The Most Beautiful Thing in the World

**I'm not sure about the ethics of this post. Posting some one's image without permission is normally frowned upon. But you know how we women are. If I asked, they would most definitely say "NO". So at the risk of getting in trouble, I am posting these WITHOUT permission realizing I may have to remove them later on, but I want to make a point and to do so means not telling these ladies right away. Rest assured ladies, my blog has only a few readers so you won't really be seen by many other than yourselves...when I tell you. At the very bottom of this post is a link where you can go to see the rest of the pictures. Also be sure to scroll on down. There are 3 posts in all cause I can't post more than 4 at a time.**



As a photographer, I have grown used to women, when they first see their pictures, saying something along the lines of , "Ewww, I look AWFUL!" It ALWAYS happens in some form or another, it is usually emphatic, and it USED to hurt my feelings. But I have learned that we are our own worst critics and that only someone who is solidly confident in themselves, (which face it ladies, 99% of us are NOT), there eyes automatically zoom in on what they feel their worst trait is.



For this once, I want you to take a good look at yourselves and leave the self criticism behind. There is nothing more beautiful than what God created, than that creation in worship and adoration of the Creator. The look of peace and sometimes rapture comes over you, and of all the things I photograph, this has to be my favorite subject. I know that sometimes, the sound of my camera and the sight of me pointing my camera at you out of the corner of your eye, or even just the feeling that I am there with that dreaded camera, may interrupt your moment, but I try very hard not to be noticed. Sometimes it is inevitable, but it is certainly something I try to avoid. I don't have any desire to interrupt your communion with God. If I can only show you what I see.



Please look at these next three posts and ask your Father to show you what He sees. Imagine how you see your own children when they are loving and reaching out to you. On none of these pictures will you see stress or worry in your face. It is a resemblence of the Father in every face. The hands of the Potter molded ever crease, every line and He loves every one of them. Of course life and the consequences of our sinful world leave there effects there too, but the Potter sees even those imperfections as perfection. They are part of the one He loves.



Remember that the link for the rest is at the bottom of this post. But for now, see yourself as God sees you. Know that you are deeply loved.



You are beautiful beyond compare.

I have to add that you Northeast ladies are the most fun to hang with and I really misjudged my roomies! Sorry Mary, Linda, and Jewell. I was so afraid I was going to keep you guys up and make it hard for you with my rowdiness, but it was you guys who ended up pulling an all nighter with me! Go figure!!! It was a blast!


If you want to veiw the rest of the photos just click

Northeast Women's Retreat 2007

You can order them from Snapfish or Photoworks from that site or if you want to download a larger file for printing somewhere local, click here. You can download them onto your computer and either upload them somewhere like Kroger, Wal-mart, or Wolf to order your own prints, or you can put them on a disk and take them to the processor of your choice. (My personal preference locally is the Krogers by Ellis Middle School)Sorry about the group photo. My flash is a piece of junk and I can't afford to replace it just yet. Next year, we do the group pic on Sat. afternoon, while everyone is still there and we can do it outdoors.:-) Hope you enjoy the pictures.

True Beauty

Real Beauty

This will only let me upload four at a time so I will write about this in the group that will show up first.

Enjoying Spring

Mine
My niece's

Inspired

Inspiration is a good thing. Without it, which is what I have been lately, I can't seem to find anything that I want to take pictures of. Now this is not a good thing for a photographer.

My middle daughter pulled me out of my funk on Friday and Saturday and MADE me go take pictures of her and her friends. It seemed like it was going to be kind of a lackluster effort, but I did start to get into the swing of it and in spite of the lack of color in our little corner of the world, I think we got a few good shots. Needless to say, I was feeling prettly blah in spite of the few daffodils that were in bloom. I was very happy to have gotten the shots we did. You can see them here and here.

Well today, it was like the whole world started busting out. It stirred something in me and I took my camera for a walk. See if any of these get you in the mood for Spring. Hawthorne, Daffodil, Forsythia, Bradford Pear (even though mine did NOT bloom this year, it is the first GREEN besides the weeds this year.) and Hyacinth are just the few that I found nearby.

Maybe I will get an earlier start tomorrow and find more. I saw some flowering crabapple and Ann Magnolia blooming in some backyards as well! I feel like I have been let out of a cold gray box! This was a short winter for us, but it was a hard one for me for some reason. I was bored with it and ready for it to be over before it even began. It's going to really hurt this year if the weather turns cold again. And seeing that it's only March 13, it very well could do that. Oh yeah, I think I'm going to post some snaps of my youngest and my great nieces here as well. We sure enjoyed the warm weather today!

A warm life lesson.

It got into the upper 70's today! Oh how wonderful that felt! We went on a field trip this morning and I drove home with the windows down in our van. I looked horrible when we got home, but it felt SOOOOO good!

This time of year tends to bring back a bit of the rebel in me. The memories that the smells, sounds and warm air tend to bring to mind are of a wilder less inhibited time in my life. One of the tamer of those memories are of skipping college classes to go to the lake to lay out. Part of me feels a bit of that youthful exhuberance, and part of me misses youth terribly.

The life lesson I have from that time of my life is a surprising one. I try to pass it to my kids with an urgency because youth is so short lived. This is it:

Life is too short to be too serious, but life is also too short to have regrets. So take the time to have fun while you are young, but make sure it is the kind of fun you can live with later on.

Spinning my wheels

There is something about busy-ness that I enjoy. I do well with deadines, but I have to take them in spurts. I am not a person that can do 20 different projects and add more as I go. I can handle 2 or 3 at a time, but I have to take long breaks between spells of busy-ness. I enjoy it while it's going on, butI dry out spiritually during those times. I AM a project oriented person. I don't like mundane daily tasks. I like to have something new and big to work on...for a while. I am as happy as a bee on a daisy when I have 2-3 projects like that going...when there is an end in sight.

Well, I have the projects. I have loved doing them, but I am spiritually dry as a bone. I need some time to recharge. I can't tell you the last time I have been able to sink my teeth into the Word. I wasn't even missing it till I was listening to a friend tell me what God is doing in her life. Then I got jealous.

Oh, how I know I need to be taking time to be with God when the green-eyed monster rears its ugly head. I HATE feeling jealous. But the truth is, that I have been so busy that I haven't allowed God to speak to me. I haven't had the time or energy to pursue our relationship. I hadn't even had the time to notice how long it's been or how badly I missed. it.

So today I am determined to pare down and start remembering who I am. Along with the jealously came the realization that I don't even think about spiritual things as readily as I used to. I find myself being less compassionate and thankful and I don't like that at all. I NEED some time. I NEED to be still. I NEED to know that He is God.