we shall soar on wings like egrets...

...but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles...

Yes, I am aware this is not an eagle. It is, instead, a great white egret. But, for some reason, this photograph keeps bringing to my mind the "soar on wings like eagles" verse. I think it's the beauty and majesty of the flight. Really... look at that great big gangly body, and yet, the bird lifts it gracefully and majestically from the earth and takes to the sky!

One would think it would require great effort (and, not being a big bird, I cannot be sure what effort is required to lift it from the ground!). Yet, the bird is doing what it was created to do. And in the verse above, God tells us that when we do what WE are created to do --to hope in and wait for the Lord -- we will have the strength of a bird in flight. We will have the sustaining power of the Wind (the Holy Spirit) beneath our wings to cause us to soar -- to lift us and carry us at great heights --like an eagle!

For He gives strength to the weary and power to the weak... that we may soar...

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

~Isaiah 40:28-31

(photograph taken at Bolsa Chica wetlands, Bolsa Chica, CA)

they're heeeerrrre...

Last week they were budding....
this week they have arrived!!

The crepe myrtle trees are bloomin' all over the bloomin' city right now!
These are shots of the tree right out in front of my office window...

pretty in pink...

...and still more buds waiting to burst forth into
glorious pinkness!

I love the frilly edges of the dainty petals!

* * * * *

Thanks, God, for such beauty this day!

a lizard's big heart...

Yesterday, a friend found me on Facebook, and we became "friends" once again. She had recently taken a little photo journey to a botanical gardens in Quail Canyon near Encinitas, CA and had posted some of her photos on her profile.

As I looked through her beautiful floral photos, I came across the one below and just had to share it with you...

That's one big-hearted lizard!!!

(Isn't this the BEST photo?!?!)

**big thanks to Diane for letting me use her photo!!

What says "CALIFORNIA" better than a blue sky and a palm-tree-lined street?!

Here's to a California evening yesterday... (yes, that IS the hood of my car, and yes, I took this on my cell phone camera while driving!)

And this was the sun setting as I arrived at my Bible study group...
Lovely, don't you think?

Thank You, God, for yellows and blues...

and crazy Dr. Seuss-looking trees!

Thank You, God, for another day of life in You...

take a walk in the woods...

...something to think about today...

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day,
he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer.
But if he spends his days as a speculator,
shearing off those woods

and making the earth bald before her time,
he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.
~Henry David Thoreau

...and while you're taking that walk in the woods,

don't forget to give praises to the One Who made them...

the green leafy boughs above your head

the brown earth beneath your feet...

the clean earthy smell of nature...

the sounds of birds in the trees...

mmmmm... Creation!

Thank You, God! You are good to us!

Perhaps you remember that I love dandelions...

For some reason, these partial fluffs struck me as very artistic and beautiful...

...so perfectly designed...

...so intricately detailed...

...so lovely in form and design...

I give thanks to the Designer and Creator of such magnificence!

quote Matthias

Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away. We get so caught up in our small daily duties and irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on. What we forget is that God's love and beauty are all around us, every day, if only we would take the time to look up and see them.
~Matthias

a special treat while in Mexico...

While I was in Mexico last weekend, I was given a special treat! There are some cactus flowers that only bloom for one day--actually only a morning--and then the flower wilts and dies. One of my friends has one, and one must be there by at least 10am, or there will be no photographing it!

Well, the first morning I was there, I discovered the Ranch had a different kind of cactus with the same type of wilting flower. The cool thing was that I "just happened" to be there on the day it was in bloom!!! What a treat!! It was huge and so very beautiful!!

And, so I share it with you today...

A local honeybee was already hard at work gathering pollen from it!
Look at the amazing detail inside...

...and the gloriously white petals...

What a special treasure to behold!

the deep...

I know God has a great imagination! If you have any thoughts of doubt about that, just take a look at the platypus...or the ostrich... or the venus flytrap...or so many other strange and wonderful creatures that can be found on this earth...or under the earth...or in the sky... or, as I saw today... IN THE DEEP!!!

I watched an amazing dvd today of THE DEEP (BBC's The Blue Planet, "The Deep")... some of the very deepest parts of the ocean. There were incredible and strange worlds down there that only the greatest Creative mind could have imagined and designed! Creatures adorned with beautiful colors and lights, wild and wacky toothy creatures, and entire ecosystems existing--living, growing!--without any use of sunlight whatsoever!

They said that more people have been into space than have ventured into these worlds in the deep sea. What an incredible thought! And, to me, even more spectacular is that God created all of these unusual and crazy and lovely creatures knowing that very few human eyes would ever see them--for His own delight and pleasure!

" So God created the great creatures of the sea

and every living and moving thing

with which the water teems..."

~Genesis 1:21

These photos are of just two of the wild and crazy fish found in the depths of the sea! Look at those giant eyes and that glowing "fishing lure" (on the head of the Anglerfish)!

I found a short clip from the dvd, and it is well worth watching just to whet your appetite for the strange and wonderful world of THE DEEP!!! (I especially love the amazing red jellyfish in this clip!)

(if you would like to see more incredible discoveries, watch the other clips on Youtube or order the dvd on Netflix! it really is amazing!)

beautifully flighty creatures of Georgia...

When I was in Georgia, I was treated to seeing some of the little creatures that live in that country. Some of them even were kind enough to sit still long enough for me to photograph them! Like, this fuzzy little baby butterfly: (well, it IS, you know!)

I have no idea what he will look like in his adulthood, but I thought he was quite lovely in his "worm" state! Look at the patterns...and that wonderfully red head!!

And, here are several butterflies I was able to capture...

This little guy below sporting the black and white and yellow was especially calm and cooperative!

He was hanging out on a stick, and he let us hold him up close for examination...I think he may creatively pose as a bee to ward off predators. God gave some of his creatures the best camoflage tricks!

I especially love the shot below...

it looks like this one is ready for take-off!

...and here is one that has just come in for a landing...

My absolute favorite little butterflies, however, were very small and very fast-flying blue ones we saw in one of the villages in the south part of Georgia. It was a small village out in the country, and we saw the blue butterflies flitting all over the place. I tried and tried to get a close-up shot of them, but they would NOT hold still! (I think they were a bit overly-caffeinated or hyped up on some sort of super-nectar!) They weren't very remarkable-looking on the outside of their wings--sort of a pale brown with just a hint of powder blue.

And then,

finally,

one landed

and sat still

for just a few seconds....

just long enough

to capture these...

Isn't it beautiful??

(and especially against the dusty brown backdrop)

...lovely, lovely blue...

...the fuzzy white body...

and look at that adorable face!!

Ah, isn't traveling delightful?

before and behind...

When I was in Michigan last month, we were driving past a pond, and I was treated to the sight of a family of Canada geese. There was a mom and a dad and about 8 or 9 babies as well as a few other adults here and there around the pond. I enjoyed watching the way the parents were caring for their young--leading, following, watching out for them. The parents led them into the water to cross the pond--one parent in front leading the way and the other at times behind them all or in the middle of them.
Then when they reached the far side of the pond and waddled out of the water, one parent took the front position and one the back. They were always aware of where the babies were and were continually on the look-out for any signs of danger. One parent led them through the tall grass and one followed behind to be sure none fell behind.

Once they reached the grassy meadow area where they were going to feed, the parents (and another solitary goose) took up guard positions. They watched the various directions for any danger while their goslings were deep in the grass intently looking for food. The babies didn't have to worry, as the parents were on the look-out for them, protecting them and watching over them.

Watching them, I was reminded of how God, our Father, is with us. He goes before us to show us the best path to follow. He walks alongside us on the journey. He takes up the "rear guard" and watches behind us --He is always on the lookout for the enemy and stands guard over us.

"...for the LORD will go before you,

the God of Israel will be your rear guard."

~Isaiah 52:12

And, just like these geese parents with their goslings, He cares for us with attentiveness and concern for our best. With the geese, it may be God-given instinct which causes them to care for their young in such a way. With us, it is God's intent to guide and to protect and to care for us as we waddle through these lives of ours. "As a hen gathers her chicks" and as these geese guide and protect their young, so our Father cares for us... what a beautiful example.

Before me,
even as behind,
God is
and all is well.

~Whittier

mess? or masterpiece?

There is a wonderful little community on the south east side of our city which is located by and on some canals. It is technically an island and it is well-known for its lovely luxurious homes and beautifully-landscaped yards. Recently I was driving down one of the streets and my eye was caught by the yard of one of the homes. It was totally unlike any of its neighbors and was filled with riotous and chaotic beauty...
Here was this lovely yellow house ...but the yard was completely unkempt and overgrown with "weeds."

...beautiful pink and fuschia "weeds"-- flowers in my book!

tall, overgrown, unsightly? beauty!

dotted here and there with brilliant orange California golden poppies...

...so, I ask you...

crazy, untended, chaotic MESS?

...or, as I find it...

a glorious MASTERPIECE of color and design?!