Through The Fog- Part 2

This is part 2 of my fog pictures... what a fun morning experiencing the world through a layer of fog...  the quietness, the changing of normal scenes into something special, the glow of the sunlight behind the fog, the rays of the sun puncturing through the fog... it was a special morning.  Here are some more of those fog pictures.

Beyond these trees, there is a lake... not at all visible here.

This dock was in the first post about fog, but this is a different view of it. 






This picture has the optical illusion of a dock out to nowhere.... it almost looks like it is just hanging off the edge.

I loved the reflection in the water. 

At first, even the animals were quiet, but after a while, we saw a few squirrels and even a deer. 

 I loved the beautiful tree with the fence and the road... where a car is faintly visible before the fog closes the view away. 

Everything seemed to be very different...  I like trees and love to see them, but the shadowy ones in the foggy distance along with the more focused ones up closer, made taking pictures more interesting. :)

The silhouettes were striking....

 This tree was highlighted by the fog and the sun's rays... it was so pretty..

I am reminded that like the fog blocks the view of what is ahead of us.... sometimes life it like that.... we can only see so far... and I am so glad to know the One who knows what is out there beyond the "fog"... He is trustworthy.

It was a fun morning and I hope you also enjoyed the photos with me.  If you missed seeing the first post about fog, called Shrouded In Fog.... you can see it here.    Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you are having a wonderful week and are enjoying God's creation.

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Shrouded In Fog - Part 1

Recently, we had a morning with thick fog and it was beautiful. Since the guys were gone to a church workday, the girls and I went on a photo shoot. The world seems different, when shrouded in fog.... there is a quietness, a sense of being in a strange place even when it is familiar. 

If we lived with fog often, it would lose its appeal for me, but since we rarely have fog, a day like this causes great excitement for my kids and I as we all want to be out in it, taking pictures. My husband doesn't see the appeal of going out in it, although he loves looking at the pictures later and is surprised at the "amazing" pictures we are able to take. :)

 There is a little lake at this park in the country and the fog was heavier here.... especially as we drove lower in the park.

The park is usually rather busy, but we had it pretty much to ourselves...

 Such a mysterious look... trees up close showed color while those a bit further back are only shadows in the misty fog.

There is such a softness to everything... and just a hint of the sun hiding somewhere out beyond the fog.

At times, the girls and I walked in the quietness. Everything was so wet with dew dripping.... the dew was so heavy that the kids had heard it going down the gutter downspout at home... that is a lot of water for dew! 

 It was quiet... and yet, the longer we stayed, the more we started to hear a bird call through the fog here and there. 

 In some places, the fog was so thick we couldn't see far at all... and only a shadowy object appeared as if there was nothing behind it... 


In other places, the fog thinned allowing more visibility for a time before the window closed back up.

 I love scenes like this... where the first tree is quite visible and the next tree is softly visible through the fog... then in the background, you can just barely make out the slide on the playground as a shadowed silhouette.

As the sun started to try to break through the clouds, a new look was added...  still mysterious...  still quiet and unfamiliar.... and still utterly beautiful.

Finally, one side of the lake came into view... only minutes earlier, it was totally invisible.
 
The other side of the lake remained hidden, although the fog cleared enough to see the dock.

 This dock seems to stretch out to nothingness as the lake is totally shrouded in fog on this side.  The dock almost looks to be a structure out over a cliff, rather than just a dock out on the lake. 

 It was a beautiful and enjoyable time out with my girls. I took about 500 pictures and had a hard time culling them down to only a few...  I will be doing a second post with more of the pictures (no, there won't be 500 on the post! :)  .... hopefully in the next couple of days. :)  I hope you will return to see them.  Thank you for visiting.  I hope you have a great week. 

To see the next blog post about fog, called Through The Fog, click here.  



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Beauty From The Highway...

It is a beautiful time of year here and I have been wanting to get out to see the trees that are changing. I can see ours, but I like seeing more and I love taking pictures of them. On Sunday as we went to church, I started noticing the beauty along the highway and started taking pictures. My camera is usually with me wherever I go. :) 

What beauty is just alongside the highway.  No these are not pictures of someone's landscaped property.... it is just the side of the road.  The sun was highlighting the colors also.

 The quality of these pictures is not great... they are taken through the windows as we were driving 55-70 mph.

I enjoyed the drive...

When we are home most of the time, sometimes I just feel the need to see the beauty... especially the beauty in the country. 

The trees in the city are more glorious... even the one in our own yard is bright red and lovely. Though these colors are not as striking or flamboyant as the trees specifically planted for fall color.. .there is a real beauty to the landscape and I enjoy it. 

The golds, browns, oranges, greens and even the whites of the tree trunks, all combine to make a quilt-like scene. 

As we drive back into the city, we start to see different trees still so pretty... and I loved the clouds that day also. 

I don't know about you, but a pretty drive like this can help me get my focus back on my work at home... it is a bit of rest for me. I love the beauty and sometimes I feel that I NEED to see a fresh view of it. I love being a stay at home, homeschooling mom... I really love the job/the ministry that God has given to me. Sometimes, though, I find that a time away refreshes me and my outlook. Sometimes, the kids and I will take a mini "day trip" and drive through the country or take a new route someplace just to see what is there. We have had some wonderful times that way. :)

If we had gone on a specific "color tour" to look for the wonderful colors of fall, we would have looked in other places to see the colors that shout out their beauty. I am glad that God used the sun to highlight the more subdued beauty we saw that day. It is easy to miss the "quiet" beauty.

 Yes, I can certainly see a spiritual message in that thought. God's SON also highlights beauty in our lives... beauty that might otherwise go unnoticed. We need to look for it because it is there. I am ready to continue with my tasks at home.. and I will treasure each trip to church or the store or a garage sale and I will be looking for more beauty and I will also continue to be thankful for all of the beauty I can see from my own windows. What a wonderful God we serve.  

Thank you for stopping by today. 


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Thriving Thursday

URGENT-Denounce Jesus.... Or Die!

This post is about an urgent need. For the last couple of months, we have been hearing of the atrocities being committed by ISIS... the hideous evil works they are using against people - especially against Christians, as satan seeks to destroy those who belong to Christ. The things being done are so terrible, we have hesitated to even speak of them and yet, it is a real part of our world now and we can't ignore it. Others are suffering horribly... and ignoring the issue isn't possible.


We have heard at church, just this weekend, from a friend who heard from a friend in another country....  this friend in another country is asking for urgent prayer. ISIS has gone to homes in the area and has given the CHILDREN of the families a choice... denounce Jesus.... or die. ISIS is systematically going from house to house giving these children a choice.... and then they are beheading the children. So far all of the children given the choice.... have chosen Jesus..... and they died by being beheaded.  

 The parents were not killed.... and yet their pain is huge - in fact, death would be far kinder than what they have to be enduring after witnessing such carnage against their precious children... or waiting for the emissaries of satan to arrive to take the children if their home hasn't yet been invaded.  The fear must be overwhelmingly powerful. This is being done NOW.... it is not something from weeks or months ago.... this horrible suffering is happening NOW. Children are being martyred... and adults also, but it seems that children are a big target right now as ISIS is determined to advance Islamic goals for mass conversion.... or death for Christians.
 
 As was pointed out at church, so many of our prayers tend to be quite petty.... we pray about aches and pains, or wanting a new article of clothing, that our ball team will win, that it won't rain for a special occasion and more. These are not necessarily bad things to pray about, but they are not critical either. We need to get outside ourselves and seriously stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ... those who are in the midst of horrendous conditions, needing to prepare themselves and their children to be ready to die a violent death immediately. 

We protect our children... we tell them we will protect them from the "monster" in the closet or under the bed... we know those fears are ungrounded and we set our children's minds at ease. What about those who cannot protect their children from the very real monsters in their world? 

  We can uphold these people, even from afar... prayer is powerful... will we choose to spend time in prayer? Will we care about those suffering so horribly?... or will we allow ourselves to be lulled into a sense of being desensitized to the horrors of our world by a media who exploits such news and helps us to become weary of the news and wanting to move on to better things?  We have brothers and sisters in Christ who would love to move on to better things, but are trapped in a nightmare from which they will not awake.  Some have talked with loved ones in the US or other places and talked with them for what they believe, will be the last time. They are sure their death is near. They are cut off... no human help is coming... those whose hearts are wicked and who are pawns of satan, are coming ever closer to kill and maim.

Will you please join me in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ? Will you be a part of a group of Christians who will shower these people with a prayer cover?  We need to stand in the gap for our fellow Christians. This is happening in more than one place in the world, and if you know specifics like locations or names, please do not share them... we need to help protect our brothers and sisters, and part of doing that is by not giving out too much information.  We can certainly pray though. Here are some things I am praying: 

1. That God will give peace as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
2. That God will comfort those who have lost family members or will soon.
3. That these Christians will be brave and courageous in the face of such horror.
4. That God will stop the spread of this ugliness and will deliver these Christians.
5. That Christians throughout the world will be sensitive to the leading of God.. that hearts will be softened... that God will do a mighty work in our world.
6. That these persecutors will come to Christ in repentance.
7. That the apathy in our world would stop and Christians would draw close to God.

There are many more ways we can pray... If you think of some... please share them in the comments below.. I would appreciate seeing them... and it would help us as we pray. I would also love to know if you are praying for these who are so oppressed... or if you will. Thank you. God is more powerful than anyone or anything... He is able... He wants us to pray.

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
    Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."  2 Corinthians 1:3,4

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A Collection of Quotes....

I like quotes... I like sayings that pack a lot of thought into a few words.  For years, I have collected quotes... sometimes in the front of my Bible, sometimes in a notebook, sometimes on 3"x 5" cards or scraps of paper, and more. Someday, I would love to organize them or do more with them. For now, I just enjoy them. I pulled a few quotes from my files and paired them with some pictures. A quote can linger with us and make us think.....

I hope you also enjoy quotes.... and I am so glad you visited my blog today. I hope you have a wonderful day walking with the Lord. :)

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