This Weeks items: Yellow, Getting Ready, Bright, Teeny Tiny, Connections
Yellow
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Getting Ready
My girls are getting ready to lay eggs. The past couple of days we have found one little egg in one of the nests in the chicken coop.
Bright
The sun was sparkling so bright off the water of the lake.
Teeny Tiny
Teeny Tiny hairs on soybeans
Connections
My daughter has lost the connections of her front tooth!
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JULY
It came hot and dry and left us scorched and thirsty! This is my favorite shot of the month of my daughter. We set this shot up one evening when it wasn’t too miserably hot. It is simple and basic, but it captures a bit of her childhood.
AUGUST
Another photo shoot with my daughter, in the woods at her “fort”. What I love about this shot is that Bob (named so creatively by my sons) came in to see what we were doing. There was no removing him from the spot, so we just incorporated him in!
SEPTEMBER
September brought with it a much needed family vacation! It was gorgeous, peaceful, and relaxing. Lake Superior is one of our favorite places and we took one whole day and visited several spots along the shore line. There was lots of smiles, sand, and one little girl who couldn’t get over the amount of pretty rocks!
My two older boys and their dad weren’t so impressed with the prettiness of the rocks, but were more intent on finding the perfect skipping rock!
We stayed at a cottage on Manistique Lake and most evenings the sunset was beautiful. I captured this shot of my youngest son watching the sun go down.
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Summer blows by in a breath of hot wind. And it’s time again, another year, another birthday.
Bigger, longer, taller. Dark, thick hair replacing sandy baby curls. Deep, chocolate brown eyes with depths unknown.
A smile to melt any heart. Dimples that beg to be touched, cheeks I can’t help caressing.
Silliness with a deep vein of dry humor, erupting in laughter.
Soft spoken, tender hearted, deep thinker, gentle spirit; enveloped in an eleven year old body.
My third born boy,
I love you with a love that makes my heart ache. You are beyond precious to me, a God given blessing. My heart soars when I hear that you desire to serve God. You have the heart and tenderness to do it. I loved, when all on your own, you brought our family to worship and Bible study while we were on vacation. I know in my heart that this is just a start for you. God is calling you, keep listening, keep your heart open, and above all else keep LOVING. You are a beautiful young man with a heart that is full of Jesus!
I love you more than words can ever express,
Momma
Every time I do a photo shoot I learn something. This time I learned I still have a long way to go on the whole posing issue! I love how the photos turned out for these families and I think it is some of my best work yet, however I find flaws in some of the settings that I hope to improve upon. It is amazingly difficult posing 8 people and then making sure everyone stays that way. And then getting home viewing the pictures and realizing there were a few areas in posing that I should have caught, but didn’t in the midst of all the action. But, I guess that’s what I love about photography… the challenge! It can always be improved upon. Most important, though for me, is that the families LOVE the photos. From the comments I have received from them I think I might have just done that.
The “C” family:
You were the best! I had so much fun with each of you. Thank you so much for being such a sweet, loving, happy bunch! Love to you all!
The “P” Family:
You three know you have my heart! I love taking photos of my family! No pressure here, just lots and lots of fun! (My baby sister, my brother-in-law, and my precious nephew)
I loved every minute of both of these photo shoots… so much so that I think we spent almost 2 hours together! I and can’t wait for the next opportunity to capture some more loving, beautiful families.
“But Sir, You don’t have a rope or a bucket…” John 4:11
The woman at the well, we all know her story. Jesus, tired from a long walk, stops to rest in a Samaritan village by the well of Jacob. There He meets a woman, asks her for a drink, and then proceeds to offer her Living Water. She responds saying, "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket, and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?” (John 4:11)
Oh, the humanness!
I have been that woman so many times.
There are days when I allow myself to get pulled under by circumstances. Days when I doubt His ability to provide, I push aside or fail to recognize that His name is Jehovah Jireh, the One who provides. It’s one of His promises.
There are days when I feel guilt over some mistake in my parenting. Or I feel like I’m not doing enough to build meaningful relationships with my children. And I selfishly forget that He died for me, so that I wouldn’t have to heap that guilt up in my heart till it comes bursting out in sorrow and tears. I seem to shove His beautiful grace under the rug and with all the rest of the collected dirt.
There are days when I let anxiety overwhelm me and it consumes my thoughts and pours out into my actions. I forget that He is my Shepherd, He is my Fortress, He is my Conqueror.
I limit Him.
Hand in the air palm up stating “STOP! You can’t handle ALL this! I’ll take it from here.”
How foolish.
He’s POWER. He’s LOVE. He’s GRACE. He’s MERCY. He’s PROVIDER. HE’S GOD!
In my human limitedness, I limit the power of God because I fail to trust. I get caught up in the moment and forget His awesome power. Life gets difficult, stressful, overwhelming and I try to conquer. I wrack my brain trying to figure a way out of financial difficulties. I attempt to beat the sickness of fear by sheer will power. I fight through each day to beat the stress that threatens to overtake me. I throw my hands up in frustration from the bad attitudes exploding out of my children. Some days I feel like I’m barely hanging on by my fingertips, yet I just keep on in the same defeated cycle.
What if I stopped saying, “But Sir, You don’t have a rope or a bucket”?
And instead acknowledged the amazing power of God. He alone is my strength. He alone is the answer to all of my problems. He alone has the power to change my circumstances.
I’m going to stop staring at the rope and bucket and wondering how in the world God is going to pull me through. I’m turning my gaze upward and letting His love, His power, His grace, surround me with His never ending peace.
Because really, He’s got this!
This weeks items: Candid, Toys, Any of the Five Senses, Batteries, Half
Goodness I can’t seem to catch up! I have to cheat a bit this week. These photos are all archived from last month. I just couldn’t get all the prompts done this week. I know you’ll forgive me this once, right?!
Candid
Toys
My daughter plays with these like they were toys.
Any of the Five Senses
(sight)
Batteries
I’m stretching this prompt! But, these bees have a never ending energy…. sort of like they have imbedded batteries for extra boosts of power.
Half
Half a loaf of Banana bread.
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