too bad for God not to love you and there is no place you can go where He does not see you and can find you.
He knows you get anxious and long for change. Let Him do the changing and see what happens!!
VS 23-24 end this song with this thought..."Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Today I challenge you to not run from your situation or to even try to run from God. Rather run TO Him, telling him all about it. You can't surprise him nor shock him for he already knows all about you. Remember that no matter where you go, not only will you still be there but so will God!!!
Well I have! Sometimes the pressures and stresses of every day living just get to you and you find yourself wanting to get away from it all. At times I've thought "If I could just move to another town or place where no one knows me and get a fresh start on life...."
But then I remember that even if I could do such a thing that I'd still have "me" there.
The late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said "No matter where you go, there you are."
You can change your surroundings, your friends and even your job but you can't change who you are down deep inside.
I was reading Psalm 139 this morning and felt like I just needed to share it with someone. Maybe today you're wanting to fresh start on life. Maybe you'd like to get away from everything, even God!
No rules to follow, no boundaries, no failures.
Psalm 139 is a song that King David wrote. Perhaps it will change your perspective. Quoted below is verses 1-10. I challenge you to read the whole song.
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in -behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there too.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, or if I settle onthe far side of the sea,
even there your right hand will hold me fast.
God knows me better than I know myself. Now my parents know me pretty well and my wife and kids know me too. They know all my faults and weaknesses, my passions, and even my strengths. But God knows me even better than that! He made me in His image and since I have accepted his one and only Son Jesus as my Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit lives in me and changes me to be more like Him. What you may consider to be a weakness, God can use to bless others and bring glory to Him! God knows what makes you tick. He knows you and loves you "warts and all."
Today, be honest with God. Confess your weaknesses and your shortcomings. Ask God to use you and to help you to overcome your inadequacies. Also ask God to use your strengths so that He may get the glory and honor.
There's no escaping yourself and there's no escaping God. You can't be too bad for God not to love you and there is no place you can go where He does not see you and can find you.
He knows you get anxious and long for change. Let Him do the changing and see what happens!!
VS 23-24 end this song with this thought..."Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Today I challenge you to not run from your situation or to even try to run from God. Rather run TO Him, telling him all about it. You can't surprise him nor shock him for he already knows all about you. Remember that no matter where you go, not only will you still be there but so will God!!!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
God's Natural World: What kind of soil are you?
God's Natural World: What kind of soil are you?: I'd like to retell a story that Jesus told his followers. In Matthew Chapter 13 vss 3-9 Jesus tells the story about a farmer sowing seed. It...
What kind of soil are you?
I'd like to retell a story that Jesus told his followers. In Matthew Chapter 13 vss 3-9 Jesus tells the story about a farmer sowing seed. It goes like this:
Now a farmer went out to sow some seed. As he was scattering the seed some fell along the path. Now a path is kinda hard dirt. Its worn by many years by many feet walking on it and the wheels of charriots on it too. So its no surprise that the seed that fell on the path didn't take root at all and was quickly eatten up by some birds even before any rain could hit it and give it the least bit of a chance to grow.
Now some of this seed happen to fall along rocky places. I don't know about you but rocky areas may collect a little dirt but you can't count on it to grow much but weeds! The seed did grow some but since the roots couldn't go very deep the plants that grew withered when the sun beat down on them. You see, they needed moisture and deep roots to withstand the weather and rocky places just aren't very good for that.
Some of this seed did grow in one area, but unfortunately there were weeds and thorns that grew up right along with it and they choked the plants from getting a chance to thrive. You see, plants need room to grow and they can't become what they were meant to be if they are restricted from their potential.
Finally!!! Some seed fell on good soil that had been plowed up and fertilized and had good watering!!! These seed grew up and then do you know what they did? These plants produced seed and lots of it! Now it might have been corn or it might have been wheat. What kind we really don't know and to be truthful it really doesn't matter.
Many times I've heard sermons about this and the focus is always on the seed producing fruit or not. I'd like to change the focus a bit this time around on the type of soil the seed fell on. Are you living your life in such a way that nothing positive can work its way in and do any good?
Or maybe you are rocky and maybe God's word can't go very deep because you don't give it much of a chance. You might hear it and you might even pay attention and agree with it but religion is best left at church and on Sundays and it just can't be expected to be applied to every day living.
Maybe you are the kind of person who tryies so hard to live right and really wants to be a Christian but you are trying to do it in your own strength. Oh you might offer up a prayer or two when things get tough but its just not for every day living and when things do get rough you give up on God and fall out of going to church and reading the Bible. The troubles of this life are like thorns and weeds that choke out the truth of God's love.
Then there are those few (yes few for the road is narrow and few there are that find it) who accept Christ and all He offers willingly. They pray often and search the Bible for what God would have to say to them. They look to God daily for guidance and have a deep, abiding relationship with Him. No, their life isn't perfect and sometimes they don't do everything the way they shojld. But their lives are spent trusting Jesus to guide them and provide for them. They know they can depend on God, not to judge them for every misstep, but to love them when even they don't deserve it.
As they thrive in God's grace daily there are many whose lives are affected in a positive way and it is obvious that God is working in their lives consitently to make them more like Him!
So I ask you, which kind of soil are you? Today I challenge you to trust Him fully for everything you need. He made you and designed you for a purpose and wants to bless you not for your own glory or recognition but for His!!!
Now a farmer went out to sow some seed. As he was scattering the seed some fell along the path. Now a path is kinda hard dirt. Its worn by many years by many feet walking on it and the wheels of charriots on it too. So its no surprise that the seed that fell on the path didn't take root at all and was quickly eatten up by some birds even before any rain could hit it and give it the least bit of a chance to grow.
Now some of this seed happen to fall along rocky places. I don't know about you but rocky areas may collect a little dirt but you can't count on it to grow much but weeds! The seed did grow some but since the roots couldn't go very deep the plants that grew withered when the sun beat down on them. You see, they needed moisture and deep roots to withstand the weather and rocky places just aren't very good for that.
Some of this seed did grow in one area, but unfortunately there were weeds and thorns that grew up right along with it and they choked the plants from getting a chance to thrive. You see, plants need room to grow and they can't become what they were meant to be if they are restricted from their potential.
Finally!!! Some seed fell on good soil that had been plowed up and fertilized and had good watering!!! These seed grew up and then do you know what they did? These plants produced seed and lots of it! Now it might have been corn or it might have been wheat. What kind we really don't know and to be truthful it really doesn't matter.
Many times I've heard sermons about this and the focus is always on the seed producing fruit or not. I'd like to change the focus a bit this time around on the type of soil the seed fell on. Are you living your life in such a way that nothing positive can work its way in and do any good?
Or maybe you are rocky and maybe God's word can't go very deep because you don't give it much of a chance. You might hear it and you might even pay attention and agree with it but religion is best left at church and on Sundays and it just can't be expected to be applied to every day living.
Maybe you are the kind of person who tryies so hard to live right and really wants to be a Christian but you are trying to do it in your own strength. Oh you might offer up a prayer or two when things get tough but its just not for every day living and when things do get rough you give up on God and fall out of going to church and reading the Bible. The troubles of this life are like thorns and weeds that choke out the truth of God's love.
Then there are those few (yes few for the road is narrow and few there are that find it) who accept Christ and all He offers willingly. They pray often and search the Bible for what God would have to say to them. They look to God daily for guidance and have a deep, abiding relationship with Him. No, their life isn't perfect and sometimes they don't do everything the way they shojld. But their lives are spent trusting Jesus to guide them and provide for them. They know they can depend on God, not to judge them for every misstep, but to love them when even they don't deserve it.
As they thrive in God's grace daily there are many whose lives are affected in a positive way and it is obvious that God is working in their lives consitently to make them more like Him!
So I ask you, which kind of soil are you? Today I challenge you to trust Him fully for everything you need. He made you and designed you for a purpose and wants to bless you not for your own glory or recognition but for His!!!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
God's Natural World: Language and Cheap Imitations
God's Natural World: Language and Cheap Imitations: Over the past few years our language has changed. Oh, I'm not speaking about some foreign tongue but the words we use seem to me to define o...
Language and Cheap Immitations
Over the past few years our language has changed. Oh, I'm not speaking about some foreign tongue but the words we use seem to me to define our thought pattern and perhaps even our World View.
We used to use words like "attractive" or "handsome" to describe someone who looks nice. Now it seems we have traded in those words for "sexy." We live in a world obsessed with sex. Its in almost every TV program being produced these days; in most clothing stores in the mall; in lots of magazines; and in the movies we watch. So why can't we seem to use words which adequately compliment the other person without bringing "sex" into the subject? I believe it is totally of Satan. Satan decieves and not by some blatant attempt usually but subtlely. If he can get us to treat what God made as Holy as trivial and common place then he has succeeded in getting us to settle for less than God's best. Cheap substitutes don't satisfy. I know we all have adapted to cheap substitutes and have learned to live with things that once were made to last but now may not even last past the manufacturers warranty. Needless to say, the cheap immitation isn't what its advertised to be and isn't the "real mccoy."
Relationships as they are portrayed on TV are shallow and seem to center around sexual pleasure rather than building a good, solid foundation and saving sex for marriage with only one partner. Satan has substituted a cheap immitation of intimacy for the real thing and we've swallowed it hook, line, and sinker! We are in a society that can't wait for things at all and certainly patience is no longer a virtue. We want things and so we charge them on credit cards. Sometimes that's a necessity but many times it is not. What ever happened to saving our money and setting aside some for our goals in life?
Now you may think that I've digressed from my point of this blog but I assure you I do have a point.
Since we have been conditioned to not wait for things that "satisfy," we also don't learn to build relationships and wait for sex until we are married. We go for what feels good and besides "everybody is doing it!" But God does not call us to do what everyone else is doing.
In Ephesians 5 we are called to "Live as children of light...." We are to "find out what pleases the Lord" and "have nothing to do wiht the fruitless deeds of darkness."
So I challenge you to change your language and use words that uplift the other person. We can choose to compliment in ways that don't imply we are thinking of that person as a sex object.
Change the way you talk and you will change the way you think.
Be aware of content to which you watch and listen. You will find it is indeed a "slow fade" to a sinful life and you will not be honoring God with your life but instead you will be a witness for Satan and you will be giving your approval to the "cheap" substitute which does not satisfy in the long run.
We used to use words like "attractive" or "handsome" to describe someone who looks nice. Now it seems we have traded in those words for "sexy." We live in a world obsessed with sex. Its in almost every TV program being produced these days; in most clothing stores in the mall; in lots of magazines; and in the movies we watch. So why can't we seem to use words which adequately compliment the other person without bringing "sex" into the subject? I believe it is totally of Satan. Satan decieves and not by some blatant attempt usually but subtlely. If he can get us to treat what God made as Holy as trivial and common place then he has succeeded in getting us to settle for less than God's best. Cheap substitutes don't satisfy. I know we all have adapted to cheap substitutes and have learned to live with things that once were made to last but now may not even last past the manufacturers warranty. Needless to say, the cheap immitation isn't what its advertised to be and isn't the "real mccoy."
Relationships as they are portrayed on TV are shallow and seem to center around sexual pleasure rather than building a good, solid foundation and saving sex for marriage with only one partner. Satan has substituted a cheap immitation of intimacy for the real thing and we've swallowed it hook, line, and sinker! We are in a society that can't wait for things at all and certainly patience is no longer a virtue. We want things and so we charge them on credit cards. Sometimes that's a necessity but many times it is not. What ever happened to saving our money and setting aside some for our goals in life?
Now you may think that I've digressed from my point of this blog but I assure you I do have a point.
Since we have been conditioned to not wait for things that "satisfy," we also don't learn to build relationships and wait for sex until we are married. We go for what feels good and besides "everybody is doing it!" But God does not call us to do what everyone else is doing.
In Ephesians 5 we are called to "Live as children of light...." We are to "find out what pleases the Lord" and "have nothing to do wiht the fruitless deeds of darkness."
So I challenge you to change your language and use words that uplift the other person. We can choose to compliment in ways that don't imply we are thinking of that person as a sex object.
Change the way you talk and you will change the way you think.
Be aware of content to which you watch and listen. You will find it is indeed a "slow fade" to a sinful life and you will not be honoring God with your life but instead you will be a witness for Satan and you will be giving your approval to the "cheap" substitute which does not satisfy in the long run.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
God's Natural World: Peace
God's Natural World: Peace: Peace. What is it? We all long for "World" peace, for wars to cease, for troubles to end. But what about peace within? What can you do to b...
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