The Lone Tree of Wanaka

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

Isaiah 43:2-3 NIV

Great and Unsearchable Things

 

Call to me, and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things which you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3

Jackson Hole - I Am the Gate

 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  They will come in and go out, and  find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;  I have come that they have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:9-10 NIV

Oxbow Bend - He will endure as Long as the Sun...

He will endure as long as the sun,

as long as the moon, through all generations.

He will be like rain falling on a mown field,

like showers watering he earth,

In his days the righteous will flourish;

prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

He will rule from sea to sea

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

The desert tribes will bow before him

and his enemies will lick the dust.

The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores

will bring tribute to him;

the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts,

All kings will bow down to him

and all nations will serve him.

For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

the afflicted who have no one to help.

He will take pity on the weak and the needy

and save the needy from death.

He will rescue them from oppression and violence,

for precious is their blood in his sight.

Psalms 71:5-14 NIV

Glacier National Park - Wisdom laid the Earth's Foundation

 

By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations;
by understanding he set the heavens in place;

by his knowledge the deeps were divided;

and the clouds let drop the dew.

Proverbs 3:19-20 NIV

Shores Waterfront Park - The Tire Swing

 The Tire Swing

An old tire hanging
From the big ash tree,
Was always swinging
With my friends and me.

With an old piece of rope,

We hung it high,

All in the hope,

We could touch the sky.

We swung on that swing,

From dawn to dusk,

To that tire we would cling,

With all our trust.

Swinging up high,

Into the air,

Straight up our feet would go,

Without a care.

The days we spent,

In the shade of that tree,

Swinging for the sky,

So happily.

By Juan Olivarez 6/27/10

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matthew 19:14 NIV

Chugach Mountains - The Stones will Cry Out

 

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.

"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Peace in  heaven and glory in the highest!"

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

"I tell you,"   he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."  

Luke 19:37-40  NIV

Let's Go Down to the River

 

Let's Go Down to the River

As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good ol' way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord, show me the way

O sisters, let's go down

Let's go down, come on down

O sisters, let's go down

Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good ol' way

And who shall wear the robe and crown

Good Lord, show me the way

O brothers, let's go down

Let's go down, come on down

Come on,  brothers, let's go down

Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good ol' way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord, show me the way

O father's, let's go down

Let's go down,  come on down

O father's, let's go down

Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good ol' way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord, show me the way

O mothers, let's go down

Come down, don't you wanna go down?

Come on mothers, let's go down

Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good ol' way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord, show me the way

O sinners, let's go down

Let's go down, come on down

O sinners, let's go down

Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good ol' way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord, show me the way

public domain

To A Butterfly

 To A Butterfly

I've watched you now a full half hour
Self-poised upon that yellow flower,
And, little Butterfly! indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless!-not frozen seas
More motionless!-and then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!

This plot of orchard-ground is ours;

My trees they are, my Sister's flowers;

Here rest your wings when they are weary,

Here lodge as in a sanctuary!

Come often to us, fear no wrong;

Sit near us on the bough!

We'll talk of sunshine and of song,

And summer days, when we were young;

Sweet childish days, that were as long

As twenty days are now.

By William Wordsworth 1807

Lower Tonahutu Trail

 

Big Meadows

Hiking Big Meadows at Rocky Mountain National Park. 

Parc National Jacques Cartier - The True Light that gives Light to Everyone

 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of god--Children born not of natural decent,  nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

John 1:6-13 NIV

The Light Shines in the Darkness

 

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He cam as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through hi all might believe.  He himself was not the light, he came only as a witness to the light.

John 1:5-8 NIV

In the Beginning was the Word

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 1:1-4

No Eye has Seen

 However, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived"-- the things God has prepared for those who love him"--

1 Corinthians 2:9

Faith is tasting the Saltiness of our Tears

Sometimes

faith is building an ark

when there is no rain,

dipping seven times in a muddy river

when you have open wounds,

 or marching in circles

and shouting praises

when your enemy is ready to do battle.

And sometimes

faith is

tasting the sweetness of God

in the saltiness of our tears.

Stacy L Sanchez

www.heartprintsofgodcom

Do Not Be Afraid

 

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Psalm 91:5-6

Ancient Mariner

"Farewell, farewell!  but this I tell

To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!

He prayeth well, who loveth well

Both man and bird and beast.

He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.

The Mariner, whose eye is bright,

Whose beard with age is hoar,

Is gone; and now the Wedding-Guest

Turned from the bridegroom's door.

He went like one that hath been stunned,

And is of sense forlorn'

A sadder and a wiser man,

He rose the morrow morn."

Excerpts from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798)

The Winds and Waves Obey Him

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?' 

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet!  Be Still!'  Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?' 

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Mark 4:37-41 NIV

Congaree National Park

 

Congaree National Park protects the largest remaining tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in North America.  The boardwalk is a 2.4 mile loop roundtrip.  The Weston Lake is an oxbow lake. It was once a bend in the Congaree River.  Over 2,000 years ago the river gradually changed its course and meandered south, leaving behind Weston Lake.  The standing dead trees are called snags and are full of insect, spiders and fungi.  The summer heat would make this park unbearable with flies and mosquitoes.   There are no ocean breezes or cool mountain air so hiking the park is best in the spring or winter.

God is with Us

 

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalms 46:1-7 NIV