because i tend to find God in the woods instead of in church
So, I was reading this book yesterday in preparation for a small group bible study and came across these two passages:
"God has woven himself irretrievably into Nature; left his fingerprints behind to show us where he's been. His signature is smeared into the curls of the Milky Way, forever circling above the rim of the world. God has scattered fragments of himself all about the earth like a father hides eggs in the yard before his son's very first Easter; hiding behind a tree with laughing eyes and waiting to see which of the treasures his child will uncover first.
God is crying out all around us. He is present in the breathless silence of the snow-covered mountains; he is dancing with the sunlight that shatters on the oceans's waves; he is hiding in the decaying moss and lichen and crumbling shale in the old forgotten places in the world. No jagged mountain throws its sharp weight against the sky that its not a testament to his goodness. The entire sum of Creation, each private and individual act of nature, is God waving hello."
~Mallory Ortberg, as quoted by John Ortberg in his book God is Closer Than You Think
And:
"I would like to have walked in his world, thanking God for oysters and porpoises, praising God for birdsong and sheet lightning, seeing God reflected in pools of creekwater and the eyes of stray cats. I would like to have talked to yard dogs as if they were my friends and fellow travelers along the sun-tortured highways intoxicated with the love of God...I would like to have seen the whole world with eyes of anything but wonder, and with a tongue fluent only in praise."
~Pat Conroy
The book is basically about achieving a greater intimacy with God despite or in the midst of the business of Western Society. He uses two metaphors throughout the book--Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and the Where's Waldo series of picture books. But so far those two passages have struck me the most, especially as I've been doing more hiking recentlly. Sometimes I'm just amazed at the priviledge of experiencing God's creation. Sometimes I just walk through the woods, listening and observing the sounds and colors out there--drinking it all in. I think that part of Leave No Trace is being quiet out of respect for nature--after all, aren't we encroaching on thier habitat? And yeah, every so often I just space out because I'm just tired. =)
"God has woven himself irretrievably into Nature; left his fingerprints behind to show us where he's been. His signature is smeared into the curls of the Milky Way, forever circling above the rim of the world. God has scattered fragments of himself all about the earth like a father hides eggs in the yard before his son's very first Easter; hiding behind a tree with laughing eyes and waiting to see which of the treasures his child will uncover first.
God is crying out all around us. He is present in the breathless silence of the snow-covered mountains; he is dancing with the sunlight that shatters on the oceans's waves; he is hiding in the decaying moss and lichen and crumbling shale in the old forgotten places in the world. No jagged mountain throws its sharp weight against the sky that its not a testament to his goodness. The entire sum of Creation, each private and individual act of nature, is God waving hello."
~Mallory Ortberg, as quoted by John Ortberg in his book God is Closer Than You Think
And:
"I would like to have walked in his world, thanking God for oysters and porpoises, praising God for birdsong and sheet lightning, seeing God reflected in pools of creekwater and the eyes of stray cats. I would like to have talked to yard dogs as if they were my friends and fellow travelers along the sun-tortured highways intoxicated with the love of God...I would like to have seen the whole world with eyes of anything but wonder, and with a tongue fluent only in praise."
~Pat Conroy
The book is basically about achieving a greater intimacy with God despite or in the midst of the business of Western Society. He uses two metaphors throughout the book--Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and the Where's Waldo series of picture books. But so far those two passages have struck me the most, especially as I've been doing more hiking recentlly. Sometimes I'm just amazed at the priviledge of experiencing God's creation. Sometimes I just walk through the woods, listening and observing the sounds and colors out there--drinking it all in. I think that part of Leave No Trace is being quiet out of respect for nature--after all, aren't we encroaching on thier habitat? And yeah, every so often I just space out because I'm just tired. =)