.......broken (record)............

never place blame one others without first searching for fault within yourself........

This weeks word for Nicole and I is broken..... I imagined shots of broken windows.... broken glasses.... broken light bulbs.... but I could not pull my mind away from the broken PEOPLE that are in my life......  sooooo....  with a little bit of symbolism here I go!!!  get ready cause I'm about to jump on a soapbox!!!  :)  Now.... I am a believer that EVERYONE has a story to tell..... we have ALL been through tough times.... tragedy.... had bad days.... even bad years!!!!  We have all been BROKEN!!!  BUT I find that some folks can never really get past any of this!!!  They are stuck....  their lives play over and over and over like a broken record....  They never move beyond their difficulty....  they use their troubles and tragedies as an excuse....  for poor behavior.... for their negative attitude....  never really recognizing that others have their own issues to deal with...  their lives are filled with self pity....  Now I don't mean to be harsh.... but this is just how I see it.....  I really feel that these people don't WANT to move beyond their tragedy....  they have learned to use it as a crutch....  as an excuse to lay blame....  a way to manipulate others and situations to get what they want....  and the broken records in MY life are down right scary!!!  They are master manipulators....  experts at emotional control....  they can cry at the drop of a hat....  when it benefits them!!!   and their passive aggressive behavior can be spotted from a mile away.... by anyone who is paying attention!!!!  I find their self victimizing mindset to be emotionally exhausting.... pathetic....  and I am sad for them.....  sad because it is so obvious that they want to be liked.... loved even....  but they never realize that even their most casual social contacts are quickly put off by their inability to move beyond their issues....  creating a never ending cycle of self pity and blame....   what they fail to recognize is that there really is no blame.... only fault!!!  Now don't get me wrong here....  their tragedy is not their fault....  BUT their behavior beyond their tragedy IS!!!!  HOLY COW!!!  With all of that being said (sorry for being all dark and venty!!!!)....  I am a believer that we are all children of God.... and that all things that happen to us....  the GOOD things and the BAD things..... are by His design....  there is a reason that we suffer tragedy in this life..... I believe that God intends for us to LEARN and move beyond each tragedy.... as better people!!!  And I don't believe that God meant for us to be broken records!!!!  Soooo.....  I will praise Him in the sunshine..... and I will praise Him in the rain!!!  And I will continue to pray for the broken records in my life....  that they might be able to move beyond their rough spot....  and hear the end of the song that God has written for them!!!  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!!

........happiness..........



"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea."
- e.e. cummings

This weeks word for Nicole and I is HAPPINESS!!!  And can I just tell ya.... this word had perfect timing!!!!  My shot this week is of my HAPPY PLACE!!!  :)  Straight out of the camera with just a little crop......  this is where I find my happiness!!!  There is just something about the ocean....  I can never put it into the right words....  but that is where I find healing for my soul.....  the everyday yayaya that others feel they need to "share" with me is washed away with each breaking wave.....  I find perspective there....  I realize just how small and insignificant that I am in this big ol world when I stand beside the ocean.... so powerful and full of mystery.... things just seem to fall into place....  and with the first deep breath of that ocean air.... I find myself again!!!   And the beauty......  HOLY COW!!!!  I am forever amazed and humbled by God's mighty hand as I stand on the shore....  He starts each day with majestic sunrises and ends them with breathtaking sunsets....  my camera could NEVER capture the true beauty that He creates each day!  So when life gets a little rough and I'm struggling to find my way through each day....  THIS is where I escape to (with my guy of course....  a great big THANK YOU Jesus for blessing me with a guy who finds his happiness in the same place I find mine!!)!!!  Be sure and head over to check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!  :)

.....early.............

I have a "carpe diem" mug and, truthfully, at six in the morning the words do not make me want to seize the day.  They make me want to slap a dead poet.......

This weeks word for Nicole and I is EARLY.....  and those who know me will find it hard to believe that this was MY word.... yep...  what the heck was I thinking!!!!  I hate early mornings like I hate root canals!!!  I actually used to have a little saying hanging on my fridge... "don't hate yourself in the morning... sleep past noon"!!!  I am grouchy.... the BEST part of EARLY for me is COFFEE!!!!  Now I KNOW that God has a sense of humor since Rick is an early bird.... he hops up out of bed like a ball of sunshine... all happy and TALKATIVE!!!!!!  How the heck we have managed not to kill one another over the last 27 years worth of mornings is a miracle!!!!  I will admit that over the years there are a few things about the early morning that I have learned to appreciate....  like the cooler temps in the hot hot summer time....  I will occasionally set my alarm and head out for an early morning long run.... yep OCCASIONALLY!!!  I have also found an appreciation for the AMAZING light of early morning....  it is a light like no other....  it is full of life.... and I LOVE photographing it....  however, my sunset shots will forever out number my sunrise shots... no question about that one!!!  :)  Oh.... and did I mention just how much I appreciate early morning coffee???  yep........  THAT is my best early morning thing!!!  :)  Be sure and head over to check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!  HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!  Wishing you all FUN and safe travels!!!!  :)

.....inspiration.........

what lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us........

This week mine and Nicole's word is inspiration......  WOW!  such a powerful word!!!  So this week I have really put some serious thought into just what inspires me.....  and the answer was pretty simple....  it is PEOPLE!!!  Not in the way that you might think though...  I am not one who is impressed by WHAT people are....  could really care less....  we are all the same in God's eyes... and that is a fact!!!  What impresses me.... inspires me.... is what people are capable of in the face of tragedy....  in the midst of devastation!!!  What people are capable of when they put all doubt aside and BELIEVE that they can do ANYTHING!!!!  And I had never really been touched... inspired if you will...  by the true power of desire.... determination.... commitment.... until I started running races!!  My very first race was two years ago....  a half marathon....  what was I thinking!!??  About 3 miles into this race I came up behind a guy running with a prosthetic leg.... a "blade runner"....  and for the next three miles I continued to run behind him....  thinking back on how hard it had been for me to force myself out of the door to train for the race.... with two perfectly good legs....  I was humbled by him....  I was inspired by him!!!  And every race since I have seen people like him....  and people like me....  each one of us running.... swimming.... biking....  to cross that finish line....  not because we will win....  SERIOUSLY!!!  there are literally thousands of runner's in these races.... and only ONE can WIN....  but we all keep running....  and we all cross that same finish line!!!   And I am continually inspired by the smiling faces....  the tears....  the hands thrown in the air giving thanks to God above.... the glow of accomplishment...  that I see at the finish line of EVERY race!!!  And THAT is why I run when it is 100 degrees....  THAT is why I run when it is freezing.... THAT is why I run when I don't feel like running!!!  And when you ask me WHY  I run??  I will tell you...  I run because I CAN!!!  And I am soooo deeply inspired by those who have been told that they "can't"....  because of a disability...  because they are too slow... because they are overweight... because they are too old... BUT they still hit the road day after day...  believing in themselves when no one else believes in them!!  Knowing that they have what it takes to accomplish their dreams!!!  Doing the "impossible"!!!  Those people are my inspiration!!!!    Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week!!!

........sharp................

We are all pencils in the hand of God..............

This weeks word for Nicole and I is sharp....  I really struggled with this shot until I ran across the above quote!  Luck for me I had these awesome colored pencils huh!!  :)  The combination of  our word and the quote really made me think about just what kind of pencil I want to be in God's hand!!???  I don't want to be a dull or broken pencil in His hand.... I want to be a SHARP pencil!!!  :)  I want to be at my best when He uses me!!!  The struggle.... for me at least.... is STAYING sharp!!!  This ol world (and the people in it) can dull you in a heartbeat!!!!  And I have struggled with this problem a whole lot here lately!!!  :(  People around me seem to take great pleasure in stealing my joy... and sucking the life right out of me!!!  They just wear me out to tell ya the truth!!!  :)  And I find myself feeling dull and used up.........  and in my frustration... I fail to humble myself....  I try to fix me!!!  The reality is this......  I can't fix myself alone....  nope... I can't!!!  I can never make myself as sharp as God can make me!!!  I alone can never make myself as sharp as God needs me to be!!!   I have got to lay myself at His feet so that he can sharpen me and use me!!!!  So... YEAH for this word!!!!  and for the thought that it sparked in me!!!  Nothing like a little photo-therapy!!  heeheehee!!!  :)  Be sure and head over to check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!  :)

.....soothing............

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.....

This weeks word for Nicole and I is soothing!!!  And this is the FIRST thing that came to mind for me.....  a steaming hot cup of tea!!!  It is my new best thing!!!  :)  I believe that I have actually become addicted....  and I get a little upset if my day doesn't allow me my "tea time"!!!  :)  Inside that little afternoon cup of tea I find peace from my crazy day....  it is soothing.... to my soul!!!  Maybe it is some ancient Chinese thing....  or just my crazy imagination....  but I feel better....  things gain perspective....  with that soothing cup of afternoon tea!!!  :)  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot this week too!!! 

....curve......

A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.......

This week mine and Nicole's word is CURVE.....  I had lofty creative ideas for my shot for this week....  but no time to see them through!!  :(  Funny how life seems to get in the way of our creativity!!  I day dream sometimes of the things that I could do given the time!!!  And then I am quickly returned to reality by responsibility!!  yuck.... and to think that I couldn't wait to grow up!!!  What was I thinking???!!!   I love the above quote.... and thought it quite fitting for my life right now....  even for my photo this week!!  Confirms to me that although life doesn't always go as we plan....  we have to stay on course....  bend.....  be flexible!!!  Because it is in the curves of our life that we grow... learn... become stronger...  discover what is really important!!!  So my shot this week is NOT of a long stretch of curving road...  no curved railroad tracks... no awesome little ladybug... (I looked hard for that one...  to me she would be the PERFECT curve!!)  NOPE... my shot is of the curved rim of a glass... and some freakin AWESOME light!!!  And my focus this week has been to stay on track.... no matter how many curves there are in front of me!!!  :)  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!!