February 28, 2015

A to Z Macro Project = Complete!

A
B
C
D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
*Sigh of relief.*  Done!  Again, thank you all who've been in some way following my progress.  It's been an enjoyable project.  Check out Flickr for some better versions of these photos (the quality as I've mentioned before, is not the best on blogger).  Just click on the pics in this post... If you're so inclined, don't hesitate to comment and let me know what you thought of this project and the results.

Oh, and I'd also appreciate some feedback for my next slated project!  See original Photography Bucket List post here.  I've determined the theme, but not yet the fill-in-the-blank: "A Day in the Life of _________."  Hmmm... I have some ideas, but I'd love to hear from you!  And please feel free to join me in any of my projects. :)

Have a fabulous weekend!   

A-Z Macro: Z is for Zebra

zebra
Final installment!!!  So excited!  Thank you to all those who've been faithfully checking for my project updates.  Even if you haven't, I appreciate visitors anytime. :)  Execution of an idea is always easier when you're at least semi-accountable.  You never know who may be reading, right?

Stay tuned for a full A-Z Macro post later today...

February 27, 2015

{this moment}*

melodic reflections
{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

*Enjoying the unexpected that comes from dabbling with sound...

Visit SouleMama for more special captures. :)

February 25, 2015

Wednesday Wisdom No. 8

dictionnaire francaise
BOOK

Such a
Bountiful
Box of
Tricks:
Packed
With the
Five senses,
The seven
Seas, the
Earth's
Four winds
And corners,
All fitted
Exactly in.

~ Valerie Worth, All the Small Poems and Fourteen More 

February 24, 2015

A-Z Macro: X is for Xylophone...Y is for Yarn

xylophone
yarn
Sorry so late on this second-to-last A-Z post.  Sadly, life never takes a day off. 

Now onto Z!

February 21, 2015

A-Z Macro: V is for Veins...W is for Wall

golden veins

wall highlights
Even dried old leaves and bare walls make for interesting subject matter... ;)  Just three more letters left...  Have a wonderful - preferably toasty and relaxing - weekend!

P.S. Photo quality on these was not the best - click on the photos to jump to Flickr...

February 20, 2015

{this moment}*

dinner for two



{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

*From the Archives: a cozy dinner for two furnished with love - a collaborative effort brought to you with the help of a highly inventive younger brother...  How many everyday objects can you spot?  Definitely a "wish you were here" kind of moment. :)

Check out the inspiration here and here!

More moments: SouleMama :)

February 18, 2015

Wednesday Wisdom No. 7

winter fence
HERE COMES

Here comes summer,
Here comes summer,
Chirping robins, budding rose.
Here comes summer,
Here comes summer,
Gentle showers, summer clothes,
Here comes summer,
Here comes summer -
Whoosh - shiver - there is goes.

Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic

February 14, 2015

Happy Heart Day...

petals If I could wait here for you,
Without hope or knowing what to do…
Watch the light fade away,
Without fear or knowing what to say…

If I should hold all my dreams,
Through the night of the way life sometimes seems…
And if I can't see which way to go,
I'll stay lost in silence 'til I know.
Cry the tears from my eyes.
And leave me here long enough to realize.

Where is love now?
Where is love now,
Out here in the dark?

~ Excerpt from Where is Love Now? by Nickel Creek

Reader: "Wait...what kind of a Valentine's Day greeting is this?!  This is downright depressing!"
*Goes to close tab.*

Hold on.  If those words seems depressing, it's because they are.  Don't get me wrong, Nickel Creek is an amazingly talented group, and I am a huge fan of their music.  And the tune of this song is just lovely...

BUT...the point is that the lyrics are depressing.  The real question is...why?

Well, it has something to do with the apparent definition of love.  Rather an oft-considered, multi-faceted subject, no?  Although I've never been in any kind of romantic relationship, I've lived with my family and been around my friends long enough to know that their love isn't perfect.  More importantly, my love isn't perfect.  Because quite frankly, I'm not perfect.  Far from it. 

BUT...God is.  Which means His love is as well.  Quite dissimilar from our worldly encounters with the phenomenon, in fact...  I've recently been mulling over a section I read in New Morning Mercies that speaks to this very thing:

"You always begin to understand anything that is new to you from the vantage point of your own experience.  All the human love we’ve experienced has been flawed in some way.  But not God’s; His love is perfect and perfectly steadfast forever.  It is the single most stunning reality in the life of a believer.  God has placed his love on us and he will never again remove it.  There’s a reason to continue, no matter how hard life seems and how weak you feel." ~ Paul David Tripp

Wow.  As much as idealistic ideas of romance often infiltrate my thinking, over the years I've realized something.  This "stunning reality" can't possibly be emphasized enough... My hope of one day discovering true love cannot be in any human person.  Just recently I heard a wonderful sermon on the subject of HOPE.  In it, the pastor said something that really stood out to me: "Even human relations can't provide hope.  Sometimes they dash it more than anything else."  In reality, I've already discovered true love and hope.  That is, in CHRIST.  The perfect love of my God will never fail, as much as others fail me.  As much as I fail others.  As much as I fail myself.  And as much as I fail Him.  Far too quick am I to forget that precious thought and go on dreaming.  His is the only love that can truly satisfy and never disappoints. 

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. ~ 1 John 4:8-12

Have a blessed day, friends!

February 13, 2015

{this moment}*

tiger-lily cousins
*A beautiful foretaste of spring...

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

See more special moments from the week on SouleMama's lovely blog. :) 

February 11, 2015

Wednesday Wisdom No. 6

love


“Some people care too much. I think it's called love.”
~ A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
   

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable." ~ C.S. Lewis

February 10, 2015

A-Z Macro: T is for Typewriter...U is for Umbrella

typewriter

umbrella
Wherefore art though, Monday?  Thou hast slipped from my grasp yet again...

I suppose Tuesday is as good a day any though, right? ;) Please enjoy a few more photographs from this month's project.  Farewell, faithful readers...till the morrow.

February 7, 2015

A-Z Macro: R is for Ribbon...S is for Spices

ribbon
spices
A little late on my photo project installment today...sometimes life just sucks you in (especially while at work).  Only seven more letters left!  Have a lovely weekend. :)

February 6, 2015

{this moment}*

morning's light
*Fresh snow in morning's light...

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Linking up with SouleMama again today. :)

February 4, 2015

Wednesday Wisdom No. 5

secret
“The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was.  It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place. The few books she had read and liked had been fairy-story books, and she had read of secret gardens in some of the stories." ~ Frances Hodsgon Burnett, The Secret Garden

February 2, 2015

A-Z Macro: P is for Peacock Feathers...Q is for Queen

peacock feathers
queen
Q is just one of those letters...along with her pal X.  After a quick perusal of household objects, the question soon became...are there any Qs here?  Since I don't happen to have any quails, I'm fresh out of quesadillas, and my quill pen is on loan, an out-of-the-box subject seemed like as good an idea as any.  I mean, why not?  If I can't meet her in person, a tiny illustration is a close second, right?  *Cue quizzical looks.*