365-4

I am not one who decorates for much more than Christmas, but my friend Gail does! I'm getting in the habit of taking my camera with me wherever I go. Good thing - because I had neglected to take any project photos today. We attend a small Bible study group at Gail's house, so I was pleased to see that she had decorated for the season when we arrived tonight for our kickoff cookout. So I get to continue with my seasonal theme after all!

 

365-3*

The assignment this week is "Books". What could be better than a photo of photo books for a photo project? These are from our trip to Europe in May 2009.

365-2

Our pear trees are heavy-laden with fruit. Unfortunately, they are not worth eating unless you can them...or are a horse or bear!  Since I am neither species and don't do any canning, I just photograph them!

365-1

The first of my 365 photo project posts is of an early fall sky. Some of the trees in my area have shed their leaves already. The change in weather created a nice background to the skeletal trees.

365 Photo Project

I am participating in the 2010 Mommytography 365 Project! For this year long project I will be posting an image a day, to get me out shooting, using my camera and learning new things with it daily. Anyone interested in photography can join, no need to be a Mommytographer. We have teens to adults, male and female, as well as people from all over the world. Come join the fun!

The Simple Life

On our recent trip to Montana, we passed through a small town called Circle, named for the cattle brand of a local ranch. As we approached the town, population 593 as of 2003, we passed a man riding a horse along the highway. Now here was a bonafide cowboy!


We pulled into the Circle Sinclair service station to gas up and discovered that the station was still  a full service station. I couldn't believe that they still existed.


As we waited for our fuel to fill, the cowboy trotted his horse into the station. He dismounted and led his horse right up to the door. At first I thought he was going to take his horse right inside, but he didn't. He tied the reins to the door handle and emerged a few minutes later. The proprietor followed him out and started to chat.


"How many horses you gonna break this year?" (Please read this with your very best Montana drawl.)
"Oooh. Four 'r five..."
"Weeel....you must be doin' a good job."


That's all I heard of the conversation because the cowboy - complete with lasso, hat, boots, and belt buckle - had wandered over to the side of the building to a bench, horse in tow. He sat down and enjoyed his Mountain Dew and a snack. A couple minutes later and he had mounted up again, heading his horse farther into town.

I found myself envying his way of life.


Why do we lead such complicated lives? A lot of people around the world are happy with their lives, even though they don't have the possessions and conveniences we have here in the United States.


I especially saw this when we took a Jeep tour in Spain, one of the highlights of our trip to Europe.


One of our stops was to a traditional goat farm where they made the most delicious cheese. Maria and Pepe care for over a hundred goats every day. Pepe spent his mornings milking the nannies, then herding them and the billies out to pasture, where he spent the remainder of the day.

Pepe and Maria

We even tried our hand at milking

The cheese rounds

Every day, Maria takes the milk and forms it into cheese in their cheese house, using traditional methods. The cheese is completely organic and resembles a mozzarella. Since it's not pasteurized, they cannot sell it in the neighboring town of Istan. Their product is well known, however, and the locals come to the farm to purchase.

Some days I find myself longing for a simpler lifestyle.

Bookmarks, greeting cards, and posters

It is such a famous scripture we often don't even realize what it means...or stop to think about it. Children memorize it. Posters are made from it and hung on walls. Artists paint and draw images to go with it. It is printed on bookmarks and stuck in our Bibles. Greeting card companies print them on sympathy cards and we buy them for our loved ones.

Yet it seems to have lost its meaning for many of us. Including me, of course. (After all, they say that when you point your finger at someone, there are four fingers pointing back at you.)

But this morning this scripture came to life for me again..

I attended a Walk thru the Bible seminar last weekend and not only did I learn, but I also had a great time doing it! This morning, I was reviewing my seminar notes. I had even dug through my basement to find my notebook from the seminar I attended in the '80s. I had worked my way up to Psalms in my review and I came across a page in my old notebook about applying scripture to your life. The table headings are: Read, Visualize, Memorize, Ponder, Pray, and Worship.

The example was Psalm 23:2-3, which reads "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides quiet waters, he restores my soul."

Now most of us would immediately visualize sheep. (These particular sheep I photographed in England.)

Most of us also probably don't have any real experience with sheep.

Including me!

But I do have experience with horses. When I got up this morning, I did what I always do: go to the kitchen for food! My mother always teased me about that. "Theresa's feet hit the floor in the morning and head for the kitchen."

Anyway, I did just that. When I got to the window over my sink, I spotted a large white mass on the ground where there is normally nothing but grass. Curious, I opened the curtains and gazed out.  It was one of my horses, sprawled out, enjoying the warm ground on a very cold spring morning. A little to her right was her pasture mate, lying down but upright, contentedly nibbling on spring grass. They were absolutely enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning.

Yet I've always been amazed that such majestic, huge animals flee at the slightest perceived danger. They weigh over 1000 pounds, but they are prey. Their instinct is to flee for their lives.

Before me were two creatures, calm and peaceful as could be.

Then it struck me. This is the calm that God offers. This is the peace, the contentment, the security.  We might be surrounded by dangers, seen and unseen, but God is with us. He leads us beside quiet waters.

How do we get this peace?

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

So now you've read it. You've visualized it. You've probably memorized Psalm 23 at some point in your life. Now ponder over it and Isaiah 26:3. And when you're done, pray for a steadfast mind and a trusting heart. Ask Him to give you peace. Then praise Him for it!!