bypassed beauty

I went for a walk with my camera this afternoon, just enjoying the leaves. It was one of those exceptionally windy days that makes the branches dance, and the leaves blow everywhere. It was quite lovely! I thought maybe you'd like to share it with me.



Every year this burning bush is particularly vibrant, and I love the way the tree in the foreground forms an arch over it.
























lace, made without hands.






The fellow who went with this house was out with a leaf blower, battling back the forces of nature. Beauty can be untidy ... and untidiness can not be allowed to run rampant. (Though with the wind we're having today, he might be better advised to put off the battle for another time!)






beauty lying in the gutter

Our pastor came to us from a Lutheran & Presbyterian background, so he brought with him some traditions with which we were unfamiliar. One of those traditions was celebrated today, and that was Reformation Sunday.

We took the time to look at the gift that was given to us, in that we have the Scriptures in our own language. This is a relatively new development, and yet we've become so accustomed to it, that it's easy to not notice.

The book that's right now sitting on the seat of my car, and copies of which are in almost every room of my home, is here because blood was shed to bring it to me. Just like those leaves lying along-side the road, it can become common-place. I need for it NOT to be. The gift of being able to read, and understand, the very words of God, in my own language, without fear of persecution, is a rare one. Not many have enjoyed this combination of circumstances down through history, and I need to treasure it more.