flower daze

a few flowers i've captured over the last little while...

i simply love summer time...  the rich colors... the abundance of blooms everywhere i look...  the beauty of creation and knowing god's presence surrounds me - it is unmistakable when my eyes rest upon such glory as this...

happy day.....

bee studies

saw some bees today... they were hovering and buzzing, flying in and out of blossoms trying to decide were it would be best to land.  i even saw a black bee... yup - a full out black bee - i always thought they were yellow, or had some yellow in/on them... but as you'll see, this one is black - just black.  huh!

they are fascinating insects... and almost cute - if you're not in the midst of them buzzing around your head, smelling your sweat and fearing they might sting you at any moment. 

happy day.....

greeting the day...

i sometimes wonder what awaits us early in the morning... first thing - just as the sun is beginning to come up... the new day starting.  if i can drag myself from bed - give up that illusive sleep that only begins to come in the wee hours of the morning for me.  it can be a sacrifice if i'm willing... and if i can be aware.  so lately, i've been getting up early to get my picture of the day done but not paying much attention to the sky and what might be going on there.  in all honesty, i'm not paying attention to much of anything most days... i can be on auto pilot, if you know what i mean.

however, this is what greeted me today...

a moment in time that appeared as though god took his finger and painted sun color through the skies... leaving a purplish hue as a backdrop for the trees.  i stood in awe... and within several frames of my camera capturing it, it was gone - the colors altered, changed forever.

then a little while later, another gift...

what a special way to welcome the day...  a blessing to behold such loveliness and beauty in quiet moments away from the usual stresses...

happy day.....

bird on a mission

i saw a bird today...  i didn't even have to stalk him - he flew right to me

then i realized he was on a mission

paying no never mind to me - he went hip hopping right in front of me towards his goal

reaching down... he grabbed hold with its beak (he was mere inches from me)

mission accomplished... as he came up with the target intact. 

the whole time, this little fellow was so totally focused on his goal - his mission - nothing else was allowed to interfere.  he had his mind set on one task...knowing the steps he had to take to accomplish it and nothing was going to get in his way.  he showed such determination and strength... no fear.

it is exactly how we are as human beings, right?  we know those things we need to get done - the tasks set before us... the goals we set for ourselves...  be they large or small... of great importance or not.  without a goal, a task, a purpose what would your everyday be like?  aren't our every day's filled with little missions, too?  and we only need to figure out how we're going to accomplish those missions?  i'm going to go for it like my birdie friend:  with planning and focus and fortitude...

happy day.....

a new artist...

i love music...  i was browsing around the other day and stumbled across an artist/band i'd not heard of, gungor.  they've been around a number of years i think - are a christian band... but i'm not sure how to classify their music.  it's very eclectic in nature actually, using a varitey of instruments not typical of your average band these days.

the name of their newest release "beautiful things" is also the title song.  it speaks to how god makes "beautiful things out of the dust" then makes "beautiful things out of us..."  so simple, so true.  yet something we need to remember and cling to...  that we are indeed beautiful because god made us and loves us.

take a listen...




happy day.....

hope

are you needing some hope today? 

i receive a variety of messages through my email every day... from a myraid of people that i know.  sometimes, as with all emails we get, i briefly scan and then delete, paying very little attention to them.  admit it... you do this very same thing, don't you?  wishing your inbox was a bit less full?  you had more hours in the day and that your time was more valuable than sitting going through all the messages?  i know, i know...

but then... there's the one - that golden one where you sit back and go "ahhhh..."  that's good.  really good.  and you know you should share it... pass it on.  because there's a message therein needing to be spread, right?

this is how it was for me today; except i knew if i passed it along via another email - well, let's face it...  chances are, it would get deleted... passed over... missed!  i couldn't let that happen.  so i've chosen instead to post it here.  for everyone to see and hear.  for it's a song.  i don't believe that it was originally intended to inspire the kind of hope i'm talking about or alluding to... but i don't believe that matters.  just sit back... turn up the volume on your speakers and give a listen to mandy moore sing "only hope" to you...



what is your hope?  how do you find hope day after day when it seems like there's so little in the world... or bad things continue to happen... or there's so much negativity in the news or on the television? 

i'll tell you... god is my hope these days.  he is the same yesterday, today and forever - and that gives me a confidence and calm.  without him, i'm just not sure what i'd do... plus, the fact he gave his son for me - that solidifies my hope in him.  might you need that kind of hope today?  lift your arms and pray... he will listen - and give you the hope you're looking for... "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."

happy day.....