Photos and Thoughts

PHOTO(S) OF THE DAY

Sunday May 17, 2009: sweet lil elli mae

Monday May 18, 2009: red sweetened perfection

Thoughts on Going Green...
What does that even mean? When I first heard the term, I immediately thought 'tree hugger'. I think that today there are many people that are using this 'going green' revival as a way to scam people and make money. I will admit that when I first heard talk of 'going green' I thought it was ridiculous... it seemed rather "left wing". But the more I educated myself on the subject I came to realize that its not such a bad idea. God has given us this beautiful planet to live on- each day here on earth nature screams out the awesomeness of The One who created it. I think as Christians we have a greater reason to 'go green'... unlike tree huggers, we don't 'go green' because we want the planet to last longer... we know that someday its gonna burn. We 'go green' because earth is one of God's gifts to us, and we should take care of that gift...it is a way in which we can worship and thank Him. This lady says what I'm trying to say much more eloquently http://mamagoesgreen.blogspot.com/2007/10/christian-perspective-on-going-green.html

Over the past year or so my husband and I have found some very easy ways to 'go green' that really don't take much effort at all. Here are some of the things we've done;
1. recycle
2. use natural cleaning products or make our own out of vinegar
3. only start the dishwasher when its FULL
4. Use reusable grocery bags. ( you can buy them at most grocers for under $1.00)
5. buy local fruit and veg
6. buy organic when we can
7. turn the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer
8. eat less beef (mind you, we haven't given it up, we just eat less of it)

Earlier we said that going meatless makes a bigger impact than any other action you can take. Here's an example: If you gave up showering, you'd save less water than what's required to make a single pound of beef. Not beef for a whole year, just one miserable pound. A whole year's worth of showers takes about 5,200 gallons, but it takes 5,214 gallons to produce a single pound of beef.

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/environment.html

Anyway, those are some of the easy things we've done. I'm sure there are more but I just can't think of them at the moment. We've been doing this for about a year or so now, and its just become the normal for us. So, go for it! GO GREEN, & use it as a way to honor, worship, and thank God for this beautiful earth!

Thursday May 14, 2009: Giggly Girl


Friday May 15, 2009: Lost finale & new friends


Saturday May 16, 2009: paint on the walls = paint on me

yesterday's photo...

I told ya I was really gonna try to be "on top" of posting pics on here... Well, I have been, but just not on the same day that I take the photo. haha! Oh well, I'm doing my best! Stop giving me a hard time people! ;-) Here was yesterday's photo;

Psalm 19:1-2
" The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge."

Photo of The (yester)Day

Tuesday May 12, 2009: Ding Dong

blooming pink

photo of the day:

photo a day

I started doing a photo a day album on my facebook, and thought that maybe you'd be interested in seeing it as well. Here are all the ones I've posted thus far...



















I'll try and remember to also upload the photo a day pics onto this site too :-)
Have a lovely day!

-j

Good News

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Romans 8:31

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are MORE than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Jesus, thank you for Your love. Thank you that you died on the cross for me. Thank you that nothing can EVER separate me from your love. I praise you Jesus! Thank you...

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
The King of creation
O my soul, praise Him
For He is thy health and salvation
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near
Praise Him in glad adoration

Praise to the Lord
Who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth
Shelters thee under His wings
Yea, so gently sustaineth
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth

Praise to the Lord
Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
If with His love He befriend thee

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him
All that hath life and breath
Come now with praises before Him
Let the 'amen' sound from His people again
Gladly for'ere we adore Him

To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it; you talk about it, but you don't know it.

The Shack
-William P Young

I'm with Ree on this one...

I am addicted to Bokeh! I once laughed when I read this article from Ree http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2009/03/addicted-to-bokeh/
But now, I understand. I have seen the light. I'm officially a bokeh freak!


According to Wikipedia...

Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning "blur" or "haze") is a photographic term referring to the appearance of point of light sources in an out-of-focus area of an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field.[1] Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

Phew, I'm so glad my bokeh addiction is out in the open now. I feel so much better!

Off to cook some dinner...

-jess

Sister Photoshoot

This evening I spent some time at my parents house and had a great time playing with my camera with my lovely sister. Here are some of the shots I thought turned out nicely... actually, my sister is gorgeous so any Joe Shmo could take a pic of her and it would be amazing.

Rainy Day

Here in California, we had a burst of heat for a few weeks and the temp was up into the 90's. I loved it. It was such a nice change from all the gloomy rainyness. But here we are a few weeks later and we are getting a few drizzles here and there. I'm not complaining. Its funny how when you get used to the weather being a certain way, and once it changes drastically you learn to love that weather. Anyway, I've been enjoying snuggleing up in my PJ'S with a cup of tea, as well as making my way outside when the rain decides to take a break to snap a few photos. I love the beautiful rain drops that God leaves on the leaves and flowers after the rain. I think its such a vivid reminder of God's grace and how it rains down upon us each day. I mean, grace is like the rain in that there is nothing we do to make it rain... we don't sing a special song and then all the sudden it rains. No, we don't even live life in such a way that makes us deserve rain. Yet, despite our depravity, and wretchedness, the rain still falls. Grace like rain falls on us, not because we sing a song, do a dance, or live in a way that makes us deserve it...it falls only because of a merciful God that loves us. Thank you LORD, for sending Your Son to die for us. We are but dirt...we are less than dirt. Thank you for saving us. Amen.