little boys / guest post by abbie

it's funny that eve asked me to guest post today, because it's my brother's birthday. well, one of them. the handsome one right up there. he's mathias and he turns eight years old today. the one in gray is luukas. he turned five on august 18th. these are two of my five brothers.

alex is 16 and he's one of my best friends. we've stuck together since we were really little, and i have the best childhood memories of the two of us. mathias is 8. he makes me laugh. he's really sweet and loves spending time with people. luukas is 5, and he's loud and creative (i think he gets it from me). efraim is 3. cute and very cuddly. and zach is 1 and a half, aand he's adorable. he's learning to talk right now, he calls me "babbie" and is generally the cutest kid ever.

sometimes my life gets crazy, but i guess that happens to other people too. and i'm definitely not perfect, but overall i love being a big sister to all these little boys. and i love being a little sister for my older brother. :)

so i hope you made it through that long ramble about my family. i wanna say a super-thanks to eve for asking me to guest post. guys, she's seriously awesome. like, legit. i hope i get to meet her some day. *hint*

abbie. 14 years old. homeschooler.

artist (photographer, writer, musician)

lover of lord of the rings, tea, the color coral,

good music *coughcoughswitchfootcough*,

and plenty of other things.

follower of Jesus.

blogger at awakened.

a breath of fresh air & an announcement

The wind whispers. The palm trees wave. The sand glitters. The sun smiles. The sea beckons... and thus my announcement. We're leaving for Florida next Tuesday (NOT tomorrow), for two weeks! That'll be a twenty-five hour road trip, but I'm planning on taking along a whole bunch of books & audiobooks, so I don't think it'll be so bad. I'm very much looking forward to a breath of fresh air before the new school year begins, &, of course, to the super big surprise I'm going to post about after I get back! And in case you feel impatient, I thought I might mention following me on Instagram (@his_swordmaiden), Twitter, and/or Facebook will most likely reveal the big 'thing' beforehand. ;)
I'm planning on asking a few of my favourite bloggers to guest post in the time I'm away, but if you would like to as well, just shoot me an email and I'll be glad to add you to the list!
Enjoy these last few rays of summer! :)

the photographer's eye

People say feathers make the bird, I say the eye makes the photographer. There are many photographers out there, and they shoot with different cameras, different lenses, & also have different styles, but they all have the eye. They can see what other people cannot. That little drop of light, left over from the sunset, lingering on a tiny leaf... that perfect angle, just right for sunflares... that hole in a barbwire fence, waiting to be turned into a natural frame. To some, it comes naturally & with others, it takes effort.
Train your eyes to see the unique beauty in little, ordinary, everyday things, & even if all you have is a point-and-shoot, you'll be one step closer becoming a photographer.

the calm before the storm

Right before a storm sets in, there is this moment of utter calm. The birds stop singing & it seems as if all of creation holds its breath... waiting.. like an audience before the drawing of the curtains. It waits for the Artist to reveal His masterpiece, in all of its glory & splendor. The sky, a seemingly endless palette of gray, tinged pink from the sunset, looks down upon the trees, their leaves shaking, creating beautiful melodies. And then... the first crystal clear drop of rain falls from the heavens... the first rumble of thunder is heard... the first flash of lightning is seen - the cloth covering the canvas has been lifted. And as I stand here, ripples of excitement running through me, bubbling over into a smile, I realize, that no matter how hard I try or how long I live, I'll always fall short of grasping the full majesty of the Creator.