Beauty of the skies...

Psalm 19:1

  1 The heavens declare the glory of God; 

         the skies proclaim the work of his

               hands. 

   I have found living in the desert, the Lord blesses us with these glorious sunsets. They are the prettiest ones I have ever witnessed...including those in the tropics. It literally stops you in your tracks, makes you take a deep breath and say "Wow!" in reverence to the Lord. The desert has a beauty that you can only appreciate after living here. 

 * In the spring the mountains look like plump unripened peaches with their green fuzzy layer and crops beginning to sprout their green little caps. 

 * In the summer you have the sun, warmth, and beautiful rivers with lush trees and breezes. 

 * In the fall you get the cool crisp air that smells like football season. 

 * In the winter you get fences and trees frozen with beautiful spikes of shimmering ice crystals clung to their bodies, looking as if Jack Frost himself blew the ice into place.

  It reminds me of life as a Christian. Those from the outside see our lives and or lifestyles as boring and possibly even enslaved. But, what they don't realize is the beauty and peace that lies within the confines of the Cross. The Lord doesn't keep us from these things to harm us, but to allow us the fullest life possible. He has so many things planned for us, if we would just take the time to stop, rest, and listen. 

  Why do we question His plans? Why do we think we know what's best? He is the creator of ALL, heaven and earth. If we could focus our eyes on Him, maybe we could see the beauty that lies within His plans. Just like the desert, we need to find the resting place that He has provided for us. Wade down to the water to pray and feel His breath upon your face...it's life changing, because He promises it is. It changes our eternal destination...

Colossians 1:15-20

 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Romans 5:8 

  8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  

  So, next time you see what you would consider "a desolate desert," remember things aren't always as they seem... :) 

Blessings~Heather