Summer Play

So at this point in February, do any of us

still remember summer?

 I’m not complaining about the winter and the snow,

in fact, I’m still enjoying it.

 But it’s kind of like when you’re on a trip. 

You’re enjoying where you are,

but every now and then you think about home. 

And you know that’s where you really want to be. 

So today my mind is drifting somewhere

away from the white stuff that keeps covering all the outdoors,

away from the snow clothes piled in the living room,

  and away from my always chilly feet. 

I’m thinking of those long warm summer evenings,

bare feet, suppers made with fresh vegetables…

Today I’m sharing photos from a warm summer evening.

Nathan was gone so it was just us girls at home. 

Their eyes literally glittered with excitement when I told them my idea,

 and we scrambled around finding bits of this and that to take into the woods.

 My aspiration was taking “arty” photographs

and theirs was the three of us dressing up and playing “Indian” together. 

Our ambitions meshed well.

I used a tripod with a remote shutter for the photos of the three of us.  

For the self-portraits the girls pushed the remote shutter button.

  

 One of these girls is a bit of a wild child.  

She’s wearing a shirt that her daddy used to play with 

back when he was a kid.

  

You shouldn't always be serious.  

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD." 

Psalm 150:6

Photo Canvas Project

Last week I tried something new for me – taking a photo 

and making it look like a piece of printed canvas wall art.  

I just can’t bring myself to shell out the $ for photo canvases! 

I did this one for a surprise for my brother and sister-in-law.  

 I’d taken a few photos of my niece, Shayla, 

while they were gone on a vacation, 

so the whole thing was a secret. 

Very fun!

 The project was easier than I thought it would be, actually.  

That’s nice for a change! 

The blank artist’s canvases came from a Michael’s craft store 

when they were by-one-get-one-free. 

I get my prints done online from Mpix.com.  

This one is a 12x12.  The only other things I used were 

Mod Podge, and some white craft paint for the edges of the picture. 

Oh, and a paintbrush and piece of canvas-like

textured fabric to apply the Mod Podge.

And coffee. 

But that's optional.

I spread a thin layer of Mod Podge on entire back of the photo

 and centered it on the canvas.  

Then I painted with white on the edges of the canvas 

and overlapped the photo a bit to create

 a brushed looking edge.  

 When the paint was dry the whole thing got covered 

with a layer of Mod Podge.  

 Since I wanted it to look like a canvas texture

 and not shiny and smooth, 

I laid a piece of fabric with a canvas texture 

over the wet Mod Podge and then gently lifted it off.  

The texture impression stayed behind.   

Unfortunately my fabric had some lint on it 

that I hadn’t thought about – next time I’ll make sure it’s lint free, 

so I won’t be furiously digging bits of fuzz 

out of the Mod Podge before it dries, 

forever embedded on someone’s nose. 

 And there you go – that’s the finished product. 

 Now I just need to find the time to update some 

of our own family photos to hang on the wall. J

“But let all who take refuge in You be glad; 

let them ever sing for joy. 

Spread Your protection over them, 

that those who love your name may rejoice in You.” 

Psalm 5:11

February Winds

On a beautiful gusty day in February…

 When you don’t have a kite…

 but you do have a jump rope,

missing handles,

from the bottom of the toy box…

 and you have a plastic bag…

you go outside play with the wind.  

The Wind

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I saw you toss the kites on high

And blow the birds about the sky;

And all around I heard you pass,

Like ladies' skirts across the grass--

                  O wind, a-blowing all day long,

                  O wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,

But always you yourself you hid.

I felt you push, I heard you call,

I could not see yourself at all--

                 O wind, a-blowing all day long,

                 O wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you that are so strong and cold,

O blower, are you young or old?

Are you a beast of field and tree,

Or just a stronger child than me?

                O wind, a-blowing all day long,

                O wind, that sings so loud a song!

"He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind,

 and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness,

and treads on the heights of the earth --

the LORD God Almighty is his name."

Amos 4:13

Heart and Soul - I Heart Faces Entry

“Heart and Soul” 

is the theme for this month at I Heart Faces.

What does “heart and soul” mean? 

To me it means “the real me”,

“the deepest most intense part of me”,

 “who I am”.

So for this theme, I chose this photo that shows

 worship to the God who created me.

“Lord, I give You my heart

I give You my soul

I live for You alone.”

“Every breath that I take

Every moment I'm awake

Lord, have Your way in me.”

Michael W. Smith

Crayon and Watercolor Art

Yesterday the girls spent quite a while with this easy 

and fun little project.  

They’re getting cabin fever here at the end of January, 

so I’m glad for something creative they can do! 

And I kinda enjoyed it myself! 

One great thing about this is that little kids can do it

 (if you do the crayon drawing part) or older kids can do it themselves 

– just pick a more challenging drawing. 

 I found a variety of coloring pages online 

(I googled “abstract coloring pages” I think), 

copied and pasted them onto my word program,

 and then printed them.  You can draw your own things 

with dark ink too of course 
– printing just seemed like an easier route for the more difficult stuff!

 Lay a sheet of typing paper over your printed page

 and trace the design with a white crayon. 

 Then the fun starts. 

  Use watercolors to reveal the design.  

The girls loved having me do the crayon drawing

 and they’d get a surprise. 

 I thought this would be a fun project to use 

for making valentines if you’d cut out and glue the

 lightweight typing paper onto cardstock.

Happy long-winter-days to you!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and all that is within me,

    bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits.”

Psalm 103:1,2

I Give Up. Dealing with Resolutions.

res•o•lu•tion

ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/

noun

1.    a firm decision to do or not to do something.

synonyms: intention, resolve, decision, intent, aim, plan,
 commitment, pledge, promise

In January we hear this word more often than we do

the other eleven months of the year.

A new year, a blank page in front of us,

makes us hopeful that things can change.

That as humans, we can change.

And so we resolve.  We commit.

We determine to be better,

to do things differently this year.

 

More often than not, we fail, statistics say.

Our resolves grow weak.

Our commitment and determination wanes

as real life becomes hard.

And as we, in our humanness, are still

… human.

What if, instead of mustering up our resolve,

we just gave up?

What if instead of promising to do or to be someone new,

we relinquished our rights to ourselves?

What if we surrendered?

What if we said, “Okay God, anything You say.”

Would things change?

Would I, on the inside, change?

What if my whole mindset for doing things changed?

Rather than resolve to get up earlier, what if I gave in to God?

What if I said “Okay God, You want me to get up?

I’ll do it Your way not mine.”

Or instead of promising not to overdo what I eat

when I sit down to a meal, I’d surrender and say,

“Okay God, I’ll do this Your way.”

Would our lives be different if we

simply surrendered instead of resolved?

Jesus said,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11: 28-30

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and you will delight in the richest of fare.

Seek the LORD while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the LORD.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:1,2 and 6-9

Jesus said:

“I am the vine; you are the branches.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;

apart from me you can do nothing.

If you do not remain in me,

you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers;

such branches are picked up,

thrown into the fire and burned.”

John 15:5,6

 In Jesus there is power! 
It comes to us when we give ourselves to Him.  
We will never have it by
 resolving harder,
 trying harder, 
working harder. 
We have His power when we give up everything 
and rest in Him.

Best Face of 2014 -- I Heart Faces Entry

After looking through so many photos from 2014,

 here’s the one I’m entering for the

“Best Face of 2014” at I Heart Faces! 

I’m unable to truly pick a favorite,

but I do love this one of my daughter, Cassia.