Photography

The Cool of the Day

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Here in Florida where we have plenty of warm muggy days to contend with; I love to walk early in the morning. It helps me to gather my thoughts and spend part of my quiet time with God before the sun punches its time clock and begins work for the day. The Bible says that God went looking for Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. The word cool can also be translated wind and it is akin to the breathe of God that hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation. Even before God said; “Let there be light!” the breathe of the Spirit was at work. In that same way if we earnestly seek the presence of Jesus in the cool of each morning He won’t need to come looking to come looking for us!

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A Riverwalk

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There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. Psalm 46:4 KJV

Last Summer my wife and I went for a walk along a small river near our home in Florida. We were delighted by a rare afternoon without thunderstorms during our rainy season . Though our walks are a bit shorter now that we have grown older, they are still the best times for us to talk and share special time together. Walking along quietly with the Lord is no different. He treasures the time we spend with Him but we must always tell Him the truth.

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When we are sorry for something we must confess it to Him, and remember that He already knows! When we have a needs; that we can’t work out on our own we only have to ask and He has promised to answer. He is our Savior and Lord; but He has also offered to be our closest friend. He offers to walk by our side and listen to what we has to say on quiet afternoons and busy mornings; during sleepless nights and when we sit down to rest. He is near us at every moment and eagerly waiting to walk with us with us along the banks of the River of Life.

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Simplicity

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For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 2 Corinthians 1:12 ESV

Last summer we were blessed by some friends with the invitation to stay for free at their cottage which they call Simplicity. We spent three glorious days there watching eagles fish in the lake and enjoying quiet days walking or reading as there was no TV, internet or cell phone access. It was a refreshing time of refocusing our hearts and relearning how to truly decompress from the craziness of 21st century life.  P1040658

Focus is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said they lived with simplicity. He did not allow anything to the obscure the simplicity of His Christian life. When we get mixed up with unnecessary entanglements of our time, thoughts or relationships we lose focus. Time alone on a week-end retreat may help for a while but Paul tells us that God’s solution is for us to have a life lived in complete reliance on grace. When things start to blur the focus of our soul; we need to stop and ask God to clear our minds of clutter so we can once again live simply by the grace of Jesus Christ.

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