** Everything Spiritual...**

So this weekend Jess was out of town, and I spent some time (like 2-1/2 hours!) Saturday night laying in our hammock, staring at the stars, listening to music and nature, and thinking. I'd never really done that before... but highly recommend it! One of the overwhelming thoughts that kept recurring in my mind is that, if I 'tune in' to it, everything about the experience could point back to God - which makes sense, given that all of nature is designed to worship and reveal its Creator.

• The grandness of the vast blackness = the bigness and glory of God
• The stars spread across the sky = "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it" (from the Apostle John)
  
• The couple of shooting stars = the 1-second fleeting nature of this life... but the beauty and impact to be found therein
  
• The wind rustling above my head = the unseen reality of the Spirit and spiritual realm
  
• The rhythmic sway of the hammock = contentment; enjoyment of life
  
• The cool water on which I sipped = refreshment
  
• The wisps of smoke from my cigar = "you are but a mist that appears for a short time and then vanishes" (from James)
  
• Some of my thoughts = the depravity of man; my need for God: "no one is good, no not one" (from the Apostle Paul)
  
• Others of my thoughts = the redemption offered; sanctification
• My thoughts of Jess = gratitude, joy, & love, a reflection of the truth of the gospel
  
• The house across the yard = God's provision
  
• The tiny bugs which joined me occasionally = the intricacy and purposes of creation, even those which are unknown to me!
  
• The sleep that nearly kept me there all night = the rest and security I have in God

Here's what I learned: I don't do a good job at pausing. I don't reflect well. I rarely - if ever find time to "be still and know that I am God." But I woke up Sunday refreshed, excited, and in a couple words, focused and content. The challenge for me personally is (a) to stop more and consider what God has for me, and (b) to look at all of life as I did that night - if God created everything to point reveal Himself and His character, and if I experience thousands of 'things' every single day, and if I realized all these in a 2-1/2 hour hammock stay, than what have I been missing every day?!