Sunsets, Space and Helen Sharman

We have the most amazing sunsets and sunrises in Grant County.  In fact, the night skies can be spectacular with hundreds of twinkling stars that shine so clearly without being hindered by city lights and haze.  I can only imagine how deep the universe is, filled with galaxies and planets and mystery, that continues forever beyond our sky.  For the moment, I can take simple pleasure in looking up to see color, form and movement dancing across heaven's horizon and leave the depth of the universe to astronomers. In the photos below, you can see the edge of the moon set within a framework of clouds touched by colors cast by the sun's descent.  

We observe the heavens above from earth below but there have been others who observe the earth from the heavens above.  One such person is Helen Sharman, a British chemist and astronaut.  In May 1991, she became the first British citizen in space and participated in a mission to the Soviet modular space station Mir.  This is a quote from her after that experience....

"Because we were orbiting the earth faster than earth spins on its axis, we went around the earth 16 times a day, an earth day, which meant 16 periods of lightness and 16 periods of darkness in 24 hours.  Every so often you'd look towards the earth, and often you could see lightness and darkness together, and dawn and sunset were spectacular."

We can look at images of the earth that were taken from the Hubble Telescope that gives us some perspective; this is one such image...

Such an awesome earth teeming with all sorts of living forms, including mankind.  And life came into existence by the hand of the Creator who made the heavens and the earth!


Hope you will return to visit me next time at The Turn-Up Patch....

Look Up and See

As I was sorting through my 2019 photos, this one stood out to me in the play of sundown showing last rays of light beaming heavenward before sky and clouds slipped into darkness. God's beauty in nature is a constant amazement as His creations dazzle in form and color.  My photography file contains many pictures of the wonder of sunsets, sunrises, storms, clouds in a sky of variegated spectrum.

Romans 1:19, 20 says..  "They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.  Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

I discovered the following poem entitled "His Presence" by Alora M. Knight that aptly describes the above scripture...   
                                           A friend of mine once asked me just how could I believe
                                           In someone I never saw, nor spoken words received.
                                                I thought, perhaps, I should explain just why I have no doubt
                                                That it was God's creativeness that brought this world about.
                                           I only have to look around to know that He is there.
                                           I see and feel and hear Him. That's why I'm so aware.
                                                I see Him in the raindrops that nourish trees and flowers.
                                                I see Him in the rainbows that sometimes follow showers.
                                           I see Him in a mother's love when looking at her child.
                                           So thankful that this miracle is pure and undefiled.
                                                I see Him in the wrinkled face that's seen so many years,
                                                Knowing it was faith in Him that overcame all fears.
                                           I hear Him when a meadowlark trills out its joyful song.
                                           I hear Him when the thunder comes forth so loud and strong.
                                                I see the beauty of Him in the butterflies on wing.
                                                The feathers of the peacock are the colors He can bring.
                                           I feel Him when a playful breeze blows gently through my air.
                                           When the sun shines warmly on my face, I know that He is there.
                                                His strength shows in the mountains and the ever pounding seas.
                                                A kitten's purred affection shows how gentle love can be.
                                           It's true I have no pictures to hang upon my wall.
                                           I do not need a portrait, His presence to recall.
                                                For those who wish to listen, it is played throughout the land.
                                                The symphony of life itself, directed by His hand.
    
This beautiful poem honoring God, our Creator was published on this following website.  Check it out for more inspirational poetry......https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/his-presence


See you next time for another visit at The Turn-Up Patch....

Kept in Embracing Love

To be kept by God!  A powerful concept that can influence a life by living in that reality.  What does it mean to be kept?  It implies in simple meaning to be held, sustained, preserved and saved.  The very notion of being kept has the connotation of ownership. Some rebel at that idea because our very nature does not like to be owned by anything or anyone.

It is amazing that God in His infinite knowledge, knew His own before they ever came into existence. He knew who would turn to him and who would seek to become His own.  It is a refuge to be kept by God as we journey through a world that has chaos and rebellion.  It is a spiritual oasis where we are refreshed and nourished in His embracing love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, peace where joy, hope and healing are found.  Our souls become soothed and infused in new life.

In the photo below, the sky was full of billowing clouds illuminated by the sun breaking through the formation. If you look closely, you will see the sun as a round orb encased in blue with surrounding light.  It was awesome to actually see the sun without being blinded by its light.  It also was a reminder that God draws us out of blindness to be kept by His illuminating Light in the navigation of life.

Thank you dear Lord for Your protective and keeping power, both known and unknown - spiritually, physically and in the deepest part of our soul.  I am grateful that we are each called to be Your own.... that is Your will.  We only need to respond out of our will in saying yes back to You.

The Silent Ones

I begin anew, with my first post of 2020.  I have titled it 'The Silent Ones' in consideration of the multitudes of humanity - man, woman and child - across the face of the globe over thousands of centuries.  The Silent Ones are those we never heard of and yet have left their footprints of indelible destiny in the navigation of civilization throughout the course of time. We have cultural differences but within the human heart; we share the same emotions in love, fear, happiness, grief, to name a few.  Our faces can hold smiles and they can shed tears.  We know emotional pain through loss and physical pain through adversities. We know hunger and thirst and we know the nourishment of food and drink.  We know the feeling of attraction and repulsion.  Some know poverty and some know riches.  We bleed the same color, we breathe the same air and we enter and exit this world the same way.

The Silent Ones go on to make their contributions to society and make history without any fanfare.  They obey their elders in youth and obey the law of the land as adults.  They pay taxes, go to work every day and struggle within the confines of jobs and money.  Some go to war and experience kill or be killed.  Some pray for peace with unwavering faith in a wavering world.  Some reverence God and country and some profane the same.  Some know freedom and some know captivity.  Some have experienced the goodness of men and some have experienced evil.  Each has lived their lives through portals of survival in struggle and success in resolve.

A Silent One may wonder as the capsule of time closes in....  'I am an unknown - what difference has it made in the universe'.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow states - The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.  Silent Ones are as the stars, invisible in the glare of the day, of who and what dominates in human universal importance.  And yet, without the glare, you become known and find out that your life has mattered and has made a difference with others within your orbit of existence.

There are a number of powerful scriptures that are assurances that you didn't happen by accident and your life is crucially important by our Creator.  I mention several here - Jeremiah 1:5  'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.....'  and Psalm 139:1-24.... 'O LORD, you have searched me and known me!  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.  You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted in all my ways.  Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.  You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.'

WELCOME BACK  as I also return to to The Turn-Up Patch for a new season with postings of fresh thoughts and photography during this new year of 2020.


 

Quilts of Valor

Last week we celebrated Veterans Day - a day that honors our military veterans across the land.  It is yearly held on November 11th.  You can click on this link regarding a prior post that I wrote about Veterans Day.... https://turn-uppatch.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-veteran.html

This year, the communities in our John Day Valley celebrated our veterans from Friday throughout the weekend and into Tuesday with various events to commemorate and to show appreciation for our military.  One such event was "Quilts of Valor".  It was an evening put together by the Grant County Piecemakers Quilt Guild.  Members from this Guild spend most of the year creating patriotic quilts to be awarded to local veterans.  The room was arrayed with many beautiful quilts, some shown here....

These photos are inadequate in showing the detail and creative thought that went into each and every quilt displayed.  My positioning was awkward in trying to take photos since there was a large crowd that attended this event and some quilts were blocked by people movement.  However, these do give you an idea of the artistry and love that went into each and every creation on view throughout the room.  Veterans were called out to receive their quilt, announcing their name and military branch served.  It was a special way to thank our vets and show recognition.  And thank you to the ladies who spend much time and devotion for making these unique quilts in honor of our veterans.

I end this post with several quotes worth mentioning.... "For the veteran, thank you for bravely doing what you are called to do so we can safely do what we are free to do" - Unknown
"We gather to remember, to honor those who've died, and thank God for the veterans who still stand at our side." - Greta Zwaan

See you next time at The Turn-Up Patch!! 

 

Beauty in Rock Formations

Travels in October took us through parts of Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas.  We made this whirlwind trip in eight days.  Since there was not much time for stopping and taking photos along the way, I took most of my photos through the window of a moving pickup truck with an iPhone camera.  Since the movement of the truck was not smooth, I was impressed with the quality and clarity that this tiny camera produced in photos.  Rock formations of color and grain was impressive as the highway curved in and out of the terrain.  Some of the scenery seemed similar to the fossil beds we have in eastern Oregon.   My collection of photos on this trip was extensive and it was difficult to pick out just a few to share with you in this post.

It would take a study in itself as to what caused these rock formations millions of years ago.  The evolving process in nature is a marvel to behold and these formations are a testament to forces that defined them.  Each was unique and had their own personality in appearance.

The formations generate a sense of mystery and respect as one considers the passage of time and elements involved in such creations.  They remain unmoved as life cycles around them as it has done throughout the centuries in history.  There is 'rock' symbolism in the bible and used figuratively as the Rock in reference to Jesus for protection, strength, refuge, foundation, salvation.  Rock speaks about the nature of God who is solidly unchangeable in His ways and justice.   There is a line in the hymn Rock of Ages that says... "Lord, you are our rock.  Let us hide ourselves in thee."

Until we meet next time at The Turn-Up Patch.... here is a quote by Thomas Jefferson, "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock".

Wildlife in the Tetons

Recently, we journeyed to Jackson, Wyoming for an art festival held annually in September.  The galleries showcase amazing artwork in oils, watercolors and photography as well as bronze statues.   Much of the scenery in this area is captured in these artisan creations.  When your view the actual Tetons, it is awesome how these mountains become personified by the movement of weather giving a different mood in landscape.  I kept my camera busy and it was difficult to pick out several photos out of the many taken for this post.  The second photo is a popular scene that you see in many paintings with the barn and backdrop of the mountains.  This picture was taken just as the sun was setting in a mix of cloudy sky.  Of course, God's art festival was constantly surrounding us in the grand display of the Teton Mountains, crowned by clouds, blue sky and sunsets.

There were visitors at the campsite - three bull moose!  They are accustomed to people but caution needs to be taken since they are still a wild animal subject to agitation if they are bothered.  Park rangers are usually vigilant to make sure that camera happy photographers don't get too close.  They are a huge animal and can move fast, up to 35 miles an hour and it would be quite a chase if there wasn't a tree to hide behind.  Most people are respectful and keep a safe distance.  You can admire and also be intimidated by their massive antlers, also called paddles that are used for territorial fighting and courtship.  The antlers can weigh up to 40 pounds and are shed annually in the winter, making room for new growth. 

I don't know what is the most unusual sight - the moose or the photographers.  When word spread of a wildlife sighting in the campsite, you'd see photographers hustling down the path with their gear to capture that one great shot.  Some looked to be weighed down by extensive camera equipment slung over shoulders and in backpacks with tripods and super long range zoom attachments.  Others would have compact cameras and simple smartphones to take that one picture for personal satisfaction.    Cameras and people would be in a cluster.  I wonder what the moose thinks as he looks at this spectacle of humanoids and things that go 'click'!!

These are just a few photos of the many taken.  Perhaps I can share more in a later post.  Meanwhile, I hope you will come back to the Turn-Up Patch in a few weeks for another visit.

I leave you with this simple truth in a quote from Aristotle...."In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."