​Amicalola Falls State Park Lodge is a Georgia state park located in Dawsonville, Georgia. A spectacular, towering waterfall, the highest waterfall in Georgia can be viewed from above and below or by climbing a hiking trail of hundreds of steps; an exhilarating day hike! Appalachian Trail hikers begin their journey at Amicalola Falls on the access trail to Springer Mountain. The park has a campground, and access to the eco-friendly Len Foote Hike Inn.

​Tallulah Gorge is a State Park in North Georgia. The Tallulah River cuts through the 1,000 foot deep Gorge and contains several waterfalls. Over 1000 steps lead down to a suspension bridge and lowest waterfall. It is a great day-hike location.  As we peered down into the gorge, a large White-tailed Deer buck swam across the river in the bottom of the canyon. 

​Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
 
The Hebrew word translated as “keep” has a wide range of meanings. In addition to keep (283 times), it is translated as observe (43 times). Therefore, ‘God put man in the garden to observe it.’ Yet our eyes remain fixed on so many other manmade distractions instead of admiringly observing His wonderful creation.  The Hebrew word is also translated as preserve (21 times). Thus, ‘God put man in the garden to preserve it’.  In the full range of meaning, could we say that man was placed in the garden and has a responsibility as stewards to preserve it? This is supported by the other renderings of the word as watching (7 times) and being a watchman (8 times) over the Earth that He has given to us as stewards. 

“We loiter in winter while it is already spring”. Henry David Thoreau, Walden.
 
Seasons.  They come; they go. Sometimes slowly; sometimes rapidly and unexpected. Some of the leaves have started to turn. I noticed last week a yellowing of the Sweetgum leaves and of the Black Cherry Tree. “All of the sudden” the days have shortened. The morning hours are dark; the evening light wanes more quickly after dinner. Have they days grown shorter “all of a sudden”; or is it gradual? 
 
Life moves in seasons. There are seasons of life we face in the natural come and go. Some bad, some good. But seasons always end.  Be prepared: the good seasons must come to an end. Be encouraged: the bad seasons will end.  Yes, there can be cold snaps in the warm season; but there are also occasional warm  breezes in a cold season. There are bad days in good times; and there are good days in bad times. But do seasons ever abruptly end? No. Sometimes we must bear a long, cold, hard season. Was Jesus abruptly pulled from His season of suffering? No. He endured. But when it turns to the good seasons, we must not dwell on the bad. 
 
God desires to move us from winter where darkness rules the majority of the day-cycle, where we spend what few hours of daylight provided retreating from the chilled wind into our dark … of solitude. Spring isn't just a season. For Thoreau, spring is a state of mind – a Walden state of mind. “We loiter in winter while it is already spring. In a pleasant spring morning, all men's sins are forgiven.”