Tues., Nov. 15, 2016

Psalm 96:6: Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Fall 2016 in Wisconsin has been simply superb. The days have been unseasonably warm, the sun has shown a lot and the fall colors have been long-lasting. This has continued for several weeks until now, mid-November. In celebration of this fantastic weather, Eric, who works at my part-time job, wore shorts to work on Monday!

Last Saturday was another of these gorgeous days. Late afternoon, Rick and I took the three youngest grandkids for a hike in the woods. The idea began with 9-year-old Waylan wanted to take his miniature horse, White Rock, for a “hike.” The 85-pound, 6-month-old puppy couldn’t be left behind. So, Anna tagged along. Sometimes the kitten, Checkers, also joins us. On Saturday, I think she was sun bathing.

Our hike included walking on the road, through the corn and CRP fields and into the woods. As we neared the woods, the neighbor’s nosey cows crowded the line fence, checking out our menagerie. Grandpa convinced us that we should go to a little collection pond in the woods. Of course, this meant fighting the thorny brush, dodging fallen trees and trying to find a path that White Rock would find acceptable. She wasn’t interested in going quite that far. Fortunately, Grandpa found a path out of the woods with less thorny brush to contend. By now, almost 5-year-old Dylan’s little legs were done in. My Saturday work-out involved carrying him back on the return trip.

Thank goodness little Ellie had planned ahead and made snack bags for everyone. The sun was rapidly falling behind the western horizon as the kids used a round hay bale as a table. Anna begged for a snack also. She got what was inadvertently dropped while the rest of us nibbled on nutty bars and vanilla wafer cookies.

When we think of God’s sanctuary, we most often think of the worship space inside of a church. God’s first sanctuary was created in the beginning when God created the earth and all of its beauty. My prayer is that today we can all find a little window of opportunity to celebrate God’s beauty and strength in God’s original sanctuary. Breathe in the fresh air. Stomp on a few lingering leaves. Gaze at the clouds. Celebrate God’s glory.

Lord God, what a beautiful and unique first sanctuary you created for us to enjoy. I pray that we see your presence in all of nature around us. May we truly appreciate and celebrate your beauty in this sanctuary today. Amen.

 Blessings –

Dianne

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