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.
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.
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.
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!
