I'm a summergirl.
I love the early morning angle of the sun, quiet moments before the house is awake. I love having the girls close by and us all wearing flip flops. I love the smell of sunscreen and seeing the ocean early in the morning... when we can make the first marks in the clean sand.

Summertime has memories of simple days and ordinary things like sno cones...juices of sweetness spread over cold icyness that glimmers in the summer heat. Word pictures of heat and cool refreshment. Bright colors and pastel sunsets. What are the word pictures of my spiritual summer? Bright colors of insight and green stems of growth? Or cracked shoots dried out by the hot sun and tangled masses of weeds?

Summer makes me want to be more child-like. Remember lying on the grass and starring at the white clouds, making pictures in the sky? Can I search heavenward and see the hand of The Creator in the circumstances of my life? Can I feel His presence in the cool breezes of my season? Where do I see God in the everyday? Can I find refreshment in the dry and barren moments?

These are some summer questions for me. Isaiah shares the heart of refreshment that we truly long for, "...For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water." (Isaiah 35:6-7).

SNO Cones are terrific. But this is the very best word picture.

Summer brings opportunities to be outdoors enjoying God's great creation. The psalmists possibly spent a great deal of time in the open air, which explains why they often reflected on God's majesty in nature. The Psalms give us a panoramic view, reflecting on their portrayal of the Sovereign Lord.

The psalmist looks at the entire creation and exclaims: "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."

He goes on to validate this view by affirming God as Creator: "...for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters" (Psalm 24:1,2, NIV).

This theme of God as Creator recurs repeatedly through the psalms, but it is not original with the psalmists. Moses declared it to Pharoah (Exodus 9:29). God himself asserted His authority over the earth to both Moses and Job (Exodus 19:5, Job 41:11). The Apostle Paul repeated this claim (1 Corinthians 10:26).

Accepting the position that the earth is the Lord's is what I call taking the panoramic view. When we start with this basic principle, we can see purpose for the present and hope for the future. The Creator God of the past is the God who cares for the present and controls the future.

"For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." - Prov. 2:6

Join us for a new season of Women's Bible Study as we seek God's wisdom for living. We gather in small group study and enjoy sharing insight, spiritual truths, and meaningful friendships.

"Where two or three come together in My Name, there am I with them." - Matthew 18:20