The joy of having a waterproof camera

Little Pine Branch (One from Tall Timber)

Little pine branch outside my window

You are covered in snow

I watched you yesterday as the snow fell upon you

At first you were able to withstand it, but it continued to collect upon you

This morning I looked out and there you were

Drooped almost to the point of being perpendicular to the ground

If much more snow had come, you may have been no more

And yet you managed to cling to the rest of the tree

The sun comes out and the temperature rises

The snow begins to fall away

Once it is all gone you are still not back to your previous state

It will take time to regain your strength

As long as you stay connected to your tree, you will continue to become what you were meant to be

It may sound like I am teaching you, but you are the one who is teaching me

You see I am like you, oh branch on the pine tree

At times I feel strong and dance in the wind, yet snow comes for us all

My snow is pride, guilt, fear, depression, sadness, worry

It weighs me down and like you, it comes in seasons

My tree trunk is my Creator, my Lord, my Sustainer, 

Who saves me from falling away when the snow seems to heavy for me

I am not the only branch connected to this trunk

There are thousands upon thousands of others

Unlike you, my neighboring branches go through seasons at different times than one another

The snow comes in different shapes and sizes for them all

In every season they wait and I wait, like you and the other branches wait, for the coming of the eternal spring

A brief ode to the unassuming tree

Amidst the brick walls you sit in a row with your kind,
Watching many people pass by.
Hurrying on to their next destination,
they cast only a sideways glance at your location.
Without your leaves, it is easy to see through you.
And yet, to the one who takes the time,
you are still reflecting the glory of the Creator who calls you 'mine.'

From the zoo to the mountain

A few of my favorite photos from a recent day trips to Point Defiance Zoo and Mt. Rainier.

Inspired or frightened?

On a walk through one of my favorite little towns, I noticed that several of the trees had paper tags that rivaled the number of green leaves on the tree.  On these paper tags were written responses to a question at the base of the tree.
One of the questions was: What inspires you?
The numerous answers ranged from certain people to the complexity and beauty of God's creation.  One answer in particular caught my eye and I've been thinking about it ever since.  Paraphrased, the answer read that the writer was inspired by the numerous possibilities each day holds.  Would that be something you would write?  Do you find possibilities exciting or daunting?  I know for some people in my life, they would tend to be more frightened by the possibilities that exist rather than feel inspired by it.

Fort Worden Outing

Fear of a Frog

Recently I was house-sitting for a day and one of my tasks was to water the hanging baskets.  I pulled out the hose and watered one of the baskets and turned around to water the other.  It was then that I noticed the big, brown frog perched precariously on the side of rock covered column.  At first, I couldn't tell whether or not it was real.  I watched it closely to see if it blinked or was breathing heavily.  After observing it for about a minute without either of these signs appearing, I then assumed that it was possibly a well-made plastic frog that somebody left there as a practical joke.  I started to water the basket above it keeping a careful eye on it to see if it moved.  It didn't move as the first few drops of water landed on it, but then it shifted its leg slightly.  I stopped watering immediately and slowly stepped away from the frog.  What did I do next?  I called home.  My father informed me that frogs in the area were perfectly harmless and that it was probably more afraid of me than I was of it.  I failed to find this encouragement comforting though.  I quickly finished watering the basket with my body as far away from the frog as possible and then went on to fulfill my other tasks.
How often does fear keep us from fulfilling a task that needs to be done?
How often is this paralyzing fear ungrounded?
Why do we choose to focus more on the subject of our fear rather than the task that needs to be done?
I know for myself, I was tempted to skip watering that particular hanging basket, but being a hot day, I knew that the plant would wither if I didn't give it water.  What should have only taken me 5 minutes took me closer to 15 minutes because of my ungrounded fear of the frog.  Fortunately, this incident was quite trivial, but the thought remains: when it really matters, will I be able to focus on the task or will I allow my ungrounded and temporary fears keep me from doing the right thing?

"So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" -Hebrews 13:6 (ESV)