So Blessed!
“And God can give you more blessings than you need.” 2 Corinthians 9:8
Since I’ve written about my “new beginnings” a few times in recent months I thought I’d give everyone an update on things. I am really enjoying my new church. That comes as no surprise. I made three visits to the church prior to moving to Henderson so I already knew the people were wonderful and that the church had a lot going for it. Also, one of my best friends served as pastor of this church for ten years and he assured me I would enjoy this particular congregation. I really do feel blessed to be serving where I am.
After being in Henderson for nearly a month I can also say that I am thrilled with my new community. There are lots of things that impress me about this community but here, too, this comes as no surprise. I liked what I saw before I moved here and heard many people give testimonies about how much they enjoy living in Henderson. What has come as a bit of a surprise to me is the natural beauty of the area. I will confess I was hesitant about leaving the mountains of eastern Kentucky. They had been home to me for almost twenty-five years. I love the mountains and also have found great pleasure over the years exploring and photographing them. Somehow I convinced myself that by leaving the mountains I would not have as many opportunities to photograph the beauty of God’s Creation. I have quickly learned that I was wrong.
I spent a couple of evenings this past week watching the sun set over the Ohio River. Yesterday I went out photographing with Gene Stinson, a local photographer I had recently met. He showed me around the Henderson Sloughs Wildlife Management Area. In just a few short hours we saw six bald eagles and numerous other bird species. I also got to photograph several species of dragonflies. We saw whitetail deer and wild turkeys roaming around. Gene also showed me a beautiful cypress swamp. I found myself feeling both ecstatic and relieved. There will be no shortage of things to photograph at my new home!
Today I truly do feel so blessed. I am very thankful for my new job, my new community, and for the natural beauty that surrounds me here. I offer my praise to God for being so good to me. I have a feeling, however, that if you’ll stop and think about it you, too, can offer the same testimony. If so, don’t keep it to yourself. Tell others about God’s goodness and love. And having been so richly blessed by our Maker, we should do all we can to be a blessing to others. I have certainly been reminded in recent days that there are more than enough blessings to go around. To God be the glory!
–Chuck
(All the pictures shown here were taken yesterday at Henderson Sloughs Wildlife Management Area.)