summer afternoon

Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~ Henry James

Photo: Marge McCoy

More Love to Thee

More Love to Thee

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Words: Elizabeth P. Prentiss, 1856
Music: W. Howard Doane, 1870
Audio: Stephen Sollars
Photo: Marge McCoy

setting sun

To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude.
Jeanne Moreau

Photo by Belinda Brasley

surely

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.
Isaiah 59:1

Photo by Jean Pike

religion

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27 (NIV)

Photo by Cheryl Cook

God made

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:25

Photo: Marge McCoy

whisper

Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature’s simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard.

Psyche Roxas-Mendoza
Photo by Madison Garrigues

created

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being. Revelation 4:11

Photo: Mindy Dalton

For the Beauty of the Earth

For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

Hymn Lyrics: Folliot Pierpoint (1864)
Audio: Stephen Sollars
Photo: Bob McCoy

I know

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Photo: Belinda Brasley