Tag: moon

Project 52 #51: Cold Snap for Christmas

~ Beth ~ 1 Comment

For Christmas, we got snow and a cold snap, cold enough to freeze the bay solid all the way across. Some brave souls even ventured out and went ice skating on it for what they said was the first time in 30 years, though we were not quite that brave. The mail planes couldn’t get in, and they had to finally send over a box truck on the ferry to get us at least some of our Christmas packages. We’re still waiting for some, which is going to nicely extend Christmas. When I explained to the kids that some gifts were still on their way and wouldn’t be here in time for opening on Christmas Eve, Christiana cheerfully said, “That will just make Christmas wider, Mommy!”

The barge was able to get in, but you could hear the thunderous din of it cracking through the ice all over town. The tug went back and forth a few times after it dropped its load, working to widen the path it had made through the ice. It was like our own real life version of Scruffy in the bathtub, and we sat in the living room and watched with great interest through our big picture windows. Who would have thought we would ever get so much entertainment from a tug going back and forth? When you know the tug and its cargo getting through is the difference between fresh food on the grocery shelves or not, that’s when. Real life is so much better than a book or movie.

We counted down the days to Christmas with candles, and on Christmas Eve placed the manger in the center before we sat down to dinner. Later that evening, we joined with our other brothers and sisters in town to celebrate the wonder of Christ’s coming at a Christmas Eve service. I thought, as I stood there with a tiny flickering flame in my hand, singing about the weary world rejoicing, about what God’s people did for hundreds of years past, persevering in faith and hope, waiting for the promise yet to be fulfilled, counting down to a date they didn’t know, looking and longing for Messiah to come. We may simulate the waiting with our Advent candles, devotionals and countdowns, but how blessed we truly are to be on this side of Christmas, remembering together that we are no longer actually waiting, but are privileged, instead, to look back and rejoice in the fulfillment of the age-old promise.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation...

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth...

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 11:1-2, 13, 39-40, 12:1-2)

Project 52 #47: Hygge

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

With winter solstice approaching fast, I am truly enjoying the quiet, restful beauty of this season…

when candlelight is as lovely for breakfast as it is for supper,

when the night frosts restore beauty to every dying leaf,

when we can read a book to the cozy crackle of the woodstove warming the house,

and I can watch the sunset while I’m making supper.

Some of my ancestors came from Norway, a place very similar in latitude to where I live now. Over there, they have a word for what I’m trying to describe, a word that’s gotten a bit trendy in the United States in recent years. But trendy or not, I do think those words in other languages that we don’t have an exact equivalent to in English are so interesting and rather delightful. If you’ve lived anywhere where the winter nights are long, or the winter is harsh, you should appreciate the word “hygge”, a single word coined by fellow people of the north to describe the way we not only cope with but find true pleasure in this dark, cold season.

One article I read described it this way: “Hygge has been called everything from “the art of creating intimacy”, “coziness of the soul”, and “the absence of annoyance”, to “taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things”, “cozy togetherness” and “cocoa by candlelight”.”

I hope that, not matter where you are, you are enjoying your own version of hygge as we enter this winter season—or that you will take this as inspiration to make the time to cultivate some in the months ahead!

“God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:19)

Project 52 #35: Sunset Over the Marina

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As you can see, we enjoyed some epic sunsets out in front of our house this week!

One of my daughters adopted three(!) fuzzy caterpillars, named them, and faithfully fed them fresh leaves for several days before they escaped one too many times in the house and it was decided to return them to the wild. Pictured above is Fuzzy, living his dream life eating thimbleberry salad for lunch.

“From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’s name is to be praised.” (Psalm 113:3)

North-West to Alaska: Pacific Northwest

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After Glacier National Park, we drove for the first time through country that we had never seen before! There were no side trips and very few stops, since we were on a time frame to reach Seattle by a certain time, but we still enjoyed the new sights along the way.

We traveled the length of the panhandle of Idaho, which was a beautiful continuation of the Montana Rockies, skies unfortunately heavy with smoke haze. We bought fresh cherries at a roadside stand, and watched whitewater rafters floating down mountain rivers. In one brief moment of excitement, the side door on our trailer flew open while driving down a freeway, but miraculously not one thing fell out!

Washington State had more high desert and plains than I expected, and the wheat fields were pure gold. In the Columbia River valley, we recorded 101 degrees on our truck thermometer, and saw multiple other vehicles overheat along the freeway. Gratefully, God spared our hardworking truck this calamity. We spotted the iconic form of Mount Rainier, and cooled off with guava popsicles at the top of breathtaking Snoqualmie Pass.

It’s strange to say it, but when we found ourselves descending into the metropolis of Seattle-Tacoma, the realization that the driving segment of our journey was over was bittersweet to me. Sweet, because there would be no more worries about tires and transmissions surviving the summer heat and steep mountain passes; bitter, because I had truly enjoyed the experience. I felt like I had finally gained true empathy for the pioneers, having successfully crossed miles of plains, two mountain ranges, and arrived within sight of the Pacific Ocean with all our earthly possessions still in tow. God had answered many gracious prayers on our behalf and granted us safety. The days of travel had flown by smoothly, and it had never seemed too long.

Now it was time for the final exciting segment of our journey, in which we committed our truck and trailer to the care of a barge company, and left solid ground for the skies and the sea. But that’s a story for another day.

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.” (Exodus 23:20)

Transition

~ Beth ~ 1 Comment

It’s a strange time. When you have one foot in one place, and the other foot in another, and your heart feels like it’s divided in two.

Living fully in the present when you’re in the midst of transition is hard. You feel like there’s this sort of chasm in between here and there where you can’t rest or feel at peace. Half of you is holding to the familiar and beloved, half of you is reaching for the good things to come. You yo-yo relentlessly between the two positions, unable to make a solid landing on either.

I have struggled to write about it, because I like to write reflectively instead of processing out loud in the moment. This is raw stuff, still in process. There is so much on my mind and to-do list right now. But, in the midst of this overwhelming project of trying to somehow wrap up ten years’ accumulation of belongings here into two tidy packages of taking or leaving, all the while trying to say goodbye to people and places we love dearly, I’m still taking pictures. It’s something soothing that I can do that doesn’t require more mental or emotional energy, this composing of images within a frame and capturing moments of time in pixels. Taking time, even just a minute or two, to savor the beauty around me is such a balm for my soul. It reminds me of the things that are solid and don’t change, like the rhythms of nature, the changing of the seasons—and the God who created it all and remains faithful even when everything else feels like it’s in upheaval.

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” (Lamentations 3:21-25)

The New and the Old

~ Beth ~ 1 Comment

IMG_7295 editI always enjoy spending the first few weeks of a new year reflecting back on the old.  I read through the my journals and scroll through the pictures I took, reminding myself of what I’ve learned and experienced over those 365 days.  I note the highlights and the lowlights, what was the same and what was different, what was new and what was old—and this is what I found for 2019:

There were wonderful old things—

Old friends to catch up with…

The faithful, breathtaking repetition of seasons…

Old favorite vacation spots from our childhoods, revisited with our own children…

Time-worn traditions and celebrations honored once again…IMG_7921 editAnd not-so-exciting old things—

The same old piles of dirty dishes every day…

Bigger quantities of the same old cycle of laundry: wash, dry, fold, put away, repeat…

Vehicles aging, old parts needing replaced…

Old habits struggling to be broken…

But in the midst of all the old, the good and the bad, His mercies were new.  Fresh, marvelous and breathtaking every day, breathing life and purpose and wonder into the sameness and drudgery of life.img_3173 editThere were also wonderful new things—

New faces to become friends with…

New recipes tried, new books read…

New ways I was challenged and uplifted spiritually…

A new baby to carry, birth and nurture…IMG_4074 editAnd not so fun new things—

New goodbyes to be said this side of heaven…

New-to-me levels of sickness and health issues, and need for help as I went through them…

New things to forgive and be forgiven for.

But in the midst of all this, the good and the bad, His mercies were old.  Not old and worn out, but old and timeless and sure.  Unchanging, firm, and the same, an untold comfort in the midst of change and uncertainty.IMG_4063 editAnd now I’m three weeks into another new year,

days adding to days without stopping to wait while I reflect,

already colored by the un-calculated quantities of baby spit up on my shirt, giant snow storms and unexpected events.

And I’m here to say that I’m already discovering that the same old story from last year is on repeat in the new:  His mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness.  May you discover the same, in abundance, in the upcoming year!IMG_3148“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,“therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24)

P.S. Featured here are a few odd pictures that I never got around to using from 2019!  Also, I know I’ve been absent from this space for awhile, but I’ve had good reason in the form of one tiny adorable little man who arrived to change the landscape of our family forever in October.  To those of you who have inquired with such kind interest as to the future state of this blog:  Thank you for your patience as I’ve taken a long break from here to focus fully on adjusting to life as a family of six.  Lord willing, I do hope to get back to more writing and photography as this new season permits!  Meanwhile, you’ll find me taking baby portraits and writing in his baby book about first smiles and that time he slept eight hours….

 

Super Blood Wolf Moon

~ Beth ~ 1 Comment

IMG_3766 edit 1.jpg10:20 PM CST, nearly fully eclipsed, after which my camera decided it didn’t care to focus at -30 F.

The name may seem dramatic, but it was really just a full lunar eclipse (“blood” for the reddish-brown color it turns), in January (“wolf” by the Native American calendar), on a night when the moon was closer to the earth than usual (“super”).

Which, perhaps, is amazing enough to deserve such a dramatic title.

“God is my King from of old, working salvation on the earth…The day is His, and His also the night; He established the sun and moon.” (Psalm 74:12,16)

 

On the Last Day of Summer

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

IMG_0145Farewell to shadows of bluebells on white chicken coop walls…IMG_9119Farewell to pleasant afternoons hanging laundry on the line in the company of friendly toads…IMG_0150Farewell to grasshoppers, and white trumpet vines, and all other such elegant pairings…IMG_9486IMG_0042-1.jpgIMG_9596Farewell to barefoot days at the edge of the lake……IMG_0433-1.jpgFarewell to the haunting serenade of loons…IMG_9160 IMG_1023-1Farewell to daisy bouquets made by small hands, and smoky sunsets, gifts from forests burning far away…IMG_0883Farewell to cumulonimbus, those splendid, tall ships sailing by in the sea of the sky…IMG_0467Farewell to restless, flitting warblers in green, green meadows…IMG_0445IMG_0439IMG_0443Farewell to lush gardens decked in the thousand diamonds of sudden morning showers…IMG_0319Farewell to the brief, warm nights, sparkling with celestial beauty and fireflies, humming with mosquitoes…IMG_9864Farewell to all the sun-ripened berries hiding under the leaves…IMG_9806Farewell to picturesque encounters on whimsical summer evening drives…IMG_9688Farewell to all the babies, now raised and grown…IMG_9426Farewell to dancing swallowtails in ballrooms of flowers…IMG_9611Farewell, sweet summer; welcome, glorious autumn!

Thunder Moon and Lunar Links

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IMG_1567.JPGThe Thunder Moon doesn’t technically occur until July, but if ever such a name was appropriate for a full moon, it was this one.  It seemed to rest and roll along the tops of this magnificent soaring June thunderhead at sunset, like some whimsical bright ball up there bouncing down cloud stairways.  As I watched from the porch steps, the billowing cloud rumbled faintly and the liquid gulping of a bittern echoed along the lake shore as dusk slowly fell—and I thought about David’s words:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.  For you steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!  Let your glory be over all the earth!” (Psalm 57:9-11)

IMG_1569.JPGAnd, while we’re on the topic of the moon, just for the fun of it, I thought I’d share a few interesting lunar-themed links I’ve happened across recently.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Here’s an interesting article on how each month’s full moon got it’s name.

Read this book by Astronaut James Irwin for a first-hand, uniquely Christian perspective on the first landing on the moon—it’s full of pictures and fascinating!

Actual video clips and audio from that first landing, with some unexpected lightheartedness.  “Hippity hop and over a hill…”

Sometimes I feel like this, too when waiting for the moon to rise.

Moon phases explained, with Oreos.

Once in a blue moon, you should eat a blue moon torte.  But ever wondered where that phrase “once in a blue moon” came from?  Click on the torte photo or here to find out.

If you could read French, this would be a spectacular lunar treat to create.

If you’re as fond of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’, and Horatio Spoffard’s ‘It Is Well With My Soul’ as I am, you should listen to this.

And just in case you missed it, a previous post of mine about the Harvest Moon, and another about the Wolf Moon.

 

 

 

All On a Saturday Night

~ Beth ~ 2 Comments

IMG_7055.JPGIt was a Saturday night.

The mingled aromas of garlic, basil and oregano lingered in the kitchen, echoes of a tomato-zucchini-chicken-mozzarella-smothered dish that had my husband claiming that all that was lacking was tiramisu to transport him to our favorite Italian restaurant.

A candle was still flickering on the table from our late night meal, the first candlelight one of the year.  Behind it, a fistful of Russian sage stood stiffly upright, stuffed in a vase with all the advanced flower arranging skills of a four-year-old.  It was, after all, the fistful of Russian sage I didn’t have the heart to scold her for picking because it was so sweet the way she happily presented it to me.  The bouquet threw flowery shadows to dance on the wall as the flame below it flickered.

The baby was sleeping, peaceful, in her wooden cradle, lamplight making spindled shadows across her blanket while long eyelashes rested softly on round cheeks.

The squeaks and splashes of her older sisters in the midst of enjoying their Saturday night bath echoed from the bathroom.

I rinsed soap bubbles off the last clean white plate and set it on the rack to dry, humming to the old familiar song playing softly in the background, that one that forever conjures up black and white images in my mind of my grandpa when he was a little boy.

And then I turned out the lights—but before I could blow out the candle, I caught a glimpse through the window of silvery mists swirling over the fields.  A great yellow moon was rising through the trees and there was a path of liquid gold across the lake, leading straight to it, calling me out.

When I stepped back inside, there was dew on my bare feet and a cratered harvest moon captured on my camera.  The crowning touch to a perfectly ordinary evening in which all the simple, happy things of life were strung like pearls and shone together as one beautiful blessing.

“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.” (Psalm 116:17)