It's a Beautiful Day
I woke up this morning to spend some time with God (so much easier when the children are on holiday!) and opened the curtains to see the most beautiful view out of the window. Rather than launching into my usual list of prayer requests and things I wanted God to do for me I just stopped for 45 minutes and wrote in my journal about the wonder of God's creation. We live such busy times that I'm sure we don't ever take enough time to pause and allow creation to speak to us. On many occasions the Bible writers expounded how God speaks to us through creation, see Psalm 19 or the words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount where he says
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So why not stop and take time on this beautiful day to allow the creator to speak to you through creation. Go out for a walk, turn off the radio or TV so that you can hear the birds singing, go and hug a tree, just don't spend all day going from one box (home) via another box (the car) to other boxes (work, Starbucks, whatever) without ever stopping to enjoy the stuff outside the boxes.
We're off to Eastbourne as a family for the weekend so probably no more blogs until after the weekend. Hope you have a great one.
Simon.