Time to say goodbye

I don't like goodbyes.. not that anyone does. It's always difficult to see something enjoyable come to an end. But like it says in Ecclesiastes.. There is a time for everything...

A time to be born and a time to die,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain

and in my addition...

a time for new beginnings and

a time to say goodbye

But goodbyes bring new opportunities and blessings and lessons to learn.. and as I flew back into RDU I felt this reminder that goodbyes aren't the end of the world....

it's not all bad!

What you see and what you can't

Revisiting Perspective...

We had the chance to go to the tallest mountain in the UK. From the top of Snowdon you can see great views all to way to Scotland and Ireland.. well you can if you go on a clear day anyway. We happened to go when it was overcast.. the top of Snowdon was hidden in a cloud.. and the great views were not to be seen.

Now.. like this picture.. I had a hard time seeing through the disappointment of missing out on what could have been. Like I said before, when you choose to focus on something small, you miss out on something bigger. The reality is that I was still on the tallest mountain in the UK.. it was awesome, but because I couldn't see, it was hard for me to appreciate that it was still amazing. This caused me to think.. how many times do we miss something awesome that God has for us because we're focused on the wrong thing. In this case I was focused on being in the right place at the WRONG time.

Sometimes we are so focused on making our own way, or on just asking the question "What am I supposed to do?" that we miss God's greatness, or His mind blowing revelations. We may get there eventually, but the clouds may restrict our vision, keeping us from seeing what is truly amazing. Sometimes all we can see are the rocks we're standing on and the

awesomeness of where we are is lost. Sometimes we cannot appreciate what we have or where we are just because we cannot see everything- but it does not change the reality, we were still standing on top of the tallest moutain in the UK, it was still a brilliant place, our perspective was just altered, restricted. However, if you are open to letting go of your perspective, be willing to see things differently, God can still show you something awesome.. sometimes you come down out of the clouds.. and once again.. you're amazed.

Things I like...

Past, Pretense & Perspective

Lesson 1: You have no personal bubble on a bus

It's just another day

If you're thinking this is totally awesome... you are correct

Hmm what is this random book

Getting closer.. still relatively random

That's what's up

Lovely.. just lovely. I wish I could have flipped through it. But I don't think they would have liked that. I was in a cathedral that has history back to the at least 1092 in Chester, England. I would have had some angry monks coming after me, or nuns... I wonder what would be worse?

My lens cap was less than a centimeter away from death

One of the awesome things about photography is that it's all about perspective. You can take an interesting picture by focusing on one thing and causing everything else to be blurry, or perhaps you'd like to zoom in and just capture part of what you see. Perspective can be a funny thing though in more that just photography. Sometimes in life we get caught up focused on one thing.. and if we just change our perspective. We realize that it's a completely different picture than what we had first thought.

This is the Menai bridge (and me).

This is also the Menai Bridge (and a flower).

A Chapel Full of Maps

This chapel closed.. and now they sell antique maps out of it.

Slight Change of Plans

A lesson that God is always trying to teach me is displayed quite frequently around here- GIVE WAY. Now on missions it is a known fact that flexibility is key. This I acknowledge and readily agree with.. but when flexibility can be avoided by following a plan.. well I kind of like that. (I like spontaneity but not necessarily aimless wandering) However, God can work through a plan.. or around it.

This morning the plan to catch the bus and head to Pwllheli. But we arrived in time to watch the bus pull away just ahead of us. It was like a scene from a movie. While I felt like time was wasted in waiting for another bus, I saw as the day unfolded God's timing and purpose in our delay. Sometimes we have the best intentions and we're just trying to accomplish what we're supposed to, but when things change we don't need to fret or allow frustration to set in, we need to remember that God can still work in that situation. It may have changed according to his purpose, and we simply need to give way. You never know who you will meet, or what you will find...

great day!

Time

day of rest

Low tide is Really Low!

I couldn't resist...

Where's your focus?

Not to get carried away with words in my blog.. but today I got to thinking again.

Last night we watched Angels & Demons, and today we happened to go to a cathedral in Bangor. Seeing the elaborateness of everything made my mind start to turn. It seems like sometimes we get carried away focused on the wrong things.. (now what I'm about to say is not to judge anyone's motives (or the cathedral) but my own, it's simply what I was thinking.) It's as though at times we want to dress up our 'religion' and forget that it's a relationship. That there is a simple truth- God loves us. Sometimes our focus can be on so many things that we forget the beauty in the simplicity and yet complexity of God's love. From the most elaborate and grand cathedral to the plainest and smallest chapel.. God is the same and our praise and worship is the same. And He is just as awesome despite anything we do or fail to do.

A Mighty Fortress...

...is our God. I was listening to 'A Mighty Fortress' this morning (if you haven't heard it look it up and listen to it.. Christy Nockels singing it at Passion) and it got me to thinking... All over I've seen castles built for protection and safety with walls surrounding the town beside it. When I listened to that song this morning though I thought of the power in the analogy. All the castles I've seen have been worn by nature and man, some crumbling to the point where they hardly exist anymore, but God is a mighty fortress that does not change and does not fail. Unshakable. In honor of this thought, my picture for today is the Castle in Caernarfon.

Bench in the Square

What do you find when you go to town?

Personally I walk.. but you know.. some travel in style!

out and about

this was the sunset last night (at 9:45) in my backyard... awesome? i think so

Do You Often Walk to... Bontnewydd?

Due to a public transportation miscommunication we walked back home from Caernarfon after service this morning. This did not stop us from attempting to return this evening for baptism though, and we were really blessed by that service! Diolch i Dduw! Thanks to God!

Prydferth Blodau...

Pretty Flower

I put my toes in the Irish Sea

Of Castles and Rolling Green Hills

I made a friend when I was out walking around one day.
Chapel on Sunday

Welcome to Wales

Dydd Un (Day one) Travelling

It's flying.. you know how it goes.