May Photo A Day, Day 31: 4 Things

I made it to the last day of May Photo A Day! Today's prompt was "4 things." I did a bit of playing with my food and came up with this smiling produce:

I'd say May Photo A Day was a success overall. I took a photo every day. I only used my cell phone twice. And I blogged every day except for when I was travelling. Not bad, eh? And most importantly, it was fun. I'm going to take a break from Photo A Day for a bit since I have more travels coming up. I'm thinking I might come back to it in August, perhaps? Let me know if you'll be playing along sometime!

May Photo A Day, Day 30: Tool

The penultimate prompt for May Photo A Day was "tool." Here's a shot of my favorite knife, which I used today to chop green onions. 

May Photo A Day, Day 29: A Kiss

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "a kiss." I didn't like what our faces looked like here, so I cropped them out. I'm not sure if I exactly like this picture, but I do find it interesting. At first glance, it almost doesn't look like a kiss at all... but then when you see it as a kiss, it's funny-looking, don't you think?

May Photo A Day, Day 28: What You're Doing Now

Today's prompt for Photo A Day was "what you're doing now." My over-analytical mind had a little trouble with this one. Which now? And can you ever really take a picture of what you're doing now? When you take a picture, you're not doing anything else--you're taking a picture. That's what you're doing now. Saying the word "now" so many times is making me think of Emily Dickinson's famous statement that "Eternity is composed of nows." So, really, every single moment is now. Or a now, anyway. So I'll just go with a picture of one of my nows from today. Earlier this evening, I made a cd of photos from a family portrait shoot I did on Saturday.

The military, as per usual, is taking my friends away. The Cokes are headed to San Antonio but wanted to memorialize their time in beautiful Ocean Springs with some family photos. We're saying "so long" to them tomorrow over dinner, and I'm excited to share these precious photos with them as a parting gift. I'll be sharing them on the blog soon, too. Stay tuned!

May Photo A Day, Day 27: Can't Live Without

I'm in the home stretch of this Photo A Day project! Today's prompt was "can't live without." Like everyone else, I can't live without food.

Tonight's dinner was Alex's favorite: Shrimp Florentine Pasta. You can find this recipe (from Cooking Light) here.

May Photo A Day, Day 26: Favorite Thing to Do on Sunday

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "my favorite thing to do on Sunday." It has been a wonderful Sunday, indeed--complete with patriotic symphony concert and fireworks display on the beach. Despite this special event today, though, my favorite thing to do on Sunday is go to church.

Obviously, this building is normally a little more attractive, but I actually like that I had a reason to take a picture of it with the scaffolding today. I like this reminder that we, the church, are perpetually under construction.

May Photo A Day, Day 25: Us

Todays' Photo A Day prompt was "us." It worked out nicely that the other half of my "us" came home from a week-long business trip today. Unfortunately, he was a bit exhausted (read: cranky) and would only cooperate for a short moment. It'll have to do.

May Photo A Day, Day 24: Go

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "go." This is the timer from my Taboo game, which I recently played with one of my social skills groups at work. "Ready... go!"

May Photo A Day, Day 23: Pajamas

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "PJ's/pyjamas." I loved this one, mostly because it taught me about that spelling with the y, which is apparently used in English-speaking countries other the USA (such as Australia, home of Fat Mum Slim.) Learn something new everyday! Here are a few of my pajama pants (with an a.)

May Photo A Day, Day 22: Change

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "change." I decided to take this one literally.

May Photo A Day, Day 21: I Care About This

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "I care about this." After a long day at work, I was honestly not feeling too inspired on this one. I took a bunch of photos I didn't like at all and finally ended up with this shot of one of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems. I care about love. I care about trying to show it whether I feel it or not. I care about loving in a way that is bigger than my own life. I hope I succeed in living this "care" out so that someone will put this poem on my gravestone someday. ;)

May Photo A Day, Day 20: Light

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "light." I've found that shooting into the sun but placing it almost outside the frame really make the light itself stand out from all the other elements of the composition. I used that little trick right outside my office after work, and I'm pretty pleased with the results.

May Photo A Day, Day 19: My Favorite View

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "my favorite view." I'm not so pleased with this photo, but Alex and I really did have a great view from our dinner table at Salute tonight. Delicious food, too! :)

May Photo A Day, Day 18: Want

Yesterday's Photo A Day prompt was "want." I wanted a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast, and my husband cooked it up! :)

May Photo A Day, Day 17: Season

I didn't really have any time to myself today, so it was tough to fit in my Photo A Day. The prompt was "season," which is not so meaningful on the Gulf Coast where all the seasons look almost the same. My husband and I ate dinner on the patio of a downtown pizza place with some friends, so I decided I'd try to capture that it's the season for dining al fresco. Unfortunately, my favorite picture is one that barely depicts the outdoors, but I promise we were outside when I took this! :)

This wine glass belonged to my friend, Larissa. Check out her blog! 

May Photo A Day, Day 16: Mailbox

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "mailbox." Nothing in here was addressed to me today, but that Rotarian magazine is "the photography issue," so I imagine I'll enjoy it nonetheless. :)

May Photo A Day, Day 15: 7:00

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "7:00." At 7:00 pm, we had the last official gathering of our small group before summer: pizza at Fort Maurepas! It was a good time, but I underestimated how difficult it would be to take a candid photo that contained everyone--including the constantly-moving kids! I took a bunch, but this is the only one that (barely) contains the whole group. Horrible composition, but I love Bain's little face at the bottom of the frame. He wouldn't take his eyes off the camera!

May Photo A Day, Day 14: Need

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "need." I'm really bringing this blog back to its roots with this one. Many of you may not know that when I started this blog, it had nothing to do with photography and everything to do with Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder that caused me a lot of problems back in 2006 and 2007. It was rough, but thanks to modern medicine, it isn't anymore. Now, all I need is Synthroid.

I am so thankful for the little yellow pills that sustain my life. The fact that I cannot live without them is a poignant daily reminder of how fragile life is--how fragile I am and how little I can do on my own. Synthroid keeps my metabolism running, but it also keeps my perspective in check. Every morning, my need for this pill points me to my need for God.

May Photo A Day, Day 13: Sunrise/Sunset

The Photo A Day prompt for today was sunrise or sunset. Not being a morning person, I, of course, chose sunset.  Not a bad view, eh?

May Photo A Day Weekend Wrap-Up

Shew! I'm worn out from a wonderful weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. I am so proud to say that my brother is now a doctor! And I am so happy I got to be there to see it. My camera was pretty focused on  documenting family togetherness and celebration, but I tried my best to keep up with the photo a day prompts in the process.

Day 10 was "stars." This is a bit of a cop-out, but I spent my evening at a dinner celebrating the achievements of the honor students... the STARS of the med school. ;)

The prompt  for Day 11 (graduation day!) was "a smile." Here's one from my handsome brother, Dr. Montague!

And Day 12, today, was "mother." This one is actually one of the reasons I decided to do Photo A Day this month. Unlike usual, I was with my mother on Mother's Day! Such a happy occasion! Despite what you may have read on facebook about everyone's else's mother, MINE is the best. Bar none. And she's beautiful to boot. Don't you agree?

May Photo a Day, Day 9: A Snack

Yesterday's prompt was "a snack." Here's some trail mix that helped me get through a super-long day at work.

I'm posting this from my phone at the airport... On my way to my brother's med school graduation! I won't be back to the blog until at least Sunday evening, but I promise I'll be keeping up with photo a day nonetheless!

May Photo A Day, Day 8: Shape

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "shape." Oh, the possibilities! I took a lot of pictures this evening, but my favorite is this simple shot of part of the quilt that's on our bed. My talented mother-in-law made it for us as a wedding gift. I love the beautiful saturated colors and intricate pattern. Isn't it just a feast for the eyes?

May Photo A Day, Day 7: Something Beginning with F

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "something beginning with F." How about some ferns from my jungle of a backyard?

May Photo A Day, Day 6: Broken

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "broken." These beads used to be necklaces. I've been keeping them around as if I were going to repair them, but for my purposes today, it's a good thing I haven't done it. ;)

May Photo A Day, Day 5: Paper

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "paper." I photographed my Bible turned to the scripture reading from this morning's worship service. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul addresses one of the central paradoxes of the Christian faith. Because of the grace of Jesus, we are justified--atoned, made one with God. We don't have to be "good enough." We are loved in spite of ourselves. We don't have to do anything. And yet, if we don't do anything, we have missed the point. We are already justified, but the process of sanctification is ongoing, and it takes work. Trying to be like Jesus--acting like a "citizen of heaven" is not easy. I am thankful that Christ freed me from the requirement of perfection. But that thankfulness is the very reason I want to strive for perfection. As Rob Bell put it in Velvet Elvis, "There is this person who we already are in God's eyes. And we are learning to live like it is true."

Lord Jesus, please help us to live up to what we have already attained. Amen.

May Photo A Day, Day 4: In My Cup

Since Chantelle (aka Fat Mum Slim) is in Australia, I'm guessing it was a coincidence that she used "in my cup" as the Photo A Day prompt for Derby Day, but it was perfect! As a native Kentuckian, I love watching the derby, and the first Saturday in May just isn't complete without the traditional derby drink: a mint julep!

May Photo A Day, Day 3: This is really good!

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "This is really good!" I was going to go for the obvious photo of my dinner (which was delicious, I must admit), but I found something even better than food: the book I'm currently reading.

It's called Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate (by Justin Lee.) I learned about Justin and his book via one of my favorite blogs (Rachel Held Evans), and it has been a great read. It's mostly about Justin's own life as a gay Christian. He was raised in a very stable Christian home and was serious about his faith from a young age. He realized he was gay in high school and went through some pretty heartbreaking stuff in order to try to "fix" this "problem." It's hard to read about all the ways other Christians rejected him, leading him to feel (for a time) that he couldn't be both gay and  Christian. I think his story is important for the church to hear--not because it's unique, but because it isn't. The church needs to understand that there are people who are redeemed by the gospel and seeking to serve Christ with their lives, who also happen to find themselves attracted to members of their own sex. We are called to love them in the same way we are called to love everyone else. Because God loves them the same way He loves the rest of us. I earnestly hope for a future in which gay (and lesbian, bisexual, transgendered...) believers are not treated any differently than the rest of us sinners. I want to do my part to make this hope a reality.

A couple other books I've read that have helped me understand LGBT issues as they relate to Christian faith:

Calling the Rainbow Nation Home by E Sundby

Transgendered: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith by Justin Edward Tanis

May Photo A Day, Day 2: Morning Ritual

Today's photo a day prompt was "morning ritual." I had a different idea for this one at first, but my attempts to use my camera with my right hand while applying mascara with my left hand didn't work out so well. So I ended up with a simpler part of my morning routine: my toothbrush.

May Photo A Day, Day 1: I bought this.

That's right! I'm doing Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day again for May. I've been missing it ever since I finished October, but I keep waiting for a month when I don't have too much going on. Finally, I realized that month isn't coming, so I'm doing it anyway! So here's the deal. I promise that I will take a picture based on the prompt every day, but I may or may not blog about it every day. Big deal.

Today's prompt was "I bought this." I didn't actually buy anything today, so I went with my most recent purchase, these shoes I bought at Marshalls over the weekend. I used Instagram only because it's pouring the rain and I wanted to use natural light without risking getting my precious camera wet.

Want to join me on this fun photography project? Go here to find out how. It's easy! I'm headed over to the Photo A Day facebook page to share and be inspired by others' shots. Perhaps I'll see you there. :)