What word comes to your mind when you see this photo? For me, the word is “burst”.

For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and hills before you shall burst into song and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

Who could get tired of these sunrises?

This is a picture of the stream crossing in Sweet Arrow Park last week. As you can see, the rocks for stepping across are most covered by the rushing water. I think it is fair to say crossing the stream was tricky but was made easier by knowing where the rocks were from having crossed the stream when the water was much lower. In fact, if I didn’t know the rocks were there, I likely would not have ventured across the stream on that day.

In life, how often do we turn around because we can’t see the path before us?

I like this photo for at least a couple of reasons. First, the colors! I love the contrast between red yellow and green.
The second reason is a little more subtle. Notice the slight “imperfections” in the flower. The petals are different sizes and even slightly different shapes. We expect these asymmetries and irregularities in living things. In fact, flowers do not look real if too “perfect”. 

There is a saying in life, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”. Fortunately, it doesn’t apply to God’s love!

It is getting to be that time of year when we experience some very humid mornings. Which may result in fog, as seen in this photo from a Sunday morning run last July. 
For me, fog fits into the old adage “too much of a good thing is not good.” Excess seems to have become a hallmark of our society. I need to remember this the next time I want seconds on dessert!

Hotness of chili peppers is measured in Scoville units. The hottest pepper on record was measured at 2.5 million units. By comparison, pepper spray is typically about 1 million units. 

The thing is, you can’t tell how hot a pepper is by looking at it, only by tasting it. That’s true if most things in life – they must be experienced to be truly appreciated. I think that is a part of what it means to find God in all things. 

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:9

I’m sure that part of the reason I like this photo is the simply contrast of the red on the brown. I like photos featuring a sharp contrast. 

But the deeper beauty in the image for me is that of a petal which has fallen from the flower, yet still looks so vibrant. 

Marylynn and I have been reading a book called Sacred Fire by Ronald Rolheiser. The first part of the book talks about how we spend early adulthood building a life for ourselves. The middle part of the book talks about giving what we have away during the second half of our lives. In the last chapter he discusses how to give your death away. In other words, how other people can be blessed by how you spend your final years or days of your life whether dying of old age or an illness such as cancer. 

Another photo in my “looking up” series. This is from our last day of hiking on the Camino. Another reminder to occasionally stop, and look up!