Since I was nearly in the neighborhood, I stopped by the Des Moines Rose Garden this morning (July 1, 2021) to see if there were any roses still in bloom. There were!
These are my favorite pictures of the day. Each shows a cluster of roses at different stages of blooming. Isn’t that how life is? From just beginning to nearly the end, each stage has its own beauty and, at its best, is connected to others.
Have you stopped to smell any roses lately?
Cee – the Cee of Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – has multiple photography challenges. Since this is all flowers, I’m including it in her Flower of the Day challenge.
Sunday Morning Sun on Roses. Photo: TLClark, 3/15/2020.
The roses had graced the kitchen table for more than a week. On Sunday they became altar flowers.
In this time of physical social distancing and with a householder in a high-risk category, we opted to worship God at home.
Come, let’s sing out loud to the LORD! Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation! Let’s come … with thanks! Lets shout songs of joy…!
Psalm 91:1-2, Common English Version
There were plenty of options to watch worship. But I opted to create something a bit more hands-on. (It might have something to do with the ministerial training in me.)
After Worship, 3/15/2020. Photo: TLClark.
SINGING using a keyboard and the songbook Songs & Prayers from Taize;
READING from a Bible, the Revised Common Lectionary passages for the day (can be found online at the Vanderbilt Divinity Library);
PRAYING for others using an intercessory prayer from The New Century Hymnal;
LISTENING and humming, and singing along to the “Lord of Light” CD by the St. Louis Jesuits (Bob Dufford, S.J.; John Foley, S.J.; Tim Manion; Roc O’Connor, S.J.; and Dan Schutte);
and PRAYING as the Spirit led with paper and colored pencils.
John Praying with Colored Pencils. Photo: TLClark, 3/15/2020.
But the time is coming–and is here!– when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:23a, Common English Bible
In ordinary times we gather on Sunday morning with other Christians. For now, this works.
Be well, Friends.
Please wash your hands and keep a physical distance from others.
And, if it’s in your spirituality, offer a prayer today for patients and their families, for the the many, many people working to care for those who are sick, for researchers and lab workers, for decision makers, and for everyone who’s regular routine has been upended.
I can’t decide which is more fun when it comes to a photo challenge: grabbing a camera to take a new picture OR browsing through digital photo files.
Frank Jansen Photography’s photo challenge this week is rose. I’m sharing three pictures from my files and one from trying to come up with something new.
First, a yellow rose in our yard from a few houses ago. I think that may have been the only place we lived with roses in flower beds. That is only because the prior owners had planted them!
Photo: TLClark, 5/30/08.
Next up, a rose with an interesting center. I can’t tell from the series of pictures I took if the rose is in a bouquet or was a single stem. Nor can I tell you what the occasion was – although it was part way between Christmas and my birthday.
Photo: TLClark, 1/15/12.
Finally, a rose of another color. It’s clearly from a bouquet on the dining room table. The bouquet may have been on the altar at church – but that’s a guess since other photos taken that day are all at the church.
Photo: TLClark, 1/22/17.
I wanted to do a new picture for the challenge but there are no roses in the house. So I started thinking of the word “rose” as the past tense of the verb “rise.” While baking frozen rolls for supper I couldn’t resist this last picture. The dough rose before I put it in the oven, then rose more while baking.
Another LQQK 