Sedona, Arizona

God is a God of truth, beauty, and goodness. An excellent place to see just a glimpse of these aspects of His character is in His creation. Mary, Caleb, Michelle and I stopped in Sedona on our way to BTC on Thursday and the beauty of the creation there is absolutely breath-taking. The redness of the rocks, the jaggedness of the cliffs, the towering walls of rock arranged into beautiful pillars... I am reminded of this hymn adapted by Stuart K. Hine: 

How Great Thou Art

"O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder 

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Savior, God, to thee

How great thou art, how great thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Savior, God, to thee

How great thou art, how great thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,

When I look down from lofty mountains grandeur,

And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Savior, God, to thee

How great thou art, how great thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Savior, God, to thee

How great thou art, how great thou art!"

*Last two verses excluded here... but totally worth looking up and reading (or singing)!!!*

I do wish that pictures could do justice to the reality of the beauty displayed in the earth, but they never can. Creation is a reflection of who God is in His beauty and creativity, and pictures are only a poor reflection of that reflection. But perhaps you may like to see some anyways... ;)

"O Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens." Psalm 8:1

"Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

    to still the enemy and the avenger." Psalm 8:2

"When I look at 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,
    and the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4

"Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

    and crowned him with glory and honor." Psalm 8:5

"You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

    whatever passes along the paths of the seas." Psalm 8:6-8

"O Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Psalm 8:9

Just a few more pictures for you to enjoy today... :)

We visited Slide Rock State Park before we arrived in Flagstaff, AZ. The river bed is rock and the flow of water over the years has cut away a "slide". It looks like a ton of fun, and many families were out enjoying the God-provided recreation. A little further up the river displayed more of God's beauty in His creation.

Trip to Indiana

Monday:

Well, I'm all moved out! Not moved in yet, but my pastor and his wife offered to store my things for me for the month of th July. I'm so thankful! It didn't amount to much, and it's nice to have it tucked away until I'm ready to move into my new room in August. 

I'm getting really quite efficient at this moving deal. Phew! Five personal moves, and into three new classrooms in the past four years really have fine-tuned my box-packing abilities! 

Tuesday:
I flew out yesterday evening after spending some time with a few friends in Seattle. I enjoyed coffee with one friend, games with a few others, and then just relaxing with my pastor's family before heading to the airport.

I prayed for a clear day on my last day in Seattle and was so kind to grant that request. I really enjoyed seeing the mountains from above! 

The Rockies so beautiful!

We had a wonderful view of Mt. Rainier as we took off. 

Seattle is a tightly packed city all right! Surrounded by mountains, there isn't much place for it to go.

We could also see Mt. Baker far away to the north as we took off. Thank you, Lord, for a gorgeous day!

And then the flight over the Rockies... amazing! Isn't God amazing? 

I saw a couple of other especially tall mountains as I flew. I'm not sure what they are though. I'll have to look that up. :)

The western section of the Rockies is lush and green with trees covering the mountains.

The further east you go, the drier the mountains get.

Another volcano (I'm assuming) that I don't know the name of.

High mountains!

Approaching the eastern edge of the Rockies.

And then, BAM! The mountains are gone and it is flat terrain with ridges for the rivers.

I can remember driving west through the eastern Washington last summer and just seeing how dry, brown, arid, and treeless everything was. I kept thinking, "THIS is Washington? Oh goodness, what I have I done???" And then we made it through the Rockies and the other side was lush, green, and bountiful with trees. I am so thankful that God planted me on the west side of the Rockies! I certainly have enjoyed his beautiful creation on that side! 

I was able to experience the sunset in the air. The colors were amazing! And because of the altitude I was at, I had the privilege of enjoying the sunset for a much longer period of time than I usually get to! The colors simply stayed on the horizon for a really, really long time!  

Thursday:

I slept in a little, enjoyed a leisurely morning, and then went out and ran a couple errands with my mom. Then after Dad got off work, we all loaded up the car and headed to Indiana! I am so excited to spend time with my parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, cousins, and aunt and uncle for the Fourth of July!

I hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend!

God's Creation (Mount Rainier)

Mount Rainier is beautiful. Always. Well, whenever there aren't clouds blocking the view. Monday I drove down to see it with a friend and Oh. My. Goodness. Me! I was breathless! And so excited! Mount Rainier is huge! Please enjoy...

My first glimpse as we came around a bend in Mount Rainier National Park

Christine Falls

You can see how the continual water has worn a bowl out in the bottom.

Christine Falls

Mt. Rainier creates its own weather patterns.

This picture was taken mid-afternoon. You can see how the warm sun has softened the snow in some places... the coloration of the snow is different.

Aren't the clouds beautiful here? 

Flip flops and ...snow? Yes, snow. This part of the mountain is called Paradise. The snow doesn't completely melt here until July, but when it does there are about six weeks of snow free paradise. I have heard that the wildflowers that bloom here are absolutely gorgeous in August!

Paradise gets the most snow in the whole USA. It averages 600-700 inches a year.

Paradise serves as a base camp for mountain climbers. From Paradise to the summit is about a two day hike.

Churning water about to descend in a waterfall.

And there it goes!

It is quite a noise! And a mist! We sat here and read for a while, and the sound of the waterfall in the background was just lovely. :)

I'm working on finishing up my packing. Tomorrow I get to go into my new classroom for the first time and work on doing a little unpacking and rearranging. Monday I will be moving out of my house, Tuesday I'll probably be working a little more in my classroom, and Wednesday I'll be working on tying up loose ends before flying out that evening. Phew! Things are about to get really busy! I can't wait to see all of you very soon!