JUNE 26 - Stream / Creek - Thinking Outdoors

Thinking Outdoors

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JUNE 26 - Stream / Creek

RECREATION: Hiking, Fishing

Jeremiah 17:7–8, Psalm 42:1–2, Jeremiah 31:7–14, Psalm 126, 1 Kings 17:2–6

Give

What are the closest streams to your home? In Pennsylvania, we tend to call them creeks. The creek that is a stone's throw from my house is called Beaverdam Run. It is a beautiful stream to spend time in or beside. Take some time in the weeks to come to find a stream to spend time enjoying. Streams are a refreshing place to relax, seek relief from the heat of summer, and meditate on God's creation.

JUNE 1 - Wildflowers / Flowers

Isaiah 40:6, Isaiah 28:1–6, James 1:9–11, Luke 12:27–28, Matthew 6:28

The wildflowers and cultivated flowers are out in force here where I live. White and yellow daisies, purple and white dame's rockets, red geraniums, purple bigleaf lupines, pink catawba rhododenron, purple clematis, multi-colored impatiens, yellow calibrachoas (million bells), even a few leftover sunny dandelions to name a few. My personal favorites that are not out yet are the blue chicory and the scarlet beebalm that looks so much like an exploding firework. Take some time to bask in the beauty of all the colors and smells of the flowers in the area where you live. Let that earthly beauty direct your mind and heart to delight in the divine beauty of our Creator.

JUNE 20 - Drought

John 7:37–38, Jeremiah 14:1–10, Jeremiah 17:5–13, Psalm 63:1, Haggai 1:3–11

All across the US, it has been a very dry month. There are many places experiencing unusually low levels of precipitation. Even though the past few days have finally seen some rainfall here where I live, much of the grass remains yellowish in color. I have never seen our grass fields so dry in May and June. The associative connection between physical drought and spiritual dryness is common. Have you ever felt spiritually dry? The following meditation invites you to consider how the drought-like conditions our country has experienced this past month are emblematic of our hearts' condition when we go without the living water we so desperately need.