Natural? - Page 2

violet · 05-21-2007, 02:15 AM

In response to SM, we owe it to loved ones, as well, to take care of ourselves.

Pastor Gary · 06-11-2007, 06:10 PM

Violet, thanks for your kind reply from late last month.

How many of us actually have time each day to sit outdoors and observe the world around us?

In the springtime and summertime, we see the butterflies, the flowering plants, and the new batches of baby animals following mom's example as they grow and learn.

In the Autumn and Winter, we hear the flocks of migrating birds making their way to the wintering grounds, we see and hear the babbling water sounds as we watch a small river and it's waters meandering toward the sea and we hear the wind high up in the trees telling us that a weather change is on the way.

And yet there are other times when we can sit outdoors and not hear a sound... except for our own heartbeat... and it is then that we are reminded of how wonderful it was for God to make us as we are and to make our surroundings to enjoy.

Those who do not have the time to just sit outdoors now and then, are missing things that can never be replaced. Try to make time to relax, observe and to enjoy God's earth and the gifts that it brings to us each day in sights, sounds and smells...

Blessings to all.

jeriwoods · 06-14-2007, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by violet

I'm still curious how many other Christians find peace in being more natural and close to the nature God created for us~

Hi Violet,

I certainly do!

Actually, in a way you could say that my love for nature was one of the tools that the Lord used to bring me to Him. I've always loved nature - being outdoors, marvelling at scenery and sky and plants and animals. Even though I grew up an agnostic, I did always feel quite certain that there was a God - that this all was created by Someone, even though I didn't know anything about Him (and was quite disdainful about Christians!)

After I married, I got involved in some discussions about God with my sister-in-law and her husband. They were (still are) Christians, and I was trying to prove to them that they were wrong. This "inspired" me to sit down and write some notes to myself about what it was that I actually did believe - at a time when I "just happened" to be working alone in a store with almost no customers, so I had plenty of free time and privacy.

Well, in the course of that "discussion" with myself, I remembered lying in my sleeping bag as a kid, staring up into the night sky and trying to grasp the idea that those tiny stars were actually like our own sun, but so far away they looked like little dots of light. I remembered distinctly how uncomfortable it made me to think about the awesome size of the universe, and I realized that this creator God I did believe in had to be even bigger, more awsome, than the universe He made.

And right then the thought came to me, "THAT'S why Jesus! God is so big we can't hope to communicate with or understand Him - so He came in human form so He could communicate with us!"

That day - my birthday, actually! - I became a Christian. The Lord had used my love of - and observation of - His creation in order to talk to me in terms that I could understand.

It was only after years of being a Christian that it occurred to me that the Lord had showed ignorant me that Jesus is the Word of God!

Anyway, I do in fact find peace in being close to nature, and I do try (feebly, I'm afraid) to be environmentally responsible. I know there is a lot more I could do, though!

Jeri Woods

jeriwoods · 06-14-2007, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastor Gary

How many of us actually have time each day to sit outdoors and observe the world around us?

Those who do not have the time to just sit outdoors now and then, are missing things that can never be replaced. Try to make time to relax, observe and to enjoy God's earth and the gifts that it brings to us each day in sights, sounds and smells...

Pastor Gary,

Amen! We just moved to a townhouse with a small yard, after spending most of the previous 14 years living in apartments. While I have always observed God's creation wherever I am, I can't tell you what a blessing it is to have an actual yard where I can sit outside with a cup of coffee, looking at the garden, the sky, and the mountains around us (it is another special blessing that we were finally able to move back to my husband's home province of British Columbia!)

As an artist, I have always loved drawing from nature. And since I became a Christian, I've thought of my drawings as a way of saying "Look! Look what the Lord has done!"

Jeri Woods

Boanerges · 06-14-2007, 05:52 PM

I love the outdoors but don't always have a chance or the ability to get out and enjoy it- our family vacations are usually to the smokies or the rockies when we can afford it. I have a nice reef tamk with live coral and some awesome fish so I can sot , relax and enjoy nature in my lovingroom when I cannot do it elsewhere.

violet · 06-15-2007, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastor Gary

Violet, thanks for your kind reply from late last month.

How many of us actually have time each day to sit outdoors and observe the world around us?

In the springtime and summertime, we see the butterflies, the flowering plants, and the new batches of baby animals following mom's example as they grow and learn.

In the Autumn and Winter, we hear the flocks of migrating birds making their way to the wintering grounds, we see and hear the babbling water sounds as we watch a small river and it's waters meandering toward the sea and we hear the wind high up in the trees telling us that a weather change is on the way.

And yet there are other times when we can sit outdoors and not hear a sound... except for our own heartbeat... and it is then that we are reminded of how wonderful it was for God to make us as we are and to make our surroundings to enjoy.

Those who do not have the time to just sit outdoors now and then, are missing things that can never be replaced. Try to make time to relax, observe and to enjoy God's earth and the gifts that it brings to us each day in sights, sounds and smells...

Blessings to all.

You are so right.
Like stopping to smell the roses~
It seems like no matter what might be wrong, if I go outside and just breath and take in my surroundings it makes things better.
We used to live in Virginia and I remember once being outside, sad about my Uncle's health. There were so many huge beautiful trees and it became a special moment, like God was speaking to my heart.
I realized how big these trees were that God created and how very small I really am. Then I looked up into the sky and felt the greatness of God in such a different and special way.
Sometimes we feel as if our own life or being is all there is when we are faced with troubles and heartaches.
And it's not realizing how small you really are in comparison to life around you, but rather how great God is, that makes the difference.

violet · 06-15-2007, 07:32 AM

Hi jeri,
it's so nice to meet you and that is a beautiful story.
I love how God knows each of us so well that not only does he know how many hairs are on our head but what it takes to speak to us, personally!

violet · 06-15-2007, 07:35 AM

Brother B,
that would be the next best thing....if you can't go to nature, bring it to you!

jeriwoods · 06-15-2007, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by violet

I love how God knows each of us so well that not only does he know how many hairs are on our head but what it takes to speak to us, personally!

Amen, sister! Any time I begin to get doubtful about my faith (and we all go through that, don't we?), I remember how the Lord reached out to me in a way that was specific to who I am and to where I was coming from at the time. He is awesome!

Jeri Woods

smellycat · 06-15-2007, 10:35 PM

violet there are not enough christians.not worth bothering with.just accept it.

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