End-of-Blog-Year Thoughts...

…I did it! It feels like a considerable accomplishment to have met my goal of posting a pic and a bit of a description every single day of one whole year.

…although I began with the hope that I could post daily, I kept telling myself that it is no biggie if I miss a day for some reason. There were times - especially at the beginning - before posting daily was an ingrained habit, that I nearly forgot to take a picture (or line one up) for the day, my computer wasn’t cooperating or I was at a place where the Internet was down or the signal was too weak to publish the post and I’d think, “Ok, today is the first time I won’t be able to blog, and I accept that.” Then, almost miraculously, it would work out. It started to seem like God wanted me to meet my goal.

"behold...there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground." Exodus 16:14

…I certainly did come to see God’s provision in the daily habit. It reminded me of the Israelite’s manna. In a way. There was always some gift of beauty or creativity that God shared with me each day – something to nourish my soul – and I got into the satisfying habit of gathering it daily with my camera. (not sure how the Hebrews gathering too much part of the story applies here! :))

…my world is full of God’s glory! All the beauty and wonder that I view and capture in photos “sound as advance echoes of a perfected world to come”, as Philip Yancey explains it. (idea taken from C.S. Lewis) I love that thought of the echoes we hear now leading us to – and getting us very excited about – the real Voice as their source.

…this endeavor to do a daily pic/write a thousand words has helped me practice contentment, at least if I figure it to be as this quote says: “Contentment is the reward collected by those who feel that what they have is better than what they are missing.”

…I’ve enjoyed the community aspect of the blogging daily. It increased my gratitude to be able to share my daily findings with others. Thank you for letting me flood your inbox with all those pics and messages (well, I guess it was your choice!), for giving me suggestions for photos and for sending your comments now and then. And for encouraging me to continue the blog, even after the year is up.

Which brings me to the question: What’s next? I think I will go for another year. But I’m planning to change things up a bit. Think weekly themes and pics from archives to go along with current ones. And, I won’t be so set on blogging daily. If it happens, fine. If not, I will be okay with that too, even if it doesn’t really live up to the name of the blog. I do know this – I will keep up the habit of looking for daily gifts, and creatively expressing my gratitude to the One who provides my manna.

“Let the morning bring me word (or photo scene) of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” Psalm 143:8