I need to start by wishing everybody a Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Many of us (me included) aren’t having our typical Christmas, or even the Christmas that they remotely wanted. Remember it is okay to feel a mixture of feelings today, because this isn’t the Christmas you wanted. Maybe it is the first Christmas without somebody. Maybe it is a Christmas you can’t spend with the people you want because of the pandemic. It is okay to feel whatever you feel. It is with those thoughts that I still say (and remember joy and happiness are not the same thing):
Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!
And of course to remember who that baby in that manger grew up to be:
JESUS WAS
A Radical.
A Nonviolent Revolutionary.
He hung out with lepers, hookers, and crooks.
Was NOT American.
Did NOT speak English. (Spoke Aramaic, if you were wondering)
Was ANTI-wealth.
Was ANTI-death penalty.
Was ANT-public prayer.
NOT ANTI-gay.
NEVER mentioned abortion. (Yes, abortion pre-dates Jesus by at least 1600 years)
NEVER mentioned birth control. (Yes, birth control pre-dates Jesus by at least 1850 years)
NEVER called the poor lazy.
NEVER justified torture.
NEVER fought for tax cuts for the wealthy.
NEVER asked a leper for a co-pay.
NEVER slut-shamed. In fact Jesus was anti-slut shaming.
WAS long-haired.
WAS brown-skinned.
WAS homeless.
WAS a refugee.
WAS a community organizer.
WAS a middle easterner.
WAS a Jew.
TOLD us to love one another.
LOVED poor people.
HUMANIZED everybody, regardless of their background.
MET people where they are at.
WAS considered a troublemaker by the authorities.
WAS ultimately murdered by the police.
Let every heart prepare room!
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The June calendar image is taken from when Fly Iowa was in Boone back in 2019. Remember big events, when you could be around other people. Safely. Yeah. Good times. Good times. This picture was taken on August 3, 2019.
Here are some details of this photo:
PHOTO DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCA-77M2
LENS: 120-400mm F/4.5-5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 180mm (270mm 35mm equivalent)
APERTURE: f/5
EXPOSURE: 1/2000
ISO:250
FIELD OF VIEW: 7.6 degrees
LATITUDE: 42.05149
LONGITUDE: -93.84873
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Today I’d like to share some pictures I took back on another holiday… Labor Day. On Labor Day I loaded Mom and Teresa up into a car and drove to Mines of Spain because I wanted to see Horseshoe Bluff. I posted some drone pictures of this day in the past. Now I’m getting around to pictures that are more for you land lovers. Or is that spelled land lubbers! I’m not sure, it has been so long since I’ve had my sea legs. Or lake legs. Or river legs. Or small farm pond legs. But we don’t need to talk about the last time I was on a boat in a farm pond.
Mom and Teresa did not want to get up and leave as early as I did. They have both volunteered to be a part of a future town sign harvesting road trip. Hopefully, they remember how early these trips need to leave dock…
Here are some pictures from one of the most beautiful parks in Iowa.
I would love to go there again. It would probably make a beautiful winter subject as well. Plus, less lousy with people. People, the enemy of nature photography.
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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ROAD TRIP.
ROAD TRIP
A ROAD TRIP photo is any picture taken during a ROAD TRIP or making preparations for a ROAD TRIP or spoils that came from a ROAD TRIP. What constitutes a ROAD TRIP? I’m pretty lax, but I would say that as long as your car leaves the driveway, it is a ROAD TRIP.
Happy photo harvesting!