A Cheap Imitation

By MAD21

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to capture things in a photo sometimes? The way something appears to us in real life, the beauty or enormity of a situation and no photo you take can do it justice?

I was thinking about this when I was trying to get some pictures of the area around my house after the blizzards dumped such a huge amount of snow on us last month. I kept taking picture after picture, but when I'd look at the picture I took, it just didn't match what I was seeing with my eyes. I mean they were ok, but there was so much lost in the pictures. The camera was just unable to capture the whole essence of what I was seeing.

I wrote a little about this topic for my post on Remembering, and I was reminded of it again when I was looking at Beki's picture for her blog carnival, Fingerprint Friday. She had tried to capture the beauty she saw in a frosted window, but wasn't able to get the picture to show the full beauty of the frost with it's shine and depth.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

I've been thinking about how a photograph can fail so badly at portraying the beauty and complexity of real life. It is such a good analogy to the things we experience over the years. God has given us so many gifts. They aren't exclusive to believers, most of those gifts can be enjoyed by unbelievers. But there is always something missing when you take God out of the equation.

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Works For Me Wednesday: Make Time For What Is Important

By MAD21

I've always had the philosophy that if something is important, you will make time for it. And while I still very much believe that, I'm finding it harder to live by as I get older with two young kids and our lives getting busier and busier.

Two things that are important to me are my health (running, eating right), and my time alone with God. Unfortunately for some reason these things seem to always be put off. The only thing that has worked to keep these things part of my daily life is to get up early and do them first.

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Death Up Close And Personal

By Michelle (Graceful, Faith in the Everyday)

Last year we experienced death up close and personal, in our own backyard.

Throughout the winter we had observed a large cocoon dangling like a leather satchel from the river birch tree. We weren’t confident it contained a hibernating creature – Rowan had prodded it too vigorously a couple of times, batting at it like it was a miniature tether ball, so we didn’t have high hopes for its metamorphosis. Nevertheless, one May evening Noah stormed into the house shouting, “The moth is here! The moth is here!” and we all dashed out to take a look.

Its body was furry and plump, like a tiny fruit bat, with a wingspan as wide as my hand. Two bushy antennae sprung from the moth’s head like centipedes, and on its intricately patterned wings shone bright yellow spots, unblinking owl eyes. It dangled a few inches from its cocoon, gingerly folding and unfolding its giant wings, hairy legs twitching a little as they clung to the branch. We all posed for photos with the moth like it was Julia Roberts suspended from the tree.

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Scotty, We Need More Power!

By Alan

This was the rally cry from Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise to the Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, typically when the Enterprise, or Starfleet, or Earth, or the entire Universe was in danger of being destroyed, and true to his efforts, the hardworking Scottish engineer manages something to save the day. Sure Kirk could find excuses to tear his shirt, kiss alien women, and give flying kicks to any opponent into next week, but Scotty saved the ship more often than anybody, and worked on a weapon bigger than anyone else. Anywhere.

But, the concept of ultimate energy in Star Trek was using matter and anti-matter fed (very carefully) into a reaction chamber and getting power out of it. Presumably that power was electricity.

Well, the hot topic in the news right now is Bloom Energy Servers, which are designed as modular fuel cell systems. A number of larger companies have started using the prototypes at the large scale. Obviously there is some promise of success if companies like Google, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Staples, eBay, Cox Enterprises, Walmart and FedEx are involved.

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Life Is Funny: Mouse Vs Mouse Trap

By MAD21

In honor of my friend Sarah (Living Between the Lines) and her new little buddy that took up residence in her house last week I present this sweet little video.

Stay with it to the end. I almost turned it off half way when it turned sad, but then realized things weren't as they seemed...

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