A warning or an invitation?

Walked 3.5 miles today and passed several places where I saw photo ops. but I really just liked this one the best. It's on one side of the Well's house where the vines on the fence have finally begun to sprout life again. But if I hadn't told you where it was, maybe you would let your imagination run wild and create a story to go along with the pictures!

Hands again

"Today...I see beautiful"

The above quote was spoken by Tammy Trent at our women's conference in Schenectady today. And today, I did see beautiful...all around me. The faces and smiles of old friends and new ones, all in one common place for one common purpose...to praise our Savior and to learn more about His ways for our lives! I shouldn't be so amazed when God does something wonderful, but here is another example. We had an extra ticket so my mom brough it along to give to someone who might need it. We walked to the front door to wait and right there was a woman named Beth. She had wanted to come to the conference but it wasn't in her budget. She said, God if you wake me up early tomorrow, I will go and see if I can somehow get a ticket. God woke her up and so she headed to the conference, even considering making a payment plan with the church to cover the $35. But God provided her with our free ticket. He's incredible! She was a lovely young woman who spent the day with us. Here, she took a group shot right after we met:

Then I got a feet picture (I am represented by the empty flip flop!)

All in all, it was a great and joyous day!

Treasures on a trail

Being outside on a day like today is probably the best thing in world for a soul! Taking my daily walk with Mike, I went a different way than normal and discovered the remains of some old buildings ( maybe a mill?) The beauty of nature was all around us: Mushrooms growing precariously on a mishapen root, A fallen tree trunk with contours and twists that looked somewhat akin to faces,

Then came the ruins of old pipes, parts of a building maybe? and signs that yes, once there were people nearby.

Being outside on a day like today is probably the best thing in the world for a soul, at least one like mine!

My back up for this assignment

My originial plan was really cool, but I also knew that the weather might not hold out. And sure enough, it didn't! So here is a picture of car parts today. Steve came in the other morning frantically wanting my drawing skills (which by the way are non-existent!) I can draw trees and stick people, that's about it. But I summoned my superhero abilities and was able to draw this masterpiece for his classroom. Can you guess by the back end what kind of car this is supposed to be:)

Puffballs and dreams

Too many meetings to go to this week. Do I walk my 3 miles or take more time on pictures? Well, my pictures the last two days HAVE been wretched...I suppose I can skip walking for one night! Saw these puffballs on the lawn while looking for an enthralling picture. I remember Trish's lone dandalion from the other day and also Dewitt Jones's Extraordinary Visions DVD and his "next right answer". He waited too long to photograph a field of spring dandalions and returned to find only puffballs. But he was not deterred. He ended up lying on the ground and taking a picture of a puffball with the sunlight streaming through its delicate seeds. Here are my puffballs, no Dewitt Jones, but still beautiful to me. Little reminders that the days are passing into summer and my school frustrations are coming to a close.

My mortal enemies

Within these frosty little bottles are my mortal enemies. Little soldiers that singularly torment me. Bits and pieces of all of the many things I am allergic to. Cats, weeds of all sorts, at least three types of trees, several types of food, you name it. Every two weeks, I'm injected with these little vials of liquid so that I can become stronger. It has taken me three years to get up to maintenance level which means I am now injecting the strongest doses possible. What does that mean? It means I can be outside now without having an asthma attack. It means I can pet a cat without suffering mortal agony. It means life and freedom and above all, it means I can take a deep breath! How grateful I am for my mortal enemies!

2 Corinthians 12:10 (New International Version)
10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.