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

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

John Rutter

Today I have a handful of cool images to share from the past couple of days. My favorite is the (cover) photograph I took early in the morning, down at the Riverfront Park. This is the third time the Tar River has spilled its banks since we first arrived here at the end of November, and as of this morning it is still on the rise.

I like the juxtaposition of the two photographs. One from my walk into the park, directly south from our house, then the other looking out from the Main Street bridge, northeast back into the same stand of trees.

I particularly love the reflection in the first, the deep blues and the arched trees creating an avenue in the water. Very little is as beautiful as water; very little can be so destructive.

So Rebekah and I walked out across the bridge out of town toward Princeville, then turned left and hiked along the top of the dyke that we trust will hold back the water until the next 500-year flood – hopefully not until the year 2516.

Max thinks this is a most excellent place for a long walk, and we plan to go again.

The other two images are from dinner with friends Sunday evening. One genuine delight of this sojourn in Tarboro is getting to know the good, good people here, and we cannot help but love them. They all have such wide open hearts and generous spirits. David and Lillie have been especially welcoming, opening up their home and doing so much to help us get settled in with the minimum of stress.

Good people, great food, beautiful surroundings. 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 joyful hymn of praise.

The gift of life. The gift of every day. The gift of this day. May God be with each one of us today, and fill the world to overflowing with his grace… through the grateful living of our lives – DEREK