Who Walk in the Light of Your Presence

Husband walking the Pacific Crest Trail near Santiam PassBlessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. Psalm 89:15

Guard the Occasionality

Wildflower captured at a rest stop in northern Utah last weekI found some notes on top of the dryer this evening when I was trying to tidy up the place a bit. I apparently wrote them in church, which is where I am when many of my blogging ideas hit me. Here you go:

Too much of a good thing isn't so good.

A day to celebrate is good.
A dessert is special because you get just a bit.
A kiss in the middle of a busy day is a nice surprise from the one you love.

But Christmas for three months is too much.
And entire meal of ice cream, cheesecake, cookies and chocolate makes you nauseous.
And a kiss that lasts an entire day or two would become a bother, even from the one you love.

And so it is: If you want to enjoy a special event, treat, or person, guard the occasionality of it.

Stormy Skies in Arizona

We've enjoyed sky watching in Arizona. Let me share some photos, along with some Bible verses about storms and lightning. Feel free to just look, or to meditate on the verses as well.

Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. (Isa. 4:5-6)

See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. Jer. 23:19

As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. Ezek. 34:12

For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matt. 24:27

Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. Job 37:2-4

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. Nahum 1:3

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. Matt. 28:2

You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. Isa. 25:4-5

Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 2 Sam. 22:13-14

Quail

One of the pleasures of visiting the southern Arizona desert at this time of year has been watching the families of quail puttering about. You can't take even a short walk without seeing them (although the mourning doves give them competition for visibility). They are delightful.
As I got closer to this family (posing a threat to them, they obviously thought), they took off up onto a wall around the neighbor's back yard.
And then they huddled together on top of a gatepost. It was so cute; it looked like they were trying to play the "How many angels can you fit on the head of a pin?" game. Obviously the last chap didn't think it would fit one more up there.
Finally, my presence was too much for them, and they took off for places beyond reasonable reach of my camera.