summer skies

Alas, summer is over and fall is here. My favorite season, btw. Back in late spring or early summer (I don't remember when exactly) a friend invited people to join her in capturing the summer skies and then posting our photos for all of you lovelies out there. I decided this was a project I could get onboard with since I have my iPhone with me everywhere I go, and  I had done a similar collage back in December when we had some gorgeous, dry, sunny (cold!) days.

I may keep this up thru fall and winter...we'll see... 

a

linked 52: sunset (aka God's show)

God showing his Glory on a frazzled feeling day filled with a trip to the neurologist and back to school night for Max (who knew going to elementary school was so complicated now? - for the parents.) I stepped outside with my iPhone to see if the sunset was going to be good. I had done so the past few days in hopes of capturing a photo for the theme this week. What a wonderful surprise to see such beautiful clouds and vibrant colors. (And believe me when I say that these photos don't do it justice)

I wondered where everyone else was... How was it I was the only one out here in the culdesac admiring this stunning view? Max came out at one point, but that was only to show me the safety goggles his dad had given him (um, yeah, cool buddy...but look at that amazing sunset!) He quickly went back inside.

For some odd reason I am continued to be perplexed by the fact that I was the only one out there.

Surely God didn't mean this sunset just for little old me...

Surely he meant it for all of us...

My conclusion was an unfortunate one - that even God must compete for our attention these days; for our time away from our phones and iPads and computers and TV and books and dishes waiting to be cleaned and clothes waiting to be folded. For our attention from all of our worldly distractions, and our laundry list of things that just have to be done, and our busyness, and our thoughts.

Truth be told it made me a bit sad.

For even I came inside to a husband and son happily absorbed in some other activity, oblivious to the stunning, you'll-never-see-another-sunset-exactly-like-this-one-again, going on outside.

So my hope for your this holiday weekend - put down your "stuff", turn off the TV, gather everyone in your family and go outside. Catch God's stunning show. Ooo and ahhh over the colors and light and drink it all in. Your "stuff" and your stuff to do will all be there when you come back inside (yes, unfortunately the dishes hadn't miraculously been washed or the clothes folded when I came back inside...)

Then come back and tell me how standing small beneath a beautiful sunset sky made your God seem just so big, and how it made you feel like that show was just for you.

52 Linked 2012 A new theme every week.

Michelle, Tracey, Stacey, Heather, Jenn, Jessica, Amanda, Amanda, Kristin, Sara, Tracy, Lesli, Janet, Naomi, Rhonda, Rose, Carla, Heidi, Kristin, Heather, Amy, Liza, Veronica, Kristi, Georgia 

some things.

So happy I caught this gorgeous sunset earlier this month. Blue sky. Pink clouds. These photos don't do it justice.
There are just some things that can't be captured with a camera.

sunsets.

Sometimes there are no words to describe a sunset.

december skies.

We've had some unusually non-rainy, clear sky days for this time of year. I'm almost afraid if I say it out loud it might start raining right this minute. But I'll take that chance. These were all snapped from my cell phone, most of them out the front door or the back door of our house, or at the parking lot of my favorite grocery store. It's been my latest cell phone photo obsession - the trees and the sky.  Naked trees against a bright, blue sky. Branches peaking out through ghostly, dense fog. A white contrail streaked across a the great blue yonder. Maybe I'm obsessed with the simplicity. Or maybe it's the limitless feeling evoked by looking up to the heavens.

{Taking the week off to spend time with my boy, destress from the craziness of the holidays, and gather my thoughts as we head into a new year. Enjoy the last week of 2011, friends.}