Thursday, March 10, 2011

In a Relationship with NATURE

"It would be good to remember that the world of nature is the world God created and set us in.  He didn't make Adam from polyester, but from the dust of the earth, and he didn't set him in the mall, but in the outdoors, in nature.  The created world, with all its beauty and diversity and wildness, this is the world God intended for us to live in relationship to."
-Way of the Wild Heart, By: John Eldredge, P. 101

"I looked to the east, and there a full moon was on the rise above the desert mesas, silver and round, poised above the cliffs like the grand dame of the evening on her balcony.  And as I looked a breeze caressed my face, and I knew it was God.  A flock of wood ducks flew across the moon, silhouetted by its light, and now the time was gone, and there was only Beauty, and Life, and Friendship.  My heart was awakened, wooed by the great Lover."
-Way of the Wild Heart, By: John Eldredge, P. 185

"I continued to return, though, because of the beauty I found there, wandering for hours in desert arroyos, stooping to examine the tracks of lizards and tortoises, getting down on my hands and knees to smell a cactus flower.  The expansiveness, the austere beauty, the utter solitude made it, for me, what the Celts called one of the "thin places," where heaven and earth nearly meet.  I felt the presence of God there in such palpable ways."
-Way of the Wild Heart, By: John Eldredge, P. 203

"At last I am surrounded by wilderness.  The wind in the top of the pines behind me sounds like the ocean.  Waves are rushing in from the great blue above, cresting upon the ridge of the mountain I have climbed.  Spreading out below me the landscape is a sea of sagebrush for mile after lonesome mile."
-Wild at Heart, By: John Eldredge, P. 2

"Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness, is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of a man.  The masculine heart needs a place where nothing is prefabricated, modular, nonfat, zip-locked, franchised, on-line, microwaveable.  Where there are no deadlines, cell phones, or committe meetings.  Where there is room for the soul.  Where, finally, the geography around us corresponds tothe geography of our heart."
-Wild at Heart, By: John Eldredge, P. 6


Remember that we are made from the Dust of the Earth, and to Dust we shall return (Genesis 2:7).  God placed us in this world of nature and beauty so that we could enjoy it.  We go through days of rain and thunderstorms every now and then, but the next time that it rains don't curse God for ruining your day, but thank and praise him for nourishing his creation.  Remember that without water WE COULD NOT SURVIVE!  Go out into the wild outdoors sometime.  Take a hike to the top of a mountain and look out over the vastness of the world that we have been set in.  Let the beauty of the Earth envelop your senses.  Watch, Listen, Touch, and Smell what is out there.  Take some time to sit out in the great wild, only you and God and his creation for us.  Just sit out there and talk to him, but also listen to what he has to tell you.  In scripture many times it says, "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16).  You see in the life of Jesus that before and after he performed miracles he would withdraw to places among nature to talk to his father.  Since we are also God's sons/daughters why should we not do the same?  Like Jesus, Moses, John the Baptist, and Jacob, let the Holy Spirit lead you out into the Wilderness!!!!!!!!!!!

Listen to this song by John Denver and write down the little acts of nature's beauty that inspire your senses:

John Denver's Annie's Song


Say this Prayer and ask God for him to help you to experience and enjoy his creation:

Loving Father and Creator of all we come to you today deeply grateful for your creation. As we look around us we are amazed at the greatness and majesty of all that you have made. Nature around us speaks of your greatness - the vast expanse of the sky, the mountains, trees, lakes and streams speak of your great design. You have given us such beauty in the colors of the rainbow, the beauty of flowers and fields. Words cannot adequately express the magnificence of all you have created. We join in praise with the writer of the psalms when he says, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth." May we show our love and reverence to you, our Lord, by caring for all that you have created. We humbly give you praise and thanks. Amen

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