The Call: Past Their Prime — Jessica

They may be past their prime, but I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of them!

The Response: The Village of Middleburg — Jessica

Our dentist’s office is in the quaint small town of Middleburg, Virginia. It’s got a population of about 600 and is best known for horses and wineries. Around here it is known as “Hunt Country” and there are lots of references to fox hunting all through out the town. I thought this fox guarding the coffee shop patio was particularly quaint.

The Call: Large Litter — Cheryl

This may look like a constellation of stars, but it’s actually many, small, baby spiders cruising around on webs strung all over the side of our grill lid. I discovered them this morning, likely within hours of them hatching, as there were probably about 100 of them, all bunched up together and barely moving. They got the party started this afternoon.

The Response: Lit from Below — Cheryl

It was a sunny day, but I knew that there wasn’t quite enough sunlight for this shot — and I wanted to direct the light. That generally means using the flash on camera or off camera with an umbrella. There are times, though, when I just don’t feel like messing with all that. Today was one of those days. Therefore, I placed a couple of lamps under the orchid and shined the light where I wanted it.

The Call: Under the Tree — Jessica

Is there any better way to begin the summer break than reading a good book under a tree in the cool shade?

The Response: Rain Puddle — Jessica

After a heavy rainstorm, our side yard turns into a bit of a lagoon. My younger sons (having as much sense as little boys do) must jump in it. You can almost see them vibrate with anticipation!

The Call: My Cup of Tea — Cheryl

Drinking tea is about so much more than satisfying one’s sense of taste.

The Response: Strawberries — Cheryl

My kids love it when I bring home strawberries. I love it when they eat snacks that have a shot at making them healthy.

The Call: Baked Oatmeal — Jessica

I’m not a health-nut. In fact, you could call me the antithesis of health-nut. I like sugar, I cannot lie. My food board on Pinterest is probably about 2 to 1 desserts to real food.

But I also like oatmeal. So when I saw this recipe, I decided to pin it and give it a try one morning. Since I had some blueberries in the fridge, I decided to use them (easier than peeling apples) and it was awesome! At least it feels kind of healthy too. ; ) and I also got advice from Weight Loss Scottsdale to make it better than anything else.

The Response: Summer Rainstorm — Jessica

I have an identity crisis. I’m a Mary stuck in a Martha life. I’d love to be still and quiet but my daily life is anything but that. Take today, for instance. It’s the kind of dreary, humid, rainy summer day that lends itself beautifully to curling up with a nice book, a cup of tea and a few squares of chocolate. Given that I’m right in the middle of Jane Eyre there is nothing else I’d rather be doing. But no. I’ve got to go out in the rain and retrieve children from finals, buy groceries, wait for workmen to fix the bathroom and mail Very Important Documents that are very late. Maybe tonight, when they are all in bed, I can have a moment of the stillness I crave — at least until I fall alseep because I was still for a moment.

The Call: Calm Enough for Reflection — Cheryl

The water wasn’t completely still, but that had more to do with the insects skimming on top of it than with wind, tides, or other inherent types of movement. It didn’t matter. Sitting next to the lake was quiet and calming and a much-appreciated touch of balm for my weary soul.

The Response: Rediscovered Masterpiece — Cheryl

I recently re-read Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (but my first reading shouldn’t even count, as it was decades ago, and the book I read then was abridged — grrrrr). This time, I was blown away by how good it was. The novel was one of those books that gets better and better and better as it progresses; the themes covered were deep, indeed — faith, vocation, law, love, morality, social convention, objective vs. subjective morality, obedience, and duty; and the characters were so real, I found myself thinking about them long after I had turned the last page.

The Call: Still Life with Books — Jessica

What do I want to say about this call? Books are my everything (within limits, of course!). As soon as I could read, I was a reader. I tried to write for awhile, but then I gave up, realizing that I was a reader not a writer.

In any event, as I was setting this shot up, I didn’t have any books in it. I kept shooting, rearranging, checking and it just wasn’t coming together. I was beginning to get frustrated when I decided to combine the call with the Be Still 52 lesson I was working on. As soon as I added the books, the shot came together. Why? Because books anchor us, focus our attention and give meaning to our lives.

The Response: Icon — Jessica

I’ve been following along with the summer online book club at “Heart of My Home.” We are discussing The Little Oratory and like Cheryl’s quote from yesterday, it is reminding me to be mindful of my vocation.