Red Tape

 

It's so good to be back!!!  After two years and two months away from this blog, the urge to post again has finally come upon me.  Logistical red tape had been hindering the progress of my latest sea glass adventures, so I was just about to give up when a kind and patient woman from the Michigan Department of Treasury talked me through the sales tax registry over the phone.  God bless her!  That was a giant step toward my legal ability to sell the fish I've been fashioning out of beach rocks, beach glass, crinoids, and pebbles.  

Admittedly, it's like an addiction finding the right pieces to fit together.  Getting the parts to stay on the rock is difficult, but I do soooo enjoy seeing the personality of each fish come about!  I can't wait for this summer's markets and the opportunities to meet others who may enjoy these little critters as much as I do.

Today's Inspiration

Psalm 121 verses 1b-2  "...where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth."

  

Fresh Off the Beach

Some beach combing walks are more relaxing than others; today's was amazing.  From the top of the bluff I could see that if I were to head south, I would be all alone.  There were two people north of me, far enough away for the shoreline treasures to be replenished no matter where the hunters began.  I know I shouldn't run down stairs in flip-flops, but the thought of all that sea glass for myself was just too much!  Excitement (and maybe a little greed) took over, and I was on the wet sand in record time. Ahhhhh.....

Today's photo is the result of 90 minutes of "Pure Michigan" pleasure, fresh off the beach.  I hope you'll enjoy looking through today's collection of crinoids, horn coral and honeycomb coral fossils, petoskey stones, and beach glass.

Today's Inspirational Verse  from Philippians 3:9

I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me. 

Pure Michigan Sunset

This week's sea glass didn't work out too well, so I went with a sea gull instead.  Minutes away from sunset, these typically pesky birds began swarming around me.  My camera was already in my hands, so I began to shoot what I thought would turn out to look rather Hitchcock-like, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to crop out the haphazard direction of the flight of the flock and just zoom in on the one peaceful-looking sea gull silhouette.  What a difference! To top it off, the sun's reflection streaming toward me is evident in this photo, and I just love it!  

I'll get back to the glass and rocks next time, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy this sight that we are so often blessed with on the shores of Lake Michigan.  If you're in love with the ocean, why not give the unsalted Great Lakes a try sometime?

This Week's Scriptural Encouragement from Deuteronomy 28:2 (NIV)

All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.
  

Beach History

With the fan twirling above me, my shoes kicked off my feet, and my hair pulled back from my face, I think I am finally ready to type a new post.  Yes, it's been a while since my last entry, and the extreme summer heat is just one of the reasons.  I won't go into the others; each of them would only editorialize everything that most people are tired of hearing about.  These posts would have nothing to do with blessings from the beach, and they'd be far too lengthy, so let's take a look at today's photo instead.  I call it, "Beach History".  It's amazing what you can find on the beaches of South Haven!  True, most of it came from regions north of us, but isn't it incredible how fossils, millions of years old, ended their journey here at my feet?  Huh!

In today's shot, I've scattered the glass and fossilized crinoids throughout, but the rest of the fossils are pretty much around the edges, starting with the Petoskey stones in the upper right corner.  Going clockwise, you'll see two honeycomb corals, then a horn coral peeking out of the corner.  The longer piece in the lower left corner appears to be one single strand of pipe organ coral (I should have gotten the whole thing in the picture, sorry!). On top is a fossil containing several crinoids, and next to that is the first piece of blue chert that I have ever found!  It is microcrystalline quartz, and its blue color tells us it is from the area of Leland, Michigan, over 200 miles away!

Inspiration for Today's World   from Proverbs 16:7  (NLT)

When the ways of people please the Lord, he makes even their enemies live at peace with them.

Glass in Glass

As I headed outside to my usual spot for displaying my weekly collection, I realized how uninspired I had become with the routine.  With extra time today, I wanted to do something different, so here it is: glass in glass.  My original thought was to fill the container with water and shoot from the outside like I had done in one of my favorite photos called, "Crinoid Under Water", but the sunlight streaming through the window and into the vase caught my eye.  It caused this interesting mirror effect, as well as a sense of depth.  I hope you enjoy this composition as much as I do.  In the left center, there's a wonderful horn coral fossil.  Do you see it?

This Week's Inspirational Verse   from Philippians 4:19

God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

 

Big Collection of Beach Blessings

Where to begin, hmmm.  As you can see the beach was a lot of fun this week!  Let's start with the fossil on the far left; I think it's a cladopora.  There are three nice pieces of horn coral above that with a small honeycomb coral to their right.  The next three fossils are Petoskey stones followed by a cute little rock with some crinoids in it.  Continuing clockwise, are the single crinoids that I've been including in my bracelets lately.  

Next, there are two tiny lightning stones, and to the right of them is one of the best chain coral fossils I've ever found!  

The white one that's full of crystals looks like a geode.  The next four are pudding stones, and I found them all in the same small area of just a few feet.

I'll probably make some necklaces with the next two rocks that have a hole in them already, and the heart-shaped rocks will go in my collection of over a hundred other hearts.

With the center so full of sea glass, it's hard to see all of the beautiful colors, but there is quite a variety, and I'm excited to see what I can do with them!

Today's Inspirational Verse   (for restful sleep)  
found in Psalm 4:8

I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

     

Mystery Stones

After much time spent looking for pictures of some of the rocks in this week's collection, I've still ended up with some mystery pieces.  They are the four in the lower left corner (although, I'm sure that because of the stripes and hardness, that two of them are some kind of metamorphic rocks, I just don't know the minerals in them).  The top one in that group could be some melted glass over stone, and the other?  I don't know.  

Then, there are the greenish and blue ones on top.  I'd appreciate help with those, as well.  The pink one next to them looks like it contains feldspar, but I wouldn't stake my life on it. The rest of the pieces going clockwise from there are: Petoskey stones, lightning stones, a chain coral fossil, two honeycomb coral fossils, a small pipe organ coral fossil, and two heart-shaped rocks of some kind.  Above the mystery pieces you'll see a good collection of crinoids, a decorated ceramic shard, and a nicely shaped chunk of pure quartz (I didn't see any other minerals in it).

Concerning the sea glass, my husband found the unusually dark aqua piece that I really like, and there is an old brown bottle shard that has some interesting lettering on it.  Also, many of the pieces are quite large, so it was a good week for beach blessings!

P.S.  Yesterday, I noticed that an ad to the right of my post was not something I would ever recommend.  That doesn't happen very often, but when it does, please know that it is out of my control.  Thank you for your understanding.

Today's Inspiration for Healing   from Psalm 103:1-5  (NLT)

Praise the Lord, I tell myself;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, I tell myself,
and never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He ransoms me from death
and surrounds me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.  
My youth is renewed like the eagle's!
  

In Spite of the Waves

Here is another week's worth of South Haven beach blessings, minus three days for high waves.  Nevertheless, I did find a fair amount of beautifully smoothed sea glass!  As usual, you'll see other treasures along the perimeter of the glass beginning with a pure white quartz in the nine o'clock position.  Going clockwise, there are three Petoskey stones, crinoids and rocks containing them, three great samples of unakite, a mystery piece that may be dried foam from cement, two pipe organ corals, a ceramic shard, and a small honeycomb coral piece.  If you tilt your head to the right, the big brown fossil on top looks like the crinoids are spelling, "Jo".  Fun stuff!

This Week's Hope    found in Psalm 118:13  (NRSV)

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.
  

Priceless Beach Time

There's something special about beach combing with a child, especially a grandchild.  My little guy loves sports, so he likes to be on the run.  Walking the shoreline, though, with our heads down looking for treasures, everything slows down, and we can truly enjoy each others' company.  To make it even more fun, we assigned point values to different fossils.  The lightning stones were five points each, along with the pipe organ coral, but we decided that crinoids and anything containing them would be ten points.  The horn coral and Petoskey eye were also ten, but the glass, quartz, basalt, and anything that we couldn't identify were all worth one point.  After about an hour, our combined total with this collection ended up at 174, but the time spent together was priceless!

This Week's Inspiration for Protection
found in Romans 8:31

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. 

Four Days of Beach Blessings

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.

South Haven's Treasures in 2009

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.
 

Beach Rocks and Eyeballs

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!) 

Great Rock Day

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.
 

Beach Brick

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.

Just Glass

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.  
 

 

 

Maple Seeds and Beach Blessings

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. 

Big Day

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!"
  

Perfect Crinoid

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. 

Tuesday's Week-end Pile

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. 

Crocodile Driftwood

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)