grace, weekly // 9

 

i. beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

ii. fluffy orange kitties that like to sleep in my lap.

iii. a whole seven weeks at home, unbroken—the longest stretch since before I moved to Florida in August 2012.

iv. learning 1:1 macro photography.

v. Oma.

I might have met her two or three times, but only actually talked to her once—almost eighteen months ago. The July sun baked the bricks of her house the color of rust, and her flowers craned their necks toward the blue sky. Pork chops, the best I’ve ever tasted, we consumed in embarrassing quantities; butter, blocks and blocks of it, we saw stacked in towers inside her fridge. There were loaves of thick-crusted bread, and napkins folded fancy at each setting. Pictures on the walls invited a glimpse into another time, and knickknacks on the shelves hid tantalizing stories of her visits to foreign lands. I could have listened to her thick German accent for hours.

I went to her memorial service this weekend. I could not mourn her death, because I knew how thrilled she was to go to Jesus after 91 years on this earth. But I did mourn that I had known her so little—that unlike her grandchildren and the kids that grew up in her neighborhood, I had missed a whole childhood, a whole lifetime, of knowing Oma.

vi. words:

This is usually my favorite method of healing.

vii. music:

I know I already posted the Piano Guys’ version of this song… but it’s my number-one favorite Christmas carol, especially on piano and strings.

viii. Bible:

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being
that has come into being.
In Him was life,
and the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . .
There was the true Light which,
coming into the world,
enlightens every man.
He was in the world,
and the world was made through Him,
and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own,
and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word became flesh,
and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-5, 9-14

Jesus. Eternal, pre-existing the entire physical and metaphysical worlds. Jesus. Equal to and one with (yet separate from) the God of Israel. Jesus. Creator of everything that exists. Jesus. The source of life. Jesus. A light of truth that penetrates into the darkness of sin. Jesus. The only Savior of His people Israel, yet rejected by them. Jesus. The one who welcomes with open arms anyone who chooses to follow Him. Jesus. The pathway to the Father. Jesus. Our brother who has agreed to share His inheritance with us, though we did nothing to earn it. Jesus. Fully man. Jesus. Fully God. Jesus. To Him be the glory.

Do not forget: Jesus is not just a baby that gives us the excuse to eat a lot of cookies and open a lot of presents. Jesus is truth embodied in the form of a man—grace captured in one selfless heart. Jesus was born, certainly. But Jesus also lived, died, and rose again. Don’t forget the rest of the story. (Hint: you can find it in the book of John.)

hoarfrost

 

The past few days in Goldendale have been very gloomy (in an inspiringly wintery way). A fog rolled in on Friday, turning most of the world a neutral gray. At night, hoarfrost forms on every exposed surface—fuzzy white icicles jutting out of the fence posts, tree branches, and blades of grass like miniature teeth.

It can get pretty dull to see the world in shades of blue, gray, and white for so many days in a row, but at the same time it’s amazing to see everything outlined with a silvery coat.

The horses, however, are bored and not the least impressed with the “silver lining.” They like to chew at the remaining roots of grass in the pasture just to keep occupied, and spend the rest of their time begging over the fence line. It’s not like they’re starving, but they think they are!

I love how you can read so much of a horse’s personality and attitude through its body language—primarily ear and eye language. It’s fun to experiment with capturing some of that personality through photos.

I think the horses should take attitude-adjustment lessons from “Bubba,” the neighbors’ dog. He seemed totally cheerful in spite of the weather—although this picture caught him in a pretty serious moment.

It almost looks like snow…

I think I’d be willing to argue that the very best part of these cold, dreary, frosty winter days is that the chickadees come eat at the bird feeder just outside my window. :)

scavenger hunt vii

street photography

It took me forever to get an idea for this prompt. I just don’t see much that’s picturesque about the streets of Goldendale, but on my way in for drama practice the other day, the clouds around the top of the grain towers caught my eye.

from a distance

I absolutely could not go to sleep one night, so I got up to take pictures of the full moon and experiment with night lighting. It actually helped me go to sleep faster once I got back in bed. :)

sunday

I wanted to get an old-fashioned, “Sunday best” type feel for this prompt. Of course, Amy was all too willing to model for me. :)

liquid

This was SO much fun!

behind

The list that never ends…

Do you have a favorite?

scavenger hunt v

 

This is going to be a bit of a “preview post”… a little taste of the photos I’ll be posting soon of our amazing Labor Day mini-vacation. :)

stairs

macro

clouds

And fog. :)

abstract

smile

More to come. :)

just flowers :)

 

'Tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes!
~William Wordsworth, "Lines Written in Early Spring," Lyrical Ballads, 1798

Suze, your garden is amazing! Happy July to all. :)