Luke ...  PRO

- Luke 23:39-43

> v43 . . . Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.

You know, I have seen a few things and a few places in life. I haven’t seen as much nor traveled as extensively as some of you who’ve been around since the continents first divided, but I have seen a few things. I have seen the beauty of countless hours of snow covered plains and forests, crossing the heartland of Russia on a train. I have known the beauty of camping on a deserted island with friends and family in the Gulf. I have seen the beauty of this country, of ours. From the snow capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains jutting toward the sky, to the endless rows of mountains peeking one after another from the mist of the Smokey Mountains. I have seen the beauty of desert springs, and aspen turning gold in the fall. I have hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail and listened to the birds and animals singing all around me. I have known the joy of exploring trails on horseback with friends in the mountains of Arkansas and listened with joy as the folks there filled the summer evenings with music played in the town square. I have known the joy of canoeing the St. John’s with a canopy of Palms draped overhead, and of canoeing Spring River where every turn reveals another rapid to shoot. I have climbed hills in Zion National Park with my son at my side and have peered from the rim, with my family, into the immeasurable beauty of the Grand Canyon. I have explored caves, where God reveals his creative imagination in stone formations of every color. I have seen fields gold with wheat, white with cotton, and ablaze with sunflowers....