Category: Beauty of Nature

Beauty of Nature, Clouds

Pastel Sky, Misty Valley

Rev Kathy

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What incredible gifts we have been given! How magnificent is our world! My friend recently took this photograph of a pastel sky over a misty valley. The image moved and inspired me to give thanks for the nature that nurtures our lives.

We do not live in a colorless world. Instead we feast on brilliant sunrises, breathtaking skies, multi-hued rainbows on the horizon, mists that drop muted colors over us. We are gently caressed with pinks and blues and purples. This pastel sky reminded me to give thanks. This misty valley reminded me to offer praise to a God of grace that fills our world with color.

Nature helps me worship in special ways. It inspires me to pray and to meditate on our Creator. It moves me to tears at times and fills me with laughter at other times. God’s nature is no accident. It is created for our souls and it fills our hearts with joy. If we notice. If we take a few minutes to take it in.

All of these thoughts rose up in me when I saw this pink pastel sky over the misty valley.

Beauty of Nature, Inspiration, simple joys

Wow!

Rev Kathy
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Boston Fern in my yard

Wow! Not the most eloquent thought for a writer. Nevertheless, “wow” is the best word I can come up with for a day with bright sunshine and gentle, cooling breezes. And I don’t even have to leave home to enjoy the beauty of nature. Flowers are blooming all around my house. Lush ferns are swaying with the wind. The leaves of the Chinese Tallow tree are glistening in the sun.

I am grateful to God for the wild and free beauty in nature, a Creation extraordinaire, available for our enjoyment. I am amazed at the shining stars at night, at the luminous moon, at the rising and setting of the sun. There is enough in this marvelous world to astound me beyond measure. All I need do is pause for a moment to take it all in.

Lord Byron penned eloquent words that express the love of nature.

There is pleasure in the pathless woods:
There is rapture on the lonely shore:
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
There is society, where none intrudes.
I love not man the less, but Nature more.

So it’s very true: “Wow!” Is not eloquent. But it really is accurate.

Beauty of Nature, Inspiration, Sunset

Breathtaking Moments

Rev Kathy
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Breathtaking sunset in Yell County, Arkansas. Photo by Charles Ross

Some moments just take your breath away. We have to make sure we don’t miss those fleeting moments because they can be few and far between. Or perhaps there are more breathtaking moments than we notice because of our preoccupation with more mundane activities.

Just this week the brilliant full moon flanked by a gorgeous view of Mars created one of those breathtaking moments. The rising of the sun creates a breathtaking moment. The misty fog after a gentle rain can be a breathtaking moment. The setting sun is almost always breathtaking to me.

There is an important lesson here: not to miss any of those moments. They are once here, and then gone forever. Keep your eyes open. Keep your heart open. You may have heard this often used quote: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”