Hey friends, I am back from a two week trip to Turkey and Greece and, wow, this world is amazing! I found myself thanking God over and over again for the vistas around me. I marveled on two levels.

First, there is so much beauty in the natural world. It is truly a masterpiece.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19

Hey friends, I am back from a two week trip to Turkey and Greece and, wow, this world is amazing! I found myself thanking God over and over again for the vistas around me. I marveled on two levels.

First, there is so much beauty in the natural world. It is truly a masterpiece.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19

Secondly, I marveled at the gift that mankind has been given to be able to create so much beauty. From the food ( oh my goodness, the Greek food!), to the handmade rugs and tiles, to the magnificent ruins given a second life after being buried for centuries and then resurrected. It took my breath away when I reflected on what a significant role we have so graciously been given in making this world a beautiful place to dwell. What a responsibility as well.

I also want to share with you some very special sites we saw; the small dwelling outside of Ephesus where Mary was thought to have lived out her final years with the apostle John, and the very places where Paul stood and preached in Ephesus, Athens, and Corinth. It gave me chills.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to witness all of this beauty on the other side of the planet. But I am also grateful to witness it right under my nose here today at my kitchen table. Let’s open our eyes to see God, The Beautiful One, all around us. And to enthusiastically say ‘yes’ when given the opportunity to be co-creators and bring beauty into our world.

“The presence of God’s spirit in all living things is what makes them beautiful; and if we look with God’s eyes, nothing on earth is ugly.”
Pelagius, 4th century theologian

So there’s my travel log. Thanks for staying with me. I hope to see you tonight or Saturday morning. My sweetie got the deck washed yesterday so that we can practice outside on Saturday as long as it is over 60 degrees and pleasant at 9am. There’s nothing like practicing outside!