Here they are… 

On  a cold brisk afternoon.

Sandhill cranes.

Today’s Gift.

   
    
    
    
   

Yesterday was a picture perfect day. It wasn’t because of the sky’s idyllic blue expanse dotted with white clouds scudding from horizon to horizon. There were no pleasant shirt-sleeve temperatures. Instead the sky with leaden clouds like a gray cloak, embraced the horizon. They spit chilled water on those that needed, or wanted to be outside that day. What made yesterday picture perfect for me was… the wind.

The weather report indicated high wind warnings around our part of the state. That meant… big waves on Lake Michigan, really big waves, or so they said. I had to get there with my camera to witness the spectacle, but when? I had a stretch of two hours and a bit among my Parent-Teacher Conferences in the middle of the afternoon. I decided to go for it. It would require an hour and a half on the road for 15 minutes on the beach – a definite violation of the “K—–g’s Rules of Travel.”

When the time came I grabbed my camera and drove into the teeth of the west wind to South Haven, claimed one of the last parking places at the beach and ventured out to shoot the wind.

I was excited! This was a great photographic opportunity. Frankly, between you and me, I already had plans for what to do with the soon-to-be prize winning pictures I’d be snapping… and snap away I did.

The scene was awesome! Great humps of rolling water moved upriver and over the concrete walls lining the Black River which tried to flow down to Lake Michigan where it belonged. Water was pushed and puddled up all along the river walkway heading to the pier and the lighthouse.

The gray lake water rose up and smacked the pier, releasing a frothy white-wash all along it’s length. The lighthouse at its end stood solid against the onslaught of smothering spray drenching it from top to bottom. It was awesome.

I realized about ten minutes into my 15 minute stay (I had to be back for a 5 PM conference!) that I had been shooting pictures through the rain dripping down the end of my lens. Crap! But, not to worry. I wiped the lens dry and shot a few more prize-winners, wiped the lens again, shot a few more. It was time to go.

Once I was in the car I took a quick look at the pictures I had taken… not impressive. Something wasn’t right, but I had to get back to school. Evaluating the pictures would have to wait.

Maybe it was the excitement of actually doing this adventure or my haste in getting to the lake. Perhaps, it was pride in my picture taking abilities. I don’t know. What I do know is that I took over a hundred marginal shots of an awesome scene. None of them crisp and sharp, most were blurry. I discovered that my camera was still on the settings I used to photograph the moon and planets a week ago – long shutter speed for limited light. It was on a tripod then, so no problem with blur. However, that didn’t work for yesterday’s adventure.

This photo is one of the best of the bunch. Blurry. Not a prize winner. Forget about my plans for it. I was disappointed and I still am.

So it was a lesson-learned. I will always check the settings on my camera before shooting, for sure. … and… the wind, water and waves were still awesome, whether I captured them digitally or not. I have recorded the event in my brain using my eyes, ears and the sensation of stinging sand blasted against any exposed skin.

A picture perfect day? Yes.

A perfect picture taker? No.

A wonderful experience to be sure. I’m glad I was there.

Jupiter… at the top

Venus …  next to the waning crescent moon

Mars …. the little one above Venus.

This morning’s gift.

“This is my Father’s World… let me not forget.”

Here’s what I was thinking this morning…

Prayer List

• Family – _____ ?
• Friends – ______ ?
• Work – ______ ?
• Health – _____ ?
• ??

… for the times we don’t know how or for what to pray, the Spirit fills in the blanks.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words… ” Romans 8: 25, 26

Today’s Gift!

This morning, up before the crack of dawn, I was greeted with a outstanding view of a slender crescent moon and Venus, dancing in the eastern sky. Creation’s delight. Today’s gift.

This photo, taken with my iPad, does not do justice to what I saw with my naked eye. 

  
I was not looking forward to yesterday’s work on our eternal basement remodel project. Fighting through a spaghetti of wires, removing the dirty old, scratchy fiberglass insulation at the top of the wall and replacing it with new, nicer foam board left me looking for more pleasant things to do on that Saturday. Things like weeding the flowers, doing the dishes, trimming my nails…. anything else, looked good. However, I knew I had to take care of this before I could move on.

Recently, I was told of a young mother and three kids ages 4 and under who decided they needed to visit Gramma and Grampa. So they hopped in the car, buckled in and equipped with toys, snacks and other necessary supplies, hit the road – a 14 hour road trip. Yikes!

 As they rode along and as the children’s entertainment lost it’s luster, mom would say to them “I know this is hard…, but we can do hard things.” That became her mantra as they drove through the day. “We can do hard things.”

In the last year or so I’ve come across folks who find themselves in the middle of ‘hard things.’ Challenging, difficult events that try their patience and test their faith – aging parents, serious heath issues, problems at work, problems at home, relationship issues, taxing work loads, students who are a pain, difficult decisions, death, grief, crises of faith – have them questioning God… How long? What am I doing here? How do I pray? or Where are you?

Hard things abound in life.  Yet we have the assurance that we belong to Jesus, body and soul. We can do all things through Jesus who strengthens us. In Christ we can do hard things.

So, I’m here to report that in comparison, my little basement problem was trivial.  The traveling mom and kids arrived safely. Gramma and Grampa, no doubt, greeting them with smiles and hugs.  And maybe this is how it will be when we go to be with Jesus. Him greeting us smiling, arms open, and reminding us that …. together we did hard things.

I can do it.  That’s not the issue.  I just don’t like it much.  Packing for a trip is not my favorite.  What if I forget something?  How can I decide what ‘outfit’ I want to wear next Wednesday? Shoes?  Gotta have them, but which ones?

I’ve packed for a two week trip to Israel and a weekend jaunt to Boston.  I packed to travel in an airplane, a train, a backpack and a car.  I’ve packed for warm weather and cold.  I can do it I just don’t like it.  I can find many other things to do rather than pack a suitcase.  So…. today’s gift is…. drum roll please…. I’m packed!

Unless it’s going to be cold and need to find my hat and mittens…

A half hour –

… behind the library, with

…50 two liters of pop, and

… 150 mentos

FUN!!

Today’s gift.