Summer Activities with "Eyes Wide Open"
It has been a few months since I last posted here. due to taking some time off to contemplate my next steps in blogging. As I explained in my last post, life is a journey and an adventure. Finding the path that is best for myself can sometimes get overwhelming. I'm still not positive where I'm at with blogging. Summer has been so full, so far. I feel like my blogging still needs to take a back burner and rest a bit. I've been posting more relaxed and fun posts over at my other blog, "Cairn Cottage", which is less demanding of my time.
I wanted to briefly catch you all up on what I've been doing this summer. We did take our 2-week vacation of the west coast and PNW states, which was breathtaking, but challenging(for an explination, read my last post, A Nomadic Calling) We have also enjoyed time with family and had a few celebrations together. As I share these photos, I also decided to share some beautiful
Quotes from
by
“When we experience a moment of beauty, we should turn wonder into worship by giving thanks to God for His goodness in providing it, for His creativity in making it, or simply for our pleasure in experiencing it.” (119)
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| Flowers from my garden at our lake home. |
"Beauty was created by God for a purpose: to give us the experience of wonder. And wonder, in turn, is intended to lead us to the ultimate human expression and privilege: worship. Beauty is both a gift and a map. It is a gift to be enjoyed and a map to be followed back to the source of the beauty with praise and thanksgiving.” (91)
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| Mama and baby swans that swam in front of our house on the lake. |
“Glory is the light of divine delight. Specifically, it is the brilliant, emanating overflow expression of God’s infinite delight in being God. Glory light expresses God’s glorious worth. God chooses to express His invisible, infinite worth in a visible, created way. A created thing can reflect or express a spiritual reality. Glory to us looks like light. It is bright. It is radiant.” (48)
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| Vacation - Mt. Ranier, WA “God gleams from every molecule and atom of this universe. He is the beauty within and beyond every wonder-creating sensory experience. As we delight in God, our senses search for opportunities to enjoy Him in the pleasurable sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures all around us.” (122) |
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| Vacation - Multnomah Falls, OR |
“Creation speaks to us — every day, all the time, constantly shouting truths about spiritual reality. Did you hear it this morning as you got up? Did you feel any truth about God this morning as you took a hot shower? Did you taste any truth as you delighted in your morning coffee? Did you hear any divine reality as you heard a bird singing? Did you see any truth as you saw the blue of the sky? What have you actually felt, tasted, touched, seen, and heard today? The whole earth is filled with His glory. Every day creation shouts to us, God is glorious! God is creator! God is provider! God is love! God is there! . . . Everywhere I look, everything I feel, hear, smell, and taste transmits the beauty of God through the beauty of creation. He is the beauty behind all beauty.” (63–64)
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| Vacation - Along the Oregon coast |
Coming together feels great! Relational unity is humanity at its supreme and highest ideal. Have you ever wondered why the greatest memories of our lives are not things we bought or sites we saw or foods we ate? Think about your greatest memories. They probably have something to do with times of closeness with a parent, a child, a spouse, or a friend. Relational unity is beautiful because all the experiential harmonies of this world whisper of the wondrous beauty of the Godhead’s relational three-ness and oneness.”
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| My "blog" friend, Joan, and me. We got to meet 'in real person1' after 2 years connecting via our blogs. |
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| Our oldest grandson graduated high school!! |
“We enjoy holidays (the coming together of family), weddings and anniversaries (celebrations of the union of marriage), and Fourth of July parades (the unity of community and nation). 35)
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| Fourth of July at our house with family |
“As Romans 11:36 states, all things are from God and to God. Beauty boomerangs from God into created beauty, then through the senses and soul of the image-bearer, and finally back to God with praise and glory.” (69)
Linking up at these blog hops:
Looks like a fun summer for you and it's only half way done! I hope you have some "nomadic" adventures awaiting you before the fall sets in! It was great to meet you in real life and can't wait until we get to visit each other again!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Joan
It has been anything, but boring!! That's for sure, Joan. LOL! I was hoping for a more simplified life, but often I feel like it's become more complicated. Not sure what that's about, but God is in control, so I'll just trust Him to lead me. Thanks for stopping by.
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