tohu bohu

Genesis 1:1-4

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  

And God said, "let there be light," and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good.  And God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. 

Genesis 1: 9 -10

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.  God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:20-21

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Kure Beach, North Carolina

Tohu bohu - biblical Hebrew phrase found in Genesis 1:2 that describes the condition of the earth immediate before the creation of light in Genesis 1:3.

chaotic waters

Sunrise at Fort Fisher State Recreational Area, Kure Beach NC

Blue hour at Fort Fisher State Recreational Area, Kure Beach NC

Sunset reflection on the clouds at Carolina Beach

Floating foam at Fort Fisher State Recreational Area, Kure Beach NC

Two birds at Fort Fisher State Recreational Area, Kure Beach NC

Just after sunrise at Carolina Beach NC

Why does travel away from the city life feel so healing?  Is it the sounds of the waves crashing against each other, the sand between your toes or the warmth of the sun beating on your skin?  Maybe it's the escape from all of the noise that constantly surrounds us.

Every time we travel to the beach or mountains, at some point we always discuss which we prefer.  The beach or the mountains.  It's really a tough call...  Don't get me wrong the woods are still my favorite place to be, but you can't get rid of the Florida girl in me either.  I still love the beach as it feels like home.

My favorite part of traveling to the beach with Joe is our early morning walks before sunrise to seashell hunt.  I think Joe's favorite part is the culling of seashells.

God is the Great Physician and He gave us places like this on Earth to enjoy.  God is good.

taking stock: part 4

Nikon Z6 - 35mm - ISO50 - f/16 - 1.3sec

It's been over two years since I posted on this little ole blog of mine.  I figured what better way to start back with a blog post on "taking stock".

Making: personal photography projects a priority this fall season.

Drinking: ginger tumeric tea.

Reading: the bible daily, but just finished reading trusting God by jerry bridges and my next book in the queue is the perfect couple by elin hilderbrand.

Wanting: to be more productive and fruitful.

Looking: and listening to the trees rustle outside the window.

Wasting: time trying to think of an answer.

Sewing: nothing.

Wishing: fall would arrive sooner rather than later.  august has been the hottest month yet!

Enjoying: this feeling i have right now.

Waiting: for nothing.

Liking: the quiet season that it has been.

Wondering: when life will feel "normal" again.

Loving: joe working from home most of his days.

Hoping: 2022 is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Marveling: at God's beautiful earth.

Needing: nothing. but should probably go take a shower.

Smelling: bug spray from being outside in the woods.  my happy place.

Wearing: shorts and tee.

Following: no social media or news these days.  it's been glorious.

Noticing: how time feels like it is flying, but at a stand still at the same time.

Knowing: that this season of life will end.

Thinking: i should be outside right now instead of at the computer.

Feeling: grateful for God's grace, mercy and love.

Bookmarking: photography ideas.

Opening: mail which is quite dull these days.

Giggling: over norman sleeping under the blanket in joe's home office.

Feeling: grateful for someone to talk tot his morning.

Previous taking stock: 

part 1

part 2

part 3

another canadian adventure - jasper national park: day 5

This was our last day in Jasper so we wanted to make the most of it...

We were up before the sun rose (astrophotography) and out the door early to hike the Sulpher Skyline Trail (6 miles).  I of course needed to read the map of all the details to see what shenanigans Joe was getting me into.

As you will note it was a steep rocky hike up.  We were one of the first few cars there when we started up the trail.  Of course that always makes me weary of what critters are still out and about with out many people to 'scare them off'.  Why are we always the trail blazers?

We hiked a tiny bit slower on this trail as my knee was still bothering me from the day priors hike.  Thank goodness for Tylenol!

Apparently we really the only ones on the trail, there were a few people at the top having lunch or making it up shortly there after us.

Perfect lunch spot.

Downward...

On the way down, we noticed how many non-English (at least primary English) speaking folks there were.  We were both amazed and thought it was pretty neat!  I never knew that Jasper would be a world-wide adventure spot, but apparently it is - for good reason!

We made it to the top and back in about 4 hours - not too shabby!

At the bottom of the mountain was the Miette Hot Springs.  Of course we needed to stop in for a dip.  This pool in particular was a lovely 30 degrees celsius (86 fahrenheit).

Do you see Joe's face?

... and this face?

... and then this face?

There were 4 pools.  This one a mere 20 degrees celsius (68 degrees fahrenheit).  68 degrees doesn't sounds that bad...  but it was.

Below the far pool was This one a mere 14 degrees celsius (57 degrees fahrenheit).  Yep we both went in it.  ONCE.

On the drive back we saw a lot of sheep and elk milling.

There was no getting out of the car, hence the angle...  but they were quite close!

There were a bunch of cars on the side of the road watching this big guy.  I was getting frustrated as none of the cars were moving.  Just hogging the road.  Then he started to meander closer.

.... and closer

... and probably too close (yes we were in the car!)

He had zero interest in us, which is probably good thing.  He just wanted to eat the shrubs.

We finally made it back to our place and someone was just hanging out in the 'backyard' of a bungalow.  Not our backyard...

Our very last day we made the trek back to Edmonton.  We had an early flight the next morning and Jasper is quite the haul....  So we did a little mall shopping and ordered a pie for the room.  It was an early night sleep for us.

Until next time Canada.

Previous Jasper National Park posts:

• Jasper National Park: Day 1
• Jasper National Park: Day 2
• Jasper National Park: Day 3 part i
• Jasper National Park: Day 3 part ii
• Jasper National Park: Day 4
• Jasper National Park: Day 5 (astrophotography)