Last but not least!

¹⁴ So the Word became human

and made his home among us. 

He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.

 And we have seen his glory, 

the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
~John 1:14 NLT


Last but not least!
I love my job!
It puts me in contact with allot of people 
in different situations. People that I might not have 
otherwise even ever met.  I enjoy helping people too, 
and seeing the faces of those who are appreciative.


My career is in energy sales and safety.  
I believe we have a tremendous challenge 
ahead of us, and that it can be met.  
The challenge is going to be: 
finding energy sources to sustain 
ourselves, while maintaining the integrity of 
a world where water, food, and air are clean, 
yet wildlife, nature, and plant forms are 
allowed to continue to co-exist!  

I also am becoming more of an environmentalist as I get older.  

Our future on this earth depends on clean water, clean air, 

clean food, and clean efficient renewable energy sources!

I want to pass on this site, and ask that you also pass the word on too.  

We have a huge responsibility to conserve, 

and educate about energy sources.  

Leave a place better than you found it!

Here is a very educational 
Kids Energy website.  
(Several of us older kids can still learn allot too!) 
This will be very very important info to our children
 and grand children in the future.

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=about_energy_conversion_calculator-basics#natgascalc

Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you will find a whole

menu of different training exercises, and info that is very much

oriented to children, and also adult teaching guides about energy!

I found of particular interest the
"Things to do" 

 - activities for kids of almost any age to get involved in.

Let me know what you think.

Try passing this on to the children's teachers too.


Yes, this is the last day of 2009.
If we work together, and educate our youth,
this last day will not be the least!

Love to all,

Norm

Peace on Earth

²⁸ Have you never heard?
      Have you never understood?

The Lord is the everlasting God,
      the Creator of all the earth.
   He never grows weak or weary.
      No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
 ²⁹ He gives power to the weak
      and strength to the powerless.
 ³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired,
      and young men will fall in exhaustion.
 ³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
      They will soar high on wings like eagles.
   They will run and not grow weary.
      They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40 28-31

~ NLT

Peace on Earth
Our best source of preparation is

turning to God, and the bible is our instruction book.

Our "back-up plan" is just knowing His forgiveness and

to trust in Him, without relying on our own understanding.

Merry Christmas!

Love to all, Norm

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The perfect gift!

"Jesus replied, 'If you only knew the gift

God has for you and who you are speaking to,

you would ask me,

and I would give you living water."

~ John 4:10, NLT

The perfect gift!

The perfect gift seems to be a challenge for many people.

I guess I must admit, I do not enjoy fighting the traffic, and trying to find the right gift for everyone. But, on the other hand, I take quite a bit of pleasure in pleasing people, and one way is to give them something that really touches their heart strings.

Tradition shows up about now too.

My father always received one special gift from my mother each year. For as far back as I can remember, Mom quite often got our Dad a box of chocolate covered cherries for Christmas! Us boys never new the real reason, and full story behind the gift, but we knew very well the love behind the tradition. I am sure it started in the early days of their courtship, and we new that it was a very special gesture shared between the two of them.

As a small boy, Christmas gifts were so very special to me, and still are. I always wanted to stay up all night to get a glimpse of Santa, and I remember catching him placing gifts under the tree a few times!

Several very special memories were the

home-made gifts that I shared with my

two brothers. Our Dad is a very talented carpenter,

and we received a big red barn and a

rocking horse for Christmas one year. I must have

been only 3 or 4 years old, but I remember sneaking downstairs before anyone else, to find that

red barn and a horse we named "Rocky" under the tree.

I am told that I came running back upstairs

to wake everybody up,
and yelling: "he bringed a barn!"

Glow candles for the moms
and leather loop belts for the Dads!

We made special hand made gifts such as these
in country school every year!
Mrs. Russell, our teacher knew something
about making other people feel special!
She taught us that the gift given from the heart
with genuine love, will never be forgotten.

God knew what to give us. His Son.
His gift will never be forgotten.

Hope, Faith, Love, and

Peace on Earth!


Our best source of preparation is
turning to God, and the bible is our instruction book.
Our "back-up plan" is just knowing His forgiveness and
to trust in Him, without relying on our own understanding.

Love to all, Norm

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Chances are...

"Trust in the Lord
with all your heart;
do not depend on
your own understanding."
~ Proverbs 3:5, NLT

Have you ever said: gee, I wish I would have had my camera!

Many times I come upon something like the

4 deer that stood next to the roadway, and watched me pass by slowly!

I can never plan on such a shot,

and even when I try to in my dreams,

at the last moment before I am ready to press

the shutter button, they always seem to flee away fast.

I usually try to be prepared, and be ready

for such moments, and am never too far from my camera.

As a photographer, I never know when opportunities

will present themselves, so it pays to be camera ready.

I have also learned that a back-up plan is also a good idea.

Usually when I go on a "photo shoot",

I have been known to carry at least

2 other cameras with different lenses attached,

so I really do have a back up plan in place.

Life is kinda like that too. We never know

what is in our future, and we need

to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances.

The best thing I can say here is that

I need to do my part as best I can, but not to

worry too much about what I don't know.

It is normal, I guess, to fear that which I don't understand,

and some portion of fear keeps me on my toes too.

Our best source of preparation is

turning to God, and the bible is our instruction book.

Our "back-up plan" is just knowing His forgiveness and

to trust in Him, without relying on our own understanding.

Love to all, Norm

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"Called to rise"

"And you must love
the Lord your God
with all your heart,
all your soul,
and all your strength."
~ Deuteronomy 6:5, NLT

Called to rise

We never know how high we are

Till we are called to rise

And then, if we are true to plan

Our statures touch the skies.

~Emily Dickenson

I know there have been many young men and women who set out to serve their country in the military, who really had no idea what the outcome would be. They plunged head-on to the task,and relied on their training, and their faith in themselves and God that things would be fine.

Families back home wondered whether their loved one would be back soon , or at all.

We pause to pay tribute to those who gave. They gave their dedication to God and country ~ some giving life it's self ~ that future generations might continue to enjoy freedom from oppression, persecution, and terrorism.

We also remember those families left behind, for they too are

"called to rise".

LOVE TO ALL, Norm

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"...and know that I am God."

"Be still
in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently
for him to act."
~ Psalm 37:7, NLT

Sometimes you can just say no more!

Love to all, Norm

"It's a boy!"

"And he also said, 'It is finished!
I am the Alpha and the Omega—
the Beginning and the End.
To all who are thirsty
I will give freely from the
springs of the water of life.”
~ Rev 21:6, NLT

"Listen My Son"

Few things in life give us more pleasure than when a child is born to us. Those are just empty words when you have not been there. The instant pride, and feelings of accomplishment come over you, and you just want to tell the whole world about it!

I remember November 2, 1978 as being one of the busiest days of the fall harvest, as well as planting season for winter wheat. The responsibility I had to run a small branch operation at our local coop elevator sometimes was overwhelming for just two employees, but we managed somehow.

I had left my expectant wife earlier that same day, anticipating the blessed even very soon. She said I will be fine. I will call you when it is time. The day went by uneventful, and I was able to go home for lunch, as always. She said this may be the day! I told her to give me a little warning, and I would come running to get her to the hospital.

After several hours and checking 2 or 3 times, I was sorta thinking maybe she will wait until the next day. Well I had just finished dumping a load of grain in the elevator when I heard that horn sound to signal that the phone was ringing, so I ran inside to answer it. Sure enough, it was my wife telling me to hurry, because it was time to go!

I passed the truck that I had just dumped, and we barely made to the hospital with 20-30 minutes to spare. I let her out at the emergency entrance, and was going to move the car and hurry to attend the birth, but did not make it quite in time! After parking the car away from the emergency entrance, when I arrived he was just born. As I hurried in, the nurse said "It's a boy!" The Doctor had been paged, but did not make it in time either!

I remember holding him as he cried the first time. I said to him in a calm voice: "Listen my son". He stopped crying and seemed to look right at me! What a feeling as I handed him to his mother.
Love you much son! Happy birthday!

Love to all, Norm

Every step I take

"Let all that I am praise the Lord;

may I never forget the good things

he does for me."

~ Psalm 103:2, NLT

I was anticipating the beautiful sunset to come,

as I packed my tripod and camera out to the field .

The country church was about 1/2 mile from me ~ to the west.

It had been a very cloudy day, but you could see breaks

where the sun beams were poking through,,

and I just knew the reflection

from those clouds would be beautiful.

When I got to the right spot, and set up,

I was given a gift from above!

All the glory of His paint brush showed through,

and like a crescendo, the sun poked through

just a few moments before it disappeared!

The amazing thing of that event was

that I had Left the car radio playing, as I set up,

and the song on K-Love was beginning to play

"Lead me to the Cross"

just as the sun appeared !

I certainly felt God's presence

in that mexperience, and could not wait

to tell my wife when I returned!

Love to all, Norm

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In the Shadow of My Tree

“In the Shadow of ‘My Tree’ ”

Norm Nicholson

As a young boy of 10 years old, the summer of 1959 found me in “My tree” most of my spare time, when I was not helping put up hay or doing my regular chores. As I recall, a neighbor boy and my little brother, (both 2 years younger) and I, constructed the tree house (with a little help from our Dad) about half way between the neighbor boy, Jack’s house, and ours.

Although the “Tree House Tree” was less than an eighth mile from either house, a real escape into an imaginary world was possible there. With the help of our father, we set up a semi-working battery operated telegraph and ran wires to our second floor bedrooms in each house from the tree house tree. Our humble tree dwelling was quite the boy’s dream! Sometimes equipped with a crystal radio, thanks to my brother Lynn, and close by to our bass pond/swimming hole.

This young man knew at an early age there was something very special about trees, and especially “My Tree”. That summer of 1959 was more special than I knew at the time. Not fully realizing the magnitude of what I had done, I publicly accepted Christ, and was baptized later that year. The tree had been a major influence in allowing me time alone with God. Although there were more questions than answers, I learned to talk one-on-one, me and God in the shadow of “my tree”. Now as I look back, I often long for those special talks in the shade of the large Elm, and I regularly find the need to get away with him with just my back pack and camera. Peaceful, thanking moments now are still treasured in that shadow that continues to follow me.

I often think of the trees we pass in life, each one gazed upon, and a special connection. That tree connected me with friends, with nature, and with God. I know Dad knew of the special connection. He helped place value in those solitary thanking moments, and made sure I knew I was never really alone in the shadow of “my tree”. Our father was a carpenter, and often would make a serious point that we should never take the wood for granted. Dad’s influence would tell of the timber Jesus carried for me, without ever saying it that way. He farmed also, and would build the best hedge post fences in the community, often remarking about those trees linking the whole thing together. I now know he has always been aware of that special connection too.

I try to appreciate “My Tree” now, as I have grown older, possessively in my own heart and mind. This one is shaped in the form of a cross, casting it’s shadow on me. His cross, His tree, my Tree. Trees protect us, house us, hold up our fences. They provide wind breaks and shade, they inspire, trees provide habitat, they nourish us, they teach us, they connect us and one tree saved us.

Love to all, Norm

Working for Him!

"Work willingly at whatever you do,
as though you were working for the Lord
rather than for people.
~ Colossians 3:23, NLT"

"Willing Workers"

It is the name chosen for a Sunday school class

by members of a small town church. It has always

intrigued me that we can get so bogged down

with our day-to-day work, that we

forget why we are here in the first place!

Not always is it possible to remain focused on the

path to righteousness when we are up to our eyeballs

in the swamp of work-life. It does, however, help me

to sorta take a small step back in my mind, and

try to imagine that I am not working just for

my pay check, but for God!

I cannot tell you how many times this simple bible

verse has got me through the project or just through the day!

As a photographer, it has become my mission statement.

Imagine being out in the glory of nature

with that sort of mission

~ to capture images that glorify HIM.

Love to all, Norm

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Pleasant Words

"A wise man's heart guides his mouth,
and his lips promote instruction.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

~Proverbs 16:23-24 NIV

We are what we say!

Recently I joined the Face Book craze.

Partly out of curiosity I guess.

I also have found that it has become

a way of communication for several

of my friends and family.

Although, I must say, I have rather

enjoyed the thing, I have some

real concerns. We must be very careful

with security these days, and I know

I am putting my heart out there~somewhat

exposed by participating in these modern

toys of social networking.

The part that bothers me most is people

using the bad and vane language .

I am appalled, to be honest. I tell myself, at

least they are not afraid to be themselves.

But I really wonder about that thought though.

Is using profanity in ordinary conversations

really who we are?

My challenge to anyone who is guilty of this sort

of behavior, is to stop, and think what it is costing them!

Are they just playing some sort of game, wanting

to be part of the crowd and be accepted by others?

Just pray about this problem,

and if you are guilty, ask for help.

He will accept you, and forgive.

If God can, so can I.

Love to all, Norm

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Proverbs 15 - Passage Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com

Proverbs 15 - Passage Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com:

"The eyes of the LORD are everywhere,
keeping watch on the wicked and the good."

~Proverbs 15:3 NIV

My new Big Chief tablet

I remember that new Big Chief writing tablet

like everyone used back then. I was a first grader

at White Cloud school. The only one in my class too!

I so looked forward to using that tablet each day.

The pages were that rough textured brown

paper, and the lines were very wide. I liked to draw allot, and

would spend my spare time doodling on a different

fresh page every chance I could get.

I can still remember the way that tablet smelled,

and the freshness of each new page.

We have a chance to experience a similar feeling

with God on each new day!

Make it a great one, and do something creative.

Love to all, Norm

http://www.nicholsonphotoimages.com/

Respect

He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress,

and for his children it will be a refuge.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain

of life, turning a man

from the snares

of death.

~Proverbs 14:26-27 NIV

Respect

Many times in my passion for photography,

I have relied on the wisdom and expertise of others.

Surely God put them here to teach the rest of us.

I know I would not be the person I am, were it

not for the relationships and influence

of others. I thank God for taking me to the

place I seem to be.

Life must be like that, though.

We must learn, and pass on

~ all the while leaning on each other.

Keep respect for each other and

always leaning on Jesus.

Love to all, Norm

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When I say "I am a Christian"

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

Call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are my ways your ways..."

~ Isaiah 55:6-8 NIV

Our Pastor, David Bigley, used the poem below

in his service today. I thought

I would pass it on to you.

I REALLY like this, and can always relate to David's sermons so well.
I Googled the poem when I got home, and found it in this web site. Allot of photos and poems to look through. Sometime, maybe I will browse a little. Whenever I do that though, I tend to spend allot of time.

There are most likely more Carol Wimmer poems too.
Thanks for the poem Carol.
I will also pass on the link to All Creatures.org ~
http://www.all-creatures.org/poetry/whenisay.html

Submitted 17 May 1998 by Debra <QEagle@aol.com>

When I say "I am a Christian"

By: Carol Wimmer

When I say..." I am a Christian"

I'm not shouting "I am saved"

I'm whispering "I get lost"

"That is why I chose this way"

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I don't speak of this with pride

I'm confessing that I stumble

and need someone to be my guide

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I'm not trying to be strong

I'm professing that I'm weak

and pray for strength to carry on

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I'm not bragging of success

I'm admitting I have failed

and cannot ever pay the debt

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I'm not claiming to be perfect,

my flaws are all too visible

but God believes I'm worth it

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I still feel the sting of pain

I have my share of heartaches

which is why I seek His name

When I say..."I am a Christian"

I do not wish to judge

I have no authority

I only know I'm loved.

Love to all, Norm

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"Great Plains~America's lingering wild" by Michael Forsberg

Always be joyful. Never stop praying.

Be thankful in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for

you who belong

to Christ Jesus.

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT

Happy Birthday Mike!

A nature and conservation photographer ~ Mike Forsberg, with the help of many people, has created a masterpiece for all of America!

The picture book is titled "Great Plains ~ America's Lingering Wild". The effort took over 3 years, and more than 100,000 miles to accomplish.

With text and content help from Dan O'Brien, David Wishart, and Ted Kooser, Mike has put together stunning photographs and field notes from the prairie lands that are sure to enlighten us all.

Don't just look at the pictures, for if you do, you will miss what his passion is! He wants to bring awareness to the fact that man has forever changed, and in some cases eliminated part of the Great Plains. When we moved west, and settled the country west of the Missouri River, we interrupted habitat, and plant and animal species, and moved the Native Americans from their home land.

People like Mike Forsberg , and friend and nature photographer Joel Sartore, have a passion that I share. We may just be our own greatest enemies when it comes to disruption and conservation of our most valuable asset: the environment and earth we live on.

Pick up the book, and study each page. Help do your part. As Mike says "time is short".

Happy birthday Mike! Congratulations on the book.

Love to all, Norm

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Our National Parks ~ America's best Idea!

For God is working in you,

giving you the desire

and the power to do

what pleases him.

~ Philippians 2:13, NLT

"Our National parks

~ America's best idea."

If you have not taken the time to watch some of the PBS special by Ken Burns, you are missing a wonderful opportunity! Episode 6, my favorite to date, is currently airing on Public Television. I think there will be a total of twelve episodes. My what a moving masterpiece this is. Such a gift to the American people!

We owe so much to the dedicated conservationists who had the foresight to assure the preservation of land dedicated to National Park transformation. From the work of these people came the conservation and environmental preservation efforts that will last for all generations to come.

Men like Adolf Murie, and John Muir, who studied the land and wildlife, with such passion. Subjects such as giant Sequoia trees, and wolves. Many more people, pioneered efforts to keep commercialization out of lands that needed protection.

People in government like Stuart Udall, and His brother Maurice, along with the brave efforts of people like Janita Greene, and Lancelot Jones who knew in their hearts that this land had to be protected. And President Jimmy Carter, who used the "Antiquities Act" in Alaska.

Park rangers like John Cook, a 4th generation Park Ranger for 40+ years, passing the badge to his daughter Kacie Cook Collins, who in turn, may have a son (now age 5) to become a park ranger for a 5th generation of dedication!

As one person said during tonight's episode: "I may never make it to Alaska to see Denali, but at least I know it is there!" "One last chance to get it right!"

For all, I am glad that America is glad that they had the desire to do what pleases God! Tune in and watch ~ you might just learn! I have.

For now, Love to all, Norm

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Opportunities to improve

"Ask and it will be given to you,

seek and you will find,

knock and the door

will be opened to you."

~Matthew 7:7 NIV

Back to basics:

What does ISO really mean?

I get a lot of questions about this "photo stuff", so here are a few tips.
The letters ISO can scare a beginner off! Thus begins the challenge to learn. Along with the learning, comes the opportunity to really improve the quality of your photography. I have found in my experience that the same principle applies to digital as well as my old film camera. That seems to be the best way of understanding ISO to me. Just think of ISO as "film speed". In the digital camera then ISO is your camera sensors' sensitivity to light and how it affects your images.

Keep it simple:
If I have my camera set for ISO 100, simply put, I have 100 opportunities or possibilities to gather light. When I change the ISO setting to 200 I now have 200 opportunities to capture light. The sensor can now gather the light that comes through the lens twice as easy, and make an image.

If we continue to compare ISO 100 and ISO 200, with the lens aperture (opening size) set at f/5.6, the same volume of light will be coming through my lens at each setting, but at the ISO setting of 200, I will record the image the quickest, since I have have twice as many opportunities to gather the light. So, the more I need light, I can compensate for the need with a higher ISO setting.

Then shutter speed comes into play! Why is shutter speed important? If I am trying to photograph a mushroom on a cloudy, overcast day: With a setting of ISO 200, 1/250 sec. is pretty close, but for ISO 100, I will need more time, or 1/125 sec. ~ a longer exposure is needed to capture more light.

You can do a simple learning exercise by writing down the indicated shutter speeds required at different settings. Try setting your ISO to 200, and your aperture to f/8. Focus at a subject and adjust your shutter speed until a correct exposure is indicated. (Usually the indicator lights stop blinking!) Write down the shutter speed. Next adjust up to ISO 400, keeping the aperture at f/8, and point the camera at the same subject. Now your light meter is indicating a different shutter speed for a correct exposure. Write it down. Do the same procedure at ISO 800 and again for 1600.

What have you noticed? When you change from ISO 100 to ISO 200 your shutter speed changed: from 1/125 second to 1/250 second or perhaps something like from 1/160 sec. to 1/320 sec. See the pattern? Each shutter speed is close to, if not exactly half as much as the one before it.

So, changing from 1/125 sec. to 1/250 sec. is half as long the exposure time. When you set the ISO to 400, you went from 1/125 sec to 1/500 sec.

Just as each halving of the shutter speed is called 1 stop, each change from ISO 100 to ISO 200 to ISO 400 is considered a 1-stop increase (an increase of opportunities to gather light).

You can do this same exercise by leaving the shutter speed the same, for instance at 1/125 sec., and changing the aperture until a correct exposure is indicated in the viewfinder; or, if you choose to stay in auto exposure mode, select shutter-priority, set a shutter speed of 1/125 sec., and the camera will set the correct aperture for you.

Yes, new opportunities exist. Try "knocking on the door" of a new way of doing photography ~ you will just be as amazed as I have been! Maybe we will discuss this basic stuff again! My best advice: try it, and don't quit. It soon will become second nature to you!

For now ~ Love to all, Norm

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The right Light

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place

where it will be hidden, or under a bowl.

Instead, he puts it on it's stand,

so that those who come in

may see the light."

~Luke 11:33 NIV

He is the light.

The amazing truth parallel here is the fact that photography is all about light! Most professional photographers will readily agree that the exact right light will make all the difference in any situation.

If I have a hard time seeing my subject clearly, I must step back, and check my focus, or make sure nothing is blocking my lens, or vision.

The sermon by our pastor today focused on this subject. I think it is amazing sometimes, as a photographer, that not always am I in the right frame of mind to capture all the beauty that was intended for each shoot. Sometimes there can be things that block my view, and cloud over the "light".

I know, the same applies to our lives. As pastor said, we need to not focus on the stresses and ugly things in our lives, or that will be all that we are able to see.

Try this: do a back yard, or other, photo shoot with your mind focused on the "proper light", and you will be as amazed as I am in the difference it will make. Do the same thing when we go out into the world each day, and see how His light will shine the way!

Love to all, Norm

http://www.nicholsonphotoimages.com/

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"Then you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free."

~ John 8:32 NIV

The character of a man.

This doorway to the building that housed several of the classes that I took in collage had this inscription above every head that passed through it. Although I admit, I passed through several times without noticing, or looking up, this has become one of my favorite verses.

I take strength in knowing, as I did in my long passed school days, that these words mean what they say. He died for me and no matter what I am going through, His truth remains for me, and anyone who keeps the faith.

It has got to be hard for us to keep walking the path He has set for us, but just knowing that if, or more accurately, when we stumble or get off course, that truth will remain.

Character is our signature. What we do and say does matter. The people we touch, or that touch us in some way, will become a part of us. Our best asset in life is that signature we wear. That part of us that knows the good truth about our Savior will guide us through those tough times.

Help someone to realize the "truth", and you have helped the world.

Love to all, Norm

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Thank you.

Each man should give

what he has decided in his heart to give,

not reluctantly or under compulsion,

for God loves a cheerful giver.

-2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV

Giving back!

       I am not sure why, but I love to help those who have a real need.  I guess it makes us feel really good inside to know that we have said the right thing at the right time, or been there to just listen when they needed to tell someone about their "life lesson" moment.

          She was an elderly lady - mid 70"s most likely.  She was very pleasant as I walked up to the cash register where she was about to check out my small load of purchases at the local store.  As checkers do, she asked if I found everything ok, as I proceeded to pile everything from my shopping cart to the check-out moving treadmill.  I replied that all I needed to find yet today was a little more time.  You see, it was almost ready to rain outside, and I was wanting to get home to do some painting.

          She said: "you and I have them all allright"!  I thought she was referring to my small boatload of purchases.  But then she said: "yes sir you have all 24 of them"!  She was referring to all 24 hours, when I finally understood what she was meaning!   I said; "actually, I need more time before the rain starts to do some painting outdoors".  "Oh well", I said, "we always need the rain".

          Then her face got very sad looking, and she told me that sometimes she did not like the rain any more.  She related how it was raining the night her husband died in her arms at home.  She had to listen to the driving hard rain storm as she waited for the ambulance to arrive.  She just knew that it was too late, and it seemed like a very long time before the rescue unit came.

          That will always remind her of the saddest time in her life, and all I could do was listen.  Several people had piled up behind me in the check out line, and all of them were watching me listen to a sad story that brought tears to an elderly lady, as she released some needed tension to a total stranger!  No one said a word, and I was very aware by then, that they all were beginning to almost tear-up too.

http://nicholsonphotoimages.com/site/#/gallery/clouds/016/

          I then finished up my purchases, and gave her a small hug, and a pat on the shoulder, as I said "I will say a special prayer for you".  She said "thank you for listening to me, and I want you to know the next week for his funeral, it stopped raining.  He even sent His rainbow to remind me that He would always be there for me!  You know, today was his birthday".

          I am thankful for the lesson he gave us in the check out line that day!  It could have been different.  People behind me could have complained.  I could have rushed on home to paint.  I could have missed His rainbow "life lesson"!

Love to all, Norm

http://www.nicholsonphotoimages.com/

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Please do not copy or use the content or pictures

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Thank you.

I am praying to you because

I know you will answer,

O God. Bend down

and listen as I pray.

~ Psalm 17:6, NLT
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First time!

Along time ago, my Dad taught me to use a hammer! 

There is a certain nack to it.  You remember the first time

you tried it, don't you?  First, as I remember it, I was not very old,

and the hammer was ment for an adult.  He taught me to pick

the right tool for the job, and the correct manner

to hold the hammer. 

I know now that it must have taken alot

of patience for him to watch

me do it wrong so many times,

and not say much. 

I flash back to that lesson now when ever I

pick up a hammer, and remember, sometimes

after I hit my thumb, the correct way

to drive a nail, and the proper swing

to use that will produce the best results!

Practice helps, and if you are like me,

and don't drive nails every day, you need to

get the hang of it, and then get into the groove

before you make much progress. 

Prayer must be like that too.

God is so patient with us.  Sometimes he must

just laugh at us in anguish, as we think

we have it all under control.

All we need to do is ask our Father for a little help!

Love to all, Norm

http://www.nicholsonphotoimages.com/

The content and pictures of this blog are copyrighted

Please do not copy or use the content or pictures

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Thank you.