Between today and my last post, I was able to go hunting for beach blessings four times. This is the combined collection. Would you believe there are 262 pieces of sea glass? And just look at that magnificent chunk of dark green near the middle! Whew! I'll be making something out of that one!
From the bottom of the pile and heading clockwise along the perimeter you'll see: five ceramic shards, a heart-shaped rock with favosite fossil "wings", a crinoid-filled heart-shaped rock, an unidentified fossil that I initially thought was Cladopora, four really pretty granite rocks, a perfectly pendant-ready clay rock, two small pipe organ coral fossils, a honeycomb coral, a piece of horn coral, and above the corals are 16 crinoids with one tiny piece of horn coral. Continuing around, there are three petoskey stones, a Fern Creek tillite, and a beautiful amber-colored quartz.
Today's Inspiration (a promise from God to help you live a long life)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"---which is the first commandment with a promise---"so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
Ephesians 6:1-3 (NIV)
Coming off of Mother's Day and heading into Father's Day, I felt this was the perfect reading, especially for anyone who is estranged from their parents and would like to have peace regarding them.
After not finding much on the beach today, I'm using a beach picture from 2009. The tiny pieces that I found this morning were not even close to the size you see here. Plus, I have another reason for showing where the treasures come from, rather than just the treasures by themselves. These past weeks of blogging about my findings have felt more like a job than something I should look forward to doing. I've felt pressure to come home with a full bag of rocks and glass and even more pressure to be able to identify the contents. I think it's a good idea to hunt and collect whenever I can, and then write about it, as a whole, about once a week. That way, if the weather is bad, or if appointments or visitors need my time, I won't have to come up with something for the daily post. If you've been following, I apologize and hope that you will continue to check in now and then. I'm sure I'll find some good stuff, and there is always, no matter what, plenty of encouragement and inspiration in God's Word.
Have a great week-end and a wonderful summer!
Today's Inspiration from 1 Corinthians 2:9
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.
I admit that this picture is a little odd. It almost appears to have a couple of eyeballs in it! The one on top is a small Petoskey resting on a wet piece of white sea glass, and the other is a dime-sized quartz rock with a cloudy "pupil" of basalt (I think).
While the four rocks on the left may not show it as well as I'd like, I picked them up for the green stripes of Unakite going through them.
Back on top, there are two more Petoskeys and a really nice clump of horn coral. The glass pieces in the middle were exciting to find, as well.
Today's Inspirational Verses from Isaiah 40:30-31
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.
(This is one of my favorites!)
As you can tell, the beach was covered in rocks today! That would account for the over 40 pieces of sea glass that got stuck as the waves pushed them inland. I'm used to finding lightning stones, Petoskey stones, and crinoids, but I've never found an almost egg-shaped rock with such perfect rings as the one in this picture. The two rocks above it are unusual, also. The two-toned black basalt looks as though it had been dipped into a darker black. (That's not a shadow!) I don't know what the other rock is, but I'm hoping to break it to see if it's an agate.
Oh, I almost forgot! There is a small piece of white quartz in with the glass. Can you find it?
Today's Inspirational Verses from Isaiah 40:28-29 (NLT)
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
The beach had plenty of glass today, but the star of this picture is the brick. All smooth and shaped, isn't it beautiful? I was also excited to find two petoskey stones and a nice piece of granite. Not sure of what that smooth, bubbly-looking one is, but I am sure of how pleased I was to find such a fine blue piece of sea glass. (I know, I keep calling glass from Lake Michigan sea glass, but that's okay. It's like calling a tissue a Kleenex.)
Today's Verses for Protection from Isaiah 8:11-14a
Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else. He will keep you safe.
I zoomed in a little more today because all I have is glass, and I wanted to showcase the smooth, round edges of most of the pieces. Looking more closely, I'm noticing a broken edge on a brown piece in the middle, but it's not sharp, so I'll probably keep it. Still, it amazes me how the surf, sand, and high water pH levels turn brokenness into such beauty (even if it does take at least 30 years to happen).
Today's Inspirational Verse from Isaiah 61:3b (This really goes well with the story of sea glass.)
...He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair.
Yesterday's picture was done indoors, after dark. I apologize for the starkness of it all. This collection for today includes seeds not from the beach, but for the mere fact that they are all over my balcony where the sunlight is the best. As a sign of spring in Michigan, the maple seeds also indicate the timing of this to be in May.
To the left, there are some nice aqua pieces and other colors of glass. To the right, you'll see one lonely crinoid, a black basalt with quartz waving through it, an interesting granite rock, and what I thought was a fulgurite. Back at home with my Lake Michigan Rock Picker's Guide, I found that for this tunnel-shaped rock to have been shaped by lightning, its insides would be burnt black and shiny like glass, because lightning is estimated to be hotter than the sun's surface!
Today's Inspirational Verses (I chose this because in the original King James Version, the word, "children" is "seed".)
From Psalm 112:1-3 (NLT)
Happy are those who fear the Lord.
Yes, happy are those who delight in
doing what He commands.
Their children will be successful everywhere.
Yesterday's picture was from Saturday evening's hunt. This one is from Sunday. Today is my last day of school, so I'm hoping to have the pictures more current with the actual dates from here on out. As you can see, though, there was no way that I could let this collection of beach blessings go unnoticed! It was a big day for sea glass! Around the perimeter of the pile, from the bottom left and clockwise, there is also a rock with a hole in it (I like those), a honeycomb coral, a pipe organ coral, a horn coral, eight crinoids, and a pottery shard.
Today's Inspirational Guidance from Malachi 3:10
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the Lord Almighty, "I will open the windows of Heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!"
Even though I found almost 40 pieces of glass, my favorite beach blessing was this absolutely perfect sample of a crinoid. Look closely in the center, and you'll see why I am so excited! Instead of a hole, you'll notice a star, and the round outer edge is wonderfully smooth.
Today's Inspirational Verse found in 1 Timothy 6:17
Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
My school year is almost done, just three more days of teaching Title One, and then I'll be free for the summer! Knowing how busy I would be, I photographed my collections from the week-end. This rather large pile is the result of my Saturday morning walk. You can see almost 50 pieces of sea glass, four varying sizes of crinoids, and two rocks that are full of some smaller ones. The fossils between them are a horn coral on the left and a chain coral on the right (Although, the chain is straighter than I usually see, so I could be wrong.). There are two rocks in the pile just because they're pretty!
Today's Inspirational Message (From 2 Peter 3:8-9)
But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise to return, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He doesn't want anyone to perish, so He is giving more time for everyone to repent.
It's always fun to find sea glass, heart-shaped rocks, lightning rocks, crinoids and ceramic shards, but every now and then, I'll come across an interesting piece of driftwood. This picture shows two pieces, and the large one has a very definite resemblance to a crocodile's head. With its eyes closed, and its snout facing the left, I'm surprised that I didn't notice it until after I took this picture! Do you see it?
Today's Inspirational Verses have nothing to do with crocodiles, but they make a powerful prayer to pray over your family:
If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your dwelling.
For He orders His angels
to protect you wherever you go.
Psalm 91:9-11 (NLT)
Friday's line dancing started at 11:00 at the senior center. To get to the beach before that, I had to hurry. What could I possibly find in such a rush?
Once there, and seeing the sparce amount of rocks on the beach, I almost turned around, but wait a minute! Can it be true? Gasping in anticipation, I bent down to grab the tiny red treasure before it could be swept back out by the waves. I've been fooled many times by chips of worthless plastic, so I was more than surprised by the texture of truly worn glass that one can only find from bodies of water, and it was red! It's been six or seven years since I last found a red piece of sea glass! What a gift!
Looking at the picture of the other nice pieces I found, you'll understand that I really felt kind of special, like God knew I could use some gifts today. So when I found this verse, I was reminded of how precious we are to our Creator. Enjoy.
Today's Inspiration from Isaiah 49:15-16
(God says) Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand.
It's been almost a week since my last post, and I apologize. The skies have been grey, the waves rough, and the temperature too low to look forward to treasure hunting on the beach. So, yes, I've shared this picture before; it's not one of fresh findings. Thank you for dropping by, though, because I did find a wonderful verse, and I'm pretty sure someone out there needs it today.
Inspirational Reading from Psalm 16:8 (NLT)
I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.
