Snapshot Love—a new season

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

I've always considered myself a summer girl. The hotter weather is welcomed. During the colder months I dream of being some place warm. Take me to the beach and my spirits are lifted.

I previously had dreams of running a marathon. There is something surprising refreshing about running. A good run, short or long, would leave me exhilarated and ready to conquer the world. An ankle injury two or three years ago has left me unable to run anymore.

On a two-hour walk this past weekend, God revealed something new to me. He revealed I'm no longer only a summer girl and a slower pace suits me well.

He's preparing me for a new season. It's a season I believe He has been preparing me for since the day He won my heart. I don't know what this season without my husband will look like but I know my eyes and heart are set on Jesus. I will hold on to Him with all my might for He promises everything will be alright.

If I remained indoors when summer came to an end and did not replace running with the now preferred alternative of walking, I may have missed the beauty found in a new season. "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

My prayer is this: God, I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower me with inner strength through Your Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in my heart as I trust in Him. May my roots grow down into Your love and keep me strong. And may I have the power to understand, as all Your people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. May I experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then You will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You. Amen. (adapted from Ephesians 3:14-19)

For your Sunday

"Some quote Psalm 91 as though it was some kind of magic wand, but there is nothing magical about this psalm. It is powerful and it works, but only because it is the Word of God, alive and active. And we confess it out loud, simply because the Bible tell us to." - Peggy Joyce Ruth, Psalm 91: God's Shield of Protection (Military Edition)

What is true today?

 

I've gone back and forth on whether to participate today for Five Minute Friday. This has become a common occurrence for me. The prompt word twirls around in my head—true, true, true.

What is true today?

I'm overwhelmed.

If I'm overwhelmed wouldn't the next right choice be to pass on writing today. My mind still plays out what to write. So which is it God? Do I write or do I take a pass?

While I wait for His direction, I keep on writing. I hope the answer will come somewhere along the way. It's only five minutes so what's the problem? Seriously though, how do you write for only five minutes? Am I the only one unable able to do this? My question now becomes, should I be joining in for Five Minute Friday every week if I'm unable to write for only five minutes?

Okay, maybe we should go back to my first question.

What is true today?

I'm overwhelmed.

I'm probably overwhelmed because I'm still figuring out how to say no. I need to get over the belief that to be good enough I need to say yes to everything.

I'm tired.

I love my early mornings with HelloMornings but maybe God is not asking me to rise as early as 4:30 a.m. Then again, I look forward to the additional time with Him.

I'm sad.

A recent argument with family has me sad. I'm battling over right vs. wrong. I'm battling over knowing I did not handle the situation in a Christ-like manner. Yet, I call myself a follower of Christ. Even though I may have been wrong there's no desire to make it right. I only want to stop being sad.

I'm lonely.

My husband hasn't even left for his deployment but I'm already feeling the loneliness. I need to snap out of it before these days we do have together slip away.

If I slow down for even a moment these feelings take over and tears fall uncontrollably.

What is true today?

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” ~ Psalm 56:8

For now, those words bring comfort. I'm not even sure why. The only thing I know to do is to trust in Him and lean on Him.

What is true today?

He is always with us. If you feel overwhelmed, tired, sad or lonely today, trust in Him. Lean on Him. He is there.

P.s. What is true today? I had no idea what to use for a photo. I choose the one I used because it felt peaceful.

I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday. Lisa has created a wonderful community where many others come together and write for five minutes on a prompt she provides. It's a beautiful thing. Today's prompt is: True.

Three Word Wednesday: Trust in Him

My husband and I will be speaking to to the youth group at our church this coming Sunday. The youth group has supported our Military Ministry this past year by donating pillowcases, banners and thank you cards for our service members serving in harm's way. These items were blessed with hand written messages by the children to let them know they are always being prayed for.

Glad placed it on our hearts to give back to the children to show our gratitude. We approached the youth group leaders and we were quickly on the calendar. To help us prepare for our time with the children, we were provided with a summary of what they are scheduled to cover the day we are there.

Bible Story: Men vs. Wild (Joshua and Caleb) - Numbers 13-14
Bottom Line: I can be brave even when others are not.
Memory Verse: "When I'm afraid, I will trust in you." ~ Psalm 56:3
Life App: Courage—being brave enough to do what you should do, even when you're afraid.
Basic Truth: I need to make the wise choice.

I love how God's timing is always perfect. I'd say it's rather appropriate we are coming while they are discussing courage.

Now that my husband is home, we have less than a week to prepare. What will he say about being brave enough to go to war? What will I say about being brave enough to let him go? How do we both get the courage to do what we need to do even when we are afraid?

In a previous post, I Surrender All, I shared how I need to make the choice to surrender my fears to God. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines surrender as: "to give oneself up into the power of another." The act of surrender requires trust.

My husband has a coin given to him by a soldier in his unit. On the coin reads, "Put on the whole armor of God" from Ephesians 6:11-18. The youth group leaders said the children like when speakers share something they can touch. My husband plans to bring this coin. The coin reminds him that if evil comes he can stand firm knowing the full armor of God is upon him. His trust is in God for he knows God is with him.

There is nothing to fear when we trust and obey God for He promises to always be with us.

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone." ~ Joshua 1:5b

When the Isrealites did not obey God they were left in the wilderness to die and never saw the land promised to them.

"I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times--not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors." ~ Numbers 14:20-23

Why did He fulfill His promise to Joshua and Caleb to bring them to the Promised Land? God fulfilled His promise because Joshua and Caleb trusted and followed Him wholeheartedly.

"Only my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit and has followed me fully - I will bring him into the land where he had gone, and his descendants will possess it." ~ Numbers 14:24

 "Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived." ~ Numbers 14:38

I believe becoming a military family was part of God's plan for us. I believe it's what He called us to do. It scared me to watch my husband and son as they took their oath to serve and protect our country. God used my fear to draw me closer to Him. He whispered, "Trust in me for I am with you."

"Here is what I am commanding you to do. Be strong and brave. Do not be terrified. Do not lose hope. I am the Lord your God. I will be with you everywhere you go." ~ Joshua 1:9

What would have happened if my husband and I did not obey God's calling? Would we, and our family, still be wandering in the wilderness we were once in? I'm grateful we do not need to wonder. Instead, we have security knowing He is with us because we have put our trust in Him.

"Surely I will be with you, and this will be a sign to you that I have sent you." ~ Exodus 3:12a

If God is now calling my husband to be thousands of miles from home to serve and protect our country, we will continue to trust in Him. We will be brave and do what scares us because we know He is with us.

Trust in Him for He is with you always.

Snapshot Love—he's home and more.

It's Sunday evening and I'm beat. Sleep is calling my name. The early start to my days with HelloMornings means early to bed. I don't want to give you a sloppy post but this is sure to be a shorter post with less words and primarily pictures.

I considered sharing only this one photo as it sums up my past few days. He's home!!!! He didn't expect me to be at the airport to pick him up; I loved the smile on his face when he saw me standing in the baggage claim area waiting for him. The three weeks apart were too long so I couldn't get my arms around him quick enough. Of course his welcome home required a picture!

One of the first things we did together was go for a walk.  I'm grateful for the alone time I had with God when I ventured off on my many walks while my husband was gone but how wonderful it felt to walk with him by my side.

We tried to get closer for the gorgeous sunset. I'm going to claim my husband slowed us down. :)))

At first glance I thought this photo looked cool. At second, third and fourth glance it became less and less appealing. Why am I sharing then? I'd love your opinion as I'm still undecided.

Here is one of four attempts to capture a picture of us while on our walk. A silhouette maybe? You could also say it's a bad photo. My husband is such a trooper for putting up with me as I stop several times along the way to snap away with my camera phone.

I couldn't publish "Snapshot Love" without a photo of our Red, White and Blue. God Bless America!!

We spent our Sunday afternoon with my husband's family celebrating my niece's birthday. The two precious nieces of mine in these next two photos snuck off and then returned with super cute photos so I made them share.

The birthday girl.

The photographer.

Two more beautiful shots captured by the photographer...

Thank you girls for sharing with your favorite Aunt!! I'm one of many aunt's but I'm sure they consider me their favorite.

I've been contemplating how I'd end this post since I promised to leave you with something different each week. Either I ran out of ideas already or I'm too tired at the moment to be creative. One thing I've noticed other writers doing on their blog is sharing a few of their favorite reads from the week. Many of them share on Friday's. I'm going to be different and share on Monday.

We shall call this portion Monday Love (it's Monday now) because I loved these five posts from the past week.

1) When You Don't Feel Beautiful by Jen Avellaneda at Rich Faith Rising - "But guess what? We don't have to beautify ourselves before entering the sight of God." Jen gives beautiful encouragement on a topic I know many of us struggle with.

2) Three Word Wednesday: Walk as Children, by L.R. Jensen at Gods Wild Woman - "Take the detour that eats up the time we claim as our own and spend it doing something worthwhile: marveling at how good our God is." I loved everything about this. So good!!

3) When the Waves Crash Quickly, by Jennifer Kostick at A Girl On the Doorstep - "Grace lives in the deepest, darkest seas. Mercy washes the soul that is tumbling along the bottom to the shore. Hope is the strength by which we are able to stand back up." My Sunday began with reading this post from Jennifer. I woke feeling like my soul was tumbling along after an argument with family. Her words lifted my spirits and reminded me to seek comfort in God's love and mercy.

4) For When You Realize You are not Enough, by Barbara Isaac at My Life As An Adventure - "And it hurts more than I can express, this letting go of you, this trusting Him enough to leave you in His hands." This is a beautiful post which reminds us our children are His before they are ours.

5) I Almost Stole a Chicken, by Joanne at Days and Thoughts (I'm cheating as this is from today but Joanne had me smiling. She shares a great story on being honest and I'm thinking God used her to teach a young clerk a valuable lesson too.)

Wishing you all a fabulous week. 

She belongs

She is chosen.

She is adopted.

She is redeemed.

She is forgiven.

She is marked with a seal.

She has a guaranteed inheritance.

She was previously dead in her transgressions and sins because she followed the desires of the flesh.

She was lost but now is found.

She is saved.

All because she believed.

The old is gone the new creation is here.

She has been made new by His blood poured out for her on the cross.

It had nothing to do with anything she had done.

What could she possibly do to earn such love and mercy?

"Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." ~ Eph. 2:4-5

She will not forget where she once was: without hope and without God.

She now has hope. She always has hope.

Where does her hope come from? 

Her hope comes from the Lord who she now has access to through his Holy Spirit.

For she now belongs.

(Eph. 1-2)

I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday. Lisa has created a wonderful community where many others come together and write for five minutes on a prompt she provides. It's a beautiful thing. Today's prompt is: She.

Three Word Wednesday: Be Only You

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ~ John 10:10

I love this Christian blogosphere. I've been so blessed and encouraged by the community of online friends. If I'm not careful though, it can steal my joy. There are many other writers who are far better than me. I let comparing myself to them lead me to believe I am not good enough. It's been a week of feeling ready to throw in the towel.

The writers I associate with also have amazing hearts. They have hearts that give and give. They give both their time and money to places like Compassion International, World Help and most recently I've seen posts for Mercy House Kenya.

I bounce from blog to blog and see writers I admire taking the leap to support these worthy causes. Soon I'm questioning where my heart is. Where is my heart if I don't choose to sponsor a child through Compassion International or World Help? Where is my heart if I cannot contribute even a small amount of money to Mercy House Kenya to help purchase a van?

Before long, it's as though I've forgotten where God has called me to be. I forget about the ten days I spent in Guatemala serving alongside four different missionaries bringing God's hope to the Guatemalan men, women and children. I'm all too quick to minimize the work I do daily to support our military and their families.

God calls us to be world changers.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~ Eph. 2:10

It's about doing what God has called you to do. Maybe He's called you to be a world changer in your child's school. Maybe it's within your church. Maybe it's serving the homeless in your community. Maybe it's caring for an elderly parent. Maybe it's being a mother. Maybe, for a time such as this, it's sponsoring a child through Compassion International or World Help.

Ultimately, isn't it about doing what you can do right where you are to share God's love to those around you?

Paul tells us in Romans 12:6, "we each have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us." Instead of getting caught in the comparison trap we need to discover and embrace the individual strengths and traits God has given each of us.

Together are individual strengths and traits form one body in Christ.

"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all others." ~ Romans 12:4-5

Together we fulfill an important purpose. As members of the body of Christ, we need to encourage each other. The writers I admire do this for me; they encourage me in my walk with God. Anything else is the voice of the enemy.

I've spent many years trying to be someone else so who I am can feel lost under many layers of masks. God is my hope. The more time I spend in His presence and in His word, the more I discover who I am. He is transforming me in to the new creation I am in Him.

Be who God created you to be. Be only you.

Snapshot Love—a photography class

I will come right out and admit I'm cheating this week. As much as I'd love to share a few snapshots from my week, I have none. Nope, not a one. Oh wait. I may have one for you as I did go for a long walk over the weekend and snapped at least one good shot (at least in my opinion) along the way.

I've decided to be creative and make use of pictures I took several years ago when taking a photography class. My husband bought me a fancy SLR camera before we headed to Colorado on a family vacation and I returned from the trip knowing I needed to learn how to use it correctly. Unfortunately, once the class ended I quickly forgot most of what I learned. I did hang on to a few of the critiques the teacher provided. His brief comments will be in the caption notes under the photos.

This weekly post is linked up with Lisa for her "Life Through the Lens" link up so after you make your way through the photos I will share a few random things about my life beyond the lens and will encourage you to share something random about your life. Let's get to know each other!

*** a photography class ***

There is a creek by my house and I've walked over this bridge many of times. 

"I like how the path leads the viewer in to the photo. Vertical lines are nice and straight.
I cropped to highlight content and added contrast to photo."

"I like the road leading the viewers eye in to the photo. Great use of lines and composition."

The next few are from a nature center near by. I really should go there more often.

"Nice shot. Good selective focus. Try to not put your main subject in the middle."

"I squared up original photo so it wasn't lost with too much unneeded background."

I was feeling rather happy when I was told for these next three photos, 

"Three nice shots." 

"Nice shot. Very symmetrical. The circle shape in the middle works because of the circular shape."

To prepare for an upcoming class I spent an evening in downtown Chicago. 

I don't remember why but my teacher was rather fond of these next two.

One piece of advice I do remember from the class was to not take photos of strangers. If you do, don't share them on the Internet without their permission. Oops. I have no clue who these two ladies are so if either of you happen to make your way here I'm so sorry. My teacher loved this picture of you though!! :)

Here is the one good photo from one of the many walks I took over the weekend.

My idea of good and your idea of good may be different mind you.

But this is my life through the lens so you get what you get. :)))

A few random things about me...

What am I reading?

A few bloggers came together to promote a book by Noel Brewer Yeatts called, "Awake: Doing a World of Good One Person at a Time." I'm on chapter four and loving every word! Noel shares a quote from Albert Einstein in Chapter 3 that stood out and I think sums up what this book is about, "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." I can no longer do nothing. 

There is an online study for this book that begins on September 20th. If you are interested you can find out more here.

What am I studying?

In addition to the HelloMornings study of Ephesians, we have started two Bible study classes at my church that I'm super excited about.

1. Basic: Who is God? - Reclaiming the simple, full and beautiful journey of the church that is described in Scripture.
2. Not a Fan. - Are you a fan or a committed follower of Jesus Christ?

Don't be surprised if you read more about these studies in a future post.

What did I do last night?

We had a fabulous Hymn Sing at my church. I was blessed to have my sister and her new baby girl join me! After the Hymn Sing I tagged along with my son and his girlfriend for their weekly trip to a favorite hot dog joint. All and all it was a beautiful Sunday evening.

What am I looking forward to?

This is an easy one! I'm looking forward to having my husband home soon. If I've misled you in previous posts, he has not deployed yet. He is gone a significant amount of time leading up to his deployment (before the end of the year).

What am I grateful for?

This past week I was overly grateful for Skype. It allowed me to see my husband's face many times which makes being apart not quite as hard. I keep trying to convince son #1 to Skype with me more frequently but boys will be boys. I'm also grateful for son #2 who has been a big help around the house while his father is away. (Oh look at that, I have another photo for you!)

Son #2 mowing the lawn. He is AWESOME!

Because I can't say this enough, I'm grateful for all of you too

What random scripture did I read this morning? 

Psalm 111 (MSG) - I was actually guided there through one of my studies. (Basic: Who is God?)

If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?

During my "Not a Fan" Bible study class, as part of the introductions we were asked, "If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?" I was really missing my husband at the time so I said I wanted to be in Virginia with him. What I'd really love is to snatch him from Virginia and fly to Ireland together.

How about you? Share in the comments won't you please!

For your Sunday

For the Lord God is a sun and shield: 

the Lord bestows favor and honor; 

no good things does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 

Psalm 84:11

Mercy

Before heading to bed last night I signed in to Twitter for my usual #FMFParty lingering and I arrived just in time for Lisa-Jo Baker's tweet announcing the prompt word. Her tweet... "This week's five minute writing exercise with special guest @AliaJoyH is on MERCY bit.ly/14QaiTC #inmercy." One of these days I will stop lingering and actually join in for the #FMFParty.

I crawled in to bed feeling overly exhausted—mentally exhausted. The week seemed twice as long with my husband being gone.

As I laid there thinking about the word mercy I was convinced writing on this word would be too hard. I didn't know where I would begin. Maybe I would skip Five Minute Friday this week. I was too tired to even think about it. Before long I was sound asleep.

GO

It's a new morning and another morning with HelloMornings as we study Ephesians together. Friday is an application day. This week we've studied from Ephesians 2:1-10. For this particular book I've become quite attached to The Voice translation. I review my notes from the week and on one of the pages I wrote the word MERCY. It's underlined and underneath is the definition.

     Mercy: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion

I don't remember where I pulled this quote from, I believe from Matthew Henry's Commentary, but after the definition I wrote, "God's eternal love or goodness towards His creatures is the fountain whence all mercies flow to us; and that love of God is great love, and that mercy is rich mercy."

This past week the verses that stood out to me in my study time were,

"But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life—even though we were buried under mountains of sin--and saved us by His grace." ~ Eph. 2:4-5 (The Voice)

It is the verse shortly after that spoke most to me. In Ephesians 2:7 Paul tells us why God focused His love and mercy on us.

"He did this for a reason: so that for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed." ~ Eph. 2:7 (The Voice)

The Glorious Grace study guide we are using for HelloMornings asks, "What is one thing you want to remember from this part of the letter?"

For me, it's never forgetting what God did for me. He took this "lifeless soul" of mine and gave me life. It's a life I never dreamed of having; a better life. He saved me by sending His son to the cross for me. The love and mercy He has shown me has me on my knees saying, "Thank you, God. I'm not worthy but thank you."

I want to be a testimony to His amazing grace and kindness. "Please God; help me to stand as your living testimony."

I pray those words and know the only way I will ever come close to showing this same grace and kindness to others is when I make the choice to follow His son. Jesus is my example. Jesus is our example. I will follow Him all the days of my life.

STOP

Three Word Wednesday: He loves me.

I keep telling myself over and over again to be strong. Be Army Strong. Many wives have traveled this deployment road before me. Many have traveled the road multiple times. What right do I have to be sad? It's my first time though so this road is new to me.

It's too quiet in the house when my husband is gone. His presence is greatly missed. He may have his moments when he makes my blood boil, (usually it's over something insignificant like forgetting to shut a cabinet door for the millionth time) but mostly he makes my eyes light up.

What I miss most is how he leads us in prayer before every meal. Sometimes we take turns but lately he jumps right in. When we are with family or friends who are not Christians I tend to hesitate before praying; he does not. He politely tells them we pray before we eat and then gently reaches out to hold the hands of those next to him. You would have to know this man of mine to understand how huge this is.

He proudly returned home the other day displaying his new dog tags which now say he is a Christian instead of "No Religious Preference." Yep, I'm married to a man with a big heart for God.

The anticipation of him being away always draws us closer, even when only for a day or two. Our hugs and kisses linger longer. The airport drop off is delayed as long as possible. When we no longer have a choice and must say good-bye, I watch him as he walks away and admire his lean, strong body in that camouflage uniform. Thank you, God, for blessing me with this amazing man.

In a matter of minutes the text messages begin with exchanges saying, "I love you and miss you." The messages continue throughout our time apart.

I've gone on many walks this past week. It appears to be the best cure for my sadness. As I stroll along, I soak in the remaining days of warmth and sing along to the music playing through my phone. God stopped me on one of my walks as I came upon a small heart etched in to the sidewalk.

As I stare at this photo I begin to hum the words to a song by David Crowder.

"And oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all"

~ How He Loves

I have re-written this last part about a dozen times now. I keep thinking I'm too focused on how I'm feeling and instead should be giving you a devotional on how deep God's love is for you. Should my three words be "He loves us" or "He loves you" instead? I'm certain the words He gave me were "He loves me."

My desire is always to draw you closer to Him. I'm quick to believe my words are not worthy of drawing you to Him. I let Satan's lies deceive me and instead of simply sharing my heart with you I spend far too much time trying to be someone I am not.

Here is where my heart is on the three words I am sharing with you today.

God gave me something I desperately needed this week. First, he gave me permission to be sad. I love how He used this blogging community to share truth I needed to hear.  "...give yourself the permission to feel all that your heart has been created to feel." ~ Sarah Markley, Close to the Broken-Hearted.

I also saw how present He is in my life and in my marriage. He gave me a glimpse of how He uses the time apart from my husband to draw me to a deeper dependence on Him. As I depend on Him, He gives me just what I need to endure; a peace in knowing just how much He loves me. He will meet all my needs as I continue to trust in Him.

Thank you for allowing me to write through my emotions here. Pressing publish will come with hesitation as this post feels so inward focused. My prayer is you will see what lies beneath my words. It's a desire for us all to come to a place of knowing how deep His love is for us. He loves me and He loves you too.

Snapshot Love—looking up

There were a few times this past week when I considered not doing this weekly post anymore. Summer has come to an end (for the most part) and the opportunities to capture something worthy of sharing seems less and less. But I would miss how this post forces me to slow down and notice the small things that would typically go unnoticed. So I'm not ready to call it quits.

My hope is to have more of a theme to this weekly post. This means I will need to slow down to notice a reoccurring theme in my week. Aren't I clever?

This past week was a quiet week with my husband gone. The cure to my loneliness was to kick myself out of the house and go for a walk. The past few days I realized as I walked that I spent a lot of time looking up and I loved capturing what I saw.

(By the way, I keep wondering if you describe the photo before or after the photo. I personally think it makes more sense to introduce the photo so I'm sticking with before.)

***Sharing what I discovered on my many walks as I looked up through the lens of a camera.***

Thank you to a blogging friend for pointing out how the light in this photo forms a cross. I will admit I did not notice this at first. I love the photo even more now.

If you would like to see this photo dressed up with some encouraging words from Ephesians, click here.

The sun peeking through the clouds makes me feel all warm and cozy. This is one of those photos I need to keep close by when the temperatures begin to drop. I'm grateful the warm weather hasn't gone away yet.

I had a hard time deciding which one of these was my favorite. Since I was unable to decide I went with sharing both. Which one would you choose? I'm thinking the first one - maybe?

I'm obviously not a professional photographer but I think these look cool. It's amazing what you can do with a camera and Picmonkey.com. :)

For a change of scenery I headed to a nearby lake on one of my walks. It was a small lake by a business park and there wasn't much to brag about and not much to take pictures of. As I walked around the lake I decided to be more intentional with my theme by walking under the trees to see what I might discover as I looked up.

I liked how this photo turned out so I'm sharing. It was a shot I took when I made a detour on my way to the little ole' lake by the business park. At times I wonder if I look a little suspicious as I walk around the village with my camera in hand. Oh well.

These next two are by far my favorites. You all should know by now how much I love our Red, White and Blue!! I'm on a mission to capture our fabulous flag in different ways. It's pretty cool from this view.

Now, I have this goal of doing something different each week at the end of these posts. Since I'm sharing a glimpse of my life through the lens of a camera (lots and lots of walks are a part of my life right now), I've decided to tell you a bit more about myself by answering some fun questions.

A new blogging friend graciously nominated me for the Liebster Award. Come meet Alison and she will fill you in on what the Liebster Award is. She's a sweetheart. I regretfully admit I'm really bad with the follow up on this kind of thing but I liked the questions she asked her nominees to complete so I'm going to answer them here.

1. What’s your guilty pleasure? At this very moment it's the Healthy Choice Greek Frozen Yogurt I'm eating. SO GOOD! On a day-to-day basis it's Caribou coffee.
2. You’re forced to choose between buying shoes and buying makeup. Which one wins? I've never been one to own a lot of shoes and I don't wear much makeup but I'd really love more shoes so I'm going to say shoes.
3. Which skill, or set of skill, do you still want to master? Writing! Hello Tribe Writers!! I paid for you I need to start utilizing you.
4. Which movie recently made you weep? I'm a weeping fool these days so anything makes me cry.
5. What tidbit about you would surprise most of your blog readers? It could be my answer to #9. It might also surprise you to know I hated writing throughout my school years. This was a passion I found as an adult.
6. If I took away books and music from you, which would cause you to have withdrawal symptoms? Music! I love worshiping God as we join together and sing.
7. What is a deal-breaker for you in friendships? Honesty. If we are not honest with each other what's the point?
8. Planes, trains, and automobiles. Which is your preferred mode of transportation? Why? I can't believe I'm saying this because I'm not a huge fan of flying but I'm still going to say my preferred mode would be a plane. You get to your destination so much quicker on a plane (at least if there are no travel delays). 
9. Who was your favorite musician when you were a teenager? Oh my. Rik Emmett from Triumph. Seriously, I loved him!
10. Which subject did you hate the most in school? Math and Science, equally! I did not like school in general.
11. What fashion trend did you try out and live to regret? I was never a fashionista. I regret not being more bold. It's never to late to change though.

Wasn't that fun? It would be even more fun if you would pick a question or two and leave your answer(s) in the comments. I'd love to get to know you better.

Instead of hosting a blog hop here I'm suggesting you go over to Lisa's place and join in for her weekly Life Through The Lens link up. I believe she posts every Wednesday. Even if you don't plan to link up you should go visit her as she's pretty wonderful!!