Iguana–Genesis 2:19

Available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/120739333/iguana-genesis-2-19

” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.”

The Lord made the heavens, the air and water above and below, every tree and all vegetation providing food for all the animals he also created.  He made man and gave him his first task–name the animals.  Isn’t that amazing?  He made the sun and moon, night and day, and all that is in the heavens and earth.  He then made mankind and gave him a task, a means of joining Him at work!

It’s clear that mankind is made a little higher than the animal kingdom.  Adam and Eve lost their place in the garden of Eden but Jesus was sent 4,000 years later to restore the gap their sin created between God and mankind because mankind never lost its special place in God’s heart.

When a person understands, believes and trusts the work that Jesus* did on the cross for him or her, the relationship with God is restored and we are once again given a task to do.  We have a role to play, a part in the Body of Christ.

This iguana and others like it can be seen in the Florida keys.  He’s not a native to that part of the world.  Once we belong to Jesus, we too live in a land where we are not native.  Our real Home is Heaven but we live amongst this foreign land with a task–to tell others about the gift of Jesus Christ.

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Rugged Mountain-Isaiah 2:3

Available for purchase on https://www.etsy.com/listing/120738914/rugged-mountain-isaiah-23

“… Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways, 
so that we may walk in his paths…” 

Sometimes the calamity of our hectic, noisy world/lives can make it impossible to hear or sense God’s presence or hear what God might be saying to us.  Like Jesus*, who at times retreated away from the people, even his disciples, we must escape to re-group, re-energize, rest and most importantly, spend time with God.  Fortunately, because of Jesus, a way has been made for us to be with Him whenever we desire.  The problem comes when we just can’t seem to get away from the calamity of life to do it!  This is not because of God; it is an action we must choose to make.

The highest mountain peaks are nearly impossible to reach.  The conditions have to be just right to get there and one must be skilled, trained, and very experienced.  Those trained have the passion and the ability to get away from their hectic life and escape to the beauty of the peak, a place few will ever explore.  So it is for those who seek the Lord and long to hear or sense God’s direction or His presence in their life.  Sometimes breaking away can seem as impossible as climbing the highest mountain peak.  Yet, if we allow our Heavenly Father to train us by taking baby steps at a time and being intentional to escape, be still, quiet and in His Word of instruction, we can experience the peaceful solitude and beauty of the Lord and “hear” Him.

When the sun shines over the peaks of the mountains, it’s unobstructed by the peaks and creates shadows.  It shines brightly though, especially as the air clears makes the light shine more brightly!  Learn to escape to a quiet place to be with the Lord.  Delight in the clarity of His light.  Take time to go there, be trained in such a way that you long for it daily and nothing, not even storms of life will keep you away!  Bask in the brightness and clarity of the Son when you are in the special place where He is most clearly felt and keenly experienced, a place that is quiet, peaceful and serene.  A place filled with His presence so when you return to your hectic life, you take the serenity with you throughout the entire day.  He will teach you his ways so we may walk in his paths.

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Romans 1:20-His Invisible Attributes

Available for purchase on http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/gail-ruth-peterson/420772f3-5d24-4775-aa8b-5a0afc37f120  SOLD

 

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen,being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

There’s little more that can be said about this verse.  The evidence of who God is is all around us!  The question, then, is not, “Is there a God?” but rather, “Are you looking at who God is in what you see around you?”  Faith* is assuming that He is present, He created and creates.  It’s knowing beyond doubt that we can be reminded of who God is by what He’s made… beautiful reminders!

And one of the most amazing displays of God’s attributes is in the sea.  The sea reminds us God’s depth, His almighty power, His life, His wonder, His perfection, His beauty, His protection, and His amazing ability to orchestrate all things together.

Look for the fingerprints of God.  He IS present with us and God, who is able to keep all of His creation pulsating in harmony, is big enough to show each of His people, made as unique as the fingerprint He places on our fingers, He is able to reveal the path He desires for each of us.  And as you take in the beauty of His creation, remember, you are more important, more special than everything else He has created here on earth.  Give thanks for His amazing creation and the life His created for you!

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Fall Away-2 Corinthians 5:17

Available for purchase on Daily Paintworks.  Visit: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/gail-ruth-peterson/68699713-da7e-4f9e-ba8b-50bf424aedc4  SOLD

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ*, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Christians love this verse and when considered, it’s usually the newness of our nature that is most exciting.  But the beginning of this verse is equally important, in fact, vital for the second part of this verse to even be true.  There can be no new creation without there being the death of an old man/woman.

The autumn season is a wonderful reminder–for there to be new life, for there to be a new creation, part of who we’ve been must die.  The essential person we were made to be does not die but the selfish man that blinds the ability to see who that essential person is that we’re made to be must die.  In God’s mercy, only layers at a time are laid to rest, not all at once.  This is grace from the Lord!

When we see the leaves turn in autumn, rejoice in God’s amazing way with us and His creation!  And rejoice also in the falling away of the leaves, a sign of the old passing away making way for the brilliant new life to come when we are yielded to The King of King, also known as the Living Water.  What a beautiful place to visit–autumn trees nourished by the quench of a beautiful stream, reminding us of the glory of the new creation we are made into when we are made in Christ and also the death of the old which makes room for the new to live!

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Winter Morning-Psalm 74:17

This painting is available for sale on http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/gail-ruth-peterson/4b2ef36f-274b-4006-b1ad-1fb7d457f542  SOLD

“You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter”

When God created the earth in six days, He created one day for rest. When he created the seasons, He created one season that often keeps us home bound–home bound, a place of rest.

In this busy world that insists we get what we want “now” and work, work, work to get “ahead” or “on-top” it’s easy to neglect a natural element in the cycle that allows living well–rest. After a season when the buds colapse, the leaves fall and bears sleep, there is a warm breeze that wakens the song bird and nudges all life to be reborn or give new birth.

There is a rightful place for rest, a peaceful place to regenerate, and retreat and rejoin the source of our energy. Whether resting means for a day, a week, an extra hour at night, or for a season following a season of busyness, rest is needed. The result? A time that seems like nothing is happening followed by a season of new life, new energy, new elements in the mix of life–maybe even new journeys.

Allow the night, the calendar and the midst of a chilly winter morning be a reminder to rest as God created us to rest. Enjoy the serenity of His presence* as you seek His will for the day or weeks or months ahead and allow Him to regenerate your enthusiasm for the Life He will fill you with if you allow yourself to empty of self-will and busyness, and refill on Him.

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Not Really Alone-1 Timothy 5:5

SOLD

“The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.”  1 Timothy 5:5

I love this verse in 1 Timothy.  I’ve been a widow and there’s no other season in life that I know of when one can feel lonelier than when one’s lost their best friend, their partner of many years.  I can remember many evenings enjoying the company of others and then facing the dreadful thought of having to come home to an empty house.  I’ve heard many a widow with this haunting lament.

It took some time to realize that when I arrived home on such occassions, I was not really alone.  My Heavenly Husband* was with me on the drive home and remained with me throughout the night, even sleepless nights.  I began to realize that the time alone with Him was priceless.  I had no one around to interrupt my time with Him.  I could talk endlessly with Him, cry, share memories, pray about what my life was to look like, or pray for others.

In time I began to love those times alone, even looked forward to them.  To this day, I still long to slip away to a quiet place as Jesus did, to pray and spend time with the Heavenly Father.  Even in the deserted places like this island, we aren’t really alone.  The sea hosts teams of sea creatures, the air is filled with the squaks of sea gulls, geese or cat birds.  There are critters running up and down the tree trunks or munching silently on the leaves that are tossed in the breeze, so silent we can’t see them, but all are there to remind us we are never, ever alone!

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Charleston-Psalm 113:3

SOLD

“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.”

When we are seasons of life where there are few bumps in the road, it is good to practice simple things like recognizing God’s* consistent goodness everyday.  Such practice will help remind us of His goodness when seasons of storms and chaos come—and they will because of this broken world.

Everything in this life breaks down.  A home without care and maintenance will eventually crumble to the ground.  Our bodies eventually die.  But look to the sun and the earth.  Daily the sun rises up over the east and sets over the western horizon.  The sun dangling perfectly in the sky has provided our warmed and daylight for thousands of years and the earth has not failed to rotate in perfect time and beat around that big ball of fire.

How does one explain the consistency of these things if not for a God who sustains them for us?  They don’t crumble to the ground; we can rely on them to sustain their function just as we can rely on God to remain who He is.  Therefore a good daily habit to is to be reminded of God’s unchanging goodness and to give thanks for God’s consistent love and care as we reflect on a sunrise or sunset.  Give thanks to the Lord, give Him praise daily, even when life is “going well” so when life presents those inevitable bumps in the road, we know with all out heart, that God hasn’t changed  and He’s still holding all things together in His loving and powerful hands.

Take time to watch the sun as it rises over and beyond the horizon.  Reflect on the wonder of its consistent and steadfast ability to hang in the sky and provide all we need for the earth to sustain life, and give thanks to the Lord!  He’s worthy of our praise in all seasons of life.

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Bamboo Forest-Genesis 1:14-16

SOLD

 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,  and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.  Genesis 1:14-16

One of the most amazing scenes in God’s creation is when the sun gleems through the thick darkness of a forest.  Its beauty is difficult to capture with a brush but must be captured as best as possible to remind us of the beauty and wonder of light.

It’s interesting to note that in the story of creation in the book of Genesis, LIGHT is the very first thing God speaks into creation.  The sky and waters in day 2, the earth, trees and vegetation in day 3, and He didn’t create the sun, moon and stars until day 4.  That’s right–light first and three days later He made the sun and moon to govern the day and the night.

Since the very first thing created was light, it must be incredibly important.  Thankfully the Bible has plenty of other things to tell us about the importance of light.  In John 8:12 Jesus* tell us He is the Light of the World. So though the sun is not the light Jesus was talking about when He described himself in this way, seeing the light of the sun can be an easy reminder that the Son is also with us always.

The first chapter of the Bible talks about light and the last chapter (Revelations 22) does too.  Revelation 21:23 says,  “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.  Revelation 22:5  tells us, “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

Light permeates all things.  The sun will shine with as much brilliance through a microscopic crack in an old door or fence as it shines in the midst of a forest. At night, there is always enough light to at least allow us to see images in our path. Light can even shine through the pours of our skin.  Light shines everywhere and when there is the slightest bit of openness, it spills right on through.

So it is in our lives.  When our lives seem dark, difficult and like a thick forest of problems, worries and concerns, Light still is shining.  Allow even the smallest bit of openness in our hearts, and we are reminded that Jesus is always with us.

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Path in the Forest-Psalm 25:4

SOLD!

“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.”

It’s amazing enough that God gives us promises in Scripture that He has a plan that best suits who He’s made each of us to be but it’s even more astonishing that He gives us passages like this that indicate we can seek Him to find out what that path is!

Now saying that, it’s important to point out that finding this path is not easy and for good reason.  If God were to simply give us a road map that indicated the starting point and the ending point, we’d get in the car of our choice, take the wheel in our hands, turn the ignition, step on the gas and GO!  We’d be missing the key element of enjoying the ride in the company of the One who loves us most and most consistently!

God* wants to be on the journey with us—on the fast-track Interstates and on small trails whose only sound is that of leaves crunching under each step and the song of a sparrow calling in the hidden depth of the forest.  If He were to give us a road map and the path outlined for us, we’d never understand why we have to make some stops along the way and the significant of where we land on those stops.

We can only seek Him and His ways if we slow down to listen after we ask.  Slowing down does not require a quick answer.  Listening doesn’t mean being handed a road map.  We understand the path when we simply walk it and enjoy the company of the One leading us.  Ironically, the slower we walk and the more we look around and enjoy the ride and the company, we realize that the journey IS the plan, a plan which when understood, bring great purpose and pleasure.

*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.

Carolina Winter-Habakkuk 3:4

SOLD

“His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.”

 The same hands that paint the sky in the early evening are the same hands that wrap around me!  The glorious sunrise and sunset never ceases to reflect to me all the wonder of God!  He’s an amazing artist with the ability to pain the sky and the earth in ways that are so beautiful; paint cannot capture it on a canvas.  Sometimes a sunset is so unusual that to paint it would make the artist look unskilled and yet painted across the evening sky is a wonder to adore!

These same powerful hands that wrap the rays of the sun around the horizon of the earth are the same gentle hands* that wrap around you and me in the morning, the evening, during the day, in the greatest times of joy to celebrate and in times of sorrow to comfort.

The power of the Lord is found in fewer places of majesty than in the setting of the sun.  Take time to watch the sun rise and fall.  Reflect and meditate on His wonder, His power, His creativity, His sovereignty, His unchanging nature, and His kindness.  This same power sustains us, comforts us and also lives inside us when we believe in His plan for us!

<em>*We are adopted in God’s family when we believe that we can’t earn our way into holiness; we can’t ever be good enough on our own to go to Heaven.  This only comes when we understand that Jesus took our sinful nature to death on the cross with Him, and like Him, rise again into a new life (born again) to live eternally with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit that will live with us to guide us and our prayers and counsel us all our days on earth.</em>