These are ice-flowers and only grow on plants or decaying wood when the ground is not frozen but the temperatures have dipped. These creations were in the forest near Ergli, in Latvia.
I just think they are such an amazing indication of what a creative God we have, I had never seen them before, despite living through some frosty times.
Inspired by Rosita’s winter wonderland and all the whiteness thought I’d start a new theme (Subject to change category above) where we can post pictures on a theme.
Somewhat lacking in snow here I’ve gone with a bicycle in Italy. Send me photos of anything WHITE with a little note of what/where/why… gdscott@hotmail.es
Every now and then there’ll be a subject change but we’ll still post normal things too.. get sending!!
I have heard many times people talking about the winter of their life. It seems that there is a negative connotation associated with that phrase and I sometimes felt the same. I mean winter is an awfully cold season with illnesses and of course it marks the end of the year. It seems that for many it symbolises the end of a journey with possibly no hope of having another one.
However, recently God challenged me about it….
Winter is a beautiful season with stunning sceneries; it’s a season where nature looks starkingly beautiful! So there is beauty to be found in it.
Where you see death I see a season of life and renewing, where nature is coming back to basics to reassess its strengths and weaknesses and to be ready for spring.
It also hinges on the old (end of the year) and the new (beginning of the year), and brings together the two in a seamless way. Old and new in one season!
But most importantly it’s a season where, here in Scotland, wild geese migrate back to reconnect as mating couple and to breed young ones.
For me this was an essential representation of Holy Spirit reconnecting to us not only as a mating couple, intimate, loving, caring, refreshing and restoring but also as a way of birthing new things, birthing life!
So I can’t say anymore that it is solely the end of the journey or that it’s a season to bear with while waiting for spring; as it is clearly a season where gems are found and life abounds!
In the light of Alan Moore’s thanksgiving we’ve been thinking recently about suffering and glory and how the two are inextricably bound together. The cocoon ugly and tight but somehow necessary to produce beautiful new life in a whole new form. Go figure.
For those of us left behind after a death we go through something-an ugly tight time and yet if we can let death work in us it does produce life.
I remember when a very close friend was killed in Wandsworth some 11 years ago I must have spent a good 3 months+ really wrestling around in an ugly cocoon, probably the darkest days and yet probably also the best days -they got rid of superstitious Christian views I never knew I had and put in me a quiet surrender to God’s greater wisdom.
Maybe our darkest times are our most glorious…and -so long as we don’t get stuck- we come out, after a while, different, newer, freer, richer?
Thank you God, you bring life out of death.
Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.
Isaiah 58
| Meet Shirlei.
Shirlei is the founder of Building the Future with Dignity, the mission of the not-for-profit charity Abadeus which works into one of the most deprived areas of Criçiuma, South Brazil. This is an amazing project, partly because of what already is going on but maybe more amazing because of the phenomenal potential to achieve much more and without too much more investment. Pictured below are stacks of bricks produced by the charity’s ‘Partners of Tomorrow’ programme and the equipment they are using (pretty basic really). |
Conheça Shirlei.
Shirlei é a fundadora do Construindo o Futuro com Dignidade, a missão do caridade sem fins lucrativos Abadeus que trabalha numa das zonas mais desfavorecidas de Criciuma, sul do Brasil. É um projeto maravilhoso, em parte pelo que já está acontecendo, mas talvez mais maravilhoso pelo potencial fenomenal de alcançar muito mais e sem muito investimento. Na imagem abaixo está a pilha de tijolos produzidos pelo programa de caridade "Parceiros do Amanhã" e o equipamento que eles usam (realmente bem básico) |
The bricks are green (not literally!) made using material discarded by other industries. Don’t ask me what this means but the innovative production technique uses pressing rather than traditional toxic burning to manufacture the bricks. They use less concrete too. They have already built low-cost but durable housing for previously homeless families, but Shirlei wants to expand the production to help many more impoverished citizens in the area. Also through this initiative, workers from the community are trained in construction work, given a salary and develop the skills necessary to get into the job market. This woman’s heart and soul are in this project but she has very little financial support to get the bigger, faster, less time-consuming equipment into place. It wouldn’t even cost that much. Once there we are talking serious bricks for many more houses for many more people for awesome transformation of a community desperate for change. If you're interested in eco things or want to visit or if you want to invest a little money please email: claire.wheeler@cantab.net Claire is from England and is working in joint partnership with Anderson and Patricia Lima’s British Academy and the Abadeus Project. Their website is: www.abadeus.com/br |
Os tijolos são verdes (não literalmente!), feitos usando material descartados por outras indústrias. Não me pergunte o que isso significa, mas a técnica de produção inovadora na produção dos tijolos usam pressão invés de queima tóxica. Também usam menos concreto. Eles já construiram casas de baixo custo, mas duráveis para famílias que estavam desabrigadas, mas Shirlei quer expandir a produção para ajudar muitos mais cidadãos da área. Através também dessa iniciativa, trabalhadores da comunidade são treinados para construção, dando um salário e desenvolvendo as habilidades necessárias para entrarem no mercado. O coração e a alma dessa mulher estão nesse projeto, mas ela tem pouquíssimo suporte financeiro para conseguir equipamentos maiores, mais rápidos e que consumam menos tempo. Não custaria tanto assim. Uma vez lá falamos sério de tijolos para muito mais casas para mais pessoas para uma incrível transformação de uma comunidade desesperada por mudança. Se você está interessado em dar eco a isto e quer visitar ou se você quer investir dinheiro, por favor escreva para:claire.wheeler@cantab.net Claire é ad Inglaterra e está trabalhando em parceria com a British Academy do Anderson e Patrícia Lima e o Projeto Abadeus. O website deles é: www.abadeus.com.br |
.jpg "‘La Vida Mallorquina’ is a celebration of the Mallorcan people and their culture. Each page displays a creative collection of thoughts and photos journeying through the beautiful landscape and life of the Spanish island.")
White Waterfall
I love the contrast of the white water with all the colour around. This was taken somewhere in a gorgeous forest somewhere in British Colombia, Canada. The Helmcken Falls.