Create!

While shopping at the local Dollar Tree store, I spotted the mug that is now in the photo shown here. I liked its message ("Live life in full bloom") and the delicate flowers surrounding it. I bought it, along with a packet of small styrofoam blocks and a handful of assorted silk flowers. 

As I arranged the flowers (and then photographed my creation), I thought, This is so much fun--and so relaxing. Indeed, whether I’m arranging flowers, rearranging decorative items on a table, photographing various subjects, experimenting with a new recipe, designing greeting cards in Canva, writing, etc., I feel so content--and alive. That makes me wonder, Why don’t I exercise my God-given creativity more often?

If that’s true of you, let’s make sure we do at least one creative thing every day. Since we are made in the image of God,* who is the awesome Creator, we’ve been endowed with the desire and the ability to create. Let’s exercise that gift! Doing so can be done on a shoestring budget—or even for free! Therefore, we have no excuse for not creating, do we?

*Genesis 1:27

God’s Masterpieces

Our Christ in the Manger cactus put on quite a show for my husband and me one night in early July. During the 30 plus years we’ve nurtured it, it generally opens one or two, sometimes three, blooms on any given night. But this year there were four, each having an exquisitely beautiful interior that resembles a baby in a manger, complete with a large star. Each bloom releases a heavenly fragrance, too. 

The large pods open around 10 p.m. and reveal their inner beauty for only a few hours. By morning each one has closed and is hanging limply, giving no hint of what was revealed in the darkness. That plant, which is rather plain (some would say UGH-LEE) during the year, astonishes me when it blooms. As I shine a light on each one to better see its incredible interior, I praise the Creator who designed it. I realize He loves beauty and detail and uniqueness and symbolism and perfection...As I do, I reflect on two of my favorite Bible verses:

 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

—Psalm 139:14, NKJV

~~~~~~~~~~~~

For we are His workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

--Ephesians  2:10, NKJV

Indeed, God creates masterpieces! Or, as one person said, “God doesn’t make junk!” Aren’t we glad He doesn’t?

Amazing Care! Amazing Creator!

Because I'm enthralled by the exquisite beauty in flowers, even wildflowers and weeds, I can hardly bear to pass one by without taking its picture. As you can imagine, I have thousands of flower photos stored on various hard drives. For years, I made little effort to learn their names; but recently I've felt a need to identify them and to learn more about their uniqueness. 

For example, when I edited this "portrait" of one of the dozens of pink evening primroses growing in a drainage ditch near my mailbox, I decided to add a touch of elegance to it. I think the black background really showcases the loveliness of the common flower. Do you agree?

While reading a bit about it, I learned that it blooms from March through July, usually during the predawn hours, but protects itself by closing its petals during the heat of the day. Several insects visit it, especially the moths that are active at night.

These wildflowers spring up and flourish for a season, just as we do. Yet, God endowed them with great beauty, equipped them with systems that shelter them from the oppressive heat, and allows these delicate blooms to delight and serve other living things He created. I think that's amazing! Don't you?

It's Time to Praise

A few days after I’d taken photos of spring blooms, I read The Making of the Beautiful: The Life Story of Annie Johnson Flint. (She wrote many of the hymns we love, including He Giveth More Grace.)

One of the poems interspersed in the telling of her story is Spring Song of Praise. In it, the poet imagines all of creation being “roused from winter’s chilling dream” and beginning to praise the Lord.

That’s an apt description of springtime, isn’t it? A world that has seemed asleep—even dead—begins to show signs of awakening, signs of coming to life.

Buds and blooms and bees and birds suddenly appear everywhere. And what a delight they are. How the sight of them lifts our spirits. How the sight of them should cause you and me to join them in songs of praise to our Creator.

One of my favorites is This Is My Father’s World.* What’s yours?

* written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock and published in 1901

Beauty is God's Handwriting

Stages

When I photographed these tiny azalea blooms in my yard, I thought, Each stage has its own beauty. Such is true of the stages of human life.

May we learn to look for and to appreciate the beauty that's there!

May we praise the Creator who put it there.

Spring!

Spring shows what God can do 
with a drab and dirty world.

~Rev. Virgil A. Kraft (1910-1988)

God's Manifold Works

The whale shark, which is the largest fish in the sea, sometimes grows to 40 feet long.

O LORD, how manifold are Your works! 

In wisdom You have made them all;

The earth is full of Your creatures.

Psalm 104:24

Jellyfish 

Just Bloom!

Flowers don't compete with each other. 

They just bloom, well content to be what their Creator designed them to be.

Might we learn a lesson from them?

His Works

Last evening, our immediate family gathered at our older daughter’s home to enjoy family time and to celebrate the 4^th of July by having fun with some fireworks the guys had provided. We laughed and talked and screamed and covered our ears and ran around as the sparklers spit and sputtered and zoomed and boomed. After the fireworks had been used up, we gathered our belongings and hugged each other, saying what a fun time we’d had while making some wonderful memories.

But while I was still seated in one of the folding chairs, I happened to look up at the sky. The stars were twinkling in the velvety black night sky, making no sound whatsoever. How beautiful. How serene. And certainly a huge contrast to all the noise and flashing lights we’ve just experienced, I thought. And it was.

I thought about the stars the next morning when my daily Bible reading brought me to Isaiah chapter 40, where I found these words in verse 26: Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing (NASB).

While we’d been laughing and talking and having fun with manmade lights, the Creator had been providing an awesome show in the night sky, as He has been doing night after night for untold centuries. It’s sad that we rarely see it. It’s sadder still, that, seeing it, we fail to worship the One who created those stars—and everything else!

(C) 2014 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill

Note: I failed to take a picture of the night sky, but here is one that I took (through the windshield) while my husband was driving us to the fireworks show. The clouds also were created and are sustained by the Creator, as are the family members He's blessed us with! Seeing His work should remind us to praise and thank HIM.

The Message

While on a recent vacation to Crescent Beach, Florida, I woke up before dawn every morning, eager to head to the beach and watch the sun come up over the Atlantic Ocean. (Although the same sun comes up where I live, I rarely go outside to see it, because so many trees block my view. But at the ocean, nothing obstructs the wonder and beauty of sunrise.)

So, out I’d go and stroll along the beach as I waited for the majestic display. One morning, I noticed a man who was walking near the water’s edge, glancing frequently toward the east, as I was doing, eager for the first glimpse of the sun. His dog ambled hither and yon, obviously happy to be out and about on a beautiful morning.

When his dog started to approach me, the man also walked quickly toward me, saying, “Butter! Come here!” The dog obeyed.

As soon as the man and I were in “speaking distance,” I said, “God puts on an awesome show every morning, doesn’t He?”

The man smiled. “Yes, He does! When I’m out here, I feel like I do in church.”

I nodded, for I, too, was worshipping the Creator, as was the psalmist (David) when he wrote these words centuries ago: “The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world” (Psalm 19:1-4, New Living Translation).

Thankfully, the man and I received “the message” that morning on the beach. With glad hearts, we went our separate ways. As I photographed sea shells and crabs and birds and sea turtles' nests and white-capped waves and an ever-changing sky, my “praise and worship” service continued.

Increasingly Creative

For me, one of the most exciting things that happened during a day-long “water workshop” I attended was watching fellow camera club members become increasingly creative.


The two photography instructors had set up “stations” around the large room, each designed to provide a different kind of image. For example, one station had a glass baking dish half-filled with water to which a few drops of oil had been added. Underneath the dish was a multi-colored piece of fabric. All of that was sitting atop a light box, which lighted the dish from below. Other lights were strategically placed to illumine the sides.

After each student who photographed at that station gently stirred the water in order to move the drops of oil around, he or she began snapping images, varying the camera’s position and settings.

As the eleven of us worked, the instructors stayed nearby, offering guidance when needed.
As we experienced some measure of success at the various stations, we began to say, “I wonder what would happen if…” Soon students were working together, varying the lighting and the angles, changing out backgrounds and props, and so forth.

Because I was still recovering from having had blood clots in my lungs, I was more of an onlooker than an active participant, which allowed me to watch adults becoming increasingly creative—and having so much fun in the process, like children do.

A few weeks later, I was reminded of that experience the morning my grandson (age 3) began playing with Tinkertoys the three older grandchildren have enjoyed through the years. As he dumped the wooden sticks and circles and other components onto the bed where we were playing, the instruction sheet fell out.


“Nana, let’s make these,” Michael said, pointing to the diagrams.

“Honey, we can’t,” I said. “Some of the pieces we need are lost.”

Not upset by that, he began using the available pieces to make unique designs. For a time, I worked alongside him, creating fairly typical things like a flower, etc. But I began to notice that he wasn’t even attempting to create anything that already had a name. He was simply having fun fitting all the pieces together—in no particular order. And, let me tell you, he created some rather grand designs.

Naturally, I had to take pictures of him and his creations. So, for more than an hour he continued to be engrossed in his designs as I snapped photo after photo. (The external flash on my camera was pointed toward the white ceiling, causing reflected light to fall softly upon him, keeping him from being distracted—or blinded—by bright light.) While he played with his toys, I “played” with my camera by changing settings and lenses and shooting positions, and so forth. So, once again, as during the photography workshop, “A good time was had by all.”


As I reflect on that, I wonder why we adults rarely permit ourselves to enjoy creative activities. Why do we feel we ought to suppress that wonderful ability our Creator has placed within us? After all, He is creative! Beginning with the first book in the Bible, there are all sorts of acknowledgements of His creativity. Since He obviously enjoys expressing His creativity and surveying with pleasure His work, shouldn’t we?

©2010 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her at johnniegaskillDOTgmailDOT com.

Stay with Your Subject

While attending the Georgia Nature Photographers’ Association’s first annual Expo, held at Callaway Gardens, I received many excellent tips for improving my photography. For example, during the Saturday afternoon session, Nancy Rotenberg, one of the keynote speakers, said, in essence: When you see something that interests you, don’t just press the shutter button and move on. Work with your subject. Figure out what captivates you most about your subject. Then photograph it in such a way that the viewer will see what you saw and understand what your photograph is “saying.”

The following morning when Nancy met a small group of us at the Cecil B. Day Butterfly House for a guided photo shoot, I decided to take her advice. As I walked down a paved path bordered by beautiful plants, some blooming, some not, a cluster of small blooms growing on a vine caught my eye. So, I set my tripod near the orange blooms and began looking through the viewfinder to figure out the best way to “frame” them.

The longer I stayed there, the more I noticed the details, which made me more eager to photograph their beauty. So, I’d take a shot, check it on my camera’s LCD screen, realize I’d not captured the image the way I wanted to, adjust a setting or two on my camera, and take another shot.

When other photographers passed by, I’d ask them for advice. Even though their tips improved my images, I still couldn’t get one that made me say, “Yes!!!”

When Nancy passed by, I asked her for help. “What is it you want to photograph?” she asked.

After I’d pointed out the little orange blooms, she said, “In three words, and only three, tell me what captivates you the most about those blooms.”

I replied, “Tendrils, colors, and shapes.”

“Well, let’s zoom in and focus on those three things.”

I did what she said and was able to place those “elements” inside the frame in a way that pleased me. But each image I shot had problems: the color wasn’t right or else the focus wasn’t as sharp as I wanted it and so forth.

Since I was determined to get the image that had formed inside my head, I stayed with my subject, as she had advised. Although I was aware that other photographs were capturing images of the beautiful butterflies, I stayed with the blooms.

As I lingered there, all sorts of thoughts went through my head. Just give up on this and move on. After all, you’re supposed to be photographing butterflies!

But I stayed with my subject, changing a setting on my camera and checking each image to see if I’d “nailed it” yet. If not, I’d change another setting and press the shutter button again.

As the photo shoot was ending, I tried one more time. As I looked at that image, I said, “I got it!!!!”

I love that photo! Not only is it beautiful (in my eyes, at least) but it also reminds me to “stay with” whatever I feel passionate about and to try again and again to figure out what will bring the desired result. Doing so will bring success—and gladness!


©2010 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill.

Additional Note: As I look at this photo, I am reminded that the Creator has placed incredible beauty all around us. I pray that we will pay attention to it--and to all the intricate details contained therein--and, in doing so, that we will realize, as He does, that His work is "very good."

Beauty in Unexpected Places

One holiday weekend while visiting my mother, I curled up on my bed after she’d gone to sleep and opened a copy of a magazine a friend had shared with me. I found all of the articles helpful, particularly “What the Road Passes By,” written by William Neill, a professional photographer whose images have won numerous awards and been widely published and exhibited.

Although my skills as a photographer in no way match his, I sense a kindred spirit with him. Like Neill, I, too, started out by taking “descriptive” photos of places I visited and events I attended, etc. But as I devote more time to photography, a similar kind of thing is happening to me as he said happened to him: “Slowly, as my skills developed as an artist, I found that I was always finding exciting images, no matter how far from home or the road I was on. I began to put less emphasis on how exotic or remote the location was and more emphasis on cultivating the perception to find beauty near at hand, where others would pass it, and then to photograph it uniquely” (Outdoor Photographer, December 2006, p. 58).

Like Neill, I, too, want to succeed “in helping others see what the road passes by” (p. 120). Thankfully, there’s beauty all around, even in unexpected places. I don’t have to go far away or to exotic places to find it. It’s in my yard, in my town, along the roads I drive on, in the faces of others…

It’s fairly easy to see and to photograph the beauty that everyone else can see. But more and more frequently I’m looking for beauty in unexpected places, or, as Neill said, in places “the road passes by,” places unnoticed by other passersby.

For example, one Saturday afternoon my husband took me to the site of an old mill he remembered seeing many years ago. There, in that remote area, which once upon a time may have been buzzing with activity, I discovered unexpected beauty amid the ruins. So, I snapped picture after picture of the place scarcely noticed by those who drive past, especially those who frequently drive by.

Although I have many beautiful photos in my collection, some of my favorite images are those showing the beauty I found in unexpected places. (I’ve posted some of them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnniegaskill/BeautyInUnexpectedPlaces02).

Discovering such beauty is like waking up on Christmas morning and seeing a stack of gifts that will delight your heart.

The ability to see beauty in unexpected places is a God-given gift, I think. But we can develop it if we’ll “train the eye” to look for beauty. One of the best ways to do that is to take lots and lots of pictures, which can now be done cheaply with a digital camera. Once we upload the photos to our computer’s hard drive, we can enjoy the beauty long after the time we took the photos. And if we share them with others via e-mail, web albums, or prints, others can also enjoy the beauty we noticed and photographed.

As you can tell, I am passionate about photography! And becoming increasingly able to see beauty, even in unexpected places, truly delights me.

Since the Creator has placed beauty, truth, and goodness all around, may He never need to say to us, “‘You have eyes—can’t you see’ (Mark 8:18, NLT) all that I intend for you to see?”

©2007 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her.