Creation 4

Dear Bread reader: Please join the entire "Bread Family" as we thank Lori for 8 years of serving God in the Bread ministry! Lori will be enjoying a period of rest away from "baking breads" (as we call it) to recharge and refresh. She looks forward to returning once her sabbatical is over. We can't thank Lori enough for her faithful service these many years. God Bless You, Lori!

Your friends from the Bread.

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Upon returning home from my fun in the sun vacation I unpacked my shorts and sandals and suddenly my heart longed for fall. I am longing for change. The chill in the air. The burning colors of the trees. Fall represents a time of renewal for me. A time of change. The summer has gone and now there is a transition time before you buckle down for winter. I also feel that fall is a time to start over again. Yet, everyday with the Lord is a new day. Each morning we can get up and have a fresh beginning. Anytime we fall down and sin God gives us the opportunity through confession and repentance to start again. We don’t have to wait until January 1st or even for a change in season. We can turn to Him at any moment. Praise God that He is a God of new beginnings and fresh starts at any second.

Lamentations 3

21 Yet this I call to mindand therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning;great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;therefore I will wait for him." 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lori

Creation 3

Driving home from vacation last week we ran into a few patches of rain. At one point as we were coming out of a hard rain ahead of us was a beautiful rainbow. I’m always reminded of the promise and sign to Noah in the Old Testament when I see a rainbow. Even now in 2006 God is still keeping promises that He made with mere humans so many years ago. Seeing those beautiful colors across the sky remind me that we serve a faithful God. One who is consistent. Faithfulness and consistency are qualities that sometimes we lack in our world. Knowing that God loves us and will remain with us through good and bad times is a wonderful thing to just consider. Even when we have walked away from God or aren’t consistent on our time with Him, He does not reject us. He patiently waits for our return. No condemnation. Just love and sometimes when we are lucky we catch a glimpse of Him in the multicolored sky of a rainbow. Praise the One who is Faithful and True.

Genesis 9
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

Lori

Creation 2

While on the way to Florida we had to drive through Tennessee and the Smokey Mountains. This is another place that I love to visit. Sometimes looking at the mountains you think that possible God’s foot is going to just step down on one. Being in a cabin on a mountain makes me feel closer to God. Being so high up makes me feel close to heaven and to our Heavenly Father. As I examine the mountains I again want to praise God for his beautiful creation. The enormity and beauty of nature makes my heart want to seek the one who created it. Most of us live or work in cities that are crowded with buildings, cars and smog. I challenge you to look around at what God has created this week. Appreciate the work of the hand of God. Praise Him for creating such an amazing place for us to enjoy.

Genesis 1
The Beginning
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

Lori

Creation 1

I recently returned from a vacation in Florida. Going to the beach is one of my favorite places in the world. As I stare at the ocean I can’t help but think about God and creation. To look at the ocean and how vast it is can be an overwhelming experience. The water seems like it is endless. The sand is beautiful and the shells. Different colors shapes and sizes. I can’t imagine an explosion making such detail and beauty. This week I want us to reflect on nature and creation and how amazing our God is. He’s big enough to create the heavens and the earth and yet personal enough to listen to our everyday concerns. Let us praise Him.

Genesis 1
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

Lori