Taking inventory of wonder” is a famous phrase from the poem “Sabbaths – 1979, IV” by American farmer, poet, and environmental activist Wendell Berry. Berry died in Port Royal, Kentucky, on August 31, 2026, at the age of 92.. Following his death, The New York Times noted that Berry’s works had “extolled America’s agrarian past” and that his efforts “championed small family farms and the environment”.Governor of KentuckyAndy Beshear called Berry a “literary giant and a great Kentuckian”.
Taking inventory of wonder:
And, another wonder many of us have often marveled at, as singer and song writer, George Beverly Shea. I found this story from; The Billy Graham Library;
“The year was 1955, and the Billy Graham team had just completed an incredibly influential series of events in Scotland, which saw more than 2.5 million people hear the Gospel, and more than 50,000 give their lives to Christ. This was on the heels of preaching to more than 2 million the previous year in England.
After the close of the weeks-long effort, the team boarded a ship for the return voyage home to the United States. As they crossed the Atlantic, soloist George Beverly Shea (affectionately known as Bev) and his young son Ron, recognized another passenger on the ship—the president of a New York recording company.
Though the man wasn’t a Christian, he curiously asked what went on during their crusades. They had coffee and Bev joyfully shared how people received Christ each night. He finished his explanation with saying, “Oh the wonder of it all!”
That night, George Beverly Shea went back to his cabin, but sleep eluded him. At one point, Bev’s wife woke up and said, “What are you doing up so late?” Bev replied, “I’m just writing a little song.”
The executive quickly took an envelope out of his pocket, wrote those words, and pushed it across the table. He said, “Bev, that sounds like a song: ‘The Wonder of It All.’”
That “song” became the beautiful hymn, “The Wonder of It All.” Lines from, The Wonder of it all;
🎶”There’s the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is the wonder that God loves me.
…There’s the wonder of springtime and harvest,
The sky, the stars, and the sun;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is a wonder that’s just begun.
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
..”🎶
Taking inventory of wonder:
There is wonder and awe throughout God’s word that enlightens, encourages, inspires, and often leaves us in awe of expectations. Just one that I marvel about. “I (God Himself) will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.” (Acts 2:19)
Taking inventory of wonder:
Taking inventory of wonder: Just to pause this morning and tell you that God loves you! And, God loves me!
What an encouraging blog, Sara! Thank you for taking time to share the phrase and poem by Wendell Berry; the story and song by Bev Shea; the beautiful photo of the butterflies; your inventory of wonder scripture; and your own words to bless us…”tell you that God loves you! And, God loves me!”.
This brought to mind one of my this morning devotionals. This September 3 one was by author, Carolyn Larsen. It was titled, “Completely Loved”. There were two scriptures related to love. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9) And, “We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (I John 4:16) The author wrote, “Jesus loves you as much as His Father loves Him. Take a minute and think about that perfect love. It is a love so deep and so complete that you truly cannot fathom it. His love asks for nothing in return except that you love Him back and that you choose to stay close to Him. And that choice is such a blessing – it’s a gift to yourself!”
As Bev Shea’s song says, “O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.”
I did not know this story about Wendell Berry.
Thank you for sharing it Sara, and what an awesome story! “To think that God loves me”!
His Word tells us of the love He has for all of us. John 3:16, Romans 5;8, 1 John 4:16, Romans 8:38-39, Jeremiah 31:3, 1 John 3:1, Zephaniah 3:17, just a few verses from His Word that speak of His love for us. “O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me.” 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶✝️❤️🙏
Beautiful butterfly above 🦋
(NIV) John 3:16 says: “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 5:8 says: “8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 4:16 says: “ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
Romans 8:38-39 says: “38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, a neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jeremiah 31:3 says: “3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, al saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
1 John 3:1 says: “3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
Zephaniah 3:17 says: “17
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Debi and Tammy, have given the music for our dance! The words for our song! The Partner (Jesus) for our reason! The way to find hope for today and our tomorrows, too!
Join in and be refreshed! Meditate on the words they have posted and reset your mind! Make your new season a joyful experience as we study, share and find Rest in being!
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” Acts 17:28
Tammy writes from Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
Looking at the beautiful butterflies in the photo that are ‘drawn’ to those specific plants for the needs of their life seems to help illustrate this verse. God draws us to His Life so we may have life.
It also reminded me of a couple of other scriptures that lets us know how much God loves and cares for us because He initiates the drawing.
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” I John 4:10
And, “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, / made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!” Ephesians 2:4,5
This is an excellent message by Daniel Davenport, of Edenton NC for anyone that would like to know more about God. And, His love for us and ways to find peace, encouragement for your day and past and future. If you have heard about or pondered the meaning of Ecclesiastes 3, a season for all things you might understand a little better from Daniel’s well researched and excellent presentation. “A Cry for Forever” God has set Eternity in our hearts.
A beloved friend, and nurse, Tammy Holton, pondered Daniel’s teaching and our blog and found a perfect marriage for anyone that has a desire to understand more about “The wonder of it All”! I invite you to listen and share.
The thought and song that comes to my mind as we share this love story, “it only takes a spark to get a fire going.” Pass it On!
https://countrysidechurchofchrist.sermon.net/main/main/22554011
Thanks for sharing Daniel Davenport’s sermon here on the Lily, Sara. And thanks to Tammy as she, “pondered Daniel’s teaching and our blog and found a perfect marriage for anyone that has a desire to understand more about “The wonder of it All”!”
One of the scriptures Tammy shared above was, “1 John 3:1 says: “3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! “
Daniel Davenport sure provided many examples of God’s love and “The wonder of it All”!”
I thought his words below expressed one good example of this.
“The direction we choose determines the destination towards which we’re traveling….Jesus did not come to point the way, He is the Way…through His death and resurrection, He has opened he way to Life and God…Jesus has opened the road that leads to home….”