Birds singing and insects humming: the sounds of summer surround us. It seems that nature is doing its best to glorify God. After my friend\u2019s dog passed away recently, a tough loss as the pet had largely belonged to her late husband, a priest friend told her, \u201cHe reached his created limit glorifying God, bringing joy to us humans for the years he was with us.<\/em>\u201d This was quite consoling to her, and it so clearly stated the mission of a beloved pet. In the midst of a summer full of life, it was a good reminder to value each moment and to rejoice in a creature who had spent his life glorifying God.<\/p>\n I wish it were that simple for me, and at the same time I remind myself that it is that simple. I give glory to God by loving and serving Him. My very existence, just by being, glorifies Him if I want it to. As a human person I have the extra step, the extra privilege, of\u00a0willing\u00a0to glorify God, and this is where it seems many of us humans can get stuck.<\/p>\n Questions come up: \u201cDo I really want to do this?<\/em>\u201d \u201cIs it worth it?<\/em>\u201d \u201cDoes God really care if I \u2026?<\/em>\u201d Yet every time I choose God\u2019s glory, it gives me life. It\u2019s like the sound of summer humming through my soul. The thought that I was made for this rings in my mind. My heart is full with peace and joy.<\/p>\n As summer rolls on, I hope that each of us can spend some time rejoicing in God\u2019s creation, simply glorifying Him by being, and that each of us takes full advantage of our privilege of willing to glorify Him ourselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n Count on my prayers!<\/em><\/p>\n Nicole Buchholz<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Friends, Birds singing and insects humming: the sounds of summer surround us. It seems that nature is doing its best to glorify God. After my friend\u2019s dog passed away […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":148082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6616],"tags":[4479,6644],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-144505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weekly-message","tag-glory-to-god","tag-nature"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n