Thunderstorms and Lightening

Thunderstorms and Lightening

I got caught in a rainstorm this morning, but I knew it wouldn't last. The clouds were moving in dark and heavy and it would soon become a thunderstorm. So I slowly strolled from my car to the back porch and plopped myself down in my rockin' chair and prepared for the coming light show with sounds effects. And sure enough,  it was just a matter of minutes before it began.  With the sky brooding and dark, the wind began to blow and in what seemed like an instant,  the temperature dropped from the mid nineties to the mid eighties. Add to that the slight breeze of the ceiling fan and me being wet, I was actually kinda cold. But that was insignificant as I began to watch and listen.  Everyone who lives in a thunderstorm prone area knows this, but for those of you who don't, this is how you tell how close you are to the lightening: when you see lightening you count the seconds until you hear the thunder. Then divide those seconds by five. That's how many miles away the lightening struck. For instance, if it's ten seconds, the lightening struck two miles away.  If it's one second it probably hit your yard OR your house! So back to my musings.  Lightening bolts are both beautiful and frightening.  If lightening is striking all around you, it can indeed be a scary thing.  And when it is really close the thunder booms sound like cannons, to the point of rattling your crystal.  And it's not at all uncommon to drive past a pecan orchard and see VERY large branches laying on the ground broken and charred.  BUT!  When all of this is in the distance or out over the Gulf of Mexico, it is truly an experience that I love, that I never grow tired of and always causes me to look at God in a certain way.  A way in which we all need to be reminded sometimes.  If you have been reading my blog, you may have noticed that I am usually casting God in His wonderful goodness, kndness, etc.  But when I am witnessing a storm I am reminded of His awesome power. For some reason, it is during a storm that I am most in touch with the pain of His sacrifice. I dwell on the crucifixion with the thunder and lightening more than any other time. The intense fire and briliance of the lightening strike show me His purifying judgement and presence, while the fierceness of the thunder reminds me of the intense grief my Father felt when my sin was placed on Christ Jesus, His Son and the absolute darkness, pain and aloneness that Jesus felt being separated from His Father.  It's as though They are both screaming with grief and pain. Their voices so strong, so powerful that They cannot be ignored. They MUST be heard.  It is not unusual to find me on my knees, weeping, thanking and praising God the Father and Christ my Saviour for my salvation and the relationship I have with them.  I am overwhelmed and overcome by love and venture back out in the rain to be cleansed again and baptized anew in the Holy Spirit.  Amen and Amen.

Mercy, Love and Grace

I knew When I Named this Blog that I Should have Given it a Broader Name. It is not only about God's Creation, but also His Mercy, Grace and Amazing Love.

Worshipping the Creation and not the Creator

I feel so thankful for the things of God's creation.  It makes me understand why people who never knew of the true God worshipped His creation. They knew there was a higher power, something or someone so much greater than themselves. I thank God that we are judged by what we know and that they will be given the opportunity to meet, accept and know the Creator of what they worshipped.

The Phases of the Moon

Phases of the Moon

Whether the moon is the smallest sliver or so big it lights up the earth, I am always in awe of the fact that this big reflective rock that God hung in the heavens actually controls the ebb and flow of the largest oceans; that its comings and goings have given us our calendars and provided a framework of time in which we, as mere mortals can live our lives.  That God,  Who doesn't exist in time as we know it,  in His infinite love and wisdom created time just for us. A reference for us to use In order to differentiate one period of existence  from another. And so we have days and weeks, months and years. All because of the moon and all of its wonders.

Dew Drops on a Flower Petal

Dew Drops on a Flower Petal

Have you ever gotten up early in the morning, gone outside with your cup of coffee, just so you could catch the first of everything?  The first smells and sights of the day. The air heavy with the fragrance of honeysuckle or magnolia or gardenia or jasmine, mixed with the smell of the rich earth of a freshly plowed field. To watch the wild flowers wake up as though the sun has tickled their petals to gently force them to open. And one by one, they answer the call. Then you see it ... the shimmer, the dew, appearing as tears of the night reflecting the love shared with the sun. Then think to yourself,  "my God.  My wonderful, magnificent God, has blessed me again and again  and again".  His blessings are all around us, yet so often we go unaware of His creation.  We, or more specifically I,  get so wrapped up, so involved in living life that we fail to see the wonder of life. The wonder  of something as small and as lovely as a single dew drop on the petal of a delicate flower. Another gift from our Creator for which to be thankful.