Wendy and I thoroughly enjoyed our weekend with Mat, Anne, and Madeline. The weather has been unseasonably cool, so temps did not get much out of the 70s all weekend. Nevertheless, we spent Friday afternoon at Captain Ron’s beach and took a nice long excursion to Ha Ha Tonka State Park on Saturday. As with most weekends at the lake, our time was occupied with lots of rest, food, and conversation!
Tag Archives: Ha Ha Tonka State Park
The Wonder of Creation
You make springs pour water into the ravines,
so streams gush down from the mountains.
They provide water for all the animals….
Psalm 104:10-11a (NLT)
This past weekend was spent at the lake with our friends Mat and Anne and their daughter Madeline. On Saturday we jumped in the boat and took a long cruise to Ha Ha Tonka State Park. A gorgeous nature trail along the water wound back towards a natural spring that continuously pours out from under a large cliff to feed the river. All along the water’s edge we saw wildlife. Turtles were there in abundance sunning themselves on logs. We saw muskrat swimming and feeding. A young deer had somehow made it down a steep embankment to feed in the clear stream. Mat pointed out all sorts of creepy crawlies to Madeline like millipedes and snails.
How ironic that this morning’s psalm is all about the beauty of God’s creation. It couldn’t be a more appropriate epilogue to our weekend. Our time at the park reminded me of the wonder of God’s creation. I’m also reminded of Paul’s words to the Jesus followers in Rome:
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.
This morning I’m thankful for the opportunity to commune with God and with our friends in the midst of His creation. My soul is refreshed as I enter the week.
Chapter-a-Day Psalm 36
For you are the fountain of life,
the light by which we see.
Psalm 36:9 (NLT)
One of our favorite places to take guests down at the lake is Ha Ha Tonka State Park. If you arrive by boat and take a leisurely hike down the trial you’ll find a natural spring. The cool, fresh water bubbles endlessly up from the depths of the Earth. I thought of that spring when I read the lyric of today’s psalm about God being a fountain of life.
I also found it interesting that God’s bubbling spring life life comes after a descriptive image of the wicked earlier in the psalm. “Everything” the wicked say is crooked and their actions are “never good.” In other words, they are a contrasting fountain of stuff that leads to death compared to God’s spring of life.
Jesus said that it’s out of the overflow of our heart that our words and actions spring. Today, I’m thinking about my words, my thoughts, and my actions. Do they bubble up from an inner spring of Life, or do they emanate from a deathly emptiness of the soul?
Chapter-a-Day John 4
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:13-14 (NLT)
On Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, a nice long boat ride from our Playhouse, you’ll find Ha Ha Tonka State Park. It’s an annual summer destination for us. Park the boat at the dock and walk down the winding path along the banks of the cove. Deeper and deeper it goes as the cove narrows. Eventually, you arrive at a natural spring where water continuously flows from deep inside the Earth. I’ve stood there many times watching as water ceaselessly flows from that spot, seemingly out of nowhere.
Today, as I read Jesus’ words I thought about that spring in the Ozarks and all the water ceaselessly bubbling out of it. We call it a “source.” The place from which water flows. What Jesus told the woman at the well in today’s chapter was that He was the Source of Life-giving, spiritual thirst quenching, eternal flow.
What is the Source of flow in my daily life? That’s the question I’m asking myself today. Where is it that I seek after energy, acceptance, peace, esteem, provision, healing, or anesthetic? Am I seeking after the Source in a bottle, a relationship, a walk-in closet, a paycheck, a gadget, a job, or a jackpot? It’s interesting how Jesus contrasted the water the woman wanted to give Him with the flow about which He was speaking.
You know you’re seeking after the wrong source if after a taste it always leaves you thirsty and seeking for more.
