Tell of all His Wondrous Works!

Yellowstone is an amazing place--thermal wonders everywhere. It's not just about seeing Old Faithful 'geys'...though hundreds gather every hour and a half for this roughly predictable event. Raw power unleashed--it may be predictable but not controllable. For me the greater wonder is in the unpredictable geysers that catch you unawares.  You're just idling along down the boardwalk and they explode from the earth in a shower of steam and scalding water and brilliant spray--for just a few moments or for 20 minutes or more.  Others slosh and pound restlessly just within their prescribed holes waiting for pressure to build.... Incredible power is here displayed.  And incredible power held back.

And mystery.  Consider the steam rising from a crack in the asphalt of the parking lot.  There's a temporary construction barrier marking it now.  What will it become? a gaping hot spring?  a fumerole?  Head away from the crowds on the boardwalks for a hike on the neighboring hillside.  Watch your step.  Here the hot springs just pop up where they will.  Here you may find a little pebbly puddle boiling at your feet.  Or stray just a bit from the marked trail (cautiously!) and you may find steam rising, water pounding and sloshing from an opened hole in a hillside, still surrounded by trees and grasses till the heat overtakes them too and this becomes an official site with a sign post.

This is an incredible place-- a testimony to the incredible power of God-- "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead;"(Rom.1:20) This is what I found so galling on our recent visit to Yellowstone:  Here we have a National Park which the world comes in droves to view.  Here we have opportunity to make known our God--the God who made the heavens (and the depths of the earth from which the geysers erupt).  Here is evidence of Catastrophism.  Instead, park guides and visitor's centers and bookstores proclaim foolishness--tossing about zillions of years as if they were confetti, spinning tales and fables of origins and inevitabilities with all the seriousness and authority of experts.  As if they were there from the beginning.  As if they were God.  Disturbing.

I'm told there is a book about Yellowstone from a Creationist point of view now being written.  Various articles are available from Institute for Creation Research. And I can do my part singing His praise for all I see... Care to join me?

Click here for a sampling of Geysers and other wonders  "for great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be held in awe above all gods.

Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in His place." (IChr.16:25,27)

For the Wonder...

Some love an orderly, symmetrical, and tidy garden where the gardener is clearly in control.  Others, a wild cottage garden where the flowers seem to run the show.  I am the wild one, which is a challenge to defend when the man of the house prefers a more controlled look...

But today I stumbled upon the explanation.  It's all about wonder-- the wonder of wandering in the garden and coming upon something unexpected. 

Take for instance this morning.  I was out weeding and harvesting potatoes in my veggie garden and turned aside to have a look at my  Flower Corner.  What should I find but this strange little alien--

A frizzy tow-head with a cheerful attitude--a perfect ball of frizzle.  I don't know what it is, never saw such a thing here before.  Maybe it's a weed and I should uproot it... But then again, maybe it's just another wonder to be wondered at!  This is the stuff of a wild 'cottage garden'--surprises!  I'll leave it, for the same reason that I let Sunflowers spring up in my onion patch and crazy squash/gourd plants volunteer in the compost pile.  They're      wonder-full!

Every spring I go to our local Seed Exchange and bring home packs and packs of seeds with proper Latin names, not because I know what they are but because I wonder... What will they grow up to be? Will I be able to bring them to life in my garden? One year I carefully planted, watered and hovered over my seeds in a sunny window and lo and behold the emerging seedling turned out to be an old friend from our Arizona days, the likes of which would carpet our back yard every Spring dyeing our shoes purple with its tiny but prolific purple flowers.  I am not however an absolute sucker.  I marveled to see it here but did not let it out of my sight, or my door!  Who knows what such a hardy creation would do in the Pacific Northwest with endless water to speed its flowering.  I love the color purple but... no go!

But others make it into the garden as delicate seedlings to begin their generations of begetting wonder...Some are sprinkled in as seed with hopes that there will be enough moisture, enough space, enough of the perfect conditions to nurture their growth.  I relinquish control to the Master Gardener and see what He will do with my offerings...In return I am feted with the wonder of an ever-changing, ever radiant display of living color...

This year it was the giant Sweet Williams that surprised me...

and then these radiant nameless flowers...

Once upon a time I must have brought one home and this was their season to paint the garden! 

So what am I trying to say...is my love of wild things valid?  Should I retain control and keep orderliness, weed out 'surprises' and discipline errant seedlings?  Or is it OK to loosen the rules and sit back and watch what will happen--and bask in the wonder of it all.  I suggest that there are seasons of life when it's not only OK but Good to lighten up on the patrolling and keep an eye out instead for spontaneous moments of wonder.

"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.  We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is..."  (IJn.3:2NASB)What a wonder that will be!

A Time to Turn Aside and See the Wonder...

I've gotten rather caught up in Christmas busy-ness this year. All good legitimate, must-get-it-done things--gift-making mostly. But the mental to-do-list has strained my peace of mind and the sense of urgency has stolen some of my quiet reflecting time. This morning I was determined to sit and listen for at least a few minutes to the early morning quiet before the mental clamour set in. I miss the unhurried quiet times with my journal and the Word.

And this is what I saw.
Moses, in the desert, about his business. And he sees a bush burning, and funny thing is, it keeps on burning and doesn't seem to be burning up. So he stops what he's doing, takes a detour and goes to take a closer look.

Do you know what happens next? Of course you do, and I did too. Moses is in for a new job assignment though he doesn't know it yet. But there is a line in there I hadn't noticed before. The ESV reads: "When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush." God was waiting to talk to Moses, waiting to catch his attention. Waiting to share His heart, and commission Moses to a new calling.

Imagine it, God waits for me to turn aside and take note of the wonders at hand, to come into His presence consciously and listen for Him to speak.... What wonders am I missing in my busy-ness this season? We've had an unusually beautiful and lasting snowfall but I've overlooked the awe of it for the most part because 'there just isn't time to be staring out the window, or worse yet going out in the stuff for a walk or a galavant!'
Hmm. Too busy to be filled with wonder?

Well that was a sweet and gentle reminder to me that God, the great I AM (never changing, always the same in character no matter what I may perceive, constant, all that I need...), is ready and waiting to speak if I will 'turn aside' to take note of the wonders along my path.

And in this Season of Wonder, may you find quiet places to pause and listen for His voice too. You'll be glad you did.

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And one other item-- I've had a complaint re: this blog. "It never has any pictures." So I am including some glimpses of our Winter Wonderland. This closing one was taken by Jim on our walk to see the newfallen snow.