Confession
I must admit, I am guilty of forgetting the power of God. I become so caught up in my own problems that I forget how great is our God!
Contemplation
What kinds of things can we do to remind ourselves of the beauty and majesty of our Lord? What things should we consider dialing back or perhaps completely cutting out so that we might create a greater awareness of God’s presence in our individual lives and around the world?
The Art
Frederick Edwin Church was an American landscape artist who became famous during his lifetime for painting very large landscapes with realistic details, dramatic lighting and panoramic views. He achieved this by using low horizontal lines to create a cathedral like sky… reminding us we live under the canopy of God’s heavens.
Frederick Church was a devout Protestant who lived during the American Civil war and looked for ways to communicate and inspire the republic for which he stood. During this time, the northern states viewed the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, as a sign from God of divine blessing.
This painting was rendered from sketches brought back by his friend and student Isaac Hayes after he had returned from his trip of successfully navigating these icy waters of the Arctic in 1861.
Examine the painting up close with the detail slides below.
Notice the smooth nature of the brush strokes making the artist’s technique invisible.
Zoom in on the little boat with the tiny light shining a message of hope…
Think of how small we are in the presence of God’s majesty…
I hope you will spend a little time today gazing at the beauty of this painting as I read and play for you:)
Psalm 104: 1-3, 33-34
How Great Thou Art
May God’s Peace be with you:)
Special thanks to At Sunnyside blog for their kind technical advise about clipping pictures into details. Please visit and follow her blog:)
God Thru the Arts 
Everything is beautiful, Jennifer! I LOVE your audio and video podcasts and am looking forward to many hours of learning, praise , and worship with you here. Your flute performance is such a lovely addition – thank you for sharing your talents. In Christ, 🙂
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Thank you! Sometimes you have to just take a risk and push something out there and learn as you go. I am sending you much gratitude for taking the mystery out of the picture clips for me. I had to fuss with it all week but I finally got the hang of it:)
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I have also been visiting the idea recently of the awe and respect we should have for God. Such a stunning piece of art!
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The Spirit is leading us in similar directions…thanks for reading and following;)
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awesome piece, may i use the art image for my next saga story?
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yes! I believe if you click on the Image Source link I provide in the caption it should take you to where you can download the picture. I am planning to go visit this painting tomorrow. It is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. I’m going on a hunt for all Frederick Edwin Church paintings that I can find tomorrow.
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Beautiful words and art! Thank you for posting.
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Thanks for stopping by! God bless your journey;)
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