14or40

LAST PHOTO POST OF THE YEAR!

2008-12-31T05:28:00.000-08:00

the end of the 14or40 year...

2008-12-31T04:51:00.000-08:00

first... thanks to ALL who tuned in, once, twice or ALMOST every stinkin' day to look and guess! you made it so much fun...

i will say that for me taking these photos have changed the way i take pictures and the way i look at the world. i look for beautiful things in the most unlikely places. i look for the small things, the things i might usually overlook. my kids even yell out, "hey come look at this for 14or40."

and it is so easy to find beauty EVERYwhere, even in the most unlikely places if you just open your eyes (and look through that camera lens).

one of my favorite quotes from the book "the color purple" is when shug says that she thinks it makes God mad when you walk my the color purple in a field and don't notice it. well, i don't know scripturally if that makes God mad... but i do think it does make us honor Him and be more grateful to Him when we notice beauty in EVERYthing, when we look for the small ways that He is saying, "I love you. I created this world. I know beauty and I put it EVERYwhere, and especially like to hide it in the middle of ugliness, of pain, of hard times. I put beautiful things there to let you know that I am right there in the middle. I have already been there ahead of you and i am there now."

my favorite hymn is "come thou fount of every blessing" and my favorite verse is the last verse.... those lines of "oh to grace how great a debtor" and "prone to wander" those were written with me in mind...

but that middle verse is the strange one... "here i raise my ebenezer; hither by Thy help i'm come". for a long time i had NO idea what an ebenezer was (beside that guy on scrooge), but when i figured it out it all made sense. it is a combination of two hebrew words "even haazer" and means "stone of help". it was a stone that samuel set up after the israelites defeated the philistines and it was set up to remind the people of God's Real, Holy Presence and Divine Help. it was to remind them that the only come to Him or come to any victory by His help.

these photos have been my ebenezer this year. a visual reminder that God is good, this world is beautiful, and He is in the middle of it (even when we think He might be taking a vacation). His Presence has been so real in the darkest moments.

so that is what 14or40 has meant to me this year... a time of raising my ebenezer daily, knowing that it is only by His help that i am able to continue to come, and by His good pleasure to one day arrive at the Home of Eternal beauty. it has been amazing seeing His Hand in everything, in dark places, in tiny places, and not only through my eyes... but jordan's as well.

she is an incredible girl and i thank God for letting me get to know her this year through her photos. i hope that she has raised some ebenezers of her own this year. ones that will stand the rest of her life...

deut 4:9 only be careful, and watch yourself closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing - Robert Robinson, 1757

Come Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

what light through yonder window breaks?: lea, breakfast: jordan

2008-12-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

playing spoons:lea, gold nosed reindeer: jordan

2008-12-29T06:39:00.000-08:00

merry christmas: jordan, cozy bed: lea

2008-12-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

o holy night: jordan, sunset reflection: lea

2008-12-24T06:12:00.000-08:00

wash the dishes: lea, christmas door: jordan

2008-12-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

lights of joy: jordan, jingle all the way: lea

2008-12-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

a touch of blue: lea, pretty colors: jordan

2008-12-19T02:57:00.000-08:00

looking down:jordan, wall candles: lea

2008-12-18T03:34:00.001-08:00

a colorful life: lea, bricks beneath my feet: jordan

2008-12-17T02:57:00.000-08:00

looking up to Him: jordan, walk this way: lea

2008-12-16T03:37:00.000-08:00

growing up: lea, the best hot chocolate: jordan

2008-12-15T03:36:00.000-08:00

the write stuff: lea, always looking up: jordan

2008-12-13T11:25:00.001-08:00

christmas gold: jordan, no leftovers: lea

2008-12-10T13:36:00.001-08:00

hanging teardrops: jordan, sewing a dress: lea

2008-12-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

after the rain: lea, looking out to see life: jordan

2008-12-08T17:33:00.000-08:00

things are lookin' up: lea, glass rose: jordan

2008-12-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

hiding apple: jordan, store it in color: lea

2008-12-04T03:16:00.000-08:00

chandelier: lea, the most wonderful time of the year: jordan

2008-12-03T03:32:00.000-08:00

pretty purple flowers: jordan, not your "ord"inary car: lea

2008-12-02T01:58:00.000-08:00

bery bery purple berries: lea, my gift to you: jordan

2008-12-01T03:30:00.001-08:00

dusty and rusty: lea, sweetly set: jordan

2008-11-26T05:14:00.000-08:00

my room is up there: jordan, don't sit here: lea

2008-11-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

sunset on the roof of the stadium: lea, behind the mask: jordan

2008-11-24T03:25:00.000-08:00

day is almost over: jordan, starbucks: nobody we know, names on a wall: lea, a falling apart house: jordan, a cautionary tale: lea

2008-11-20T18:44:00.001-08:00

so a special contest today.... 5 photos, 2 from jordan, 2 from lea, and one from someone we don't know....

steeple and sky: lea, winking joker: jordan

2008-11-19T03:22:00.000-08:00

i'm a little teapot: jordan, my bark is worse than my bite: lea

2008-11-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

falling for fall: lea, tangled flowers: jordan

2008-11-17T03:18:00.000-08:00

happy sand: jordan, all tied up: lea

2008-11-14T03:07:00.000-08:00

so many shells: jordan, beach party: lea

2008-11-13T03:02:00.000-08:00

fall is here: jordan, bamboo and boards: lea

2008-11-12T03:12:00.000-08:00

so yellow: jordan, not the actual code: lea

2008-11-11T05:41:00.000-08:00

election day: lea, fallen flower: jordan

2008-11-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

don't step on me: jordan, a"corny" picture: lea

2008-11-07T04:38:00.000-08:00

playground: lea, charlotte's web and God's sunlight: jordan

2008-11-06T03:20:00.000-08:00

draw me a rainbow: jordan, letters to soldiers: lea

2008-11-05T02:57:00.000-08:00

spooky punch: lea, chocolate treats: jordan

2008-11-04T03:00:00.000-08:00

the colors of the world: jordan, halloween lights:lea

2008-11-03T02:22:00.000-08:00

tree arms: jordan, thirsty?: lea

2008-10-31T03:27:00.000-07:00

painting party: lea, a pot of sunlight: jordan

2008-10-30T03:28:00.000-07:00

sew what?: lea, it's not real: jordan

2008-10-29T02:44:00.000-07:00

fall colors: lea, circles of joy: jordan

2008-10-28T03:32:00.000-07:00

block building: lea, pretty colors: jordan

2008-10-27T03:22:00.000-07:00

tools of the trade: lea, swaying with the palms: jordan

2008-10-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

Word and calendar: lea, the only way out: jordan

2008-10-23T03:12:00.000-07:00

drink up!: lea, reflection on the ceiling: jordan

2008-10-22T03:11:00.000-07:00

ready for the show: jordan, frost on blackberries: lea

2008-10-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

mail time: jordan, stack o' plates: lea

2008-10-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

leaf lamp: jordan, whoo takes great photos?: lea

2008-10-17T05:37:00.000-07:00

amusement park art: lea, crafts: jordan

2008-10-16T03:17:00.000-07:00

sweets: jordan, new growth on old wood: lea

2008-10-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

happy birthday: jordan, king tut ride: lea

2008-10-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

birthday break time....

2008-10-08T09:34:00.001-07:00

due to the fact that jordan's mom AND lea will be together at the beach for a few days with NO internet service... there will be no 14or40 for the rest of the week... try not to miss us too much....

pink/yellow: lea, color in my water: jordan

2008-10-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

stairway to heaven: lea, melting ice: jordan

2008-10-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

ancient lighting: jordan, palm and fern together: lea

2008-10-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

birthday girls!

2008-10-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

today is jordan's 15th birthday and next sunday will be lea's 41st birthday! so we really should change the name of the blog to... 15or41, but it isn't quite as catchy, is it?

so we will stick to the same name. and as a nice birthday gift to lea and jordan, they are taking a break after wednesday this year (since lea and jordan's mom will be together at the beach and neither can upload the photos).

so send us birthday wishes and keep the guesses coming....

white leaves: jordan, white and webby: lea

2008-10-03T03:31:00.000-07:00

eat mor chikin: jordan, light blue loveliness: lea

2008-10-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

peaceful: lea, above the church: jordan

2008-10-01T03:26:00.000-07:00

color walls: lea, bunch of straws: jordan

2008-09-30T03:26:00.001-07:00

shrimp salad: lea, pretty ceiling; jordan

2008-09-29T03:21:00.000-07:00

lamp and shade: jordan, brighten up your day: lea

2008-09-26T03:44:00.000-07:00

my favorite flower: lea, doggie bowls: jordan

2008-09-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

sunshine on my keyboard: jordan, soccer ball parade: lea

2008-09-24T03:10:00.000-07:00

flower skirt: lea, mama's muffins: jordan

2008-09-23T03:17:00.000-07:00

one missing piece: jordan, drink up: lea

2008-09-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

rusty lantern: lea, forgotten apple juice: jordan

2008-09-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

empty: jordan, ferris wheel: lea

2008-09-18T03:02:00.000-07:00

view through the grass: lea, giant mushroom family: jordan

2008-09-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

palm tree trunk: lea, two tall plants: jordan

2008-09-16T03:19:00.000-07:00

got mail?: jordan, sunset at st. teresa: lea

2008-09-15T03:01:00.000-07:00

i see the light at the end of the tunnel...

2008-09-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

and i think it is a flash from a camera... i can hardly believe that jordan and i have made it through winter, spring, and summer taking photos all of the time. 3 months left to go...

thanks to all of you who have been here from the beginning, and to anyone new who is just joining and all the ones in between.

"A good picture is equivalent to a good deed." ~ Vincent Van Gogh

if you want to see ALL of the photos that we have submitted all in one handy dandy place... check this out

http://picasaweb.google.com/marshalllea/14or40?authkey=EJLLNR0IHGU#

it is pretty cool to see them all in one place....

sandy layers: lea, field of flowers: jordan

2008-09-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

beautiful creation: jordan, sunset flower: lea

2008-09-11T03:08:00.000-07:00

shell shocked: lea, pancakes for breakfast: jordan

2008-09-10T03:02:00.000-07:00

butterfly on my window: jordan, hibiscus: lea

2008-09-09T03:02:00.000-07:00

winner winner chicken dinner (or a set of notecards)

2008-09-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

and the winners of the summer contest are....

correct guesses:

1- shannon (45 correct)

2- robyn j and lynnell (38)

3- sayward (32)

runners up- mellisa (32) and southasiarocks (27)

total guesses

1- shannon (58)

2- lynnell (55)

3- sayward and robyn j. tied (52)

runners up- melissa (45) and southasiarocks (41)

i am ONLY going to reward the top winner with a set of notecards with her favorite photos from the summer. so shannon, let me know one 14 photo and one 40 photo.

and thanks jojo for keeping track of the points EVEN while moving to a new state AND evacuating for a hurricane!

she really deserves a notecard set for all those guesses. and thanks to everyone for playing. we might have a new contest as we get closer to the end of the year!

old kite in the wind: lea, colorful cereal: jordan

2008-09-08T03:04:00.000-07:00

sunshine flower: jordan, under the shade of the palm tree: lea

2008-09-05T02:49:00.000-07:00

kung fu tiger: lea, one little rain drop: jordan

2008-09-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

let's fish: jordan, save me: lea

2008-09-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

little cabin in the woods: lea, mom's salad: jordan

2008-09-02T03:10:00.000-07:00

just a few apples: jordan, green on green: lea

2008-09-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

brown and yellow are the in colors for fall: lea, guitar and his shadow: jordan

2008-08-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

bunny in the breeze: lea, the nativity: jordan

2008-08-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

what do you wanna watch?: jordan, a plethora of periwinkles: lea

2008-08-27T03:05:00.000-07:00

half and half back to school cake: jordan, yellow is the new pink: lea

2008-08-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

neon goggles: lea, over the mountains: jordan

2008-08-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

2nd contest almost finished!

2008-08-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

well, the BIG winners for the 100 posts contest have their wonderful suitable for framing posters of the 14or40 photos of their choosing. (lynnell- i am waiting to mail yours when you are in your new place.) AND our summer contest is almost over. jo should have the results for us all after next weekend AND we are waiting for the two winners... the one who made the MOST correct answers and the one who made the MOST guesses.

have a great weekend and remember...

Everything is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. {kobi yamada}

There is something in every season, in every day, to celebrate with thanksgiving. {gloria gaither}

Artists say: "Stop, look, and see what is real." In our rushing world, no one has time for this. {langdon gilkey}

fish fear my brother: lea, flower on a rainy day: jordan

2008-08-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

gathered for mama: lea, sunshine flowers: jordan

2008-08-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

bubbles by the door: lea, the water moved: jordan

2008-08-20T03:40:00.000-07:00

black eyed susans: lea, wanna play?: jordan

2008-08-19T03:30:00.000-07:00

broken nail: jordan, come sail away: lea

2008-08-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

ceiling at the lincoln memorial: lea, rock and roll: jordan

2008-08-15T05:10:00.000-07:00

the tire swing: jordan, the price of freedom: lea

2008-08-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

knock knock: lea, lonely leaf: jordan

2008-08-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

misty trees: jordan, waterfall wall: lea

2008-08-12T07:00:00.000-07:00