Here you go, friends. Scenes from Wednesday and Thursday this week. Love at first sight in every shot.

(Do listen to the song at the end—or play it while you read.:)

Expectant

May, early. Barefoot and in my jammies, I snapped this as I waited, expectant, for the sun to burst over the mountains. The clouds, like children in trees, saw her first.

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

—Romans 1:20 NLT

Preening

The spring after Blake hung the garden nest box, a pair of Pacific wrens moved in—and claimed a fifty foot radius. I weeded carrots and peas under their scolding supervision. The next year, weary of my intrusive gardening, they moved on.

And these winsome beauties claimed the nest.

Tree swallows. Here, preening—but already beautiful.

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“Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”

—John 15:3 ESV

I Will Be Here

Steven Curtis Chapman

Tomorrow morning if you wake up,
And the sun does not appear,
I, I will be here.

If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand, and have no fear
Cause I, I will be here.

I will be here when you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind,
I will listen and
I will be here.

When the laughter turns to cryin’,
Through the winning, losing and tryin’,
We’ll be together ’cause I will be here.

Tomorrow morning if you wake up,
And the future is unclear
I, I will be here.

As sure as seasons are made for change,
Our lifetimes are made for years.
So, I, I will be here.

I will be here and you can cry on my shoulder,
When the mirror tells us we’re older,
I will hold you and
I will be here—to watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me.
I will be here.

I will be true to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me.

I, I will be here.

And just as sure as seasons are made for change
Our lifetimes are made for years.
So, I, I will be here. We’ll be together.

I will be here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks