Come Ye Thankful People, Come

As the holiday approaches the thought passes through my mind:
WHO are you thanking?

You are, no doubt, thankful for the blessings of your life, you are thankful for health, or wealth, or the afternoon football game when your favorite team finally wins (I'm assuming)...

But who do you breathe that "thank you" to under your breath?

Do you thank a blank universe, random genetic mutating chances, an impersonal deity who wound up the world and left it to fend for itself?

Or do you thank GOD?

Do you actually, or mentally, write Him a Thank You note?


Father, I wanted to write today to thank You for all the blessings in my life. I am not so well-off as some but I am a great deal better off than I deserve. I know that this is Your doing. Thank You for protecting me from dangers I am not even aware of. Thank You for walking with me. Even when I forget to hold Your hand You are always there for me, watching over me and waiting to guide me. Thank You for the way the sun rises and sets, the way clouds roll and oceans foam, for the veins of leaves and blue dwarf stars. Thank You for tadpoles. Thank You for Your Son, and the knowledge of saving grace. Thank You for stooping to write Your name in the dust from which I am made. Thank You. In the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

November Fields

I have seen the land that seems always November.

I have heard it call in the honking cries of geese above the clouds.

And when the fields lie bare and barren I have remembered,

this stark landscape is beautiful too.

Magnolias

The stream bends here, and if you are tempted to watch it to follow the curve and line of the water as it rushes and spills under the bridge and over the dam on the right side of the road, you will miss the sight on your left.

This magnolia tree. Long past the season of blooms it offers to the autumn season a rich red of fruits. The color so perfectly matches the old barn against which it grows that I find it impossible to believe the tree was planted for the glorious creamy white blooms that will cover it's evergreen branches in the spring.

No, somebody knew that other seasons need beauty too and planned for this perfect combination.

Photoshopping

More Color

The reds of this photo, relieved by a flash of yellow, are sweet gum leaves. Would you have thought reds looked so good against a background of rusty-tan of pine needles?
I wouldn't have thought of it until I tried to figure out why this image works, but I think it does work because of the shadows. The dark of the shadows provides the needed contrast and keeps this color combo from becoming monochromatic in a bad way.

Litmus Test

The discussion on the car radio this morning as I drove was insightful. I thought I would share what I gleaned.

How can we be sure if we are a "new creation in Christ" and are really and truly Born Again Christians?

I would love to say we know because we are then perfect and never sin... I would love to be without sin in my life. We are all still human, however. We will still make mistakes.

The way to know we Born Again is not that we do not still face sin in our lives. It is that we are uncomfortable with that sin, ashamed of our wrong thoughts or actions, and we regret the sins we commit.

But we take that discomfort and that shame to the foot of the cross and we leave it there... knowing that there, our sins are forgiven and we are washed clean again.

Texture for Tuesday

fallen willow leaves