I took these pictures last Sunday morning while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
I couldn’t go to church that day because we had to catch an early flight home. Since our resort was on the beach I decided to go down to the beach to watch the sunrise. As I watched the sky change from dark to light I could feel God’s presence surrounding – to continue reading click here
Tag: Sunrise
Church on the Beach
I took these pictures last Sunday morning while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
I couldn’t go to church that day because my husband and I had to catch an early flight home. Since our resort was on the the ocean I decided to go to watch the sunrise on the beach. As I watched the sky change from dark to light I could feel God’s presence surrounding me and as the day began to dawn, suddenly it dawned on me that I didn’t have to be at church to have church. I realized I can have church anywhere that I happen to be, because God is always with me wherever I am. So I had church right there on the beach that morning. No building, no pastor or music were needed and there wasn’t anyone else there except just me and God. I watched his glory unfold before my eyes as he painted the sky, with beautiful color and brilliant light. It was a moment that seemed to be specially made for worship in my own private church on the beach.
This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
Have a wonderful and blessed day,
Where Morning Dawns and Evening Fades
My heart swells with joy when I see my husband is posting sunrise pictures on Facebook while he is supposed to be at work. I hope he doesn’t mind that I borrowed his picture for my blog post today.
One masterpiece fades softly into the background as another flows quietly and seamlessly forward erasing the darkness as bright colors begin spilling over the sky turning what was once a star covered canvas into a fiery sky of oranges and golds, beauty so captivating I have to stop and just watch in awe. Where morning dawns and evening fades I enter the place where joy is made.
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy. Psalm 65:8
As you go through your day today slow down and pay attention to all the beautiful gifts God surrounds you with. I think you will be amazed.
Have a wonderful day,
T
Reflecting on What I Left Behind
copyright © astorybyme 2014
Today as I was driving to work the sun had just risen and I was driving directly into it. It was so bright that the light stung my eyes so bad that I could barely open them to drive and I was relieved to turn into the parking lot because the driveway goes in the totally opposite direction than the one I had been traveling. With the sun behind me now and heading for my parking spot I happened to catch a glimpse of the sun in my rear view mirror, it was breathtakingly beautiful! So beautiful that I decided I just had to stop and take a picture of it’s reflection in the mirror. As I was taking the picture I realized that the sun that had been blinding me a minute ago didn’t hurt my eyes at all when it was a reflection in the mirror behind me.
After I parked my car as I was walking into the church I saw that the sun was once again in front of me but this time it was a little higher in the sky and though shining brightly over the church it wasn’t painful to look towards it anymore. As I was unlocking the door to the building all the sudden I just felt so overwhelmed by thankfulness that I was blinded by tears (happy tears) as I thought to myself, “if someone would have told me I would be in this place in my life one day, I would have never have believed them.”
I went in the building and soon got to work but while I was working this morning I kept thinking about my past and where I am now and realized that my life is kinda the same as the sun reflecting back in the mirror… what is behind me today at one time used to be in front of me.
Sometimes our lives can be really painful and we have no way of getting around it so we have to head straight into it in order to get through it. Today when I reflect back on my past I find that where I have been in my past though sometimes painful it was exactly where I needed to go in order to get to where I am today.
When I am driving in my car and I look in the rear-view mirror I see a reflection of where I have been and I know I could never have gotten to where I am on this road without having ever traveled the road behind me. I also know if I were to turn around I wouldn’t ever get to where I am going.
It is the same way with our lives. Sometimes I may get a glimpse of where I’ve been or who I used to be, but now when I look back I can see that it is all a part of what has put me where I am today and it has made me who I am today. My past is NOT who I am anymore but I had to have traveled that road in my past in order to get to where I am now and also to get to where I am going.
I have had people to tell me I should always keep moving forward and never look back. Though I do always try keep moving forward, today I did look back because I think for me sometimes I need to look back. I think it is okay to look back and reflect on the old me from time to time because it shows me just how far I have come.
Today when I saw the sun rising behind me in my mirror it reminded me that when I look back on my past, the ‘SON’ (Jesus) was there with me rising up above it all the whole time.
Thanks for reading,
Good Morning Praise
There is so much to be thankful for!
Have a wonderful day,
From Sunrise to Sunset
Photo taken in Riveria Nayarit Mexico, one more of God’s amazing gifts!
For as long as I live on this earth I will continue to be amazed at the beauty that God continually puts before me. Not only is each day gift from God, but also in each day there are many gifts to be had. Will I chose to let God’s gifts slip by unnoticed or will I slow down and stop to unwrap them? If I don’t choose to unwrap them, will they still be there waiting or will they slowly slip away to be lost forever?
I am so thankful that I didn’t let this one slip away unnoticed. This evening I stopped and watched as this wonderful and amazing gift was unwrapped before my eyes. As the sun slowly slipped down into the ocean I watched the sky turned to beautiful shades of oranges, reds, yellows and blues and the waves were shining and glittering like black glass. I felt like an artist was painting on a canvas right before me. As I savored and enjoyed this gift that was given to me I realized what an awesome God I serve and just how blessed I am. He is the artist, the amazing one who created this beautiful gift and I am thankful and in awe that he gave it to me.
Journal entry February 18, 2014 Riviara Nayarit Jalisco Mexico
.
The Gift of P E A C E
Today I woke up in a horrible mood. My heart was racing and my mind was anxious and whirling. I had been up most of the night with terrible knee pain and panic about my eye problems. And then to top off the morning I had gotten angry with my husband and snipped at him before I leaving for work.
The minute I got in the car to go to work my pity party started, I was crying and telling God I was tired. I was tired of the pain in my knees, tired of not sleeping, tired of the eye stuff, you name it I was tired of it.
As I topped the hill right before the church where I work I said, “Please Lord I just need a break, can you just give me a little peace?
And then I saw this beautiful sunrise….
I had to pull over to take that picture because it was so breathtaking. I then pulled into the parking lot and took a few more.
I actually took 16 more pictures before I saw it. Do you see it?
Answered prayer was right in front of my face.
Not just the beautiful sunrise but he also gave me the peace I had asked for.
P – E – A – C – E he had spelled it out for me!
Today our church sign was frozen on the word peace (bottom left corner), some would say it was broken? i would say it was working perfectly 🙂
What an awesome gift and a blessing God gave me today. Sometimes I am still amazed that he loves me so much
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
A Story By Me 
You must be logged in to post a comment.