God takes one still life piece of beauty and speaks volumes to bring us life and perspective. Today I am sharing snapshots of God’s glory with reflections and questions to give us the chance to go deeper in our own lives. Each image stopped me long enough to ponder – why this scene and why now??
Do you see real beauty when out in God’s world? Do you notice the color or variance in hues even when it seems to be lacking? Come take a picture walk with me to see how God speaks to you.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many would walk right by these flowers thinking there is not enough color or definition. Do you see beauty or are you color blind to what is displayed in front of you? When looking at your own  life do you show your real colors? Are you authentic in your relationships with others? Most importantly are you honest in your relationship with God? The only person God wants us to be is who He made. May our words, thoughts, and actions reflect authenticity as we seek to honor God.
I love this bench for its uniqueness and the way it draws you in to inspect the symmetry of the dragonflies. Benches always speak to me of stillness, quiet and slowing down. Where do you find the quiet in your day? How do you make time to listen and spend time with God? We are called in the midst of our busyness to…
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
Let’s exalt God by making time for Him daily.
A wooden, planked pathway stretches before you. You search for the end or the direction the path is going and find neither. You reflect on your own life and find parallels that match this pathway. Questions come to mind such as, “how do I follow an unknown path for my life” and “what will keep me on the path when my plan does not fit neatly in between the wooden planks”? God asks us to… live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7  How will you embrace this call today?
The stunning beauty of this butterfly takes my breath away. I immediately draw on my knowledge of the butterfly life cycle and the transformation that takes place to produce such beauty. God does the same for us as He works deeply in our hearts to create us in His image and beckons us to follow Him. Will we allow God to do a “heart work” in us and transform us from the inside out? Click here to read my post from last week about transformation.
A lighthouse is a beacon for ships as they travel the seas. The steady blinking warns the sailors if they are approaching land so their ship is not tossed upon the shore. My one word for 2015 is “Shine” and as I look at this lighthouse, I am reminded that my life is also meant to be a beacon of light reflecting God’s love to others. May we all shine brightly and reflect the light of God’s truth and love to all those we meet along the way.
[Tweet “A snapshot of nature is God’s beauty defined when we seek the message of God’s plan for our life.”]
May your days be filled with snapshot moments and the whispers of God’s voice in the amazing beauty.
In grace and peace,
Mary
I love joining these beautiful blogs each week:
The world is really beautiful when you just know where to look. 🙂
I believe God shows us where to look for His beauty and when we give ourselves opportunities to take walks or surround ourselves with nature, God always shows up. Thank you for always being here and for encouraging me with your words.
Love the pictures of the steps…make me think of how growing in Christ comes, one step at a time. Lovely post.
Blessed that you joined me here today, Betty. I am enjoying reading the comments because everyone is pointing out a different picture as the one that touched them in this post. Have a blessed weekend.
I’m so glad you have that much needed time to soak up the beauty of God’s creation all around you, Mary. I’m sure you are spending many days waiting for and inclining your ear to hear God’s still small voice. I am praying for you that you hear clearly what your next steps are and have the confidence to launch out with bold faith! By the way, I LOVED that photo of the butterfly. So intricate and beautiful. Thanks for the feast for the eyes today. 🙂
We have an annual butterfly show each year at a local conservatory that is just beautiful and I got lucky when I took that picture. The butterflies were showing off and flying all around us. It is one of my favorite pictures too. I love worshipping God through long walks and taking pictures. It leaves me with a peace that I crave and fills me with reminders of the deep love God has for us. Thank you for being here and for praying for my next steps. It will happen and God will be with me the whole way. Have a blessed week!
Mary,
Your post encouraged me to stop, be still, and truly take in the beauty He has placed around me and also to ask myself, “What might I learn from this one ‘snapshot’ of life?” So often I want to reach for the camera on my phone, but more and more, I am learning to just stand there and drink it in because rarely do photographs do the real scene justice. Since I am a very visual person, it is always a challenge for me to live and walk by faith, not by sight. Thanks for stretching me…
Love,
Bev xx
I love how you are taking the time to soak in God’s beauty rather than stop to take pictures. I know that I need to do both because it is my form of worship. Thank you for taking this picture walk with me and for looking for God in the beauty in your own life. Weekend blessings!
There’s something about lighthouses that I love. There was a post a while back that I came upon and maybe it’s ever since then that I look at them differently. If only I remembered what that post was. 🙂 I had the pleasure of seeing two different lighthouses while in SD with my son.
Thanks for sharing God’s beauty with us.
Love you, friend.
xoxo
I find something intriguing about lighthouses too. There is a beauty but a strength that exudes from lighthouses that draws me in every time. I am so glad you were able to visit your son as well as see lighthouses along the way. Your pictures looked beautiful and showed such love between the two of you. Hope your weekend is blessed.
Thank you for the beautiful space to breath and observe God’s wonderful glory today! I will be rolling your words around in my head all day as I seek His path!
Thank you for these sweet words. I am praying that God met you in your day after stopping here and showed you His amazing beauty throughout your day. Blessings!
My daughter asked me last night: What if there was no color in the world? A deep thought for a seven-year-old. God’s glory is in it all. Thank you for sharing this perspective! Visiting from #RaRa linkup
So after your daughter asked the question, I am curious how you answered her??? It is a very deep thought for a 7 year old and one that it sounds like she thought about before she actually asked it. So glad to have you here Sarah! Weekend blessings!
Beautiful photos, Mary!! Thanks for sharing them and encouraging us to look for the beauty God has designed just for us. It’s funny to me how much things in nature can speak to us each individually and what one person may think is beautiful is different than what the other person thinks. Just like our Father to be so individual in nature!!
I love capturing God’s beauty through the camera. I want to preserve the picture with more than my mind so I can enjoy it over and over. Nothing though is as beautiful as the real thing. The beauty that we capture always looks more stunning in person. I also love how God shows us His world, but we all see it uniquely and determine whether it is beautiful in our own eyes. Thank you for being here! Love you girl!