Christmas Greetings 2010

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS ~ 2010

HIGHLIGHTS

In an attempt to be a good steward of the earth's material resources and of my financial resources, I am again sending my Christmas greetings electronically to many of my friends.  And of course, those who know me well realize that the "Gadget Gertie" in me finds this very comfortable to do.   But I still try to 'address' messages personally so that you know that you are in my thoughts as we well as my address book.

Once again, the highlights of my year revolve around my travels and my family ~ with the two aspects often combined:

  I spent winter months in Virginia with my daughter Helen.  During that time, I flew to Arizona to visit Dave and Bev and my two youngest grandchildren while they were spending a month there in a house they rented southeast of Phoenix.  This time also gave me a chance to see Ted's mother Dorothy and sister Elaine.

  The whole family was in Virginia in June to celebrate my granddaughter Riane`s graduation from the University of Delaware.  Helen & I then flew from Virginia to sail out of Seattle on an Alaska cruise.  We traveled with four other women, after which I visited Dave & Bev in Seattle.  The family was together again in September when we celebrated Beth`s birthday in Michigan and will be together at Christmas at Steve & Ginger`s. 

  Kent flew in from Philadelphia for each occasion including the 4th of July weekend while I was in Seattle.

Special times !! 

THE LIGHTS of CHRISTMAS

I photographed the traditional scene above of small-town Americana in Chagrin Falls, Ohio ~~ the holiday lights serving as a reminder that "God will light my candle; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness" (Psalm 18:28)  and that the true meaning of Christmas is that the Messiah came into the world to "be my Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob & to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give You as a Light to the Gentiles, that You may be my Salvation to the world” (Isaiah 49:6).

MY PRAYER FOR YOU

May your Christmas and coming year be centered in & blessed by the Lord.  Even when the Christmas  candles burn down and the colorful lights are turned off, "May the light of the Lord's face be shining on you" (Numbers 6:25).

                                                                                                                              Mitzi

God's Polarizing Lens

Hubbard Bay, Alaska

It was gray and partially overcast the day our ship sailed in Hubbard Bay in Alaska.  Rain threatened and occasionally fulfilled its warning. But these conditions sometimes are better for photography at mid-day than bright, direct sun that burns out highlights or covers details with dark shadows.

I adjusted my camera's settings as best I could to compensate for lower light and rolling movements of the ship . . . and I made sure I had a polarizing filter on my lens.  The filter helped bring out the blue in the sky and sea and reduced unwanted reflections from the water. It helped the camera see more that my human eye could see. Because of the filter, the camera saw the deep colors of the sky and sea.  It saw beyond the distracting glare and discovered details my eye overlooked.


A debate could me made as to which is the true view.  If my eye could not see the depth of the blue and greens but the camera with filter could, which one was real.  I'll let the philosophers debate that one -- but for me, I think both are real, both reveal a part of the whole.


It seems that the unfiltered view is like mankind and life as we see it, raw and flawed -- not reflecting the full beauty we are intended to show.  We are overcast by the imperfections and shortcoming of famine, wars, disputes, pride, anger, storms, earthquakes . . . sin.  Yet, God graciously looks at us through a filter that turns the clouded to clear, the muted to magnificent, the hazy to honed.  When God sees us through the filter of His Son, we are seen as we out to be -- clean, pure, and beautiful.


Yes, both views -- filtered and unfiltered are true -- but I admit, I prefer the filtered look.  Perhaps that is why my favorite pair of sunglasses are the ones with polarized lenses.

"Beloved, are we now the sons of God , and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when Christ shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is"        (I John 3:2)

View our Hubbard Bay Cruise

Fiddler on the Roof - Alaskan style?

For personal reasons, "Sunrise, Sunset" is my favorite song from the musical "Fiddler on the Roof."  I wonder however, what sort of sunrises and sunsets  the fiddler Tevvya saw while sitting on his roof in the Kiev area of Russia.  Could his views have possibly compared to the glorious ones we saw on our cruise through the Inside Passage in Alaska?

Alaska once belonged to Russia and the culture of the Czarist period is still evident in many parts of the state.  But  Tevvya's view of the morning and evening displays of the sun were limited to the western side of Russia.  

There is something comforting and instructive in knowing the he had a different view of the events, but he was looking at the same sun we see.  The life lesson is obvious:  different view points yield different points of view -- but if we are looking at the same sun, we can see what is real and beautiful.


"Praise Him , sun and moon: praise Him, all stars of light. Praise Him, heavens of heavens, and you waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for He commanded, and they were created." (Psalm 148:4-5)

". . . the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."

(Revelation 21:21)

"Wow, this is unbelievable, beautiful, fantastic -- it's like being on a different planet!" These thoughts filled my mind as I stepped out of the helicopter onto an Alaskan glacier. The flight out over dark forests, snow-capped mountains, and glacier-filled valleys had been gorgeous, but not unfamiliar. I had seen similar stunning panoramas on previous flights over the Pacific northwest and Alaska, and had viewed glaciers at distances from land and boats. But this was the first time I had actually been on one. I was shocked not only by the unexpected degree of its beauty but also by my reaction.

Having lived in northern Wisconsin, I was familiar with walking on crusted snow-packs and had often relished the spun-glass look of ice crystals gleaming in the sun. Yet, what I was viewing on that glacier seemed worlds away from anything I had experience before. Sunlight glistened on the crystallized snow -- I felt I was walking on wavy fields of crush diamonds. Frozen waves of snow were outlined with fine gravel picked up when the glacier slowly slid down the mountains. Bright blue patches gleamed in newly exposed crevasses and pools of freshly melted ice. I was walking a pavement of "diamonds and turquoise."

The glacier -- devoid of trees, flowers, animals, or birds -- was just an open expanse of waves of sparkling ice crystals interspersed with shallow pools of blue. But it was not monotonous or lacking. Though drastically different from the landscapes and fauna I know and love, I was overwhelmed by its beauty. To my own surprise, I felt as though I would be content if this were the only view I could ever see.

The biblical imagery of heavenly "streets of gold" popped into my mind. As a lover of the outdoors, I had often wondered whether I would fully enjoy a place with streets rather than trails, with pavement more than soil, or gold instead of wildflowers. But on that morning on the glacier I realized the limitations of my preconceived ideas of what is ultimate scenic beauty, or what is needed to enthrall my aesthetic nature. The Lord's creative brush can paint beauty and pleasure far beyond anything I can anticipate and more diverse than I can imagine.

Back to my Blog.

It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog -- busy life! I think it was Thoreau who wrote about the "tyranny of the urgent." That's become one of my life-phrases -- how often what we must do keeps us from doing what we like to do.

I need to remember however, that what I consider urgent may not always be what God considers urgent. I think getting the car worked on is urgent, but the Lord may think a leisurely conversation with a neighbor is more important. I assume doing volunteer work is a high priority, but He may want me to "be still and know I am God."

I hope to get back to my blog more more often. As much as I love photography, there are times that I find words the only way to express inner thoughts. Time will tell . . .

So What's So Special About Spring?

Yea! It's here -- the first touches of Spring!

Last week, I took a hike around a small lake in a wooded area. The sunshine made me forget that I was wearing a winter coat, hat, scarf, and gloves to ward off the cold temps. I, along with other people on the trail, smiled as the sunshine hit our faces -- our noses reddish from the cool temps. We "ooh-ed" and "aah-ed" with each sighting of impending Spring -- a bird, a plant, a sound.

I began to wonder why we were to enthralled. What's so special about early spring? Let's be honest -- if these temperatures occur a few months from now, we would be mumbling and grumbling about the "freezing weather" as we pull fleece-lined sweatsuits over our shorts.

Except for a single pair of migrating Mute Swans and a small group of Bufflehead Ducks off in the distance, most of the birds there are visible all year long. The trees and shrubs were still dormant and bare. The only plant that signaled the seasonal change was a half-opened Skunk Cabbage reaching out of the swampy water like a mysterious pink claw.

The grass, though no longer snow covered, was brown and dormant, with barely a tint of green here and there.

I wondered that if Spring came came after Summer, rather than before, would we even be excited about it. Perhaps God designed the intense, brilliant golds and reds of Autumn as a treat to ease us through the waning days of Summer so that we would not too quickly dread the impending cold and challenges of winter. If Autumn came before Summer, and Spring with its pastels came after Summer, would we be as enthralled with Spring's return?

So what is it about early Spring that makes us so excited. It's HOPE! Late Spring, when the bulbs and flowering trees are finally full and the grass vibrantly green, is treasure for itself. But for early Spring, the joy is in what it represents -- survival of the difficulties of winter, and hope for the warmth and yields to come.

The Bible says, "God will strengthen your heart, all people who hope in the LORD" (Psalm 31:24).

Spring, with its message of hope, reminds us that however drab and dread the winters of life, that the person who trust in the Lord has hope for the future.

Yes, early Spring is a glorious time!

Visit to Mount Vernon

George Washington slept here -- really!

Of course he did; it was his home -- Mount Vernon in Virginia.

Mount Vernon is more than the regal plantation manor sitting on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River. It also is acres of fields that Washington farmed, the barns and out-buildings -- and from modern times -- museum and learning center.

But Mount Vernon is more than a place -- it is a symbol. A symbol of a time when people were willing to sacrifice all for a county yet-to-be, of men and women setting aside personal welfare and wealth for the well-being of the whole.

Washington's home would be a beautiful place to see even if it's past owner had not been so famous and important, but the history of the man who owned it is just as inspiring. Touring the property and reviewing events of his life is a humbling experience. Here was a man who thought of himself primarily as a landed farmer, not a statesman. He was a humble man and refused to be made king of the victorious American colonies. He preferred his title of General rather than President, and yet, chose to not retain power over the army once its goal had been achieved.

I visited Mount Vernon on President's Day weekend. As I stood in front of his burial vault in front of his opened tomb, I wondered how many present-day politicians and leaders will be remembered for their examples of humility and self-sacrifice.

MOUNT VERNON video