In the month of September the Thankful Thursday community is meeting here at Grace Alone…; my friend Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage will be hosting in October; and my friend Laurie at Women Taking a Stand will be hosting our weekly meme in November.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!”
~ 1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV)

I never have seen an angel, but I believe that God sends them to protect us (Psalm 91:11-12). Once again, it became very evident this past week while driving to work. I am not sure how it is in the area you live in, but here, people do anything but driving. Seriously, people are eating, reading books/maps, shave, put on ‘the face’, text-message, their mind is far from driving. On Tuesday, several times I had to slam the breaks because someone was pulling in front of me. Goodness, I wish people would have their mind on the tasks they are performing (like driving).

Every morning before I get into the car I walk around it, praying for His protection. It may sound silly to you, but it gives me the peace I need to get into the vehicle. Every day I am thankful that He hears my little prayer and answers it.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share by leaving the link to your thankful post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: He is guarding your ways, even if do not see it…

Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

In the month of August the Thankful Thursday community is meeting over at my friend Laurie’s blog “Women Taking a Stand“; in September I will be hosting, and my friend Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage will be hosting in October.

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” ~ Colossians 3:15-18 (ESV)

Photography has brought my husband and me together after our son moved out almost 3 years ago. I am very thankful for that.

Although my husband and I like to photograph different subjects (I like the pretty things as my husband puts it), we have something in common. Some times couples grow apart when the kids are grown and move on. I was first afraid that this would happen to us as well, but God had different plans .

There is another part why I am thankful for photography: I can capture the beauty God created around us. Like the photograph I am sharing with you today. I like it because of the different flowers in one photograph. It reminds me of followers of Christ. We all have different colors, shapes and forms, but we all belong to Him. We are all beautiful in His sight, no matter how we look on the outside.

By the way, I created some postcards several weeks ago from some of my ‘pretty‘ photographs. In September (my big 50 birthday month) I will be giving away one set of five postcards…

What are you thankful for this week? Please join in by visiting Laurie at “Women Taking a Stand“. Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: God created beauty all around us, capture it.

Current Mood: Playful & Thankful

If you ever wanted to know how to convert your color photographs to black & white, check out Andrew Gibson’s new ebook “The Magic of Black & White III“. Personally I love portrait photos in black & white. Andrew shows you the process in Photoshop and 5 of the images in Photoshop Elements. He walks you through toning, split toning, exposure blending, textures, and the creation of diptyches and triptyches, all without losing sight of your vision.

For the first four days only, if you use the promotional code WHITE4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of The Magic of Black & White – Part III for only $4 OR use the code WHITE20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 22, 2010. Click on the above image to take you directly to Craft & Vision’s website.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: photography is your vision of the world around you…

Current Mood: Okay

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ~ Ephesians 6:1-3 (ESV)

I haven’t seen my mom in almost 6 years; believe me it is tough. The one thing that keeps me connected to her, my home-country, my first-language, are the weekly Saturday morning calls. There is just something really neat to ‘sit’ with my mom, with a hot cup of coffee in hand, chatting away…

When I was still living in Germany, the calls to the US (to my in-laws) where quite expensive. Now the calls cost my mom less that a cup of Starbucks coffee …Sure it would be nice to sit with my mom face-to-face, but the calls are the next best thing.

So, this week, I am thankful that we still have a land-line and I can talk to my mom weekly. And hopefully I can make a trip back to Germany in the Spring of 2011 (God willing)…

What are you thankful for this week? Please head on over to my friend Laurie at “Women Taking a Stand” to link up with other Thankful Thursday participants. In the month of September we will meet up here, and October my friend Lynn is hosting at Spiritually Unequal Marriage…

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: a thankful heart is a joyful heart…

Current Mood: Thankful & Blessed †

You see, the Sony Pocket Edition does not sync with any of the downloads you can buy at Amazon or Barnes & Nobles (Digital Rights Management). On Saturday I spent several hours trying to figure it out, but the book I bought at one of the stores will not move over to my e-reader…I was so frustrated. I told my husband: “I am an old-fashioned gal – I am sticking with my books *sigh*…

What really frustrated me is that not everyone can afford (or does not want to ) all these new nifty “toys” like a BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle or Nook. Why can’t the online bookstores get together to have all e-books work on all e-reader, no matter what the make or model?

I did find an online bookstore that supports the (epub) format of my e-reader. Their Christian book selection is not that big yet (not the authors I am looking for). I hope that over time some of the publishing houses will stock the virtual shelves at “Kobo”.

So, if you are looking for an e-reader (because they are not cheap), make sure that you find out first where you can buy e-books for it. I am still thankful though that our son gave me the e-reader. As for the book I downloaded and cannot transfer to my e-reader? I guess I have to read Steven James’ “The Pawn” on my laptop …

Thanks for stopping in today. Have a blessed week…

Photo & Content Copyright © Iris Nelson

Current Mood: Confused

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” ~ Matthew 6:6-8 (ESV)

God always sends someone or something into our lives when we struggle with certain parts of our spiritual life. It was no different when it came to my prayer life. As I had mentioned in my IOWT post, I am struggling with prayer. I have prayed some prayers for years that have not been answered; which keeps me wondering if I do not pray hard enough…

…last week I came across a blog that I know will help me in my struggles concerning my spiritual life. Guess what subject the Scripture Dig team is covering right now?!? Yup, prayer. Kathy Howard is currently writing a series on ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. Her writings are thought provoking and powerful. But don’t take my word for it; check it our yourself (just click on the image to take you there)…

So, this week I am thankful for God’s provision for my walk with Him. I am thankful that He sent help growing closer to Him and His will.

What are you thankful for this week? Please share with us over that my friend Laurie’s blog “Women Taking a Stand“, linking up with your own Thankful Thursday post.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: God will always find a way to help you grow.

Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ”

~ John 14:26-27 (ESV)

My sweet friend Debbie from “Heart Choices” chose a quote for IOWT that struck a cord with me…

Do you take vitamins? There is one set of vitamins that I take every day, Bluebonnett Stress-BComplex. Yeah, stress complex. Do they reduce my self-inflicted stress? Not sure, but they don’t hurt …

Most times I inflict my own stress; I cannot say “no”. Today on my way home I thought why I cannot say “no”. I could not come up with an answer. One thing I do know for sure: I have a hard time shutting down and relax.

I also stress out when I think I do not do enough. I know I should exercise more; somehow I do not  find the time for it. I beat myself up because I do not pray hard enough. No matter how often I pray the same prayer, some prayers are not answered. I get annoyed with myself because I am not bold enough when it comes to my photography (I do not have an ‘a-type’ personality).

There is only one place in the world where I feel totally comfortable sharing my daily hurts: at Jesus’ feet. I have mentioned numerous times that I love music (listing and singing). Currently my favorite song is “At Your Feet” by Casting Crowns (Album: Until the Whole World Hears).

“And I am free (here at Your feet)
All I need (is at Your feet)
I find peace
We’re at Your feet
We’re at Your feet
We’re at Your feet
We’re at Your feet”

Yes, I am free at His feet. I find peace when I gaze on Him and take my eyes off of myself. When a day does not go well, I turn up the music, worshiping Him with all my heart – singing out (very) loud: “Here at Your feet, I lay my future down, All of my dreams, I give to You now, And I find peace, I find peace”…

Thank you for stopping by to read my ramblings tonight. To read more thoughts on this week’s IOWT quote, please visit Debbie’s blog “Heart Choice”.

Current Mood: Okay

My dear friend Debbie is hosting this upcoming Tuesday (August 3rd 2010) “In Other Words“. Debbie chose a quote by Sarah Young that resonated with me:

I hope to see you over at Debbie’s blog on Tuesday. I will ponder the quote over the next 24-hours and hope to share my own thoughts on Tuesday with you.

Have a blessed Sunday night…

Current Mood: Forgiven †

One of the best resources of refining my photography is the site “Craft&Vision”. David duChemin and his team of professional photographers offer some wonderful e-books about refining your craft and encourage you in your own vision.

Today, Craft & Vision released Eli Reinholdtsen’s e-book “Chasing Reflections”. Eli’s book marks the third book in the series “The Print & The Process”. I am totally mesmerized by her timing of photographing reflections. I could look for hours at one of photographs, seeing new things every time. What I also like is that Eli is sharing how she took each photo, including F-stops, ISO and much more.

You can purchase the e-book in two forms: PDF or iPad. For the first four days only, if you use the promotional code REFLECT4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Chasing Reflections for only $4 OR use the code REFLECT20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF e-books from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 1, 2010.

Thank you for stopping by today…

Current Mood: Playful

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning, and decided late Monday night to make it a ‘me-day’…I am glad that my boss is pretty flexible about these kind of things. But then again, she knows that I work hard. I think I really needed this mental-health-day.

Although I have weekends off, I tend to keep going, going, going…I really have a hard time shutting off. There are always projects to do. But not today (well, except for the doctor’s appointment). I did something today I haven’t done in a very long time: I wrote a letter to a friend. Yeah, a real letter going out in the snail-mail…Now I hope that my friend will be able to read my scribbles …

I think I need more of these mental-health days. My work will still be there when I get back. I think that I take myself too often too serious …I need to learn how to truly relax and refuel. But how do you shut off an over-active brain?!?

So, today I am thankful for the short break from work, running around and for my boss allowing me to take a needed break.

What are you thankful for today? Please head on over to my friend Lynn’s blog Spiritually Unequal Marriage to link up with other Thankful Thursday participants.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: Take a break to refuel…

Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful