Your Hands by JJ Heller

(***Don't forget to pause my music player in the right sidebar before you play the video)

This morning, something reminded me of this song, so I thought I would share it on here.  It seems to go right along with the things that are going on around us at the moment!  The lyrics are in the video, so I won't take the time to type them out.  Please remember to pause my music player before you start the video! :)

It was so great to be in church this morning and I have to say.....it was AWESOME!  The music was sooo good and the message was one that I'll never forget.  It was one of those where you lose track of time because you're so ingrossed in it and you almost don't want it to end! I don't know what's happening, but God is doing something in our church.....something really, really great and I love it!  Our church has really transformed into the church I always knew it could be.  One with people who are "real" and not superficial!  One with people who are loving and not judgemental! One with people who just simply love Jesus and One with people who have grace with other's, even when they may not deserve it!  Sure...we've always had a pretty loving church, but now it's different....it's deeper....it's real!  That's what happens when you go through major trials together and you keep your eyes on Jesus and not each other!

It's been a wild ride this past year, with so many trials and it's been so encouraging to see how our church family has handled them.  Of course, we are no where near perfect and yes, there are always a few who don't handle things well or in the right manner, but that's where grace comes in folks.

We're still going through some trials, with four of us recovering from major surgeries and with the loss of one of our dear members who is now in heaven.  Also, the time is drawing near, for us to part with our dear friend Dale, as the brain tumor overtakes his body.  It's so painful to watch this unfold, but soon he will be in heaven and he will feel pain no more.  My heart aches as I watch my sweet friend in anguish, as she takes care of her dad, all the while her heart breaking because she will soon have to say goodbye!

Things are bitter sweet these days, as we experience pain and loss in so many families and at the same time, we are also experiencing such joy and growth!  I'm so thankful for so many new families and for the family that joined this morning too.....wow....will I ever remember all of their names? lol 

I hope you all like this song.  Music speaks to me and this song happens to be the theme of my life and of my church family's lives right now!

Skywatch Friday ~ A Glimmer of Pink!

I love it when the sky is pink!  Ok, truth is....I love any colors in the sky....pink, red, violet, yellow, orange, gray or even blue! My husband often catches me gazing at the sky, just enjoying the beautiful cloud formations or the birds flying over and of course, I usually have my camera in hand. LOL These pics are sooc (straight out of the camera) taken on 3/31/2010.

(Taken with my Canon Rebel XSi, Aperture f/11, Shutter Sp. 1/15 sec., ISO 400, Focal Length 60mm)

(f/11, Shutter Sp. 1/60 sec., ISO 400, Focal Length 60mm)

(f/16, Shutter Sp. 1/8 sec., ISO 100 Focal Length 109mm)

(f/16, Shutter Sp. 1/8 sec., ISO 100 Focal Length 60mm)

(f/16, Shutter Sp. 1/8 sec., ISO 100 Focal Length 60mm)

(f/16, Shutter Sp. 1/60 sec., ISO 100 Focal Length 116mm)

I took this pic an hour and 28 minutes later and as you can see, the pink is gone and it's looking a bit dreary out. I just love how the sky changes from minute to minute!

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY and take a look at some other beautiful skies all over the world!

Hummingbird Sillouettes

I LOVE MY HUMMINGBIRDS! These aren't the greatest pictures, but they're not too bad considering the fact, that I took them through my livingroom window. As you can see it was getting dark out, so I had to increase my ISO to 1600 and that's why there's so much noise (grainyness) in the pics. I was bummed about that, but I wasn't trying for prize photos....I just wanted a few shots of their little sillouettes. These little birdies are fast, so by the time I grabbed my camera, changed my lens and set my aperture, shutter speed and ISO, there was no time to even think about composition, I just started snapping pics. lol 

This one is my favorite! I wish I would have had a little more light, so I could have increased my shutter speed to freeze the motion of the wings a little more, but this isn't too bad for 1/800th of a second.  In past experience shooting hummingbirds, I've been able to freeze the wings completely, with a shutter speed of 1/3200 sec.

I wasn't able to move for fear that they would fly off, so I couldn't adjust my lens and zoom out, in order to get both of the hummingbirds in the frame. (Manual mode, Aperture f/5.6, Shutter Sp. 1/800 sec., ISO 1600)

This little birdie isn't as sharp as I would like, but I took this pic about 10 minutes after the above pics and it had gotten darker, so I had to leave it on a more open aperture to let more light in and I chose a slow shutter speed.  (Manual mode, Aperture f/5.6, Shutter Sp. 1/60 sec., ISO 1600)



Show Your Skills Linkup!

I'm participating in another Show Your Skills Link Up over at Everyday Elements.  I'm a little late posting this because I'm a little sick. *Bleh*  Anyway, my friend Amanda is hosting this fun meme every week, so if you want to show off your editing skills or if you just want the practice, what are you waiting for?  Come join in on the fun!

This is my edit and I've included Amanda's original image below, so you can see the before and after. 

I edited Amanda's flower picture in PSE 7> cropped to 4x6> levels adjustment> Photo Filter -Deep Yellow> Amanda's Color Intense action (color pop 13% opacity & intensify 15% opacity>  Amanda's Soften & Sharpen action (sharpened the stamen and pollen a little and softened just a tiny bit around the edges of the flower)> Primitive texture- softlight 81% opacity and erased it off of the flower. I can't remember where I got the texture from, but I'm thinking it is probably from Shadowhouse Creations.> added 3 of Patti Brown's overlays> Beach Glass- softlight 42% opacity> Forest Fire- softlight 93% opacity> Etheral 100% opacity and I erased a little bit of Etheral off of some of the petals. Lastly, I used the burn tool and burned a little around the edges on the duplicate background layer> flattened> resized for the web.  Whew...and that's it!

This is Amanda's flower sooc (straight out of the camera)!