Crack in tree stump 5

Crack in tree stump 4

You're looking at this tree's diary, a year-by-year record of rain, sun, snow, wind, cold, heat, and growth.

Crack in tree stump 3

Slow growth caused the rings, age caused the death of the tree, and exposure to the harsh elements caused the crack. It takes time for beauty to develop!

Crack in tree stump 2

It's the knots and variations and inconsistencies in the wood that make it interesting--just like people.

Crack in tree stump

Yes, indeed, I look for cross material when I have camera in hand. When I saw this beautiful curved crack in a bare stump in Rocky Mountain National Park, I saw crosses--lots of them!

Dead tree, Sprague Lake 4

The elegance of this dead tree cross is a reminder that beauty is not restricted to the young. At every stage of life, even old age and death, there is the potential for beauty.

Dead tree, Sprague Lake

The flat and smooth hike around Sprague Lake is probably the easiest trek in Rocky Mountain National Park; a simple, delightful experience.

Sprague Lake, dead tree 2

Yet another example of beauty to be found in things not-so-obviously beautiful.

Dead tree, Sprague Lake

We're going to be spending an extended time exploring Rocky Mountain National Park, not a hard place to imagine the presence of God, even when the subject is a dead tree.

Light sticks 4

Light sticks 3

This is a popular spot at the Children's Museum because children are instinctively drawn to light--a sign of the image of God within them.

Light sticks 2

Light sticks

I've got more "gold lining" crosses of the morning sky, but let's switch to some crosses created by artificial light. These light sticks are for the delight of children at the Dupage Children's Museum in Naperville, Illinois.

Gold Lining 9

It's the darkness of the cloud that draws your eye to the light--in photos and in life.

Gold Lining 8

God to you: "Will you be my Valentine?"

Gold lining 7

You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
Psalm 18:28

Gold lining 6

He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit,
and I will live to enjoy the light.
Job 33:28

Gold lining 5

Still think "here and now" is all there is?

Gold lining 4

"He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent."
Psalm 104:2

Gold lining 3

This golden light took 8 1/2 minutes to travel the 93,000,000 from the sun. If you look out the window, the light you see has just finished that same long journey. Lots of traveling in this universe!

Gold lining 2

. . . a window of fire into the great beyond . . .

Gold lining

This past July, the morning sky over Schuler, Nebraska featured these gold-edged clouds. A series of photographs is transformed into a series of crosses . . .

Rudbeckia

A wonderful antidote for yesterday's blizzard.

Reminder of summer

Perhaps, here in the midst of winter, it's time for a reminder that the warmth of summer WILL come. These rudbeckia (black-eyed susans) are perennials, their roots waiting patiently in the cold and frozen ground, ready to spring up with new life when the time and temperature are right. A marvelous sign of hope!

Switchgrass 2

If you're interested in learning more about the energy potential of switchgrass, click here.