Worship the LORD!

Toiyabe National Forest in California, as viewed from Highway 89

Tomorrow

Sunset at Fort Bragg, California
God knows all about tomorrow.
He holds it in His hands.
~unknown

Acrostic of Praise and Prayer

Note: After reading Psalm 25, written by David, I noticed the note at the bottom of page that said “This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.” I’m glad I read the note, since, being totally unfamiliar with the Hebrew alphabet, I wouldn't have recognized the psalm as an acrostic. And…even though I know nothing about the “mechanics” of David’s psalm, I tried my hand at writing the acrostic below, which, of course, is far less excellent than his! But the words came from my heart, as David’s did from his! Dear Reader, would you like to create an acrostic of praise and prayer?

Awesome God,

Blessed forever,

Creator of all,

Desire of the ages,

Emmanuel,

Forgive me for all my sins against you and others.

Give me peace—wonderful, indescribable peace.

Help me to praise You in all I do and say.

I humbly thank You in

Jesus’ name for blessing me, for

Keeping Your every promise, and for

Loving me more than my mind can conceive.

May You be honored and adored both

Near and far.

Open my eyes so that I may see Your

Perfection and purity.

Quietly now I wait before Thee,

Ready to do what You say,

Seeking to please You in all

Things, both great and small.

Unto Thee, O LORD, do I lift up my

Voice—and unto Thee, O LORD,

Will I do my work so that ordinary tasks become ways to honor and serve You.

X-ray my entire being, give me a thorough check-up, and then cleanse Me and heal me.

You, the One who can do ALL things, increase my

Zeal for You—not only for today but also for all the days You’ve planned for me.

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge is one of six refuges in the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex located in the Sacramento Valley of north-central California. The refuge is about 70 miles north of the metropolitan area of Sacramento.

Produce Excellent Work!

“Johnnie, you will love the photos on the 2014 Norfolk Southern calendar," a friend said. “I want you to stop by here and pick it up and take it home with you for a while so you can read about the photographers who took the photos and the stories of how they took the winning images.”

(Note: To see the front cover of the calendar, visit http://www.nscorp.com/content/dam/nscorp/ns-store/2014_calendar_ad.pdf) 

Oh, was I ever impressed with the beauty of the images—and the size (approximately 11x16 inches) of each one, as well as the efforts the photographers made to create the image. For example, Lance Myers, who took the March photo, said he photographed the train at Fostoria [Pennsylvania] and then decided to go to Horseshoe Curve to photograph it again. His extra effort enabled him to get a “winner.”

Likewise, Roger Durfee put extra effort into his image that was chosen for April. “I knew this train was coming so I decided to make a stop [at the McKees Rocks Bridge near Pittsburg] on my way back from a photography shoot I had in Altoona the night before.”

Mark Shull, photographer of the June image, had to stand in a soybean field to get his shot—in between thunderstorms.

Rich Borkowski knew the train he wanted to photograph was coming and would be changing crews. So, he drove to the site. “I was really lucky that the flag was unfurled. It’s about a 40-foot flag, so it takes a good bit of wind to see it flying. It’s a great shot for July.”

Willie Brown says his winning photo (on the December page) of a coal train moving on the rails in the midst of a winter wonderland was taken quite by accident. He was simply going to the grocery store when he noticed the headlights of the train, hurried back home, grabbed his camera, and went to the overpass about a block from his house. Voila!

Despite the variety of photographers—and their stories and locations—they have much in common (or so I surmised).  All the photographers are employees of Norfolk Southern and, thus, all have access to and knowledge of trains. All are passionate about photography. All look for creative viewpoints and angles, a beautiful landscape, and an opportunity (planned or spur of the moment) to create the images they’ve visualized. All desire to produce an image that will stand out when the judging is being done.

 As I reflected on that, I thought about Bible verses (and there are lots of them!) that speak of the importance of excelling in whatever we do. For example, we are to excel not only in our work, but also in our relationships and in all aspects of the Christian life. After all, we are made in the image of God, who certainly excels in His work!

California coastline in the Fort Bragg/Mendocino area.

The Creator's Works

One day a week or so ago when my daily Bible reading brought me to the 104^th chapter of Psalms, I came to these words: “O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions. There is the sea, great and broad, in which are swarms without number, animals both small and great” (Psalm 104:24-25, New American Standard Bible).

Immediately, I recalled places my husband I had especially enjoyed this past May while on a trip to northwestern Nevada and northern California. One place in particular seemed to fit the Scripture passage. So, I mentally returned there to reminisce about what we’d seen and experienced in the Fort Bragg area of California. While standing on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, we’d seen not only the beautiful blue waters of the seemingly endless Pacific, but also two harbor seals sunning themselves and a migrating whale that surfaced just for a moment. We’d been intrigued by men in scuba diving suits who’d managed to get down the steep, treacherous cliffs to search around the rocks for abalone and other creatures hiding there. 

As I recalled such scenes, I realized anew that the psalmist was exactly right in giving the Creator the credit for all the wonders we’d seen on that trip—as well as those we see all around us every day! What a beautiful world He has made!

(c) 2014 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill