The joyful birds prolong the strain,
Their song with every spring renewed;
The air we breathe, and falling rain,
Each softly whispers: God is good.
Poem by ~ John Hampden Gurney
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He’s NOT Just for Church!
“Nobody worries about Christ as long as He can be kept shut up in churches. He is quite safe inside. But there is always trouble if you try and let Him out.” ~ Geoffrey A. Studdert-Kennedy
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Distorted
Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines DISTORT
– when used as a transitive verb –
1) to twist out of the true meaning or proportion
2) to twist out of a natural, normal, or original shape
or also: to cause to be perceived unnaturally.
The belly of a female goat is distorted out of its original shape by carrying her growing kids until they’re born.
At first glance, the two giraffes in the middle could be perceived as one giraffe with two heads and six legs. But that would be a distorted view of reality.
The distortion here is a tux jacket draped over a tractor parked in the middle of a shiny wood floor, with bar stools in the background.
A tractor parked in a field or barnyard with a Carhartt work jacket thrown over it would look more natural.
But if the tractor is waiting to be driven by a ring bearer towing a flower girl in a wedding, it’s not distorted at all.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Indulge
It was a beautiful day to indulge in a sail around the bay, but I could only enjoy it from the beach and through my camera lens. The birds swooped into view for a water landing just as I took the shot.
This dog was indulging in a nap on the pier until we approached the beach. He didn’t look happy about being interrupted by visitors, or getting his picture taken. He went in search of a quieter place to finish his nap.
This is a perfect spot to indulge in a relaxing afternoon with friends, or alone with a book, my camera, and an ice cold Coke.
My cat loves this bright, sunny spot to indulge in a cat nap. He opened his eyes just as I took a quick picture. The sun was so bright at that time of day that his black fur looks bleached in places.
A Letter To Be Read
Read the Bible, not as a newspaper, but as a home letter. If a cluster of heavenly fruit hangs within reach, gather it. If a promise lies upon the page as a blank check, cash it. If a prayer is recorded, appropriate it, and launch it as a feathered arrow from the bow of your desire. If an example of holiness gleams before you, ask God to do as much for you. If the truth is revealed in all its intrinsic splendor, entreat that its brilliance may ever irradiate the hemisphere of your life. F. B. Meyer
I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure. Psalm 119:162
Psalm 18:27-29
Luke 5:16-18
James 4:3
Revelation 12:11
The first photo is my Bible. The 4 photos that follow it are random snapshots of a few passages I have marked in my Bible, sometimes more than once.
Follow @learning2hearWeekly Photo Challenge: Down
The WordPress Post a Week photo challenge is:
“Down. We spend a lot of time looking ahead, looking from left to right before we cross the street, looking into the sky for Superman, but not a lot of time looking down. What do you see?”
We can miss a lot by never looking down as we hurry along our way, not to mention possibly tripping and falling on obstacles in our path. As a little girl, my Dad made that very point to me one day as we walked hand in hand across a parking lot. He looked down and saw a dollar bill flattened to the pavement by the footprints of those who had literally walked right over it as they went into or came out of the store. A dollar could buy a whole lot more back then, more penny candy than I could even count! My Dad is one to never let a teaching moment pass, and that day the lesson was not about money, but rather about looking down and paying attention to where you’re going.
As he picked up the dollar he said, “See, it pays to look where you’re going. How many people have walked right past, and even stepped right on this dollar bill, never noticing it in broad daylight?” It wasn’t a question he expected me to answer, but the lesson has stuck with me throughout my life. And as an adult, I realized that it really did “pay” for my Dad to look down that day.
I’ve found a few treasures by looking down; lots of coins, especially pennies, and one time a fake diamond from a necklace. By looking down I’ve avoided tripping over speed bumps or curbs, stepping in mud puddles or other organic matter (such as animal droppings), and contact with poison ivy.
Sometimes the reward for looking down is as simple as seeing the sky reflected in a puddle of water, or a pretty leaf that came to rest on a step, like the one in my picture.
Wise man that he is, my Dad taught me a valuable life lesson that day. One that is worth far more than the dollar he found on the ground by looking down.
Follow @learning2hearWeekly Photo Challenge: Regret
Regret: This alligator surely regrets being behind this fence, in captivity, while countless people walk past and stop to stare or take pictures.
Follow @learning2hearWhat Are You Magnifying?
When you magnify an object, you enlarge it so that you can understand it. When we magnify God, we do the same. We enlarge our awareness of Him so we can understand Him more.
This is exactly what happens in the chapel of worship—we take our mind off ourselves and set it on God. The emphasis is on Him. Max Lucado
On A Moonlit Winter Night
I wanted to capture the beautiful moon ring that appeared on Saturday night, January 7, 2012, and after taking several photos this was the best one.
A moon ring is said to be formed by ice crystals, and is often called a moon halo. I think “halo” is a better description, since it has a glow to it.
The halo didn’t turn out as brilliant in my picture as it looked to actually see it, and clouds soon rolled past to interfere with the halo effect. But for a while it looked as if the moon was radiating a glow of praise for God, our Creator, as it shone brightly in the night sky.
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!
Psalm 148:2-4
Follow @learning2hearHappy New Year 2012!
It’s the first day of the first month of a brand new year.
I don’t know what lies ahead in the days, weeks, and months to come.
I can’t see around the bend to know if there are bumps in the road, detours, or even roadblocks.
But I know the One who does know, and I trust Him to lead me. Because I know that His plans for me are good, regardless of what lies ahead.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
May your new year be filled with blessings as you follow Christ in 2012.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
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Hearing His Voice 