Psalm 8

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man
that you are mindful of him,
the son of man
that you care for him?

You made him a little lower
than the heavenly beings
and crowned him
with glory and honor.

You made him ruler
over the works of your hands;
you put everything
under his feet:

all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim
the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name
in all the earth!

-- Psalm 8:3-9 (NIV)

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Still On the Farm

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

On the Farm

Scenes from Eugster's Farm in Stoughton, WI

The first pumpkin weighs over 1,000 lbs.

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Continual Praise

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

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It tends to be much easier for me to live this Scripture when I have my guitar or a pen and some paper handy. I usually gather those things for the purpose of worship. When I sit down with my guitar or my journal, my mind is in a prayerful place. I may not feel joyful, but I choose to praise God in my circumstances, even if it involves crying out my frustrations to him first.

This verse doesn't say, when you're in the mood or when you have time be joyful, pray and give thanks. It uses the words "always," "continually" and "all." Sometimes I make a deliberate choice to be grumpy, hold my feelings in, come up with my own solutions and be ungrateful. Other times, it just doesn't occur to me to lift up praises and prayers. My guess is that I'm not alone in all of this.

Imagine what a day might look like if you actually did live this verse. How do you think your day might be different from a typical day? How do you think it might affect the people you encounter on a day to day basis if you walked out those words.

Lord, help me to keep my focus on You all day and all night. Help me to choose to lift up praises and prayers in each and every situation that comes up in my life, no matter how trivial or profound. And help me to be thankful for all things that come my way, whether they seem like blessings at the time or not.

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Attitude Check

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." -- Proverbs 16:3
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"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." -- Proverbs 3:5,6
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My cat, Dot, often has what I consider an attitude problem. She believes that she is the queen of the household and that all rules and activities must accommodate her mood and desires. One thing that happens fairly often at our house is that I attempt to photograph her. She doesn't like having her picture taken, so whenever I bring out the camera she grimaces and/or runs away. Mostly I think she is just annoyed, but part of the problem involves trust. She seems to fear that I will pick her up or make her pose and she just doesn't want to be bothered.

My relationship with God is kind of like that sometimes. When God comes to me with something new to pursue, I often grimace and complain and try to run away from Him. Part of me doesn't want to be bothered with new circumstances or mindsets. My pride usually gets in the way and I get grumpy because I want to do things my way and I get scared about how He's going to ask me to execute the task at hand. What if I can't do it? What if I get hurt in the process? What if...? What if...?

With my cat, I know that I have her best interests in mind. Obviously, she doesn't always comprehend that. She's a cat. As far as I know she doesn't speak and doesn't understand my attempts at comforting words. Somewhere deep inside my heart, I know that God always has my best interests in mind too, but I'm only human and it's hard to put your trust in something that you can't always understand.

Lord, help me to acknowledge you in all my ways. Lord, help my heart and my mind stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to You. I give you my "what if's". I lay my lack of trust and my bad attitude at the foot of your cross. I commit to You all that I do, for Your glory.

photo (c) 2006 by DKF

The Reason We Live

We cry out.

We shout and
We dance about;

For the great majesty
Of our King,
Our Savior and our God,
Our best friend and our brother,
Our bride groom and our lover

Surpasses everything else
In heaven and on earth,
And He alone is worth
All of our time and attention.

photo and poem (c) 2006 by DKF

By The Lake

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

The Great Outdoors

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Signs

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Trees of the Forest

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes..."
-- Psalm 96:11,12, 13a (NIV)

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I imagine that this is one way that the trees "sing for joy" to the Lord. The bold colors popping out from the leaves seem to reflect God's glory. It's as if the leaves are shouting out, "Look at me! Look at me! Look at the incredible masterpiece that God has created right here in your own backyard!" I think another way the trees sing their praises is with the help of the wind blowing through their branches rustling the leaves. I love to be outside on a warm windy day. I try to listen for the voice of Jesus in the wind. I look to the sky, close my eyes and lift my hands to heaven. It takes me to another place, at least for a moment, away from all of the commotion of life and into the gentle quietness of Jesus' love.

The next time you're outside, take a moment, stop, close your eyes and listen to all of the ways that the earth and everything in it "sing" praises to the one and only God. When you hear something, open your eyes to see the awesome beauty and artistry in the origin of the sound. This exercise sometimes makes me smile and sometimes brings tears to my eyes, but it always brings overwhelming joy to my heart. May you be blessed by the masterpiece that the Father has created!

photo (c) 2006 by DKF

What do YOU see? (4)

photo (c) 2006 by DKF

POUNCE!

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Seasons

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
-- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

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With Autumn well under way, I've been thinking about how God changes things. This time of year He takes beautiful leaves and makes them even more beautiful which leads to dormancy and death... but this death leads to new life when Spring finally comes after the long cold winter. When Spring comes, I am often overwhelmed with joy to the point of tears. I love the smells, sounds and sights of new life... In Autumn I love to watch the colors change but I start to feel a sense of sadness because I know that Winter is coming. While Winter is beautiful in it's own way, it is cold and often uncomfortable.

As I was thinking about all of this, I started to think of the different seasons in my life. I cycle through periods of change, growth, death and new life often. I guess I just need to remember that, no matter how long a "winter" phase may seem to last, "spring" will come again... it always does. I just need to learn to practice patience and seek God in all things and ask Him the purpose of each season in my life because "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven..." and I want to take every opportunity I'm given to grow and change to be more like Him.

Lord, thank you for seasons. I pray for patience to wait for the "spring" when I'm overwhelmed with thoughts of "winter" but more importantly I ask that You would lead me back to You when I get caught up in self pity and shame. My heart's desire is to follow You but I need Your help to stay on the right path.

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Mushrooms

(growing out of a log on the ground)

(growing out of a branch high up in a tree)

photos (c) 2006 by DKF

Masterpiece

Colored paint applied with brushes,
Black and white paint applied with cookie cutters,
Glue applied with brushes and sprinkled with glitter,
All on a 3' x 3' piece of felt,
Created by the 3 year olds in my preschool class.

photo (c) 2006 by DKF

The Eplegaarden

Scenes from the Eplegaarden in Fitchburg, WI

It was a beautiful autumn Saturday, so I went to the Eplegaarden with my friends, Faith and Walker. We went for a horse drawn wagon ride through the apple orchard, picked raspberries and ate some of the best caramel apples ever made.

photos (c) 2006 by DKF