Sunsets

A Florida Winter Wonderland

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For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: Ecclesiates 3:1 ESV

While I do enjoy seeing the amazing photography of Gary Fultz displaying the beauty of the frozen Winter wonderland where he lives, You should check out his latest post: Winter Wonder Wander However; I with my back against the wall and tired of hanging my head in shame over our own special brand of winter here in Florida, I thought I would share a few snap shots of my own.

God has made everything as well as every place with its own special personality. Those that move to the Sunshine State, thinking Disney, Spring Break and fishing aren’t completely wrong, but the unique features of living here are only appreciated after a few years. Here are just a few of my January favorites. A couple of Sand Hill Cranes hanging out in my friend’s yard, and a juvenile Blue Heron watching the Ibis’s chowing down on my left over chips. Then on on day trip to walk the causeway out to Howard Beach there is a look back over the Inter Coastal Waterway to the mainland, some afternoon clouds kissing the tops of palm trees and the newly painted life guard station. The last two are a wind surfer, just hoping for a bit more wind and a Black Bellied Plover, just hanging out with his buddies. Oh yes, the featured image is the unlikely duo of a Snowy Egret with a Small Blue Heron, tip-toeing across the top of a hedge, and the one at the bottom of the page is a sunset at a local beach. Each of these shots, tells a story and carries with it just a trace of the glory of the Great Creator. So, I tip my hat to you who love shushing through snow drifts, or hiking mountain trails in mid- January. Just don’t forget that God has also created beauty in warmer climes. The wonder of His creation, needs an entire universe to tell just the first chapter of the story of His glory!

God The Master Artist

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God the Master Artist
Who makes us like Himself
Hands us our own paint brush
And a canvas from His shelf

Then selects for each a palette
With the colors He does choose
Not just the brilliant ones we like
But also darker hues

And as each day we start to paint
Our Christ and Lord draws near
To guide our strokes with His own hand
Until His face appears!

My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.
Galatians 4:19 NKJV


God The Master Artist
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2023
All Rights Reserved

Hope Beyond Distant Horizons

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As we will be traveling for three weeks, starting tomorrow, the posts will be few and far between. This devotional from several years ago encourages me as we head off towards our own distant horizons. 

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalms 121:1-2 ESV

When life is all tea and roses, it seems obvious to us that tomorrow will be the same or better. But when the rose petals darken from early frost and our teacups fall and smash to pieces, our forecast changes. Weaknesses, hospital stays and doctor visits clamor to fill up our calendar. On those days where is our hope? The psalmist says he looks out as far as his eyes can see, and on his horizon lie distant hills. Beyond those hills is a new and uncharted territory. What things lie behind them? When we have passed our farthest horizon what then? Then God’s answer echoes back from the hills: – “My help comes from the Lord!” The God who created those hills will still walk with us beyond our farthest horizons to the very ends of the earth!