30 Days of Thankfuness - Day 1: Person

As my daughter said to me...there are so many people I am thankful for, how can I possibly pick just one to write about? She is so right! I have a veritable village of wonderful individuals I am most grateful for being in my life--whether it was/is for a season, a reason, or a lifetime. There are also those friends/family members/foes who have been strategically placed in my life to challenge me. I suppose I must also hold an appropriate amount of gratitude for those people as well as they have helped me to grow in ways I may never quite understand, but at the very least, they help me appreciate the others in my life that much more who do not constantly test my patience and warmheartedness.

The obvious choice for me to begin this November 2015 writing/photo challenge, however, is my mom. November 2, 2015, marked the one year anniversary of her passing. We honored her memory in ways I thought would be appropriate and meaningful with balloons, a rose placed on her grave, and cake to name a few. But the sharing of our special recollections were by far the most significant.

Describing my mom using the adjectives caring, kind, and compassionate just don't seem powerful enough somehow. She was so much more. She took compassionate to the next level. She was genuine in how she showed concern and made each person she got to know believe they were the most special and loved person on the planet. Her caring spilled over into a whole ministry she intentionally and deliberately created and maintained. Through cards, letters, Facebook messages, and phone calls, she encouraged and built up everyone she encountered. She made the world around her a better place kindly lifting up and inspiring everyone to be better than their best. Even through her own physical frustrations and worries, she unceasingly prayed for all she knew and continued her countenance to anyone that needed it.

Perhaps for me, I am most grateful for the fact that Mom never tried to make me be anything other than who I already was. That somehow doesn't really make sense to verbalize it like that. But, her unconditional love and nurturing let me know she was proud of me for me. I didn't have to get better grades, or go out for any other extracurricular activities, or achieve any higher status. I didn't have to be someone I didn't want to be to be liked. I didn't have to lose any weight or gain any weight. Wearing makeup or donning a particular color or style of clothing was not going to change the way she saw me. I am so thankful for her support and inspiration of just being me.

I guess that is one of the many things I miss about her. Of course, I miss the sound of her voice, her laugh, and the gentle way she coaxed conversation with me when I was upset. I long to see her smile and the way her eyes pierced through to my soul. But honestly, I miss the way she made me feel about myself--that I am enough just the way I am. No one else can seem to do that. I could tell my mom anything and everything, and frequently did. Her absence has left a huge void--a mom-sized hole--that no one else is capable of filling. Mom taught me so much...except for how to get along without her.

I am eternally grateful for the years I had with her. The example she set and the joy she radiated were contagious, but also hard to live up to. I so admire her fortitude, but so often fall short when it comes to serving others in my own life. There are so many people missing her. I always think I must miss her the most. But the lives she touched are too numerous to count, and I know many miss her as much if not more than me. I know it is not a competition, but if it were, I would rank in the top five I am sure.

Mom's father (my grandpa) shared many of the same qualities, and I know she mirrored a lot of his mannerisms. I may never know how to inspire the way they both did, but I will strive to feel Mom's presence and maintain the love in my heart that I felt while she walked this earth.

Thank you, God, for my Mom...a gift I will treasure until my dying day.

May-flowers and Pilgrims

April Showers brought May Flowers and Pilgrims.  

Okay, there were no pilgrims, but I did find a Plymouth Rock paperweight when I was going through my mom's things! I actually found a number of paperweights.  Does anyone really use those anymore? Mom always had them on her desk--or in later years, her counter top, to hold down/flatten/secure the postage stamps on letters she was preparing to mail. Like some people collect shot glasses or playing cards from their vacations as souvenirs, my mother would purchase a paperweight to commemorate a special trip.

In and around sorting, cleaning, donating, shredding, hauling boxes to the auction house, and unearthing treasures that would trigger memories and/or produce some tears, May was filled with running my daughter to her various theater and music activities. I did, however, squeeze a couple bike rides in with my dad, help with a graduation party or two...and...oh, yeah...my sister got married!!

  

I am especially proud of a couple shots I captured right in my own back yard after an all day rain...

To recap the past 90 days, I guess this blog has become a monthly update; I have lost interest (or basically just don't make the time) in the Instagram app; but I continue to make two daily posts to the Facebook Scripture Picture Moments page I created in April.

As long as I keep taking photos and challenging myself to focus on the finding the image that sparks joy, I am keeping the passion alive. 

Scripture Picture Moments by Deb - A Tribute to my Mom

On April 20, as we were driving to Colorado, I came up with an idea for a Facebook page. This new page would not only utilize my love of photography, but it would also continue a mission my mom began with her daily Facebook posting.


About:  "My mom shared scripture on her Facebook page everyday.  It is my intent to continue what she started using my own photos and creating this page in her memory."


The name of the page is Scripture Picture Moments by Deb under the page category of "Just For Fun."

As of April 30, I have 108 "likes."  Most of those likes occurred within the first four days!!

On my personal Facebook page, I have been posting a Bible verse first thing in the morning like my mom had done.  I update the Scripture Picture page twice a day with what I like to call picture uppers. I try to space out the posts updating the page around 1 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.

As a testimonial for my new page, here are some of the comments I have received so far:

"What a great idea!  I can't think of a more perfect way to honor your mom's memory."

"These are just beautiful!  You have so many talents, and you use those gifts to serve the Lord!"

"Love the idea and inspiration."

I even had a friend request that I create a picture using one of his favorite verses.


Lately, I had been praying about how best to use my gifts to serve the Lord.  This page seems like a good way to start, and I feel like my mom would approve.  She always encouraged and supported my photography endeavors quite frequently requesting that I make my pictures into note cards that she could send letters on to friends to show off my skills.

Whenever possible, I will attempt to take new pictures everyday to use.  However, I may also reach into my archives of favorite photos to create the daily image inspirations for this page.  

And, now, without further delay, here are some samples from my page...

  

  

March--ing ...Onward and Upward

I downloaded the Instagram app on my phone recently...anything for the betterment of the craft, right?

       ...Like I have time for something additional to check and post to throughout the day.

Although, you can link your Instagram to your Facebook, I am trying a different approach.  Afterall, why have both if you are just going to post the same pictures to both social media sites...it's usually the same people following you on both anyway.  Redundant much?

I've opted to make my Instagram page completely separate and different from any posts I make on Facebook.  Not only that, but I am sticking to strictly black and white images with my Instagram posts...here's my home page thumbnails so far...

It's kinda fun...we'll see how long it lasts.

Guess I can add engagement photos to my portfolio as well.  Had the opportunity to take pictures for a fun-loving couple this month.  Got some pretty cute shots if I do say so myself.

Where Did February Go? Part Two

Tomorrow is the last day of February.  Granted, February is the shortest month...but, seriously!  Where did the month go??!!

February 2015 - A fleeting reverie lost in time never to be recovered.

I downloaded the Day One journal App to help electronically record my days.  I also wrote the old-fashioned way with a pen in my hardbound paper-filled journal.  I guess I could look back at all those entries to see where the month went.  I'm sure I spent the majority of my days drinking coffee, chauffeuring my daughter to her various activities, working at my part-time seasonal job, and playing Candy Soda Crush...that candy won't crush itself, you know.

"...What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."  James 4:14 NIV

I do recall there were some pretty spectacular sunsets that graced the horizon during this second month of the year.

I also had the privilege of spending a few precious hours with a wonderful friend who I had not seen for quite a long time.  We enjoyed lattes and a repast in a quaint little diner in Owatonna while catching up on our busy lives.  We also discovered a true "gem" that we enjoyed photographing. Although the images do not do it justice, here are a few attempts I made at capturing what can only be described as majestic beauty.

The unique building pictured above--originally the National Farmer's Bank (currently Wells Fargo)--is considered "a jewel box of the prairie;"one of the premier pieces of Prairie School Architecture in America.  This historical building built from 1906-1908 is located in Owatonna, Minnesota, and  is the most famous of all Louis Sullivan's banks featuring gold leaf arches, murals, stained-glass windows, and decorative art designs.  It was commemorated on a US postage stamp in 1981.

So long, February.

Where Did February Go? Part One

Snow followed by cold followed by snow, followed by more cold.  That pretty much sums up most of February.  Cars, geese, and deer alike are not moving very quickly in this deep freeze.  

Some of my favorite memes that are circulating include the following:

• Who Made Elsa Mad?
• Just Keep Shoveling. Just Keep Shoveling.
• Tell us what you've done with the grass, snowman?!
• Dear Winter:  I think it's time we broke up.  I can't put up with your icy disposition any longer.
• 40 Days with lows below zero...but it's supposed to be in the teens next week.  So I got that going for me, which is nice. 

And now for some of my own memes--I call them mines.  LOL! 

I thought I had the blues, but just had the setting on my camera wrong for the snow picture, so I guess it's just cabin fever after all.

The dry air is a shock to the system.  

My skin has had enough abuse.  Winter is not all that it's cracked up to be.

I'm currently buying lotion in bulk.  I had it delivered on a pallet last week.

My electric bill surpassed my grocery budget, so I unplugged my freezer, and threw everything outside.


At least the bugs are gone! :)

January Shots

"The New Year lies before you like a spotless track of snow.  Be careful how you tread it, for every mark will show."

 My daughter's art teacher is an absolute gem!  She has allowed the creative genius in my talented girl to emerge and take flight.  

Goofing around at the coffee house one day, my daughter had the giggles and my constant snapping of pictures just fueled her silliness.  I'm sure it didn't have anything to do with the fresh caffeine running through her veins...LOL!

The winter clouds and reflecting glow of lights from town made a perfectly eerie backdrop for the trees and silhouette of this castle formation.