Battle at F-Stop Ridge

Have you ever considered photographers as possible crazy people? My older brother showed me a vid this morning that could possibly confirm that theory... it's worth the watching!

Your Servant Loves It

"Your word is very pure; therefore your servant loves it."

Psalm 119:140

When school started I started a habit which I am very thankful for. We have more or less a half an hour of drive to where I go to shcool, and during that time I always read some Psalms, as many as I can fit into a half an hour of thinking about what I'm reading and pondering on the chapters I read. I find that when someone's in need, especially emotionally (in my situation, in any case), the Psalms are very good and bring plenty of comfort.

I kicked off with Psalm 119, which speaks about God's words and His commandments. I loved the way David continually talks about the delight he finds in God's word, the pleasure he finds in keeping His commandments! It was very encouraging.

As the days passed on I finished reading chapter 119, and went on reading. In the mornings I usually pray, among other things, for God to give me strength to live through that day and overcome any challenge that comes my way. It is incredible the way He's answered me up until now... that is, through a verse from one of the Psalms I will have read on a certain day. On that day I would read some chapters in Psalms, and a certain verse would stand out to me with a promise or an encouragement, and I would cling to that verse the whole day, repeating it to myself and thinking it over in my head whenever I felt I was lacking enough strength, joy or even perseverence.

I am weak, but He is strong. Through His strength I am strong.

All this story comes from wanting to share with whoever reads this blog today's verse. I was discouraged today, because I am sick. When I'm physically weak, it is even easier for me to be emotionally weak, and so this morning I started worrying about today. When my Mum drove us to school, I started reading in the Psalms. How wonderful it was to read this verse!

"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

He created me. He knows me better than anyone else in this world. He knows my weaknesses and my strengths. He knows my needs even before I come to know them. He prepares whatever it is I will need before I come to need it. His works are marvelous, incredible, amazing, out of my understanding. I most definitely know that, and for that, I will praise Him! How thankful I was today when I thought about this verse, and I can assure you it helped me through the never-ending six hours of school this morning.

Mountains

As I was going through some pictures I took last summer on Friday night, I found these mountain photos from a family meeting we had in late August. For some reason I thought about that Psalm which says "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psalm 19:1), and started wondering about how many verses in the Psalms mention the mountains in such a way. Therefore I started searching. It was an encouragement to me (Friday was a tough day!), and thought I would share the pictures and the verses with you.

"Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep;" Psalm 36:6

"(He) who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power" Psalm 56:6 

"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever." Psalm 125:2

Isn't creation beautiful?

It Would Soar Cloud-high

"I see at intervals the glance of a curious sort of bird through the close-set bars of a cage: a vivid, restless, resolute captive is there; were it once free, it would soar cloud-high."

Mr. Rochester - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte

When Photography Gets Frustrating

This morning, as my Mum drove us to school, I could see beautiful lines created by airplanes across the sky. They were everywehere. It was interesting how they were shaped, because there was a central spot in which each of them got to, parallely, and then they would all change route. Some would go left, others would go right, some would go straight on, and others would just vary their course a little bit, creating a pattern that first was lineal and all of a sudden was a muddled mess of lines going everywhere.
It was just past eight a.m. and the sun was starting to peep over the mountains, which gave a peaceful atmosphere thanks to the golden, bright light we still have. The sky was blue, and when I say blue, I mean blue. Because of the sun's golden light, the vineyards were such a vivid green it was breathtaking. Everything was perfect for a beautiful morning picture. So where is the problem? We were going to school, so 1., we couldn't stop (else we'd be late) and 2., I didn't have my camera with me. That is when photography gets frustrating.

Other examples in which photography gets frustrating? Those in which you discover you don't have the guts to go up to someone and ask, "Excuse me, can I take a picture of you?", or those in which you don't have them to take the picture and then walk up to that person and ask, "Excuse me, can I keep this picture?" I was in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago with a friend, and we went to a Burger King for lunch. We were both sitting there just chatting, and all of a sudden we hear this booooming laugh. A really happy, loud laugh. It made me want to laugh too. We looked over from where the laugh was coming, and there were four black people sitting and chatting and laughing, and the man that was laughing was completely a.w.e.s.o.m.e. He had the most amazing hat on, and he was wearing an extremely colourful striped shirt, leaning casually on the handrail he was sitting by. Oh, how I wish now, when I look back, that I would have gotten up, walked up to him and asked, "Excuse me, can I take a picture of you?" My friend kept telling me to do it, but I wouldn't dare!! I'm not a particular shy person, but when it gets to street photography, and taking pics of people I don't know, I'm an impossible case.

Another example? Yep, I've got a list of frustrating photography times. That time I walked out of a shop and there was a little boy licking at his ice-cream cone, with ice-cream about everywhere on his person but on the cone? Yeah, that's another time. There are more, oooh, so many other times in which I wish I would have taken such-and-such a picture, but now I can only look back and hope that all these frustrating times will give me enough "strength" and "encouragement" next time I'm in the same situation.


So, try not missing pictures because of a cause you could avoid, because they will haunt you for the rest of your life. I leave it at that.

By the way, these pictures are just samples of pictures I've taken with a camera I wasn't supposed to have with me at the moment. A camera I didn't need at that moment, but that I had taken along with me just in case, if you know what I mean. They're far from perfect, but they're the kind of picture I look at and think, "How happy I am I had my camera with me back then. :)"

Philippians 4

In Philippians 4 I find so many verses of encouragement! I will say that the whole Bible is full of encouragement and help, but there are some specific verses that help me in specific situations, and the verses I read today in this chapter helped me in today's situation.

Verse 4 says: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"
Notice how it says always. We're not to rejoice in the Lord only when we're comfortable, when we're going through a good time in our lives. We're to rejoice in Him always. That "always" includes the times in which we're sad and feel let down, when we're disappointed and hurt, when we're living through tough times. Always.

Verses 6 and 7 say: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Sometimes (especially me!) we fret and worry about everything. I'm a born worrier. Sometimes I come to a state of panic. Slowly I am learning not to "be anxious" and to trust that my needs will be met in His timing. God listens to my prayers and requests, and His timing is perfect. It's definitely better than mine. To that I will add that He gives me His peace, that which "surpasses all understanding." He will give me a peace of heart and a peace of mind I cannot achieve on my own, and none but Him can give.

Finally, verse 13 says: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." What can I say? This verse is one of my favourites and such a huge encouragement and help! He gives me the exact ammount of strength and energy I need to go through each situation I live through.

My God is an awesome God.

Dreamlist

One more entry!

What a beautiful night it would make!

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed a dream. 

I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.  

 When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.  

 "Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You most, You leave me."  

 He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

I first read this at my Uncle's, I think. As I was reading the last part, tears came to my eyes. How easy it is for us to doubt! How easily we fall as soon as our life starts having ups and downs... but the Lord is faithful. He will never leave our side. He is the only One we can depend on for... for everything! What a great comfort that is to me when I'm having a tough time.

~Just thought I would share this with you, as it has been a precious help to me lately.

My New Friend Jake the Peg

Have a laugh!

He's a good friend. He always makes me laugh! :P

Psalm 121

Català:
"Alçaré els meus ulls a les muntanyes, d'on em vindrà l'auxili?
El meu auxili ve de Jahveh, que ha fet els cels i la terra.

Ell no deixarà relliscar el teu peu, no s'adormirà el qui et guarda:
heus aquí, el qui guarda Israel, no s'endormisca ni s'adorm.

Jahveh és el qui et guarda, Jahveh és la teva ombra, a la teva mà dreta,
El sol no et ferirà de dia, ni la lluna de nit.

Jahveh et guardarà de tot mal, ell guardarà la teva ànima.
Jahveh guardarà la teva sortida i la teva entrada, des d'ara i per sempre."

English

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills — from whence comes my help?

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.

The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore."

Español

"Alzaré mis ojos a los montes; ¿De dónde vendrá mi socorro?

Mi socorro viene de Jehová, que hizo los cielos y la tierra.

No dará tu pie al resbaladero, ni se dormirá el que te guarda.

He aquí, no se adormecerá ni dormirá el que guarda a Israel.

Jehová es tu guardador; Jehová es tu sombra a tu mano derecha.

El sol no te fatigará de día, ni la luna de noche.

Jehová te guardará de todo mal; El guardará tu alma.

Jehová guardará tu salida y tu entrada desde ahora y para siempre."

Nederlands

"Ik sla mijn ogen op naar de bergen, van waar komt mijn hulp?

Mijn hulp komt van de Heer die hemel en aarde gemaakt heeft.

Hij zal voet niet late wankelen, hij zal niet slaumeren, je wachter.

Nee, hij slaumert niet, hij slaapt niet, de wachter van Israël.

De Heer is je wachter, de Heer is de schaduw aan je rechterhand:

overdag kan de zon je niet stejen, nij nacht de maan je niet schaden.

De Heer behoedt je voor alle kwaad, hij waakt over je leven,

de Heer houdt de wacht over je gaan en je komen van nu tot in eeuwigheid."

Teruel

"Buen caballero Marcilla;

En mal hora a Teruel vuelves,

frena el paso que ya es tarde,

piensa que a la muerte vienes.

A mitad de la subida

la caballería pierde,

¡anda jaquilla! le grita

pero la jaca no puede.

¡caballero que veloz!

que veloz vas a la muerte."

- Vuelta de Juan de Marcilla, de Los amantes de Teruel

Forsaken Cowboy

An interesting instrumental song composed by a Norwegian group. It doesn't change a whole lot, but somehow it doesn't bore me. The continuity of the song gives it a lot of meaning, I think. ~Enjoy!

Note: you might not be able to watch it on my blog. If that's the case, click on the link to watch it on YouTube.

Winter Longing

Winter is white, blue, gray. Sometimes very orange and yellow, other times purple or pink.

Vull que torni l'hivern, amb els seus misteris i els seus secrets xiuxiuejats i revelats pel vent suau que parla a cau d'orella, o per la petjada cruixent sobre la neu fresca d'un matí asolellat.

Vull que torni l'hivern repartidor de nassos, galtes i orelles vermelles, aquell que concedeix floquets de neu per adornar les pestanyes rosses i ocasionalment, fosques, de la gent que camina respirant nuvolets blancs per la boca.

Vull que torni l'hivern fred que contrasta amb l'escalfor de l'amor de families i amistats que veuen te tots junts contemplant com la neu forma una cruixent catifa en la foscor exterior.

Vull tornar. Dubto, però, que aquest any tingui l'oportunitat de gaudir de la meravella que tothom denomina neu.

Late At Night

Having spent the whole day out celebrating my youngest brother's birthday, and having had only the last class yesterday, I still have some work left to prepare for tomorrow's English lesson.

I'm the teacher.

Hence, after coming home late with my family I started working on the computer, on my grammar/exercise book, etc. I'm still at it.

Now is when you say, frowning, So why are you writing a post on your blog instead of working on tomorrow's class, young lady?!
Now is when I answer... I don't know. [grin] Hehe, nah, don't worry. What I'm posting is part of my work. I'm making my student read Secret Garden for her Reading exercises. It's an English classic with quite an easy read, the structures being simple and, I find, very refreshing. It's not like, say, Jane Austen, another English classic, but which is much more complex to read. (Note: I'm not saying reading any of Jane Austen's books isn't refreshing).

Anyway, as I read the book I write down questions and words I find would be new to my student, but at the same time, I also read the book myself, and mostly, two, and even three, times every chapter. This way I notice plenty of things I wouldn't in only one read.

So far we're on the third and fourth chapter of the book. It's still not very positive nor happy, but I would like to share with you a couple of descriptions the writer makes of the environment and/or situation.

When describing the moors, "..it's just miles and miles and miles of wild land that nothing grows on but heather and gorse and broom, and nothing lives on but wild ponies and sheep."


Once Mary had entered the huge house where she was to live from then on, "...she looked a very small, odd little black figure, and she felt as small and lost and odd as she looked."


Knowing the little girl was nicknamed Mistress Mary Quite Contrary because of her attitude towards others, "...It was in this way Mistress Mary arrived at Misselthwait Manor and she had perhaps never felt quite so contrary in all her life."


There are also some words I write down for my student's vocabulary that in some way or other are special - either because of their sound, their spelling... it depends. Here are a few:

Glisten (noun): a sparkling light reflected from something wet.
Proper: suitable or appropiate; correct.
Whistle: a clear, high-pitched sound made by forcing breath through a small hole between partly closed lips, or between one's teeth.
Twinkle (verb): shine with a gleam that changes constantly from bright to faint.
Perhaps: expressing uncertainty or possibility.

[Sigh] Now that I've finished my work, I will proceed to walk up the stairs to my bedroom and my bed. I believe I deserve my rest.

And Now She's...

...back. Not dead. Really.

As a matter of fact, I'm pretty much as alive as I'll ever be. These past three weeks have been so full! Therefore, instead of writing a tremendously long post about all my endeavours (a word a friend once used to describe my ups and downs and which I really took a liking to) I will simply post a couple of pictures and leave the rest to your imagination.

No, this is definitely not laziness, just... being busy. As I write, I'm twenty minutes away of leaving with my family for a refreshing walk along the river/beach.

Montblanc, the day after Frank arrived. ♥

TREC picture. Also, following a "tradition" with Frank. Evening in les Fonts de Montjuïc.

TREC picture. Went to watch a hot-air balloon being blown up and leaving.

Family holidays! Albarracín.

Albarracín once more.

Teruel.

Teruel again.

Highest point near Bronchales. Sierra Alta.

TREC picture. Sunflower field.

El Castillo de Peracense.

El Castillo de Peracense again.

Molino de la Mancha.

Sorry about the "couple of pictures" thing. I guess I should have warned you there were more.

In any case, I'll still be busy in the future but no as much. Frank left early this afternoon, and I miss him! I teach English three hours to two different pupils every Tuesday and Thursday, plus I'm taking theory driving lessons. In about two or three weeks I'll be going back to school again, also. Is there anything else you would like to know?

Deuteronomy 10:21

"He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen."

Deuteronomy 10:21

Boig Per Tu

En la terra humida escric

"Nena, estic boig per tu"

Em passo els dies esperant la nit...

Com et puc estimar

Si de mi estàs tant lluny!

Servil i acabat, boig per tu.

Sé molt bé que des d'aquest bar

Jo no puc arribar on ets tu...

Però dins la meva copa veig

Reflexada la teva llum...

Me la beuré. 

Servil i acabat, boig per tu.

Quan no hi siguis al matí,

Les llàgrimes es perdran

Entre la pluja que caurà avui.

Em quedaré atrapat,

Ebri d'aquesta llum,

Servil i acabat, boig per tu.

Sé molt bé que des d'aquest bar

Jo no puc arribar on ets tu...

Però dins la meva copa veig

Reflexada la teva llum...

Me la beuré. 

Servil i acabat, boig per tu.

-  Boig per tu by SAU

England

"England is a magical kingdom where mystery and history blend with the prosaic and the present to create a realm which is unike. Wether the scene is a ruined castle or a bustling city street, a windswept moor or a lush green meadow, it has been permeated for centuries with the charm, serenity and excitement that make it peculiarly English. The land has an atmosphere which can be mistaken for that of nowhere else on Earth.

England is a country with many faces, warm and welcoming or proud and defiant. The eye can never tire of its beauty, nor the senses of its atmosphere. It is truly a magical land."

THE BRITISH ISLES, Colour Library Books

Reading an old entry in my diary, dated 3rd August 2009, I ran across this quote about the beauty of England. Doesn't it invite you to get on a plane and fly there this instant?!

Lotus by Secret Garden

Secret Garden has been one of my favourite "groups" of music to listen to for a very long time. It's incredibly relaxing, but happy at the same time. I can't say there's been a mood for which listening to Secret Garden hasn't suited!

I have just listened Secret Garden's Lotus, and thought I would share it with you. There are so many other beautiful songs that I can't really say it's my favourite. I would take a very long time trying to show all the songs I like from this group. Still... here's Lotus. :)

I'm My Own Grandpa

Curious case of family puzzle!