Canaan in the Desert

Today, my women's Bible study group met at a prayer garden called Canaan in the Desert which is run by a group of Lutheran sisters who solely rely on God's provision for them daily. They are so sweet. The garden is wonderful and you feel the presence of God strongly the minute you turn into their drive way. It's a peaceful haven in the middle of a bustling city. I love going there. I took several photographs this morning and after I got home, I couldn't wait to plug my camera into my computer to see if they looked good on a screen bigger than my camera screen! Most of them turned out awesome! Back in January, when I went on an all day silent prayer retreat, on the way there, God spoke to me about my art and told me to "look at what's in front of you." I have been making an effort to really see what is around me and actually seeing the incredible beauty that is even in the midst of the desert, that I've never seen before. I was always so busy envying anyone who lived in "green" places that I failed to really see what God has put in front of me. Now, I seem to go nuts with my camera when I get in the desert! Hey, God is even in the desert!!! The touch of his hand is everywhere. You just sometimes have to look a little closer. I'll try to choose a couple of my favorite shots to share with you. I got over 20 GOOD ones but think you may go nuts if I post them all! Here are some of my favorites:

Check out this bird nest! This bird even used cactus skeleton pieces and toilet paper to build this nice comfy nest in the cactus!

Doesn't this cactus look like chenille?!

The last one is my favorite. Tree bark just really excites me! Maybe it's the color... no, the texture... no, the color, no, the texture...... Aren't all these things just gorgeous! It was a great morning with perfect weather except the wind kicked up and I ran straight home and took an allergy pill!