Wednesday, August 31, 2011

NOT just another lightning post!

k, i know i've had a couple posts about how incredible the lightning storms are here, but i've gotta make another. BECAUSE.......tonight was the first night that i was ever able to capture it in a photo! i've had several people explain to me how to do it; how the shutter speed needs to be slow and the camera on a stable surface, ect. but it took me actually taking some time and playing around with my camera to figure it out. and i was just blessed enough to capture a few forks of lightning among the 50 some pictures i took. it's kind of addicting!
 because there was a lot of sheet lightning flashing almost constantly, i found that sometimes when there was a lot of other light entering my lens while the shutter was open, any fork lighting would be drowned out. HOWEVER, i did get a few shots where the forks are beautifully obvious, and many where the constant flashes lit up the clouds like daylight. i am pretty pumped about this accomplishment!




Friday, August 19, 2011

Flashes of Lightning

Tonight i was awed by the beauty and majesty of God's handiwork. i have never, ever in my life seen so much, or such beautiful, lightening! For a period of time it was literally flash after flash after flash that split the sky with it's brightness. sometimes it was sheet lightning that lit up the clouds, and others it was bolts of lightening that shot across the sky. there was no thunder and no rain; just lightening. and it rivalled any fireworks show!


Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. Habakkuk 3:11



Saturday, August 13, 2011

if clouds are chariots (photo/psalm post)

Psalm 104

 1Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
 2Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

 3Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
 4Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
 5Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
 6Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
 7At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
 8They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
 9Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
 10He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
 11They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.
 12By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
 13He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
 14He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
 15And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
 16The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
 17Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
 18The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
 19He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
 20Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
 21The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
 22The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
 23Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
 24O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
 25So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
 26There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
 27These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
 28That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
 29Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
 30Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
 31The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
 32He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
 33I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
 34My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
 35Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.



Sunday, August 7, 2011

ponderings on the rooftop

1 Praise the LORD.[j]

   Praise the LORD, you his servants;
   praise the name of the LORD.
2 Let the name of the LORD be praised,
   both now and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
   the name of the LORD is to be praised.
 4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations,
   his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
   the One who sits enthroned on high,
6 who stoops down to look
   on the heavens and the earth?
 7 He raises the poor from the dust
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
8 he seats them with princes,
   with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the childless woman in her home
   as a happy mother of children.
   Praise the LORD.
Psalm 113

i don't believe that words could ever describe the awesome God that i love and try to {the Lord knows i could do better!} serve. less often than i should be, i am in awe of just how amazing He is. to think that the One who created everything would take the time to not just look, but to stoop, down to each person on this earth and take a personal interest in their lives is amazing. but what is even more amazing is to think that this same God knew each and every person who has ever walked this earth, be it for a hundred years or just a few days, with the deepest of intimacies before we were even formed! He knows every hurt, joy, injustice, and struggle we will ever face, and He WANTS to go through everything with us from the first to the last time we draw breath. he WANTS to be our greatest need and desire. He doesn't NEED us to love Him, but he WANTS us to; he wants us to find our security in Him. God doesn't NEED me, but He does WANT me. how amazing is that?
the other amazing thing that stands out to me in this passage is that He will raise the poor from the dust, the needy from the ash heap, and seat them with the princes. it's not just Haiti where innumerable people suffer from poverty and struggle to survive. it happens all over the world. In Heaven it won't be like that. there will be no 'respect of persons'. it won't matter that one person has their Masters or a university education, and another at the age of 70 never made it through the first grade or learned to write his or her own name. what will matter is that they made Jesus their Master, Saviour, and Everything. what will matter is that their name is written in the Lamb's book of Life.
today, as i sit on the rooftop writing and watching the sun dip below the mountain, i am reminded of who God is and who i am. He is the reason i exist. life is but a breath that can be taken away in an instant. in the grand scheme of things my life is but a sentence in God's big story. who and what am i going to make of my small contribution be about?