Small Things -a guest post

A sliver of sunshine, a budding leaf. Gentle rainfall and the sound of the wind. A butterfly taking off, flitting around on its tiny wings in the great expanse of the sky.

Beautiful moments, quick but precious. The moments that give so much meaning to life, that are yet so small. Seeing the orange-red sun melt away, drawing behind it a dark, silvery curtain; listening to the rain pattering on the roof. Watching a squirrel nibble on some corn, or listening to a bird’s song.

The joyful trilling of a bird, light and happy, that you hear after learning of a great hardship that has come to you, makes you stop. And wonder.

The one raindrop, clinging to a vivid flower, sparkling like a diamond before you as tears run down your face – because he isn’t coming home – makes you stop. And wonder.

That ray of golden sunshine that cuts through a dreary city, turning a foreboding, abandoned storefront into a thing of beauty, makes us stop. And wonder. And wonder again at how something so old, so broken, so rejected, could become beautiful again.

The moments, beautiful and precious, are a promise, in joy and sorrow, in everyday life and other times. They are a promise that all things will be made new, that there is One who mends the broken, heals the sick, and gives strength to the fatherless. One who will wipe away every tear from our eyes. One who will make all things new. Just as a ray of sunshine turns what is old and castoff into something beautiful, He turns us, broken, tired people, into something glorious for Him.

And when all hope has gone, and there is no strength left to fight for life, He will carry us, and turn what is so old, so broken, so rejected, into something beautiful again.

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:2-6)

Hannah is a photographer, author, and graphic designer; but most importantly, she is a believer in Jesus Christ. She loves finding beauty in creation, and capturing it with her camera. She blogs at hannah.rose.photography and Beauty Design Studios.

Tuesday's Tips -Signature the harder way

I've had many questions on how to make a signature appear for each post. So here ya go! I've found two different ways of inserting a signature in each post. The first way is without messing with any of your blog's HTML code--the easy way. This way only inserts the image in future posts and the image is in the actual post itself.(can accidentally be deleted!) If you do it this way the image for your signature will appear just as any other image in your post. (not such a great idea if your images have borders or drop-shadows)
The second way is to use HTML to automatically put a signature image at the bottom of every post, past and future--the harder way.

[Here] is the tutorial for the easy way.

The following is the 'harder way.'

1}

create your signature

Create your signature in whatever image editing software that you use.  (I personally use GIMP because it is free and works well for what I need)
I would include your name and make the design represent your blog's feel and design. Make it represent you!

2}

upload your signature

Upload your image using whatever image hosting site that you use. (I would suggest Imgur because it is free, doesn't downsize images, privacy settings, is easy to navigate, and loads quickly)

3}

create the code

.post-footer-line-1{
background-image:url(IMAGE LINK);background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:left left;
height:150px;
line-height:150px;
color:$textcolor;
text-transform:none;
letter-spacing:0px;
font-size:14px;
padding:0px;
border-bottom:0px solid #000000;
}

Replace IMAGE LINK with the direct link for your signature. Then change the height and line-height to the same number that is slightly bigger than the height of your image. The reason you have to make it bigger is so that the footer text doesn't overlap part of your image.
You can also customize other things like the border, text-transformation and such as you'd like.

4}

add the code

Go to your dashboard > design > edit HTML.
Search for this code:

h2.date-header{

Then right below that paste your code.

You now have a signature that will appear on every post--past, present, and future--on your blog until you remove/change the code.
Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll get back to you ASAP.

In Christ,

FYI

(For Your Information)

This summer I have the amazing opportunity to go work at a wonderful Christian camp. It is an all summer obligation and I won't have internet access. Therefore I won't be able to keep blogging over the summer. My blog won't be entirely neglected all summer. I have several wonderful guest posts lined up and a few Tuesday's Tips.





I will be serving in the horse barn as an Assistant Horsemanship Instructor. I will be assisting with lessons, chores, work projects, games, just to name a few things. =D





I have attended this camp for the past six years(five as a camper and last year as an in-training.). The photos in this post were taken last year. I will return with many stories to share, but unfortunately no photos. The point and shoot camera I took last year finally died. =(





Other news:



If you're interested, I am hosting a photography challenge over at my photography blog. =)





With the newest version of blogger comes some changes. One of those changes is that the 'edit HTML' option of blogger is going to be removed!!
Help keep 'edit HTML' for Blogger! Sign the petition [here]. More info [here].
AHHHhhh!!!

Speaking of designs, I just finished this one for the giveaway winner. =) -->


Until the end of summer my friends!

Love in Christ,

"All you have is now."

Tuesday's Tips -Hiding the Video Part of Embedded YouTube Videos

EDIT: With the newest YouTube videos this tutorial will not work well. You can no longer see the menu/slider at the bottom, instead it is all squashed together.

Super long title, I know. =P But how else was I to describe it?! Anyways, this is a really simple little trick that does hide the video part of an embedded You Tube video. Basically it makes it just a music player instead of a video. So if you wanted to share a song but didn't want your readers to be distracted by the video part or if you didn't like the video part, this simple trick is what you'll need to know.



This is what it will look like when you're done.




So you take the code for the YouTube video that you want to share and copy/paste it into the 'Edit HTML' section of your post. This is what it will look like:

<iframe width="400" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-FribXzqHVE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

All you need to do is change the height to 27 like this:

<iframe width="400" height="27" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-FribXzqHVE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It doesn't matter what size the video originally was, the bar part that you want seen is always 27. Except for every once in a while I've come across ones that are 25 instead--so be aware of these strange occurrences.



Ta-da! You did it--told ya it was simple. =)



Have a lovely Tuesday!



In Christ,

A song. A quote. A picture.

A song.

Show Me What it Means
by Meredith Andrews

So show me what it means
What it means
To take up my cross
And count it all as lost
All for the sake
Of knowing You
To love my enemies
And care for those in need
Show me what it means
To follow You

A quote.

"One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime." — Elizabeth Elliot

A picture.

What Christ has done...

"You can't live for God until you learn how to live because of God. And you can't go and make good choices for God until you understand the gospel that says the choices you make don't make you who are, what Christ has done for you makes you who you are." -Mike Donehey

You Are More
by Tenth Avenue North

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

'Cause this is not about what you've done,
But what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
But where your brokenness brings you to
This is not about what you feel,
But what He felt to forgive you,
And what He felt to make you loved.