creation

Creation Speaks

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

The morning sings joy

and mercy

 

Do you hear it?

 

The noonday sun radiates righteousness

and truth

 

Do you see it?

 

The moon and stars whisper peace

and wisdom

 

Do you perceive it?

 

The whole earth

and all of creation

speak of Divinity

 

Listen well

and walk

in the morning joy,

the noonday truth,

and the nighttime peace

 

with your Creator

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    You call forth songs of joy.

– Psalm 65:8 (NIV)

 

He will spread out righteousness for you as a sunrise spreads radiance over the land; He will deliver justice for you into the light of the high sun.

– Psalm 37:6 (VOICE)

 

The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
    which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

– Proverbs 4:18 (NLT)

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to Him who alone does mighty miracles.

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to Him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to Him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to Him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.

the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.

and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.

– Psalm 136:1-9 (NLT)

 

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is His faithfulness;
    His mercies begin afresh each morning.

– Lamentations 3:22, 23 (NIV)

 

At every time and in every place— from the moment the sun rises to the moment the sun sets— may the name of the Eternal be high in the hearts of His people.

– Psalm 113:3 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

YOU

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Do you long for someone

to really KNOW you?

 

Do you wish someone

understood you completely?

 

The One and only God

who shaped you inside your mother

 

knows you

completely

 

And He knows you so well

because He made you the way He did

 

for reasons and purposes

eternal

 

He breathed life into you

and gave you your own unique

you-ness

 

Personality

Spirit

Strengths

Gifts

 

and they could only come

from our Creator,

our Spirit God

 

He knew

that when He made you

 

It was good

 

So when you are tempted

to feel alone

and misunderstood

and less than

 

KNOW your unique place

in this God Story

eternally told

 

and let yourself be encouraged

by intimacy Divine

 

Love deep and sincere

 

for YOU

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for My holy purpose…

– Jeremiah 1:5 (GW)

 

…I have called you by name; you are Mine.

– Isaiah 43:1 (NLT)

 

O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from Your Spirit!
    I can never get away from Your presence!
If I go up to heaven, You are there;
    if I go down to the grave, You are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there Your hand will guide me,
    and Your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
 but even in darkness I cannot hide from You.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to You.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in Your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    You are still with me!

– Psalm 139:1-18 (NLT)

 

 

 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

– Genesis 1:31 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Invisible

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

My beautiful

Invisible

God

 

Sometimes I long

to see Your face

 

and Your invisibility

appears as a barrier

 

between You and me

 

But it doesn’t have to be

that way

 

There really is

no barrier

 

Only Jesus,

as the Way

 

Invisible God

You see me

 

right through to my core

 

And,

Invisible God,

you see the invisible people

among us

 

None escape Your sight

 

And while I still long

to see You,

Jesus

 

It doesn’t need to be a barrier

 

For You have made a Way

 

Communication with You

Creation Divine and serene

Your Word powerful and life-changing

Relationships beautiful

Love overwhelming

 

Life abundant

 

They show me You,

my invisible God   ❤

 

– Susie Stewart

 

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

– Colossians 1:15-18 (MSG)

 

We all live off His generous bounty,
gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses,
and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding—
all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God,
not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
who exists at the very heart of the Father,
has made Him plain as day.

– John 1:16-18 (MSG)

 

But you may not look directly at My face, for no one may see Me and live.

– Exodus 33:20 (NLT)

 

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

– 1 Timothy 1:17 (NIV)

 

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.

– 1 John 4:12 (NLT)

 

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

– Romans 1:20 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

All His

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to Him.

For He laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.

– Psalm 24:1-2 (NLT)

 

You established all of it, God

 

You created it all, every thing and every person

 

and even though some do not acknowledge You

or they shake their fists at You

 

it’s still all Yours

and always will be

 

You spoke

and it all appeared

 

You created in love and power

 

God, You sustain us

and I am so grateful

 

that the One who spoke life into

oceans and galaxies and babies and whales

 

loves me

and I am Yours

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are Mine.

When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.

For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior….

…you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.

– Isaiah43:1-4 (NLT)

 

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.

 -Revelation 21:3 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Beautiful

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

God created Beautiful

He is the Author of Lovely

 

The Maker of Mountains

and seas

bird songs

mother love

and skin types various

 

Eyes sparkling

colors inspired

 

majesty

and billows

and clear

 

And the beauty of His Creation

inspires

warms

and fills

 

But

everything beautiful fades

in this temporary world

 

everything, that is,

except the beauty inside of people

 

It grows more and more radiant

when the Author of beautiful resides in a heart

surrendered

 

Reflecting the Creator

 

No outer beauty that fades

is more important

than the beauty inside that doesn’t

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

Charm can be deceptive and physical beauty will not last, but a woman who reveres the Eternal should be praised above all others.

– Proverbs 31:30 (VOICE)

 

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

– Isaiah 40:8 (NIV)

 

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!

– Isaiah 52:7 (NLT)

 

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

– Isaiah 62:3 (ESV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Word

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through Him,
and nothing was created except through Him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and His life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John 1:1-5 (NIV)

 

Jesus,

You are

the Word.

 

The Logos.

 

Perfect Revelation

Glorious Hope

Life and Light

for us.

 

And though it may seem

that darkness reigns,

it has not overcome.

 

Your light

backs up

the darkness.

 

The Word,

overcomes

the world.

 

And we stand

unafraid

and unapologetic

for believing in

and shining

Your Light.

 

Jesus

The Word

spoke the world into being

and will not be extinguished

by the darkness in it.

 

– Susie Stewart

 

So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

– John 1:14 (NLT)

 

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

– John 16:33 (NLT)

 

The Lord merely spoke,
and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
and all the stars were born.

– Psalm 33:6 (NLT)

 

He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death.

– Psalm 107:20 (NLT)

 

Forever, O Eternal One,
Your word stands in heaven, firm and resolute.

– Psalm 119:89 (VOICE)

 

He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

– Psalm 147:15-18 (ESV)

 

Grace To You — Why Does John Refer to Jesus As The Word?

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Love Is Not Proud

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Love is not proud…

– 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)

 

 

Godly love acts in humility,

but with confidence.

 

This confidence is not in self,

not a prideful confidence,

but a confidence in your position in Christ

and who He created you to be.

 

He created you for this – to Love God, love people, and bring Him glory.

– Susie Stewart

 

A proud man then is a kind of glutton upon himself; for he is never satisfied with loving and admiring himself; whilst nothing else, with him, is worthy either of love or care.

– William Penn

 

In pride we become the objects of our own love; in humility we learn to love others.

– S. Michael Houdmann

 

Pride will create contempt, arguments, misunderstandings, resentment, loss of community, and indifference…We need to seek others first and their well being, not our arrogance and egocentric mentality. Love lifts up God, not us.

– Richard Krejcir

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Remarkable Existence

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

O Lord my God, how great You are!
You are robed with honor and majesty.
You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
You lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot;
You ride upon the wings of the wind.
The winds are your messengers;
flames of fire are your servants.

You placed the world on its foundation
so it would never be moved.
You clothed the earth with floods of water,
water that covered even the mountains.
At your command, the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
Mountains rose and valleys sank
to the levels You decreed.
Then You set a firm boundary for the seas,
so they would never again cover the earth.

You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to set.
You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals prowl about.
Then the young lions roar for their prey,
stalking the food provided by God.
At dawn they slink back
into their dens to rest.

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.

May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all He has made!
The earth trembles at His glance;
the mountains smoke at His touch.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.

– Psalm 104:1-9, 19-22, 24, 25, 31-34 (NLT)

 

It is absolutely illogical to believe that nothing produces something, or that profoundly intricate designs have come into existence by self-generation. The more simple and natural conclusion is that there is an immeasurably great Creator and Benefactor back of all the remarkable existences which we observe and experience.
-Gordon Olson

 

Photo taken by Andy Stewart

Created

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

So many of us are marveled by His majestic power via His nature; the nature that He created and called “good”, but we so often fail to have that same sense of awe with each other…. He created all of us and called us “VERY GOOD”.  The best of all that He created!  Besides His Spirit that He gave us, WE, ALL HUMANS (no matter race, socioeconomic boundaries, culture, religion, or anything that we have done nor will do), are the closest thing we have to experiencing God Himself. That’s a priority changer huh?  Yes, it’s wonderful and perfectly rigtheous to glorify God by marveling at His nature, but there is so much beauty we are missing in our neighbors, people we pass by every day, and we even miss it in our spouses, family, and best friends.  Convicting huh?  I do it all the time, and if you’re honest with yourself, you do to.  We are made in the VERY LIKENESS OF GOD, let’s start treating each other that way (even if they aren’t perfect like He is).  Yes, I know a tree doesn’t talk back to you, drive slow on the freeway, or act selfishly, but a tree also doesn’t have the capability of deep meaningful conversations, loving you, building you up when you’re down, or making you cheesecake either. People are more AWEsome than we give each other credit for.  Be marveled at someone today because God has already said they are VERY GOOD, and afterall, we ARE made in His image.

– Taylor Bodin

 

The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

– Job 33:4 (NIV)

 

Then God said, “Let Us make human beings in Our image, to be like Us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

So God created human beings in His own image.
In the image of God He created them;
male and female He created them.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Genesis 1:26-28 (NLT)

 

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

– Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

 

Photo taken by Susie Stewart

 

Victoria

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe. You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful; I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.

– Psalm 139:14 (VOICE)

Photo taken by Susie Stewart