This past week Jim and I were on vacation where we traveled to Reno, Nevada to visit my daughter and her husband. Neither of us had been there before so it was quite a surprise to see this beautiful city nestled between the Sierra mountains. On Sunday my daughter drove us up into the mountains to Lake Tahoe and it literally took my breath away! It was closing day for the ski season yet there was still plenty of snow all around. The entire time we were there and even as the plane took off, I couldn’t stop looking at those beautiful mountains! I don’t know if it was because I don’t see sights like that very often or just because of their majesty. I thought about it awhile and realized I take God’s beautiful creation for granted. Sure, we don’t have snow capped mountains here in Illinois, but we can see God in many other ways in creation.

In St. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome he says this about God, "Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made." This concept is similar to what we’ve been talking about lately where God uses common, everyday things to teach us about spiritual things. So, a mountain capped with snow, a sparkling river, an eagle soaring on the wind, or a hummingbird hovering over a beautiful flower all show us God’s power. All we need to do is stop and notice… God is there!

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed.

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
when I look down from lofty mountain 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!

See you Sunday!