Worship His Majesty

One of my favorite songs was on my mind this morning when I awoke.  Majesty, worship His majesty.  And, as I sang I began to remember some of the very majestic scenes I have been blessed to witness in this land I call home.

Please enjoy His majesty today wherever your are.

These scenes are from California.

 

 

 

 

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

Psalms 145:5

 

Clinging to the Past

 

 

I love to photograph Americana.  That's right, I enjoy taking pictures of old stuff!  It always seems to have so much character, so much depth, so much history.  I find myself wondering about the people that once used the objects and places I am photographing.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps some of us cling to the past a little too much.  But, change is hard!  I had a friend comment recently that she almost didn't make a major career change because the idea of change was so unsettling.  She did change and I am sure the rewards will be great.

 







Some churches are slow to change. They cling to the past.  They only sing the same hymns, they only read from the same Bible translation, they cling to the trappings of religion.  And, sadly, they diminish and die. 

My daughter had a coach who said, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always be what you've always been."  There is truth in that.

Now don't get me wrong. I love tradition.  I love the old hymns. My point is we must not cling to those things of the past and refuse to change.

Do not call to mind the former things,

Or ponder things of the past.

Isaiah 43:18

In the Shadows

As a photographer, I love shadows.  Shadows can add depth and drama to a picture.

 

But, today I am writing about being in a different kind of shadow.  The shadow of the Almighty is much more than depth and drama.  It is life itself.  My prayer is that you will dwell there.

 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalms 91:1

Who Do We Work For?

Whatever you do, do your work heartily,

as for the Lord rather than for men,

Colossians 3:23

 

 

 

Pleasant Hill, Kentucky is located near Lexington.  It is a wonderful, peaceful, historic site that we love to visit as often as possible.  The village was built in the 1800's by the Shakers.

 

 

The Shakers were passionate about their worship.  They believed that one could worship ALL the time.  For the Shaker, even work was an act of worship.  The sign below is on display in one of the buildings there.

 

 

 In the 30+ restored buildings of Pleasant Hill there are over 30,000 pegs.  The Shakers used these pegs to hang things on the wall.  Every peg that was created was offered as an act of worship!  Wow!

 

 

 

 

Where and how do you worship when you are not in a church?  Please leave a comment and share.

 

 



The Benefits

 

 

Sometimes I am just overwhelmed.  There are days when it's the world that overwhelms me.  Those days I just try to "press on".

 

 

But, more often, there are days when the goodness of God overwhelms me.  Days when I really see Him around and in my life and the life of my family.  On those days I am reminded once again of Psalms 103.

 

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all of His benefits;

 

Today I will choose to remember His benefits and I will choose to not let the world overwhelm me.

Seed Sown

As he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, . . .

Other seed fell on the rocky ground . . .

Other seed fell among the thorns, . . .

Other seeds fell into the good soil, . . .

Mark 4:4a, 5a, 7a, 8a

 

 

 

 

I heard a song recently that reminded me of the story of the seed.  And I wept as I was reminded that I am like one of those seeds.  Which one is up to me!  Unlike the seed sown by the farmer, I have a choice about where I grow. I can live my life in the harshness of the rocks; in the crowded, choking weeds; on hard ground; or in good soil.

 

One line from the song: The seed which falls on rock will wither and will die. The seed within good ground will flower and have life.

 

We all have a choice.  I choose to seek the good soil. I know that life will be fuller and happier if I  do.

 







We Are One

So we, who are many, are one body in Christ,

and individually members one of another.

Romans 12:5

 

 

 

We had the privilege of sharing in one of our grandchildren's 1st Communion Service this past weekend.  It was a beautiful experience to see all those young second graders process into the sanctuary. The service was different from the way we usually worship. But, the presence of His Spirit was very familiar.

 

There are many different ways to celebrate communion.  There are many different traditions of worship.  Some of us worship one way, others another.  I was really struck by a line from the hymn of Thanksgiving that the children sang during this service.

And though there are so many here today,

we are all one:

One family, one body and one Church.

We are Your own.

 



How wonderful it was to worship the one God with our family.