Rain Falls, a Promise is Made

Photo Credit: http://community.webshots.com/user/anttisarki/profile

After a week or more of blessed sunshine, it was pouring rain overnight and into the morning. Rain brings a freshening of the earth, in addition to a cleaning for our enjoyment on another sunny day. It just so happened that my reading for the day was also about rain.

In Genesis, chapters 6-9, I read again about the flood that God sent upon the earth due to the evil and violence in the world.

¹¹The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

¹²And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

¹³And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Genesis 6:11-13

But God found in Noah, a perfect man for his generation.

Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Genesis 6:9

So he made a way of escape for Noah, his family and all the animals, both clean and unclean by getting him to build and Ark and enter into it for the duration of the 150 day period (Genesis 7: 24) over which the water prevailed on the earth.

I've loved this story about Noah and the Great Flood since childhood. It is because it is so incomprehensible to my human mind that man could be so wicked and violent so as to provoke God to flood and encompass the entire earth. Yet, God in his awesome love and mercy would save the world and even the animals so that the world could be inhabited once again. This speaks to me of how awesome God's love and mercy really is. He didn't have to save us but for one Godly man, He did! Praise His Name!

This wonderful story concludes with God's promise to us to never again send a flood to encompass the entire earth; the mark of which is His beautiful rainbow.

¹¹And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

¹²And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

¹³I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:11-13

Whenever I see a rainbow, I am reminded of this wonderful story and God's promise to us, His children. I am grateful that God keeps His promises.

Greet the Day

This is the scene that greeted me today. I thank God for the beautiful day.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah.

Psalm 68:2-7

This is a wonderful verse of scripture. I greet the day with gladness and I pray you have a wonderful day in Him. Remember He will never leave you, nor forsake you. No matter what the storm. He is ever near you. Hallelujia to His name.

Flowers, Greens & Water

As I wandered to town on a short errand, I captured these refreshing snaps along the way. The first thing that was a surprise to me was the new community garden built right on the corner of two very busy downtown streets.

Entry to the garden Vegetables grow here
And so do flowers The growing season hasn't been under way that long here as the weather has been rather chilly all spring. We are just now getting good temperatures. At last. How nice it was to feel the warmth of the sun without a jacket today.

I always love to see the trees in the city. They soften the edges of the concrete jungle.
These flowers are in front of the city hospital which is just around the corner from the city garden.
And these lovely, refreshing fountains are across the street from the hospital at one of the city's newer and popular hotels, The Sheraton Wall Centre.
These flowers are planted where there would otherwise only be concrete at the Sheraton Wall Centre.
The concrete cobblestones make an interesting backdrop for the flowers, don't you think?

Sunset at the Bay

I thought it would be fun to capture the sunset from my window through its different phases.

Make a Joyful Noise

PSALM 100

1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

"Wondering Where the Lions Are"

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.
Psalm 113:3

Bruce Cockburn is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter who has written many songs and released about 30 albums ranging in styles from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston for three semesters in the 1960s but those of you in the United States may be less familiar with his music.

Perhaps if you have heard of him, you're familiar with the album Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws (1979). One of the songs on the album, "Wondering Where the Lions Are" made it to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and earned Bruce Cockburn a spot on Saturday Night Live.

Bruce Cockburn was raised as an agnostic and he became a devout Christian early on in his career. Many of his albums reference his Christian beliefs and his concerns for human rights and the environment. His music also includes imagery inspired by 20th century Christian poet, Charles Williams and the ideas of theologian, Harvey Cox.

On today's short hike to English Bay beach, I took a number of pictures that I've set to the song "Wondering Where the Lions Are". I used some artistic license in putting together sunset scenes with lyrics that reference the "sun's up". I apologize in advance for the quality of the sound recording but the laptop I am using is much slower than my desk top at home.* I may try to correct the music quality at a later time.

However, if the sound turns out to be problematic for you, or you are on dial-up, you can enjoy the photos by clicking here

* I learned it isn't the speed of my laptop that affects the sound quality (music upload) but the hotel's wifi connection is 30x slower for upload than my home internet service....this means, I will re-do the music but it will be a month or more.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.
Psalm 113:3

Bruce Cockburn is one of my favourite Canadian singers. Besides "Wondering Where the Lions Are", my other two favourite songs of his are, "If a Tree Falls in the Forest" and "Waiting for a Miracle". I invite you to check out his music.

Take a Walk With Me

"There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast."~ Paul Scott Mowrer

"One step at a time is good walking."
~ Chinese proverb