A Weekend in the Woods

  This last weekend my sister, friend and I spent a weekend in an adorable cabin (shall I say hand built by our friend's family) in the woods for our friend's birthday. How refreshing it is to be submerged in nature again. The only sound you hear is wind rushing through pine trees and squirrels skittering, darting from bush to bush. To be reminded of God's wonderful creation that isn't run over with cement roads and tall stucco buildings. How nice!

  We stayed up late watching movies, playing rounds of catch phrase and 20 questions. Talking far into the night and making 5 minute cakes in the microwave. Hearing the sound of old pine needles crunch under your boots and the crisp smell of wood that follows where ever you go.Swinging on the neighbor's swing that makes you almost fall off, laughing till your stomach hurts. Walking in the little town square and taking pictures of how community should be. Looking up at the sky and seeing thousands of stars. Getting to connect with friends and family. Seeing how God works in each of our lives.

  It was so nice. And I'm so thankful I was able to go.

A hemp bracelet I made. I'm so proud of myself, ha! :)

How funny is this squirrel? 

My first time getting to walk across a tree. (Me left, Sarah, Right)

 

In Step

Sometimes I am in place, my heart aligned with my head,

Strong with dignity and content that hums through young foolish bones,

Others, my soul remembers it’s human form of sin and shame,

Its imperfections and qualities that it does not obtain.

I don’t want to be that person,

Clasped in a corner, glasses, pen scratched in a book,

Instead, I crave to be the beauty, a sprouting cool spring, shy eyes and quiet smile,

Pen poised in perfect harmony.

Sometimes I feel womanly, distracting,

Strong with the knowledge of knowing, captivating like the beauties in books.

Others, my soul sits on the tip of its seat,

And I only begin to think about today,

Cloudy mind on tomorrow’s vast edges,

I am in the sky, above social standards and people that say I am wrong.

Waiting, wondering, what for,

What for, I can only try to comprehend.

Pinhole Camera

In my Digital Photography class, we made pinhole cameras. My teacher thought that making a pinhole camera would give us a more understanding of the cameras we use today. Today I thought I'd teach you how to make your own pinhole camera. They are easier than you think.

Supplies:

A tin with a lid ( Ex.Cookie tins, Christmas tins) It can be round, square, tiny, huge

Electrical tape

Matte Black Spray Paint It has to be matte or it won't work

Embroidery needle

Instructions: 

1. With your needle, you will make a (very) tiny hole in the middle of the tin's lid. You can take a hammer and hammer the needle if manually won't work.

2. Spray three coats on the inside of the tin and lid. It has to be three so that the inside is pitch black.

3. After your tin is dry, make sure you hole is still there and didn't get covered over with paint. With the electrical tape, get a long enough strand so you are able to cover the outside of the lid's hole. 

The electrical tape is there so when you are ready to expose photo paper, you can take off the tape fast and stick it back on so the paper doesn't get exposed any more. 

That is how you make a pinhole camera! 

In order to actually develop your prints, you will need a dark room because you have to make the negative and positive with the light sensitive photo paper. Getting to use a Darkroom can be tricky as you usually have to rent time or find someone you know who has one (which is rare!)

These are my pictures that I made. They turned out pretty decent for my first time. I can tell you, I am thankful for digital because it takes a lot of time to make the prints. 

My negatives. After developing my negatives, I have to transfer them over to new sheets of photo paper with the enlarger in the darkroom. 

My positive prints! On the left is Batman and on the right is a miniature English mailbox. 

I am still fascinated that a tiny box that I bought at a thrift store was able to produce images and all I did was add certain paper and it printed right on it. All the steps to making a pinhole camera is simple, but the results it gets awes me.

Bonjour Spring!

Spring shows me just how much detail and time God put into all His creation. 

Concentrated Worrier

source

  I worry too much.

About my schooling, my spiritual life, my appearance, my physical ability, my blog. Almost everything that enters in my life, I tend to worry about it. It’s a bad habit that at times consumes me. I may start to develop early signs of wrinkles because I worry and then I worry about that. Will I get wrinkles prematurely? Am I using good enough moisturize? Am I putting enough on at night?

Welcome to my mind.

 My worrying streams on and on, onto things that really do not matter. I am bad at giving myself realities checks, instead going to my Mom for comfort. Moms are there to reassure and tend to our hearts, but honestly I need to be able to reassure myself without my Mom sometimes. I am almost an adult now and I need to learn how to check up on myself and learn to reel in the worrying.

A great family friend of mine gave me this verse when I told him that I was nervous about my permit test. He told me to look up Matthew 33-34.

This is what I got:

"33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

These words speak directly to my soul every time I see them. God knows the past, the present, the future and every thought on my mind that is bothering me. I need to give my worries to Him because without it, I can only do so much being a human. I am powerless, but God is powerful. I am small, but God is the Universe. He has everything in His control that I do not need to worry because my Father knows what He’s doing. I would guess worrying and trust go hand in hand for me. Not trusting God with my worry. Not trusting God that He is handling everything and knows all the outcomes.

But as Matthew says “Seek first his kingdom”. If I go to God each and every time, any time I am worrying, bringing it to God, that He will cover me and guide me. That is my ultimate calm. God knows my heart and the things I lack, the problems that taunt me. God knows and that is why He is there. Because he is righteous.