Words from the Wilderness

My recent adventure to seek out a renowned and rare bird taught me about living with grace–the beauty of our salvation in action.  

"I believe that right here, right now, right where we are, we can live in grace.  As those swans swirled on the lake, beauty right before me, I was sure of this:  living with grace isn’t merely a decision.  It’s a deliverance.  And I believe that the swans, so full of grace themselves, proclaim timeless truths about this simple serenity."

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/swan-song/

Three inches of snow in an entire winter season doesn’t seem like enough to this snow-lover. And when I compare my winter weather with the snowdrifts and blizzards of Estes Park, I feel even more dissatisfied. Yet could God be using our climate to teach me about contentment?

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/warmer-winter/

This time of year, animals are hibernating–an unusual physical state that mimics death, yet is actually the ultimate survival strategy. I’m studying the wildlife around me, and I’m asking an unusual question: in God’s design, could death actually be the path to life?

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/sleeping-under-snow/

If 2020 has left you scared of a new year…this post is for you.  Frost has a strange dichotomy: it’s at once deadly and delightful, brutal and beautiful…a force of destruction and a filigree of loveliness. Could the same God Who leaves His fingerprints in frost bring beauty to the winter of our souls?

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/frozen-filigree/

The winter solstice is just around the corner, and at first, this time can seem a bit depressing–the shortest day and longest night. Yet the solstice sings a message of hope–and reminds us of a very special Baby born on a dark night two thousand years ago.

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/midwinter-miracle/

This world is so loud. Everyone has an axe to grind and a point to prove–and what might have begun as a meaningful discussion has now disintegrated into a shouting match. In a world that makes our ears ring, could it be that the owl reminds us of a paradoxical yet purifying approach–silence?

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/soaring-in-silence/

Wild hogs had invaded our property, and we couldn’t seem to eradicate them–until my mother took matters into her own hands, teaching me a valuable lesson about spiritual warfare in the process. I can’t wait for you to enjoy my retelling of this family memory!

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/of-corn-and-courage/

Squirrels–they’re fun, they’re fascinating, they’re friendly and frolicsome. This time of year, though, they’re incredibly busy. In an epic “treasure hunt,” they stash away as many nuts as possible before the coming winter days. But what can this intriguing behavior teach us about our own relationship with our “treasures”?

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/treasures-in-the-treetops/

Don’t look now, but the woods are full of eyes…buckeyes, to be exact. How does a common autumn object remind me of our omniscient God?

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/watching-in-the-woods/

Autumn rides into the world on the wings of a very special wind–one that, in its own obscure way, is largely responsible for the season. And just as the wind is stirring across the landscape right now, could it be that the Holy Spirit is hovering over our hearts?

Find photos and more here:  http://www.wordsfromthewilderness.com/where-the-wind-blows/