Slow Down. There is beauty that is often missed.

I was in Orlando last week for the Children’s Pastor’s Conference and will be posting more about that on Kidology.org, but I wanted to post some pictures from the Coranado Springs Resort where I stayed. But I have to tell you something about myself… I don’t take the usual pictures! I like to see what others walk right past. All of the pictures below (and it was hard to narrow down the ones I wanted to post) were taken right off the path at the resort. Behind a bush, down by the water, over a bridge, beside a building, etc. At my new slower pace of life I am taking more time to slow down and open my eyes to the beauty around me, and it was actually fun to be stopping and taking close up pictures of nature in a very ‘man-made’ place with people scurring past me in a hurry to get to the amusement park or other activities. Several times people stopped and asked, “What are you taking a pictures of?” surprised to see me kneeling or hunched over where there didn’t really appear to be anything worth the effort… but I think these pictures prove that if we slow down and take the time to look a little closer, we will see beauty that we would have missed if we were too much in a hurry to “get somewhere”, literally or figuratively.

ENJOY! (each is larger if clicked on) and forgive me for finding spiritual commentary in every view of nature I see…


These are not flowers, they are tiny petals on a large flower!
See the tiny bug in the lower left hand corner?
He was unseen until later on the computer when I zoomed
into a picture that included over one hundred of these petals.
If we allow God to zoom into us and look closely,
He will slow us the tiny preditors of our hearts so we can remove them!


Why is water so refreshing?
Just being in the presence of water is relaxing.
Maybe that’s why Jesus called Himself “Living Water?”
Beaty and Life, springing forth
even in the midst of a flood of water.


If they weren’t so tiny, you could take these for popcicles!
Reaching out in all directions bringing color to a dark
and otherwise drab plant. We have the same opportunity,
in a drab world, to spread color and life in every direction!


The shadow of this flower upon itself was beautiful.
Only the SON can bring our beauty out.
Without His Light, we are pretty drab and ordinary.

This gorgeous flower lay hidden out of sight… missed by most.
I had to brush aside lots of common leaves to discover it.
Who is near you, reflecting God’s amazing gifts,
but you miss because you only see the leaves?

Amazing detail up close of an otherwise ugly looking plant.
(maybe if we looked closer at people we’d see they aren’t so bad?)

I love the contrasts of nature.
A hard rock that endures the ages, unchanged, and
the flower, fleeting beauty that must be enjoyed now.

Fruit that is hard to get at past the prickly protection.
Some people are the same, their defenses can keep you
from getting to know them, unless you are willing to
get pricked a little to get closer. It’s worth it.

The worship leader at CPC this year was Micheal Neale, one of the worship pastors at a Florida church with some 18,000 members and something like 15 weekend servies. (Can’t remember the exact figures, just remember having a hard time picturing it!) He was awesome. It had to be the best CPC worship in the 20+ CPCs I’ve been too. (Though Scott Wesley Brown was my favorite up until now) There just was no ‘performance’ in him at all, he just humbly and naturally led us into God’s presence. As my roomate said it, “He was a spiritual usher… just welcoming and guiding us into God’s presence.”

Here is a Mac-made video of more pictures and one of the songs that hit me to hardest (in a good way) during this God-encountering week at CPC: (Michael Neale singing)

 

Praising God in the Beauty of His Creation
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(Or your browser may need right-click ‘save target as’ if it starts playing in your browser)

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Kidologist

Karl Bastian is the founder of Kidology.org, the creator of ToyboxTales.com, and the author of OrderoftheAncient.com. His personal website is Kidologist.com He is Big Kid with a passion for equipping and encouraging those who minister to children.

5 Comments:

  1. This was amazing and very encouraging!”and forgive me for finding spiritual commentary in every view of nature I see…” Nothing to forgive this is great!

  2. Hey Karl,
    Thanks for the pics, now I don’t feel nearly as weird as I did when I took my pictures of nature while at CPC. It was my first year at the CPC and there I was walking along the path of the resort taking pictures of ducks, water springs, and palm trees. I felt strange, but I still took them. I think God wanted me to have time to stop and enjoy the beauty around me more than he wanted me to attend a ton of workshops! Thanks for the pics!

  3. I’m also relieved to know I’m not the only strange person out there. The Coronado Springs truly is a beautiful resort. You almos forget you are Walt Disney World… almost. :)

    I’m glad you found God in the nature and not just in the workshops. :) Sometimes He is so obvious, we actualy miss Him!

  4. I took several shots of flowers and birdsm at CPC as well. I like to use them as backgrounds for presentations I do plus it preserves the feel of the event for years to come. Part of waht made CPC great this year was the resort. Karl – sorry i did not get to talk to you more. Maybe next year.

  5. Karl, I enjoyed watching your floral photos. You did a good treatment of your experience at CPC too. I appreciated your video to Blessed Be the Name too. I am feeling more justified for my interest in taking flower pictures now. Barney

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