Thursday, November 18, 2010

You Capture - What Inspires Me

Beth's assignment this week is to capture what inspires us. I found this particularly challenging until I looked around a little. I went to walk at Striebel Pond a couple of days ago and, for the first time, saw a completely empty parking lot. The outdoor season is ending and this parking lot inspired me to get out there and spend as much time walking outside as I could before it becomes impossible.

And these are a couple of the paths that inspire me to keep on walking.

Every time I walk at Striebel Pond I pass some of the same landmarks over and over again and they never fail to inspire me. This one reminds me of my sons and all the other men and women in the military that sacrifice so much and inspires a prayer.

And this gazebo, dedicated to a good friend and local school teacher who left this earth much to early because of cancer, inspires me to be a better person - like her.

This photo of a fading, gorgeous sunset inspires me to leave a little earlier so I can take the time to capture it from a good vantage point and when it's at the peak of it's glory.

And these photos taken of Beth playing with her kids inspire me to spend more time simply playing with my grandchildren.

Finally, this photo of this beautiful baby inspires me to thank God again and again for the twenty-one precious children of my heart - my grandchildren and great grandchildren - truly the gifts that inspire gratitude and wonder.

To find out what inspires everybody else, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry and think about joining in. I'd love to see what inspires you!

11 comments:

  1. Inspiration is all around us! And you have some great inspiration at Striebel Pond! And seriously? Those cute kids inspire you? :) Sucker! (Kids and the little ones *do* inspire us to be the best we can be...even when they are trying to bring out the worst in us.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your shots! Your blog always inspires me to see the beauty in nature :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love how the kids inspire you. Amazing isn't it? :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, wow, wow. The light in those pond pictures is perfect! It's a depressing time of year as things are all dying off, but I love the colors and contrasts and light. The sunset is very nice. I see pretty sunsets often, but there's just not a good, close-by spot to go and capture them. So, way to think ahead! As for Belle and her toy... I've been trying for weeks to get a decent shot of her (without toy) to send to her foster mom. But I kid you not she always squints. The toy pic is cute, but I'm going to keep trying for that perfect empty-mouth shot. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just love all of your shots. And if I lived near that pond, I'd be taking advantage of it every week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great shots, mom. I think you did a great job getting pics of things that inspire you. The sunsets are amazing...but somehow I knew there would be some grandbabies in there!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great shots! I figured your grandchildren would be in some of them. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful photos, Mary! I love how you captured your daughter playing with the kiddos!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great photos, I really like the long stretching empty paths, very inspiring to get outside! The sunset is magnificent too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh what wonderful inspiration! I love where you walk, looks so peaceful.

    ReplyDelete

Gentle, strong, kind or true, I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Short or long, it's up to you, your comments and thoughts really make my day!