Saturday, February 23, 2019

Stars & Life


Another pretty star - this time its a glass star that was handmade in Aarhus, Denmark.
I bought it from the woman who made it and I've enjoyed seeing it hang on my window.


This star hangs in another window and I like the way the light diffuses through the bits of
stained glass creatively spread across the star.  I don't remember where I got this one.

The "Star & Life" theme go along with a quote from a movie I watched a few years ago. The movie is "Winter's Tale," and while I can't even remember what it was about, I did write a bit of narration that was spoken near the end.  I think it is thought-provoking:

“Why would so many things conspire to save one little girl’s life?  What if it wasn’t just Abby – what if she is no more or less special than any of us.  What if we are all unique and the universe [I would replace the word “universe” here with “God”] loves us all equally – so much so that it bends over backwards across the centuries for each and every one of us – and sometimes we are just lucky enough to see it.  No life is more important than another – and nothing has been without purpose – nothing.   What if we are all part of a great pattern that we may all someday understand – and one day when we have done what we alone are capable of doing – we get to rise up and reunite with those we have loved the most – forever embraced.”   Then, the narrator added, “What if we get to become stars.”  

The narrator does not appear to be a Christian, yet many of the points he made are true in God's creation.  Here are those points of truth:

--We are indeed all unique and God loves us all equally.
--God did "bend over backward across the centuries for each and every one of us" when He sent His Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior. 
--I think, yes, there are times we are blessed to be able to actually see God working in some situation or in someone's life - sometimes in our own lives.
--"Nothing has been without purpose - nothing."  Ah, yes, a very definite truth to cling to.
--We truly "are all part of a great pattern that we may all someday understand."  That someday will be when we get to heaven.
--Someday, we'll also "get to rise up and reunite with those we have loved the most - forever embraced," and that too, will be when we get to heaven.

As much as I like stars, that last bit the narrator adds will never happen.  We will never become stars and I'm glad of that, because a star is a big swirling mass in outer space.  But one thing about the stars that we can emulate even now is this:  to reflect the light of Almighty God.  The stars shine brightly each night, reflecting light from the sun.  As children of God, we can reflect light from the Son of God, bringing pleasure to God and to those around us as they see us glow for God.

I guess I DO want to become a star -- a star for God, reflecting His light and glowing for His glory.

"When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy" Job 38:7.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Murals



I'm a big fan of murals painted by local artists on sides of buildings.  There are so many kinds - whimsical (like the one above in Flagstaff, Arizona), beautiful, historical, and just downright fun.  I love them all - and its even more fun to interact with the  painting.  I hope you'll enjoy a few of my favorites:


There were many wonderful murals in Gruene, Texas


I could almost smell the fragrance of the flower in New Braunfels, Texas


You might think this was in Switzerland, but it's in Greenville, SC


Larry's helping the lady with her baby in Dalles, Oregon - good job, Lar!


Here is a most interesting picture of camels being ridden across the desert
in Barstow, California.  It seems that back in 1857, the powers that be decided
it might be a good idea to use camels to carry freight across the desert. 
I guess we know how that worked out! 


I'll end with this beautiful tiger painted on the outside wall at the Celestial
Seasoning Tea Company headquarters in Boulder, Colorado.  

Aristotle wisely said, "In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous." 

The Psalmist knowingly spoke of God as being the author of all that marvelous nature:
  "Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands" 102:25.
  "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork" 19:1.
  "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him" 8:3-4.



Saturday, February 9, 2019

Signs and Street Names



Along with license plate messages, I also get a kick out of unusual - and sometimes bizarre - street names and signs.  The above sign was in a window in Cottonwood, Arizona.  For some reason, that area of the country is big into alien activity, so I thought the sign had a double meaning.  Not only would we be welcome, but aliens are welcome as well.

Just for the fun of it, here are a few street signs I found particularly interesting:

Cowboy Street in Blanding Arizona

 Silver Saddle Avenue   /   Buckboard Trail   /   Last Chance Road
     – all in Flagstaff, Arizona

Surprise Street in Searchlight, California

Mud Springs Road and Bloody Basin Road in Prescott, Arizona

Ax Handle Canyon in Nevada   /   Sleepy Hollow Road, Taylorsville, NC

Frogbend Road, Yadkinville, NC

Two Notch Road, Columbia, SC

Crooked Mile Road, in Granite Falls, Washington

Coal Creek Parkway, Bellevue, Washington

    I for one, would NOT want to live on a street called "Bloody Basin!"


Then, there are the signs that tempt our tastebuds and make us smile (:


A sign in front of a bakery in Apex, North Carolina


A sign in the window of a Macaron shop at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas

This is just a fun post, done for chuckles and and smiles.  Hope you had a bit of both.  Now, go out and enjoy a cupcake or macaron!







Saturday, February 2, 2019

License Plates


I get a kick out of looking at car's personalized license plates.  A few years ago, I claimed the license plate above and I was so happy to have it as a sort of message to be seen on my car.  Of course, it does make me more aware when I'm speeding, because I want to be a good testimony for the cause of Christ, so I try to keep it "not too fast."

There are times when I'll get out of my car in a parking lot and someone will comment on my license plate - always in a positive way, so far.  One instance was just last week when I went to the jail to do some volunteer work.  When I got out of my car, a young woman who'd been in the car behind me was getting out of her car as well.  She pointed to my plate and said, "Thank you for that."  I'm always thrilled when the message on the plate touches a heart, so I smiled and we started a conversation. 

The young woman was stressed about a situation with a friend who was an inmate.  I talked with her a bit and tried to encourage her.  I was thankful that a simple license plate had opened an opportunity to help someone.  God so often works in mysterious ways.  It's really a beautiful thing!

In addition to having my own happy license plate, I enjoy "collecting" phrases on other car's plates.  Here are some of my finds along the roadways.  Hope you'll get a chuckle from them:

 SKEPTCL        OOVRIT          SAYESIR               LVS MONY
LADY J2U        SLOLIFE        LIVFR2DA             HIT RD
BTR DAYS        HNCHO3       NOT PLAYN          HOOS NO1
GO CRY            EVL WMN 
    That last plate is scary to me.  I don't think I'd advertise that attitude!

 Occupations
GOTMYAR  (on landscaping truck)     SEL HOME    TU-TER  RTCANAL       TREE911

 Sporty plates
WHOL N1      4HOOPS      EYE GOLF      R8DRFN

HEKPME      HIS HAND      EPH 4-5       RIZUP        STJOHN3
SAY AMEN      JNT-HE1R      GDWRKZ       GZGLRY       JUS BLSD
BLESSNG        GODS TME     GD GRCE        AMAZN GRC



Note:  I don't know why that last bit is underlined.  I've tried and tried to get the underlined removed, but thus far - nothing works.