Monday, March 31, 2008

Autumn aspens 2

There's always light on the other side of the cross.


Sunday, March 30, 2008

Autumn aspens

Muted browns and bright golds in Rocky Mountain National Park, late September.


Saturday, March 29, 2008

Mountain range 22

Looks like nature is in a very delicate balance!


Friday, March 28, 2008

Mountain range

I think Salvador Dali might have enjoyed this one from Rocky Mountain National Park.


Thursday, March 27, 2008

Crack in rock

If I could live my life over again, I would not be a geologist. But if I could have 10 or 20 lives, one of them would be as a geologist. I've always loved rocks. I cracked them open with a hammer as a child, collected them (still have a rock display on my window sill at work), read about them, and wondered, "Now how did that rock get that way? Where did it come from? How was it formed?" If I were a geologist, I'd have more answers, and probably more questions, too.


Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Lichen

The green stuff on this rock is lichen, of which there are many varieties. I can't give you a deep scholarly analysis of lichen, but I remember with perfect clarity the explanation offered by a national park ranger during an evening program at Devil's Tower many years ago on one of our family vacations. Lichen happens, she said, "when Freddie Fungus and Alice Algae take a lichen to each other."

Educators, take note of the reasons that explanation has stuck with me for more than two decades.


Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Crack in rock

If you wait long enough, any rock will crack and deteriorate. You could take that as an expression of the second law of thermodynamics, or--considering the events of Easter morning-- you could take it as a sign of hope.


Monday, March 24, 2008

Crack in rock

Easter news flash: There's an opening in the rock!


Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter

Resurrection turns darkness to light, the ultimate miracle.


Saturday, March 22, 2008

Rock crack

Holy Saturday is the day of Jesus' entombment in the cold dark stone of the tomb. But I think I see a crack developing!


Friday, March 21, 2008

Wooden cross for Good Friday

"And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!"

Philippians 2:8


Thursday, March 20, 2008

Wooden cross

Moving toward the Friday we all "Good."


Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Twisted stump 5

This series of crosses from the twisted stump suggests the combination of agony with beauty and hope. I guess that's always what the cross is about.


Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Twisted stump 4

This seems an appropriate week to be contemplating wooden crosses.


Monday, March 17, 2008

Twisted stump 3




Sunday, March 16, 2008

Twisted stump 2

Perhaps it's also the twists and turns in our life that make US interesting!


Saturday, March 15, 2008

Twisted stump

This tree has had an interesting history.


Friday, March 14, 2008

Changing aspens 4

Green and gold are the colors of money. These greens and golds are far more beautiful, and just as important.


Thursday, March 13, 2008

Changing aspens 3

The change from green to gold is a movement toward winter and death. But the cross accepts that movement, trusting in the inevitability of God's spring to new life.


Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Changing aspens 2

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die . . . "
Eccleasiastes 1:1-2a


Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Changing aspens

For many years we've gone to Colorado during the last week of September. It's a glorious time of transition in the mountains from the green of summer to the gold of autumn, so perfectly captured in this photo--one of my favorites from our trip last year.


Monday, March 10, 2008

Bend reeds 6




Sunday, March 09, 2008

Bent reeds 5




Saturday, March 08, 2008

Bent reeds 4

These reeds aren't thick and sturdy enough to stand up straight out of the water, but they grow and thrive by staying in the water environment for which they were designed.

Sometimes we feel guilty if they can't "make it" in our present situation or "succeed" like we think others do. Though there's something to be said for the ability to adapt to new environments, none of us can be all things to all people, and our central call is to accept our limitations and become who we were meant to be in the environment that makes that possible.


Friday, March 07, 2008

Bent reeds 3

"He won’t break off a bent reed or put out a dying flame, but he will make sure that justice is done.
-Isaiah 42:3 (CEV)

Christians generally see a prediction of the character of the Messiah in this verse. It suggests that Jesus understands the fragile and broken nature of our human condition and therefore holds us lovingly and gently. A grace-full image!




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