Au Revoir is not a bad thing.

Yesterday, my friend Ellyn wrote about this really cool looking challenge. I am going to take it up as well! It requires having a break from media: blogs, Facebook, and Flickr for me. You get 15 minutes a day for personal emailing, and 5 emergency minutes for whatever incredibly pressing matters come up. Legalistic and boring? No! Because this challenge is all about the most exciting thing ever: growing in Jesus. Read more about the challenge here: http://lovingthelord.org/. Look for the Winter Media Minimization Challenge.

So aside from spending time with the Lord, what will I be up to during the cold, windy, grey last days of winter? I'll read novels (I am getting back into my old favorites...so many good memories come with reading them), write my novel (I am thinking of changing genres with it), practice driving (I got my learner's permit today! Yeeeehawww!), practice the guitar and piano and violin (which means Coldplay, Chopin, and Vivaldi. But challenges are good, right?), and photograph stuff. I say that last thing because . . .

I found my camera, intact and pink as ever! Elusive, darling little blighter. Our two-year anniversary is coming up pretty soon, and I am considering throwing a party. Just kidding. :)

But I am so happy to have it--a camera's a camera, after all. I just saw an ad in a magazine for some snazzy cameras that said something like, "You don't have to be an amazing photographer to take amazing photos." It kinda frustrated me.... I mean, photography is an art form! Leonardo da Vinci's paint brushes may have had some impact on his art, but it certainly wasn't their genius that made the Mona Lisa.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah... Just because a camera doesn't have lens capabilities or megapixels to beat the band, it should and will take pictures. But that's all it does. The person who envisions, sees, and composes the shot that it takes is the one who makes the photograph. Not having the aforesaid advantages in your camera/paintbrush is another challenge that, when overcome, will make victory all the more sweet.

So there I have it. A philosophy for my photography. Does this mean that I no longer want a DSLR? No. But does this mean that I am going to simply sigh and wish like a ninny? No, no, no! I am so blessed . . . why give up joy in even one area of my life?

Anyway, sorry for rambling like that. That was a blog post within a blog post. :)
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We all know that Au Revoir means "Until we meet again", instead of the mostly-ghastly "Goodbye forever". I think that it's one of the most lovely French phrases out there.

So . . .

Au revoir, mon amis, et je t'aime tous!
Until we meet again, my friends, and I love you all!
~Margaret,

And because it's the rare post that is complete without a photograph . . . I give you one of my favorite photos so far this year. :)

How odd.

My camera is missing.

I am remarkably at peace.

I will probably find it somewhere soon. It can't be far away.

I think I know why I am so calm. Here's why: losing my lil' Cybershot is the perfect reason to get a DSLR.

Isn't that awful of me? Have I no loyalty? That's the camera that sent me off on this photography rabbit trail in the first place! {Almost exactly two years now. Who woulda thunk?}

A week or three ago, I spent a few days telling myself that don't need a Nikon yet, that I am not ready (which still sounds a bit like tosh to me, but I am just biased), and maybe Canon is better after all. Then a flyer came in the paper from the local camera store. Full of delicious, tantalizing, deals on big, lovely cameras.

I gritted my teeth and said, "No! It's not an option right now!"

I wrote down my list of requirements/dreams for my camera, and showed it to God. Photography may be only a little interest in my girl's life, and if He doesn't want me to get all carried away with it, then I won't. It's all so very fine.

See? There's that lack of wild frenzy again! But going back to my Missing In Action current camera . . . I'll find it when/if I am supposed to. I'll remind myself that life as a photographer is mostly what you make it. I will write my novel and do my school and get my driver's license and work on my violin skills.

I was (am) a photographer, right? I know what perspective is; now I need to give myself some.

Double self-portrait in the screen . . . aka major inspiration block from a few weeks ago. :)

The Glory

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
~Psalm 8:3-4

As I learn more about the worlds God created, including this one I live on and especially the entire universe it's in, these verses ring increasingly true.

The universe is so huge, so mysterious, and so complex. It's amazing that humans have managed to learn so much about it has they have, but what's so much more awesome is that it's even here. Some people believe in the big bang theory, but while that offers an explanation for the beginning of our earth, it doesn't even begin to say where the universe came from.

So where did it come from?

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen is not made out of things that are visible.
~Hebrews 11:3

God created the huge, majestic amazing universe. After He made something so incredible, He made humans that were supposed to be perfect. But they sinned, and... He still loves them. What is man that you are mindful of him?

So now I think, Here in the midst of that universe, in the presence of the Being who created it and so much more, what am I to do? I mean, read Ecclesiastes and you basically find the words Life Does Not Mean Anything. And it doesn't, without God. To be awake spiritually is to be alive.

As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
~2 Corinthians 4:18

So life in the soul and body has all the potential it needs for uselessness and death. But God can reverse that! He can let you live, here on earth and afterward in eternity. And can you imagine how wonderful eternal life with God will be? Look at what He has created. He Himself is more beautiful. What will He have us do for Him once there is an eternity or perfection before us?

I can't wait to find out.

Maranatha, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.

Want to write?

Cleití, the writing blog that I wrote for (go figure), is starting a new roleplay next week and has space open for fresh writers. If you've been itching to participate in a roleplay, here's your chance!

New button and such:

Whew. I feel the beginnings of accomplishment in the world of HTML. I whipped out a new button for this blog:

<a href="http://helloworld-life-people.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/iAHgk.jpg" /></a>

It was pretty fun and not too exasperating to make. :) Fellow blogger Carlotta was the one who had the tutorial that helped me along. Click here to see it and maybe make your own! So if you have my old button, I would *love* it if you would take this newer, spiffier one. :) Thankyouthankyou!

In other news....
Last night, I did something so rejuvenating and relaxing that I could have been in the Caribbean.

I outlined for my novel.

I am over 60,000 words and was still in the NaNo mindset: write until something happens. I had a place to go with the story, but I was still just meandering around, waiting for things to happen. Underneath all my optimism, I was very frustrated.

So my character, Cadish, reached a point where she just started to think. After writing a few sentences of her confused wonderings, I just opened a new document and outlined from that place on in the story. I surprised myself with how much I knew about the story. Getting it all down in print was like sewing a garment together.

It was glorious. And I can't wait to chop back a few pages, start the beginnings of the climax afresh, and finish that manuscript!

With a wink and wave,
Margaret

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February 1

It's a beautiful day here.

Fresh snow and sunshine.



And B&W worked just fine to take it all in.

psst...i love b&w!
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What's bringing joy to you on this cold winter day?
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