O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power through out the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.

Do you all remember the first essay you had to write at the beginning of a new school year? The one titled "What I Did on My Summer Vacation"? At the beginning of June, my husband and I traveled to Northern California. We hiked through the incredible Sequoia National Forest. As I pondered the enormous diameter of a Sequoia tree's trunk, its' majestic height and marveled at its longevity; over a thousand years old, I thought of the words in this Christian hymn. "When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made". The sight, feel and sound of this magnificent forest brought these words home to my heart.

As we traveled to our next destination; Yosemite National Park, we stopped along the road to buy apricots, peaches and other fresh fruit just harvested in the fields we were driving by. This just picked fruit tasted so sweet and luscious; once again I praised God for His divine intelligence in designing nourishment for our bodies that was just so delicious!

The next few days as we hiked through the mountains and stood at the top of peaks looking out at God's handiwork, words could not even begin to express my awe and amazement. "How great Thou art" kept coming to my soul as I gazed across the mountaintops, heard the thunderous waterfalls and walked through the lush valleys. How could one question the existence of an Almighty God in a place of such glory and majesty?

After returning home and throwing myself into the job of preparing to open North Star Learning Center, there have been many moments of joy, frustration and panic. Yet, our dear Lord is ever gracious to pull me back to the sights, sounds and memories of our vacation and remind me that He is in control.

On that trip I learned through a very moving exhibit on the healing that takes place in a forest after a fire has seemingly destroyed it. New growth that is only possible through the destruction of the old plants and tress that have been choking and preventing any new growth on the forest floor. I believe North Star Learning Center is the new, tender growth that is emerging from the difficult years we recently endured. This church has been through the fire, but through God's gracious Hand guiding us, we are now seeing the birth and growth of a new place in our church and community. A place where we can nurture and cultivate new life as it rises up from the ashes. Please join with me in reflecting on the words;

"How great Thou art"! Amen.

Julie Tangney
Director of North Star Learning Center