March 6th

Wednesday, March 6th, 2019

Like I mentioned yesterday, the sun’s position in the sky is beginning to make significant progress.

I’m actually able to see the sunrise from bed again!

Finn enjoys it too. 🙂

January 3rd

Thursday, January 3rd, 2019

I’m not normally a sunrise gal, sunsets are usually more my style, but this morning took my breath away.

After my post yesterday, this honey of a sunrise (gorgeous color AND great cloud texture) was like balm on my heart, a small hug from God.

That’s what great about this blog project – I feel more connected to what’s going on around me (as I’m always looking for something to photograph), so it’s easy for me to see the good. It’s easy to have my cup filled, to feel refreshed.

There is so much delight in everything around us; many times it’s not obvious, it’s small, but it is there.

November 28th

Wednesday, November 28th, 2018

Want to know a funny little fact about Paul and my marriage?

We don’t have designated sides of the bed.

At home, Paul always sleeps on the left, and me on the right. If we’re not sleeping in our own bed though, that isn’t always the way it is.

Paul insists on sleeping on the side of the bed that faces the door. So at home, that means left side. At a hotel or AirBNB, that may mean right side (On top of all other things he is to me, protector is definitely near the top of the list).

Why does this even matter? Well, because that means I always get the window side, and this morning when I opened my eyes to this amazing sunset (with Colt looking on, haha!), I was in awe and thankful that this was what I woke up to.

Quite the way to start the day.

August 12th

Sunday, August 12th, 2018

My parents usually take a vacation every winter, meaning I’m up to bat for barn chores both morning and evening while they’re gone.

During that time, I’m always at the barn early, and I always love it. Magical things happen when the sun is just coming up.

With my parents gone at the cabin for the weekend, I rolled out of bed and into chore clothes to go feed everybody. Sure enough, I pulled up at the barn and saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes foraging in the back hay field. While having them around isn’t uncommon, especially at this time of summer because they have chicks and don’t fly, their backdrop of the fog and sunrise left me speechless.

Magical things, people.

 

April 30th

Monday, April 30th, 2018

When I rolled over at 6am this morning, and peeked out the window, I could not believe my eyes.

The texture of the clouds was incredible.

Now, I’m rarely out of bed at 6am, but this morning I bounded out of bed.

After photographing them, I settled down in our sun room with my bible, specifically to read the book of Ephesians. Paul and I have been trying out a new church, and their current sermon series is on “7 Words to Change Your Life.” Last week’s message/word was “Thanks,” and at the end of the message, the pastor suggested reading Ephesians for more context and guidance in being thankful (specifically to God). I’ve always loved Paul’s letters, but I hadn’t read Ephesians before. One of my favorite passages was this one:

“I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you may understand the wonderful future he has promised to those He called.”
Ephesians 1:16-18

The first verse is the ringer for me: I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly…

I don’t know about you, but I can do a better job of this. The thankfulness lives in my heart daily, I see it and recognize it, but do I stop and tell God? Stop and thank Him? No, not everyday. I need to step it up; the day is never to busy, too full, to thank God.

My other motivation to the quiet time with my bible this morning was Paul. My husband Paul, not Apostle Paul, haha. The sermon yesterday was on “Help,” and it really resonated with us both. I was on the verge of tears the entire sermon, and when we walked out, I knew it would be a deep conversation starter for us.

The sermon focused not only on asking for help, but knowing when and how to give help. This resonated with Paul and me very differently, but still profoundly. On our way home, I expressed to Paul first, how thankful I was that we weren’t in need of any great help. We’re both healthy people, no loss of spouse or children, no job loss, we have a house to live in, food to eat. The only real help I’ve needed recently was help through the loss of Burke. But through that pain, God really showed me the quality of friendships I have. The incredibly special, selfless, caring friends and family that gave their time, their words, their prayers, their love when I really did need it the most. They gave me help, even when I didn’t ask for it, they just stepped up and were there.

Overwhelming in a good, beautiful way.

And then God brought me a friend who had been a key part of my healing with Burke, who ended up going through the loss of their pet, exactly one week after I lost Burke (the exact same appointment time and everything – exactly one week to the minute), and I was able to reflect that love and support back on them. God gave me that opportunity to give help after a wave of receiving help.

This all can’t just be coincidence people. I mean, really.

So after I shared my reflection on the sermon, Paul said he really resonated with the closing verses, 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

He felt inspired to dig into the Word more; he wanted to start reading his bible when he woke up in the morning, so he could pick a verses to focus on for the day.

Our cat, Finn, is always on the bed with us when we wake up in the morning; I open my eyes to him staring quietly at me, and the moment our eyes meet, he starts to rumble-purr, the sign of ultimate contentment and excitement from him. Paul said he felt like Finn was a great analogy for God; He sits on a edge of the bed, expectantly, waiting for you to wake up so together you can explore the day He made for you. For us to recognize that, and to not blow right past Him, but to stop and talk with Him.

When I was photographing the sunrise this morning, that’s all I could think about. I imagined myself sharing those awesome colors and textures with a God that enjoys our delight, and it was a wonderful way to start the day.

If you are interested in listening, here are links to the Thanks sermon, and the Help sermon.

April 19th

Thursday, April 19th, 2018

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning.

No, there weren’t vibrant shades of pinks and reds, or warm sun rays coming through the fog. No, just simply the fact that the sun was shining was what made it beautiful.

The kind of sunrise you get after a rain storm. Clean, warm, faithful. A sort of blank slate, ready for you to rejoice in it. To seek the day that God has made.

As I watched the song birds happily flitting from tree to tree, singing at the presence of the sun, I realized I needed this sunrise today. I needed those joyful little birds, too. The reminder of God’s goodness and His beauty; the reminder of His ultimate plan.

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
Give me Jesus
Jeremy Camp // Give Me Jesus

April 5th

Thursday, April 5th, 2018

Last year’s weeds.

Who would’ve known that the giant weed that I tried to pull and get rid of all summer would make the blog the following April.

The hoar frost sure was gorgeous this morning though. I drove along the Crow River on my way to one of my small groups, and the frost with the open, flowing (sometimes steamy) water was like eye candy.

I took this next one early this morning before the sun had really started to come up, when the fog was still visible, and the Bald Eagle was in the tree! He’s a small speck, but he’s there!

I just loved how you could see the line of fog. Everything underneath the line was so clear and crisp, but things in it were hazy and distorted.

A beautiful visual treat for sure.

March 24th

Saturday, March 24th, 2018

If you already read the post I made this morning, I apologize. Just like my rule of always (ALWAYS) bringing my camera with me, I should always wait until the end of the day to post. If you hadn’t read it yet, I kept it below for reference.

The funny thing about this post is that I’ve never gotten close enough to a Sandhill Crane to capture an image I was really happy with, and I ended up with this one this evening (one I am very excited about!) – but then this morning I rushed to post my image early. That’s the way of it, isn’t it? I say I’m satisfied, and God says, “Ok, watch this.”

I mean, look at this bird. Look at this image.

God blew it out of the water this time.

Especially since I am not brave when it comes to these birds – they’re large and in charge. However, He provided me with an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.

 

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I don’t usually post this early in the day, because I like to see what the day brings in terms of photographic opportunities. But this morning was different.

Usually one looks into the sunrise, not at the light behind you.

That was the case for me this morning. I opened my eyes, and saw the vibrant colors outside, and knowing it was going to be overcast today, hopped up out of bed and went for my camera.

However, when I walked out of the bedroom toward the dining room (where my camera was), the room was bathed in red light.

It was beautiful!

January 30th

Tuesday, January 30th, 2018

One of my favorite parts of Sara Hagerty’s book Unseen is all of chapter 5.

Titled “Uncovered: Becoming Vulnerable,” Sara reflects on stepping down from a powerful ministry team to do a smaller, more humble job. At the time she wasn’t sure where her life was going, and it was a particularly vulnerable season of her life. She felt like she wasn’t accomplishing enough, being impactful enough, and that people thought less of her because of it.

However, in this season, it taught her that “We tend to be a people of quick glances,” and that “[…] hidden seasons invite us to slow down, to notice the beauty too often blurred by hurry.” Through our own earthly vulnerability, it pushes us to “Invite God there,” and to be “less accomplished, more present.”

Two of the most powerful lines in this book for me?

“When we approach God with an open, mindful, hungry heart, we position ourselves to not only see His beauty, but to let it change us.”

And:

“His love notes are stashed everywhere.”

The second is so simple, but has really resonated with me, and stuck with me when I find myself hurrying. This morning was a great example of this.

Due to living in different states, and the lack of connection we’ve been feeling from the digital aspect of life, a good friend and I recently decided to become good, old fashioned pen pals. She also owns her own photography business, so not only are we fostering our friendship, but being business accountability partners. We bounce ideas off of one another, encourage each other, and talk life.

So this morning, I had a letter that I wanted to get in the mail today. Our postal service varies from day to day what time they actually stop at our mailbox, so if I have something I want mailed, I try and get it down to our mailbox as early as possible. Let it be known that our driveway is about 1/3 of a mile long, so this isn’t as simple as it sounds – especially when the temperature is in the single digits.

So anyway, I hopped in my car at 7:15 this morning to run it down there. In a hurry, fueled by the cold. Out of habit, I took my camera. I made it about halfway when I felt something watching me (this is not paranoia – I have a pretty good sense of when an animal is around). Sure enough, I looked up, and there was our resident Red Tailed Hawk taking advantage of being hidden in the low light. Silhouetted by the beautiful sunrise no less!

I featured either this one or it’s partner a couple weeks ago on the blog, and ever since then I’ve noticed them around. About 90% of the time I see them, they are in this tree on that branch.

At the time, only one was perched, but about an hour later I looked out my office window and they were both there.

Love notes. Today it was stashed on the branch of a dormant tree, painted by God’s promise of another day.

December 11th

Monday, December 11th, 2017

Hey all!

We made it home today! We’re exhausted and up to our ears in laundry, so I’m going to keep this short.

Up bright and early this morning to try and catch a flight home. Through the smudged hand prints on the glass, the sunrise took our breath away. The haze in the mountains, the gold of the sun, shadows of the planes and tugs. My reflection in the glass (whoops!). A beautiful send off by a great trip.

December 7th

Thursday, December 7th, 2017

Good morning from the Nugget!

The positive thing about your body clock being two hours behind is that you get up in the morning feeling like you slept in, when it’s really only 6am.

The positive thing about 6am wake ups? Sunrises. Especially sunrises on the mountains in the desert.

As we sit here eating our doughnuts after bringing them back to the room from Dunkin, we gazed out of our window and admired the oasis in the desert. I’m not usually one for city scenes, but at floor 18 with the strip in the distance, and the Stratosphere making an appearance, it just felt so Vegas that I relented.

The concert last night was… overwhelming. A definite one-of-a-kind experience, but one we would do different next year. I had never truly felt stifled before, but not being able to move in a crowd of over 350 rowdy people on Fremont almost had me in panic-attack mode. We may do it again next year, but we’ll just be happy being in back on the fringes. Being front and center with barely enough room to breath is something I don’t need to twice. Concerts were fun, crowds were not.

Can you tell I’m an introvert?

Anyway, on tap for today is to check out here and move to the Flamingo for the remainder of the trip. Kya and Tim get in this afternoon, so we’ll grab dinner once they get here, explore the strip, and find ourselves a viewing party for perf one. Our goal for this year is to party hop each night so we can experience different ones. The Mirage is close by, so we may end up there for sake of convenience.

So here it begins!

September 11th

Monday, September 11th, 2017

I’m going to be honest today.

Its the first day that I got to the end of the day (like climbing into bed) and realized I never took a picture.

Luckily, when I looked at my camera just to make sure, I had one image from today. A completely random image of the reflection of the sunrise in our window.

PHEW.

This image wasn’t taken with a lot of intention (obviously, since I forgot I even took it), but it will do the job.