God’s Masterpieces

Our Christ in the Manger cactus put on quite a show for my husband and me one night in early July. During the 30 plus years we’ve nurtured it, it generally opens one or two, sometimes three, blooms on any given night. But this year there were four, each having an exquisitely beautiful interior that resembles a baby in a manger, complete with a large star. Each bloom releases a heavenly fragrance, too. 

The large pods open around 10 p.m. and reveal their inner beauty for only a few hours. By morning each one has closed and is hanging limply, giving no hint of what was revealed in the darkness. That plant, which is rather plain (some would say UGH-LEE) during the year, astonishes me when it blooms. As I shine a light on each one to better see its incredible interior, I praise the Creator who designed it. I realize He loves beauty and detail and uniqueness and symbolism and perfection...As I do, I reflect on two of my favorite Bible verses:

 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

—Psalm 139:14, NKJV

~~~~~~~~~~~~

For we are His workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

--Ephesians  2:10, NKJV

Indeed, God creates masterpieces! Or, as one person said, “God doesn’t make junk!” Aren’t we glad He doesn’t?

Amazing Care! Amazing Creator!

Because I'm enthralled by the exquisite beauty in flowers, even wildflowers and weeds, I can hardly bear to pass one by without taking its picture. As you can imagine, I have thousands of flower photos stored on various hard drives. For years, I made little effort to learn their names; but recently I've felt a need to identify them and to learn more about their uniqueness. 

For example, when I edited this "portrait" of one of the dozens of pink evening primroses growing in a drainage ditch near my mailbox, I decided to add a touch of elegance to it. I think the black background really showcases the loveliness of the common flower. Do you agree?

While reading a bit about it, I learned that it blooms from March through July, usually during the predawn hours, but protects itself by closing its petals during the heat of the day. Several insects visit it, especially the moths that are active at night.

These wildflowers spring up and flourish for a season, just as we do. Yet, God endowed them with great beauty, equipped them with systems that shelter them from the oppressive heat, and allows these delicate blooms to delight and serve other living things He created. I think that's amazing! Don't you?

It's Time to Praise

A few days after I’d taken photos of spring blooms, I read The Making of the Beautiful: The Life Story of Annie Johnson Flint. (She wrote many of the hymns we love, including He Giveth More Grace.)

One of the poems interspersed in the telling of her story is Spring Song of Praise. In it, the poet imagines all of creation being “roused from winter’s chilling dream” and beginning to praise the Lord.

That’s an apt description of springtime, isn’t it? A world that has seemed asleep—even dead—begins to show signs of awakening, signs of coming to life.

Buds and blooms and bees and birds suddenly appear everywhere. And what a delight they are. How the sight of them lifts our spirits. How the sight of them should cause you and me to join them in songs of praise to our Creator.

One of my favorites is This Is My Father’s World.* What’s yours?

* written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock and published in 1901

Beauty is God's Handwriting

Proclaim the Glory of God!

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The skies display his craftsmanship.

2 Day after day they continue to speak;

night after night they make him known.

3 They speak without a sound or word;

their voice is never heard.

4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.

5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.

It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.

6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens

and follows its course to the other end.

Nothing can hide from its heat.

(Psalm 19:1-6, NLT).

After I'd read those words and reflected on them, I said to God, "May all that You've enabled me to be proclaim Your glory. May I, like the rest of Your creation, display Your workmanship. May all that I am continue to testify of You day after day and night after night. May I make You known throughout my sphere of influence.

May I, like the sun You created, "burst forth" (eagerly begin) and successfully complete the course You set for me each day. May I, like a well-trained athlete, be ready to run the race You have marked out for me...."

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The Creator's Work

The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, 

who turns darkness into dawn

and darkens day into night,

who summons the water of the sea

and pours it out over the surface of the earth —

the LORD is his name.

—Amos 5:8, Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Behold! Believe!

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

~Psalm 19:1, NIV

When my husband and I take a walk in the neighborhood, I'm awed by the beauty of the skies. On the evenings we stay home, we miss seeing grandeur like that in this photo. Yet, God faithfully creates awesome skies whether or not anyone notices them. But, oh, what a blessing it is to behold them and to worship the One who created them.

Spring!

Spring shows what God can do 
with a drab and dirty world.

~Rev. Virgil A. Kraft (1910-1988)

Wonderfully Made

Butterflies can't see their wings. 

They can't see how beautiful they are, 

but everyone else can. 

People are like that.

~Unknown

You [my God] created my inmost being; 
you knit me together in my mother's womb. 
I praise you because 
I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
your works are wonderful, 
I know that full well.

~ David, Psalm 139:13-14, NIV

God's Manifold Works

The whale shark, which is the largest fish in the sea, sometimes grows to 40 feet long.

O LORD, how manifold are Your works! 

In wisdom You have made them all;

The earth is full of Your creatures.

Psalm 104:24

Jellyfish 

God's Works

Some of the marshes of Glynn County, Jekyll Island, Georgia

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

Artist at Work

When Fall was at its peak in the area where I live, I regularly passed by a church sign that read, "Artist at work. Slow down." I smiled each time I read that, knowing that the beautiful landscapes all around were, indeed, some of God's finest masterpieces. I did slow down to look at His work and to thank Him for all He had created--and for giving me the vision to see His work.

Along about that same time, a columnist for one of our local newspapers interspersed one of his columns with various quotes about Fall. I especially agreed with this one by Nathaniel Hawthorne: "I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." Because I feel as he did, I've been out and about a lot these last few weeks.

Whether walking in my yard or in other scenic spots, I've had experiences similar to the one Eric Sloane described: "A few days ago [as] I walked along...[I] was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made."

Fall...a glorious season indeed! One of God's gifts to us! Let's slow down to look at His work and to take the time to go outside to feel the crispness in the air and to hear crunch of the leaves beneath our feet.

(c) 2011 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill. Note: The photos in this post are just a sample of the beauty I've seen. I hope you enjoy them!

Eyes That See

“Oh, my goodness! Come and look at this!” I said to my two oldest grandsons (ages 12 and 9) as I viewed the photos I’d taken earlier that day. “You can see the little straw-like thing that the butterfly is using to sip the nectar from the lantana!”

As we discussed the photo, I said, “I believe that little straw is called a proboscis.” A quick search on the Internet confirmed that.

Although I’ve taken lots of pictures of butterflies, I’ve either never taken a shot as sharp as the one I’d captured that day or else I’ve simply failed to notice the proboscis. But there it was!

That set me to thinking about how the Creator designed everything in great detail. No wonder, then, as He was creating the world and all that was in it, He often looked over His work and noted that it was good. (See Genesis, chapter 1.)

Photography enables me to get a closer look at His handiwork than I could with my natural eye. For example, I use a zoom lens to take a digital photo and then upload the image to my computer where I can magnify it even more, allowing me to see incredible details that I might have missed.

Thinking about this makes me wonder what else I’ve been failing to see, even though my physical eyesight is good (as long as I’m wearing my glasses).

As Jesus pointed out many centuries ago, “…people see what I do but they don’t really see. They hear what I say, but they don’t really hear, and they don’t understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah [6:9-10], which says, ‘You will hear my words, but you will not understand; you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them’” (Matthew 13:13-15).

Since it is possible to have eyes that can see quite well yet often fail to see the incredible details all around us, it’s no wonder that we also fail to “see” (discern) deeper truths.

Thus, I hope that you, Dear Reader, and I will regularly use the words in the old hymn, “Open My Eyes That I May See,” as a prayer. Oh, how we need to see spiritual truths and to discern God’s will.

©2010 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill, http://www.jgaskill.com/.

In the Beginning

In the beginning
God created
the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1, NLT

Incredible Transformation

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love butterflies, but I can think of a whole lot of folks who don’t get excited about caterpillars—from whence butterflies come! Compared to caterpillars, butterflies are so colorful. And, unlike slow-crawling caterpillars, butterflies flit freely from place to place, making it hard to keep your eyes on them, especially when watching through the tiny viewfinder on a camera, as I did one afternoon.

For nearly an hour, I tried to get good photos of those lovely but elusive creatures as they sipped nectar from the blooms on the lantana bushes out by the garden. By the time I’d locate one of the dozen or more butterflies in the viewfinder, compose the shot, and press the shutter button, the butterfly would have fluttered away to a new spot, leaving me with photos of orange lantana blooms—minus the butterflies or, at best, half of one! Only rarely did I get a full, sharply focused, beautifully framed shot of a butterfly.

Now, if I’d been trying to take pictures of pokey caterpillars, I’d have had plenty of time to get the perfect shot! But I wanted pictures of butterflies not caterpillars.

Why am I so drawn to butterflies? For their beauty, obviously, and for the way they move so freely. I also enjoy butterflies because they remind me that change, dramatic change, is not only possible, but it’s expected. That’s exciting!

When I’m looking at a butterfly, I find it hard to believe what it once was. It bears almost no resemblance to its former self, to its former way of life. Only the Creator Himself could make such a change possible.

Scientists have a big word for that remarkable change: metamorphosis, which comes from a Greek word meaning “to transform.” Transformation is sometimes subtle--almost imperceptible, actually--as when tadpoles ever so slowly begin to look like the frogs they will one day be. Such slow transformation is certainly amazing; yet it seems less thrilling than the miraculous change that takes place in secret between the time the caterpillar enshrouds itself inside a chrysalis and then emerges days later as a butterfly.

Because I’m awed by butterflies, my mind latched onto something I heard a motivational speaker say. “Your body ‘morphs’ itself every seven years. So should you!”

How incredible! Imagine the body replacing all of its cells every seven years, getting rid of the old ones, producing new ones, changing constantly in order to remain at peak performance. WOW!

Since the Creator designed the body to miraculously renew itself continuously and subtly, surely He intended the mind, soul and spirit to renew regularly, too! After all, the Bible says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2, New Living Translation, NLT).

When you and I start thinking right, we’ll start acting right and talking right, as well. Imagine how we’ll feel when we no longer resemble our old sinful selves. Incredible, huh?

© 2005 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her.