I had to share a picture from our front yard. Such symbolism!
Menacing crimson thorns in our front yard. No match for snowflakes!
I often wonder why Jesus took a crown of thorns. I wonder why he took thorny me.
I marvel at the symbolism of the picture. The thorns are no match for the Christ who died for us with a crown of thorns. Then he takes our heart of thorns and washes us whiter than snow.
Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. (Isaiah 118)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
The snow quit. Winds died. Morning came after freezing fog. All was frosted. Highlights rolled in with the coming sun. Skating to work on the roads might be the best option in freezing temperatures. Look at this mornings artwork from God’s perspective. life’s deadliest winter storms will end. Only God can make beauty of it.
The cold snows of life, a prelude to beauty
Our vision is limited. All we can see is snow
The sun is coming, the son is coming
We may be frozen solid but God begins to warm our hearts
Only God can warm our cold hearts and make beauty of life’s winters.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2)
Gary
Pictures taken this Monday morning after the storm
I’ve been in the woods and quite absent from the internet. I’m noticeably different (self diagnosis). Seemingly random thoughts tug on my mind while winters crystals defy the sun. The winter sun’s angle allows the snow to direct any radiant heat back into outer space. The sunhas gone south for the winter. It’s below freezing.
I wonder about the winter seasons in my life, when the Son seems ineffective in my life. My life’s edges are frosty and cold to those around me. I am indifferent. Maybe I should get closer to the Son??
A beautiful little pond, frozen in the woods. I’m sorry for all the brush in the way, it just grows up and multiplies. Before you know it the brush gets mighty thick, thorny and impassable in ones soul. Life is like that you know. Sometimes our beauty is hidden or terribly neglected. Cute little sprouts take over one’s life. Sometimes our prayer should be “Lord please brush out my life, I place it in your care”. It may hurt.
Somehow, when we think we are just a branch with one ole dried up leaf hanging on in the cold, God brings forth buds.They are there. It may be dormant in the cold but packed with nutrition for lives looking for browse. I’ve watched deer and grouse eat these like candy. Like the pain of thawing out one’s frozen fingers, Thawing a heart is really tough. I know.
So I let go of the last dried up frozen leaf. Let my trophies go. It hurts.
I Let the new creation bud. I Let those who may browse. I Let go and face the Son.
I Face the Sun and the woods glows in it’s light. Every frozen crystal reflects it’s Glory.
I encourage you to let the Son come into your life and take complete control. Even in your seasons of coldest winter you can glow in His radiance. I know. I’m quite different (God’s diagnosis).
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I shall meet again with my God in the morning as I do every morning. Winter in one’s soul is just a season. Sometimes in life’s coldest moments God lays his hand on our heart. I know.
As a person, I’m probably smarter than you may think I am, and, quite a bit less smart than I think I am. I prove the last part of that statement daily and a couple times a year the first part seems proven (to me).
Take today for example, I refinished an ash table top that we use for a picnic table on the screen porch. The table sits outside all year. Grand kids use that table to play on with toys and sometimes my tools they think are toys. It was really beat up and looked like it was sulking and looking forlorn out there. Here is where I step it up and refinish right? Happy Table right??
I stripped off the old finish, sanded and sanded this table. Sawdust everywhere. I set sanding and finishing records for an old black ash table top. I made it look nice, and it does from a distance. I got the old scars out and put in my own. Argh!..not again! Everywhere. Take a look
Sander marks from using too course of sandpaper (rookie mistake) and then being in a hurry to put some finish on. Hey, it’s only a picnic table that sits outside so it’s good enough right?
Aren’t you glad God does not treat us this way? Yet some think He does. Do you think Gods version of renewing our minds (Romans 12:2) is to reach for “Good Enough?”
Oh He lets us experience all of life’s poundings and we have the scars to prove it. However, God does not abandon us, give us a rough clean up and only make us look nice from a distance. God goes for the heart of the matter. Clean inside first. Our outside might look tough until the inside is so changed it starts showing through (2 Corinthians 4:16)
God is not finished with us yet so let Him do His work. When he is done, eternity will know it. For now the world will be satisfied with seeing a “Love” construction zone in us.
We should be allowing God to produce in us what the whole world wants.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Finally: If God can put a flower garden and the horizon into a dew droplet (see header picture) He can put Love in your heart and abunchofothergoodthings!
We were camped for one night on an island on big kekekabic lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness. The scenery was beyond what words can ascribe to natures raw beauty. High cliffs and rock areas as large as a small town lined the edges. 100 yards out from the north island side found 180 feet deep of crystal-clear-lake trout fishing water.
The next morning the winds came up as we packed up camp to travel another 7 lakes with portages in-between. The four of us gathered on the island edge to study the fast whitecapped waves between us and the closest shoreline where we planned to go. The stretch of water we needed to cross was in a wind tunnel. We couldn’t see them well so everything looked ok from our island. “I think we can make it” said our young and somewhat experienced canoeist. “It looks doable” said my teen age grandson. We looked at my newly retired neighbor to see what he thought. “I am going with the opinion of the one who has led groups up here over 70 times” said my neighbor looking at me.
Doesn’t look windy at all. Very fast angry deceptive waves out there
I looked at the treetops swaying wildly in the wind and felt the crosswind gusts. we were protected on our side of the island. I have been in this position before and chose wrong. “We have a little less than a mile of wind tunnel that we are crossing by the time we are to the next portage. Each canoe has about a 50% chance of making it without tipping in those waves. Maybe.” I said. “The water is cold enough, so you have about 10 minutes to rescue yourself before your muscles do not work anymore. If one canoe tips the other canoe will want to rescue them. It’s almost impossible to rescue in these waves, then you have 4 people in the water too far from shore to make it. As long as we stay on the island, we have a zero percent chance of tipping. That’s” my opinion ” I said. My Neighbor spoke up, “I’m trusting the experienced opinion”; the young guys nodded yes.
End of a long windy day after high winds and 7 portages.
After a late afternoon meal, the wind died down and the waves were much lower, slower and less angry. The waves were still white-capped when we shoved off. The portage was straight across from us, but the waves were still to big to be side swiped in a canoe. The plan was to go at an angle into the waves until midway across the highest section of waves. When a lull in the wind gusts died down, we would turn the canoe around to angle across the wind tunnel and ride the waves toward the portage.
Even with less wind and smaller waves, we all felt the adrenaline of the rough water and building courage of navigating properly. Thankfully the big waves had turned into big rollers that propelled our canoes forward rather than washing over the end of the canoe. After we made it to the portage, each guy made it known then and later around the fire how grateful we didn’t try to tackle waves three times higher than what canoes could safely handle. “How did you know the waves were so big? They didn’t look big to me. I don’t think I could handle any bigger waves than the smaller ones after the wind died down,” said our better experienced young man. I told him a couple other stories about myself tipping canoes in those kinds of waves and lived to tell.
Nature in the raw is truly ruggedly beautiful. Beyond description. We found a campsite out of the wind. Grateful. God’s handiwork is so awesome and overwhelming that how could we not experience God by experiencing nature? It’s a common misconception voiced around the campfire. Nature settings are like being in God’s 3D art gallery.
God’s clues are so many! One can experience peace in the gurgling brook and the morning sunrise. One’s smallness is real also in the mysterious aura felt around the evening fire as the wolves moan, the frogs croak and a large animal walks in the water. There are (quite sure) a zillion stars out there to be viewed from ones tent site. I love natures clues.
Natures sense of peace is between the storms. God’s peace is in the midst of the storm.
This forest fire died here. It was a big one. I’m glad I was not there as I probably would have “become one with nature”
Visit the wilderness enough and one will experience all that happens in nature. A beautiful sunrise in the east may lure you into the middle of a big lake while the western skies may prepare the storm of the century.I have a hundred stories where “mother” nature does not care about us. But, God cares.
Nature is not tame and from all indications neither is God.
If you want to meet God, in nature or right where you are now, just ask. God will meet us anywhere. He is God and calls the shots. Consider what He has promised in scripture.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13
There’s so much more if you care to look it up!
I love getting into nature. I still see it as God’s living room (my thing I guess) and I meet him there but only because I have a relationship with my creator. It’s my most important relationship. We talk and I listen as well. There is much to see, hear and understand. Peace comes from God and not nature, but what a great back drop for allowing God to work on this scruffy specimen of a follower of Jesus. What a great place to fellowship and dine, in God’s living room.
Born with Spina-Bifida. 37 years, 35 surgeries and thousands of stares and comments. Life and significance can feel like a lone tiny battered island.
In my quiet time with God I recently (intentionally) asked the Lord for wisdom and a way to show our handicapped daughter how much God loves her and how much her first father loves her. Later in the day I came across this very special blog by a very special lady. please visit and read. https://writenow.wordpress.com/2019/03/04/beauty-from-slag/
Go back, click on the link first before continuing please!!
I was able to show our daughter the picture from Shirley’s blog of what some consider to be trash (slag) but mixed with glass in liquid form creates immense beauty. We had some small talk about how it was made and how beautiful it was. I also read the short blog to her. I then said to my daughter “This is you dear daughter. You have often seen yourself as slag, trash, and people have said and done mean things to you; but God has created an immensely beautiful person in you no matter what has happened to your body.
Realization of this truth was like slowly filling a clear glass picture of water but not shutting the tap off. First there were tears, then sobs and a heaving chest full of sobs came as her picture overflowed. A new radiance of spirit that most of us will never experience quietly came as the tap slowed and stopped.
Before showing and reading to my daughter as she rested in bed, I intentionally thanked God for his answer to prayer and intentionally asked for wisdom in presenting this spectacular picture of slag mixed with glass on Shirley’s blog. I see her this way. I know and see the beauty that others may miss. See picture here
the beautiful colors of slag glass are endless
I wonder how many people I walk by every day who do not know that God can take the slag of their life, melt it down and mix with His ineffable power. Only God can do such grandiose kind of work words cannot express in each of us. Thanks G.W for that great read. https://collinsgw.combecoming/2019/03/06/ineffable-power/
My daughter and I talked about the word “ineffable” in her life. Joyous tears again.
The kind of intentionality it takes to turn the trash slag into beautiful glass slag in people’s lives is huge, costly and time consuming on our part. Ask my daughter, it’s worth it. Ask God, it’s worth it. Ask Me and I will tell you that watching someone slowly realize the ineffable power of God masked by a broken body has more grandeur than any wonder the world could contain.
Please comment, thanks for reading.
Gary
The two links posted are pure gold. Thanks Shirley and G.W for your intentionality in making them so worthwhile.
First Breakfast this morning: Great are the works of the Lord, They are pondered by all who delight in them. (Psalm 111:2) A great time in the word.
2nd Breakfast: 3 eggs, 3 bacon, 2 toast loaded with peanut butter and strawberry jam.
One will last a few hours of sustenance. The other will last an eternity. One is a short time enjoyment while the other takes it’s time to penetrate and change one’s very being. One is paid for out of labor wages while the other was paid for by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Now I’m gushing a bit but that’s ok. The previous verse which is Psalm 111:1 says “I will extol the Lord”. The word “Extol” means to praise enthusiastically, rapturous, Sing the praises of, gush, eulogize, rhapsodize, rave about and the list goes on
Somehow, when we think we are just a branch with one ole dried up leaf hanging on in the cold, God brings forth buds. They are there. It may be dormant in the cold but packed with nutrition for lives looking for browse. I’ve watched deer and grouse eat these like candy. Like the pain of thawing out one’s frozen fingers, Thawing a heart is really tough. I know.
God’s handiwork is so awesome and overwhelming that how could we not experience God by experiencing nature? It’s a common misconception voiced around the campfire. Nature settings are like being in God’s 3D art gallery. 
Gods Ways are...Different 