A light has dawned

"The people walking in darkness
   have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
   a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
   and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
   as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
   when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
   you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
   the bar across their shoulders,
   the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
   and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
   will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
   there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
   and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
   with justice and righteousness
   from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will
faccomplish this." Isaiah 9

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas..

Lately, when I wake up I jump to look out the window to see if there is snow.

This morning..I was in luck!! SNOW!

This means...Grab the camera and put on the boots! I am going outside!

Capture the beauty of Christmas time..the stillness

And the beauty.

But it makes me dream for...

A white Christmas!

Collages!

A few weeks ago I made this Christmas present for a dear friend! I love to make gifts especially ones with a personal meaning. It's a favorite thing of mine. For this project I made it about two characters in the J.R.R Tolkien books!  She is "Sam" and I am "Frodo"! We love the books and have always joked around that we were those characters. Which actually.. we are a lot like those characters!

Frodo & Sam Collage

Anchor of Hope collage

Life is a Gift

My birthday is in less than two weeks. I am turning nineteen. wow! Where has the time gone? My mom says she feels like it was yesterday she was my age. I now believe her.. because that is how I feel.Oh boy! This makes me sound old!
Lately I've been standing back and looking at life. When you take the time to stop and look at all the things that have come and gone, all the seasons of life, it makes you realize that life goes by fast. That means each day is incredibly precious. The reality is you never know what day will be your last.

 

Things break.

I was going to post some photos of another kind of Christmas cookie we make, but sadly... things break. Yes I had to learn this the hard way. Right in middle of making the cookies I picked up my Nikon D40 to take some photos. I didn't know, but I guess the strap was stuck on the kitchen nob and as soon as I picked my camera up it flung back and fell hard (very hard) onto the kitchen floor. I think it bounced a few times..Ah! Oh it was terrible. My only response was a very loud and long "Noooo!!". I investigated if it still worked and found out it was indeed broken.... Now if you don't know,  my camera has been one of my favorite things I own. I love taking photos. My Nikon has gone with me on many treks to the lake, to the woods and has been with me so I can capture every moment. And now it is gone. Moral of the story: Material things do not last. Treasure up the things that WILL.

Love Endures All

Love.
It is a subject we can never learn enough about.
Oh boy... Today I came to the realization, again, that love is no easy task. Love is not always a fun job either. Love doesn't just stick around for the good days, but perseveres through the hardest of days. Love is no silly shape we draw on a piece of paper. Love is hard.. It takes work. And lately I find myself worn out from it. Love is sacrificing yourself. It is giving of yourself even when its hard.

"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalm 100:5

Cookies!..only the beginning

Spritz!
I am trying to convince my mom to make less cookies this year. Why you might ask? Because I don't want to be tempted to eat them all :). We normally have certain cookies we make every year. Today we made Spritz cookies! They are put into this cookie gun and the dough gets squeezed through to make a design! They are a bunch of fun! Tomorrow I am making another kind of cookie!