It is early in the morning, and I am sitting at the kitchen table looking out into the woods and at the bird feeders in my back yard. There are streaks of sunlight breaking through the trees and three deer eating corn. I see doves and squirrels and goldfinches and sparrows, a red-headed woodpecker, bright red cardinals, house finches, chickadees, a tufted titmouse, and bluebirds. I am reminded this morning that in a world that today seems to specialize in the yuck, the bad, and the immoral, that there is still so much that is so beautiful and wondrous in this world. So much of the media today, TV and internet, focuses on the yuck. God focuses on the beauty. To counter the yuck in the world and your life, look for the good and the beautiful. Look for the things that cause you to go, “WOW, how cool is that!” Put yourself somewhere where you can be awed by beauty. Psalm 19 reminds us that the heavens declare the handiwork of God, and the skies proclaim the wonders of His hands. There is still so much that is beautiful and good. Just look for it. You generally find in life what you are looking for. A good place to start, a good place to look for the beauty is to first look up.
– Dr. Tim Thompson