What a beautiful way to begin the wrapping up of a day. All of my scurrying around……checking off my “to do” list……working at this and planning that….
Comes to a stop.
As I look in wonder at the sunset. Taking it in.
The pinks and blues and light oranges come through the darkened trees…..
Moments later the colors fade…..the sky is darker….
And I’m thankful for the Giver of colorful sunsets.
“I don’t think people care about the sunsets as much as we do.”
That’s what my youngest daughter said to me last night.
I remember thinking something similar when I was a young girl. I was fascinated with whatever I saw when I looked up at the sky and I wondered why no one else talked about it. Couldn’t they see? The colors the sun painted the sky when it filtered through the clouds in the evenings. Or the bright full moon on a winter’s night. Didn’t they notice the way the clouds gathered angrily before a thunderstorm?
And the stars and rainbows and the way lightning streaked across the sky sometimes when there was no storm at all.
I hope I always look up at the sky……..in wonder……..of the One who made it all.
But when I am walking around in the world unaware of the beauty around me I pray that it gets my attention or even better…..that someone around me says, “Look”.
In response to the Daily Post’s Captivating.
Just two weeks ago the life inside this tree was hidden, winter still had its hold. But as spring approaches new life bursts forth in brilliance. The morning sun highlights the swirling of the top bud and the bowing down of the one below. It’s like a dance. 
What a beautiful mystery……springtime and apple trees, the wind and rain, the golden glow of sunrise, the bird’s song, rabbits and chicks……all of creation. My life and your life. All of our lives.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8:3-4 & 9
In response to the Daily Post’s Create.
I’m happy in the forest….hiking, exploring, breathing in the air, finding tiny frogs or strange mushrooms. Climbing over fallen trees and crossing creeks. The stark changes with each season are remarkable. The forest is almost other worldly to me and it’s a good place to think.
What makes the forest even better is when one or some of my favorite people are with me. Good conversations happen in the forest, too.
This is only one beautiful scene from a recent hike with my youngest daughter.
When I stop to take a photo it’s because something about what I’m seeing has to be captured. And most of the time it’s not just one thing. It’s the whole of it.
A shed and a greenhouse in the middle of a lush field on a hot July evening. No filters or edits needed.
The rosy sky and the emerald field. The tall grass in the foreground and the trees in the back. And the magnificent sun settling down. The beauty is overwhelming, the colors astounding……and I get to see things like this every day if I will just look.
I was walking on my country roads when I took this photo. My old country roads where I used to live. I was probably tired from a day’s work with more to do when I finished my walk. Whatever my mood when I started, I was in a better one when I was through.
Because I’m in awe. And grateful. And I pray I never get used to this.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the skies announce what his hands have made.
Day after day they tell the story;
night after night they tell it again.
They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
But their message goes out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.
The sky is like a home for the sun.
The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his bedroom.
It rejoices like an athlete eager to run a race.
The sun rises at one end of the sky
and follows its path to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
Psalm 19:1-6 NCV
I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. e.e.cummings
When I was a little girl I wondered over the rays of sunshine and how they shone down from the sky, sometimes in lines, like when clouds were in its way. I could have stared at the the moon and stars all night. I was amazed at the changing seasons, thunderstorms and rainbows, butterflies, and the wind. I loved the trees and their shadows, the big rocks in our woods, and the creek that trickled there. Dandelions and bumblebees and lizards and roses.
I still wonder at God’s creation. Something always catches my eye when I’m outside.
Like this okra plant on a late summer day.
Or like this unnamed plant. I think it’s a weed because it grows in abundance on the fence line in the field by our home.
Or these bright yellow green Mimosa tree pods.
Beautiful.
In response to the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge Vibrant.
In response to The Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge Transition.
No Black Friday for me. I spent the day doing one of my favorite things in one of my favorite places with one of my favorite people. My youngest daughter and I hiked in The Sipsey Wilderness.
Creation is ever changing………year to year…….season to season…..morning to night…..moment to moment. The forest is bright green in the springtime with new leaves budding on the trees but now the forest is brown, and orange, with some splashes of red and even a hint of purple throughout.
No lines, or traffic or rushing around here.
Just boundless beauty all around us. The sounds of waterfalls and the leaves crunching under our feet.
Exactly what my soul needed today.
Out of the 902 photos that are on my phone right now (that’s after I deleted 166), I’m estimating that 70% of them are of my children. Photos of my son playing football, prom pictures, school events, or my daughters posing for me when they feel especially beautiful or silly, beach pictures, and a lot of selfies of my 13 year old daughter. There are a few of the dog, too.
The rest of the photos are sunsets, or flowers, clouds, plants, blackberries, or turtles. Rainbows, my yard, trees in my yard, or trees in the forest. The ocean, waterfalls, rock formations, rivers, and fields.
The beauty of God’s creation is at times too wonderful for words. So I capture them as best I can. I’m no professional.
Just an amazed observer of God’s handiwork.
Lord, you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your riches. Psalm 104:24 NCV
In response to The Daily Post’s Obvious.
mariegriffith.me 