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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