Continuing our canoe story. God gave us such good opportunity to see wild life and the peaceful scenes around us.
Even when it rained it was not cold and later we were able to see such beauty.
Each time we we went down the river in our canoes the purpose of getting out of the water at our drop off point was to stop before the falls. They are rough and jagged with many twists and turns and very dangerous.
Before we headed home we did a small hike above the falls so we could see what was there. It was majestic and so powerful and definitely not anything anyone would attempt in a canoe.
It had awesome beauty.
The roar was so loud and so powerful.
You realized how very small you are
when you stand there and see the force of that water and listen to the roar as it tumbles down upon rocks.
As we were looking at the falls we were blessed by a little surprise not far from where we were standing.
It was as if God was saying…
“I care about all things the powerful and the small”.
It was just sitting on a rock and enjoying the scene too.
If I ever had a ‘dream job’ it would be a wild life photographer
(of course it would depend on the kind of wild life).
I love to watch them in their natural habitat or scene. Our trip was almost over and we were heading home soon.
The journey was a good one filled with family, friends and fellowship.
There were a few challenges but we survived and learned from them.
We look forward to the next canoe trip a year from now and we are also looking for a motorhome.
The days of tent camping are over.
{Photos by Papa O from Oregon}
Have your sound on … and listen closely.
Praying for the drought and the many cities affected by the scorching heat… the only thing that refreshes is the HEALING RAIN.
Oh Lord may we all rejoice in the washing of the water… sometimes we are annoyed by it but most times it is refreshing. Have mercy on us Lord and bring the rain.
Day two on the river was much nicer for all of us.
The clouds were light and fluffy with no rain in sight.
The rivers edge was warming up and the outside air was in the high seventies maybe even eighties.
The scenery was awesome.
The landscape was beautiful.
We were amazed at the beauty from the rivers edge.
The quiet of the outside was a great lesson for us all to slow down and truly listen.
I always love the clouds and the pictures I can find within the contrast of blue and white.
The geese swam close by as long as we were quiet and non intrusive to their place of quiet.
The water was so calm and peaceful and all we could do was sit in the silence and enjoy God’s creation.
The deer in the brush looking at us as if to say ‘why are you out there on the water watching me’ then it quickly ran away into the trees for safety and shelter.
A mamma duck and her babies swam alongside the rivers edge. They were so cute I couldn’t get a picture close enough without scaring them.
The wilderness so beautiful on this warm day on the water.
I was so glad we stayed for another adventure on our canoe.
We would have missed so much if we would have gone home too soon.
God was showing me that after a storm there is always beauty and calm we just have to see it and observe the creation around us. During this two day trip my camera had 268 pictures on it.
The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does this. Jeremiah 14:22
After what seemed like a long day on the river we returned to the camp to get ready for our dinner.
First thing on my agenda was to get out of the wet clothes I was wearing and into warm ones.
It is always nice to find warm sweat pants, sweatshirts, warm socks and heavy duty hiking boots for the very
cold feet.
The camp fires felt good as we waited for our feast to begin.
Dinner was a great success.
We served taco’s for 18 with leftovers for another day.
After we burned our dishes and cleaned up a little we settled around the campfires for snacks and conversations.
Night time came and my hubby went to bed first.
After talking till near ten I decided it was time for sleep too.
Looking forward to a nice warm night of sleep I opened up my sleeping bag and realized it had been rained on. My pillow, egg crate mattress and sleeping bag was soaked as well as half of the cot too.
I woke my hubby up and told him about my situation and he gave me his extra sleeping bag and a spare blanket. (The sleeping bag was very light weight and was used as an extra blanket)
I threw the wet ones onto the tent floor and then made myself a bed finding a towel rolled up for my pillow.
Folding the sleeping bag in half I curled inside it. Then I folded the bottom half to cover me up more.
Not sure if sleep would come I laid there in the dark and wondered
what ever made me say YES to this adventure.
After a few hours of sleeping someones baby in camp woke me up.
The night air had dropped and I began to realize how very cold I was becoming.
Problem solving again I found my coat with a hood and wrapped it around me and then climbed back into the sleeping bag till morning. My first thought when I woke up was to go home.
After a hot cup of coffee and realizing the sky was bright and beautiful full of warm sunshine my attitude changed and we began day two on the river with the feeling of good day ahead of us.
{I do have to say my hubby did not realize the night was so cold for me. Also a few of the other campers did have sleeping bags available. I just didn’t want to wake anyone up.}
Photo’s by Sharon or Larry O from Oregon.
I am always unsure at first.
My first step into the canoe is one of nervous beginnings.
This trip a new life jacket helped with my confidence.
The positive affirmations from many around me that it would be a good trip helped too.
The coolness was a bit of concern and then as we moved into the darker sky it made me wonder what was ahead of us.
Above us the darkened sky opened up and about three quarters into our trip we were rained on.
It poured a torrential rain soaking up everything in sight.
We grabbed rain gear and tried to keep dry.
It poured and pounded and with the wind at our backs we had to row to the shores edge.
There was nothing anyone could do but to keep a ‘positive’ attitude and get to a dry place as quickly as possible.
Our hopes for a nice ‘day outing’ changed to a wet and damp boats interior.
Along with wet clothes and shoes and soaking hair too.
There was an opening along the bridge and we stopped to take cover and eat our lunches.
At first I thought we were done and thought to myself… “wow that was quite an adventure.”
Then they reminded me our cars were far away and we had another two hours on the water to get to them.
This is not a good picture of me.
I was wearing wet jeans, soaked coat and was trying very hard to be kind to everyone.
This is a no makeup… no fancy… anything look.
The life jacket makes me look huge.
I am wearing my hubby’s extra large rain coat and had a firm grip on my camera bag.
The plaid hat is my ‘canoe hat’ tradition.
No one will let me on the canoe unless I have it with me.
After we ate a bit and the rain slowed to a nice ‘mist’ we had to return to the river.
Singing hymns and songs of praise we rowed to our next destination.
God is good and every circumstance we encounter is a teachable moment for us. The key is our reaction to it.
James 1:2-4
Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have it’s perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Lord we trusted in you and we had your protection. Your majesty and greatness was all around us. We praised you even in our storm.
Here we are beginning our first day of canoeing. The water was calm and it was very relaxing.
We had our old cooler with our lunch in it and I was just taking in the beauty of God’s creation.
The trees were majestic standing along the rivers edge.
The water was quiet.
All one could hear was the sounds of nature and the swishing of the paddles against the water.
Each turn of the river we saw different viewpoints and we were in awe of the beauty.
The clouds were dark moving above us changing with each passageway
It was still very peaceful.
When we relax and let our spirits just listen to the quiet we learn many things about ourselves.
I learned I could be challenged and come out on the other side more resilient and with more strength.
Beautiful Lord we rejoice in you…
for you are majestic and full of all glory.
We just got back from a four day camping and canoe trip.
It was quite the adventure.
I must say my late 50’s has changed my perspective on life.
Never would I have enjoyed this out door adventure if my choice was to stay home.
Will post more later.
One of the scenes from the water.
Central Oregon
photo by ‘me’.
The writers challenge has ended and I am few days late in sharing my thoughts.
The reason for the pause.
The 15th day challenge was harder for me to understand and grasp and if I can’t get wrapped around it how would I be able to share it with others?
His word for us was serve. He said, “A great writer is a servant who doesn’t look to his own needs as a writer but to the needs of others who might be reading.” “Write the first draft with the door closed and the second draft with the door open.”
Serving the audience of readers is learning to do things differently.
There are three ways of doing that according to the challenge.
Solve problems…answer questions…help people. Each of these are new for me.
I don’t understand them.
He said to write to solve problems your audience might be having.
This might include telling a story about an experience of yours if it would help them to see the answer.
Answer questions basically means to write in such a way you would want if you were reading something.
Help people means do something for the audience of readers without them asking for it.
As I said before I don’t understand the meaning of this.
I realize the challenge is for us to step up and learn a new style or a skill but this last one confused me.
His challenge for us:
Do a give away. Find a product line or a special item to draw in more audience.
This is not my style.
Do a survey. Ask questions of your audience how you can do different.
This is not my style again.
Do an exchange if they subscribe you will give them something in return.
This is not my style again. His next advise I can easily do.
Do not ignore your readers.
Answer all correspondence.
If someone takes the time to comment on your writing then you take the time to thank them. He said we do this to be generous.
The art of writing is earned slowly and gradually.
The more known we become the more others will read what we have to say.
The more audience we receive we will begin to show growth.
To risk means to write the hard stuff along with the easy.
To risk is perhaps to move away from what is comfortable for us and challenge ourselves to do something different and new.
Are you comfortable when you do something out of ‘your box’ or way of thinking?
Have you been blessed when you have done it?
Shall we challenge each other to be open to a new process
even if that process for us doesn’t involve writing?
We always have opportunity to learn something new. Instead of closing the door let’s open it and challenge ourselves to a new adventure.
One Word 2018 Simplify/2019 Simplify/2020 Rest, 2021/Comfort
Simplicity
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my 2017 picture
Philipians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ==================== Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Courage is not the absence of fear but it's taking action in the midst of it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
It's your heart, not the dictionary that gives meaning to your words. Matthew 12:34 (msg) version.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below you will find a few of my favorite websites or blogs. They have given me encouragement and challenged me on this journey.
Ann Voskamp's blog A holy Experience This image of a bleeding heart represents a journey of healing from brokenness to wholeness. Some of my favorite books: One thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Married over 46 years and entered into my 65th year of life.
I am a mother of two and grandmother of six and mom to two very spoiled kitties. I love to worship and encourage and of course write whenever I can find a topic or subject to share about.
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Thank you for visiting my blog.
I hope you find it encouraging and that it gives you
'Something to think about'. The vision for this is to challenge the reader into a new and different way of thinking. I appreciate and always value your comments. Having others walk alongside and join in the sharing is part of the process.
Thank you for joining me... on this journey. As we get encouraged ~ Lord help us to encourage others. "And the day came when the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin my blog button The crosses are found on a beach at Winema Christian Camp on the Oregon coast.. a place to relax and find God in the process. My favorite place ....to rest and restore my spirit.
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