Sunflowers

I got a subscription on Picnik, so I've been experimenting with my pictures a little bit :)  It's amazing what all you can do!

This one looks a little weird..

A sunflower trying to find the courage to bloom :)

I really like this effect.

 Well, it's time to clean...

Blessings

Music time :)

So, my favorite song right now is Blessings by Laura Story.

Here are the lyrics:
We pray for blessings.  We pray for peace, comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We pray for healing, for prosperity.  We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear and we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love as if every promise from Your Word is not enough.
All the while, You hear each desperate plea and long that we'd have faith to believe.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

When friends betray us; when darkness seems to win, we know the pain reminds this heart that this is not, this is not our home.  It's not our home!

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if my greatest disappointments or the achings of this life is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy?
And what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise?\

Isn't this just a wonderful outlook?

Sunny Grass and Bunnies

I got really bored today and I noticed the sun was setting so I headed out to get some shots.  Most of these look the same, but I am really loving the whole grass and sunshine pictures :)  OH and bonus! One of our little bunnies was out!

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive." ~ Eleonora Duse

A gnome's home.  He recently moved in. ;)

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through."

All of these have Pride and Prejudice written all over it. I loove it!

Grass.  It's all around us yet we forget to really LOOK at it and acknowledge its beauty.

As I was walking inside I looked up and saw this.  The clouds looked like a mountain, it's awesome!

He was such a poser!

A while back we let two baby bunnies free.  I'm pretty sure this is one of them.  So happy to see he is surviving the forest :)

Our backyard is infested with bunnies.. Ever since we put the dogs in a fence (and our rabbit-catching dog, Patches, died)  they've gotten very brave to wander out of the woods.

Miniature effect

^"Since you have, in obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

'All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.'

And this is the word which was preached to you."

  

How Great Thou Art

Please watch... it's so worth the time.

 

"O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works Thy Hand hath made.  I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder.  Thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art!"

Loving The Farm Life

Today was somewhat a lazy day. Although I did get a lot of my pictures organized... so that's an accomplishment. I also went down to the garden with Dad and came across many interesting things.

My sister's dog, Piper, found this little guy.  I saw her staring at something so I went to look and he was hidden very well in the grass.  So I called Dad and he came out to get him away from the dogs and we found out he was injured... Most likely he got run over by the lawn mower today.  Although I'm not fond of snakes, it makes me sad that he will probably die. 

I couldn't believe my luck when Dad found this.  It was pretty low in the apple trees so I was able to get a picture.  I can't tell how many babies were in there though, but they must be newly hatched and one is still hiding in the safety of it's egg. I wanted to look at them longer, but I was afraid the Mama bird would return :)

This big, fuzzy, orange caterpillar deserved a picture, but I kept my distance.

 I found this thing while picking beans.  Anyone know what it is? Such a curious little bug.

I think these are cantelopes (I'm not positive though).  This picture fascinates me.  Just think about it; that tee-niny little thing grows into a huge cantelope and it what's even more fascinating is that it tastes good!  God is awesome.

A hole in the sky! Haha, no, seriously, it looks like a hole in the sky.

I love the the sun. 

You know, I really can't wait to take some photograpy courses.  I know there is so much more to it and I'm so excited to learn! For now, I'm just gonna point and shoot and let God's beautiful creations "smile for the camera" :)

Pretty Scenery

Here are a few of my favorite scenery pictures that I took...

I was taking a walk with my Mom, sisters, and aunt and it was almost dark. I took a picture of the wheat field and the flash did a really cool job.

Same rainbow as in the post below, but a different angle.

Dreamy Sky *sigh*

Yellow on yellow :)

Another picture from the rainbow photoshoot... The sun was shining so bright yet the clouds were SO dark.  Incredible view.

Sun-shinee!

Dandelions gone wild and the sun shining just right :) This one reminds me of Pride and Prejudice.  

Last one (for now) of the rainbow shoot... This is looking from our farm out to our neighbors. 

Lightning

There is a mega storm going on right now.  I turned out my lights and have been sitting here just watching the lightning.  It really is amazing.  I wish it were easier to catch on camera.  It got me thinking...Lightning can be very frightening, but at the same time it's peaceful.  Reminds me of God.  Deuteronomy 10:20 says, "Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name." So we understand that we should fear Him but then 2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you."  According to human ideas, these two verses contradict themselves.  When you fear something you run away from it and the last thing it gives you is peace.  Fascinating how there can be such a fear that gives you peace. Lightning strikes fear in all of us (especially when thunder joins in) but we can't help but feel a sense of peace and serenity when you watch it.

Lightning also reminds me of music ever since I watched The Sorcerer's Apprentice.  Check out Thunder and Lightning by Johan Strauss. 

Ohh, I love God and all his magnificent creations :)

What a Day...

My computer returned from getting its hard drive replaced at Dell today.  I'm excited about having it back so now I can share my pictures and work on some music things... but I found out that my journal that I kept on here has been lost.  My journal contained day-to-day thoughts, my bible study, memories, and quotes.. I can't stop crying over it. I supposed I should go back to pen and paper.

On top of that, choir practice was not exactly great. There is a conflict over a minor change in our worship service concerning engaging the congregation. The whole ordeal has gotten me thinking, what IS worship?  Does it really matter whether the congregation is engaged with what WE are doing?  Does it really matter if they sing loud, clap their hands, close their eyes and raise their hands? Part of me believes that when one truly believes God is present in the room we would be doing anything and everything to show honor, respect, awe, love... etc. We would be in on our faces and I think it's the choir's job to minister to the people to bring them to that belief.  BUT, at the same time I believe that worship can be an inward, silent action.  I'm reminded of one of our elders.  He doesn't sing, or show much emotion, but I have no doubt in my mind that he is worshipping God. I'm not sure what the answer is. I don't think anyone truly does. Except God, of course. 

Those are my thoughts for the day.  To conclude, I would like to add this picture.  I was very fortunate to capture such a beautiful picture.  Dad and I were driving home from choir practice a few weeks back and I was noting on the sunshine and dark clouds and how beautiful it was until I looked around and saw a rainbow.  We sped home and I jumped out and took a picture of the beautiful rainbow, hay bales, and bee hives.  Rainbows are such a blessing...

Hope you all had a better day than I did.  :)

The Purpose of This Blog

Hello Everyone :) I am really excited about this blog so let me go ahead and tell you what it's going to be about!  The main purpose of this blog is to help others, while I myself, acknowledge beauty; beauty in God's creation, beauty in music, beauty in the simple things. 

Music has been a part of my life for a long time now.  I started taking piano lessons when I was 7-years-old.  I've continued to take them (on and off with different teachers) to this very day.  For most of those years, piano was just something to do, a hobby.  It wasn't until this past year that I completely fell in love with the piano.  My teacher, Michelle, who happens to be one of my most favorite people in the world, helped me uncover my passion for music and I am very thankful for her encouragement.  I plan on majoring or minoring in music when I go to college and then hopefully become a music teacher. 

Another big part of my life is singing.  I realized I had a voice when I was about 11-years-old and have been singing in the church choir ever since then.  Playing the piano and singing are two of my most favorite ways to worship God.  Worship is something I will be focusing a lot on in this blog as well.  Most people think worship is just singing with your eyes closed and your hand raised in church but there is so much more to it.  Of course, I'm not an expert, but I would like to share my thoughts with you as I continue to learn. 

One more thing that I have recently taken interest to is photography.  I would have NEVER thought I would get into photography, but God works in funny ways :)  Last Easter, I was given a project for the Easter Cantata and it involved a lot of picture taking.  Anything that looked pretty I would take a picture of.  And so began a mind-blowing realization of God's beautiful creation.  There is beauty all around me!! How could I have missed it before? So that's my story on those few particular aspects of my life.  I can't wait to share my pictures, music and thoughts :)