Lightkeeper's Journal

The Master Artist

Sunset Photography and Poem by Norma Beaird

Moon Collage Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

Psalm 113:3

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same

the LORD'S name is to be praised.

 

Psalms 89:37

It shall be established for ever as the moon,

and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

 

The Master Artist

Every day, God creates beautiful artwork in the sky for His creation.

Whether it's a golden yellow sunrise or a fiery orange sunset, 

or a baby blue sky painted with white cotton clouds,

or a cold and gray morning blanketed in a misty dense fog,

each day brings a spectacular canvas created by the Master Artist.

 

Every evening, God gives us a sparkling view of His night sky of wonder.

Whether it's a Waning Crescent Moon, the lunar smile of light,

or a Waxing Gibbous promise of bigger moons to come,

or the shining Full Moon beacon in its lovely shades of glory,

each evening brings an ever-changing canvas created by the Master Artist.

 

All scriptures are King James Version. 

 

 

 

Copyright 2023, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.

 

The Moon in the Bible

 

Waning Gibbous Moon at 83.5% of full

July 17, 2022

 

Photography and Article by Norma Beaird

 

Genesis 1:14-16

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven

to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs,

and for seasons, and for days, and years:

And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven

to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

And God made two great lights;

the greater light to rule the day,

and the lesser light to rule the night:

He made the stars also.

 

According to the website, Bible Gateway, the word moon(s) in the Bible is mentioned 62 times in the King James Version.  The word moon was mentioned for the first time in the Book of Genesis.  A part of creation, the moon was given to us by God to rule the night and light up the sky.   When we live our entire life as King David did, in relationship to a Holy God, we will see God's hand in everything that we do, in every blessing that we receive and in everything that surrounds us.  We will recognize that His glorious creation is beautiful... on land, at sea or in the sky.  We will become vessels of thanksgiving. 

Below is a link from Bible Gateway of the scriptures that have the word moon(s) in the Bible.  The word moon will be highlighted.

Bible Gateway - Moon(s) in the Bible 62 times

 

Psalm 8:3-5

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,

and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

 

Waning Gibbous Moon at 91.4% of full

July 16, 2022

 

1 Corinthians 15:40-41

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial:

but the glory of the celestial is one,

and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

There is one glory of the sun,

and another glory of the moon,

and another glory of the stars:

for one star differeth from another star in glory.

 

Waxing Gibbous Moon at 99.2% of full

July 13, 2022

 

Psalm 72:5-7

 They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure,

throughout all generations.

 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass:

as showers that water the earth.

In His days shall the righteous flourish;

and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

 

All scriptures are King James Version

Copyright 2022, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

 

October's Almost Full Moon over Georgia

 

October's Almost Full Moon at 97% illuminated

The Full Moon on October 13th will be the Hunter's Moon

Photographed by Curtis Beaird on October 11, 2019

 

The Moon and Creator God

By:  Norma Beaird

 

The Moon is God's way of lighting our path in the darkness of night.

This planetary satellite is God's nightlight in the sky,

shining a brilliant glow for the whole world to see.

The Moon reminds us that our Creator is always near

and will gladly light our path on this journey called life.

 

Day or night, Spring or Fall,

the Moon is there to shine for all.

 

 

Copyright 2019, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

 

Full Snow Moon & the Penumbral Eclipse

Above:  February 10, 2017 Composite Image of the Full Moon and Penumbral Eclipse

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

Tonight, we had a Full Moon. Curtis and I love to photograph the moon; or, as I say, "God's NightLight in the Sky!" Last night, I photographed the Waxing Gibbous Moon at 98.6% illuminated. Tonight, Curtis photographed the stages of the Full Moon during the Penumbral Eclipse, when the Earth cast a shadow, a Penumbra, on the moon.

His first moon photograph was at 7:23 pm EST and the last was at 8:54 pm EST. Our vantage point was Dublin, Georgia. You can see how the moon gradually had a shadow on the left side. If we had not been using a 300 mm zoom lens, it would have been difficult to see. He created a composite image to showcase the different stages. Even though this particular eclipse was not a Total Eclipse, you can still see the shadow on the moon.

 

Below:  Thursday, February 9, 2017 photograph of the Waxing Gibbous Moon at 98.6% illuminated.  

Genesis 1:16 (KJV)

"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day,

and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.

 

 

 

Copyright 2017, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.

Reflections from a Front Porch....and the Supermoon

The November 14, 2016 Supermoon behind the Georgia pecan tree

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

Short Story by Norma Beaird

 

It was a cold and humid night in the country as she clutched the hot cup of coffee while sitting on the old front porch. She was wrapped up in a leopard fleece blanket topped off by a black knit winter hat. She gazed at the full moon through the leaves of the pecan tree and thought about the craziness of the presidential election.

She realized that she was glad to be sitting in the woods drinking decaf while wild college students were making noise and marching through the streets of the cities. The closest thing to noise that she could hear were the two deer searching through the brush for falling pecans.

As she became mesmerized with the changing hues of the moon, she drifted into deep thought about the importance of nature and tranquility. She once endured the noise of the city, but now she was renewed by the call of the Barred Owl in the top of the tall Georgia pines.

As the moon rises above the trees out of the lower atmosphere,

the Supermoon is a ball of bright orange. 

As the Supermoon rises higher in the sky, we see a change in hue to a warm golden yellow. 

After the moon has risen even higher in the sky,

the ball of bright orange and warm golden glow turns into a bright fluorescent night light in the sky. 

 

 

Copyright 2016, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

 

God's Night Light in the Sky - The Harvest Moon

The Full Harvest Moon at 99.7% illuminated

September 16, 2016

 

Photography and Poem by Norma Beaird

 

As moonrise begins,

a full Harvest Moon takes on a glorious golden glow.

Then, as the moon begins to rise higher in the sky,

the golden glow turns into a beacon of yellowish eggshell,

and then into a hue of ivory brilliance,

and, while basking in the cool night breeze,

as the moon is way up in the starry sky,

it turns into a bright electric white.

I call this God's Night Light in the Sky.

 

The Full Moon at 99.2% illuminated 

September 15, 2016

 

 

 

Copyright 2016, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

The Moon Peeks through Georgia Pecan Trees

 

Waxing Gibbous Moon at 90.9% illuminated

April 30, 2015

 

Photography and Poem by Norma Beaird

 

The Waxing Gibbous moon so bright,

framed by Georgia pecan trees,

a shimmering, soft fluorescent light,

the fragrant honeysuckle breeze...

 

The Full Flower Full Moon arrives on May 3, 2015! 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

The Moon and Georgia Backwoods

 

Waning Gibbous Moon at 99.5% illuminated

Vantage point: Rural Georgia, Temperature 46 F with 82% humidity

March 7, 2015 

 

Luke 8: 17

For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest;

neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

 

Photography and Poem by Norma Beaird

 

The Moon and Georgia Backwoods 

 

Deep in the Georgia backwoods,

on a cold and humid night,

the moon's fluorescent glowing mist,

gives darkness lunar light.

 

For the light of moon exposes,

deeds of darkness in the trees,

in the lawless land of backwoods,

famed for potions' evil deeds.  

 

As the new moon gives them cover,

in their darkness in the woods,

Gibbous moons once more will highlight,

What is bad and what is good.

 

Crescent moons, like rays of sunlight,

shine a ray of faith in fear,

and each night the light shines brighter,

the full moon is almost here.  

 

Tales may say full moons bring howling,

and a wildness in the trees,

but the full moon shines the brightest,

on an outlaw's evil deeds.  

 

Twelve times a year, the lamp is bright,

and more from gibbous moons,

the crescent night light peeks through clouds,

to banish nighttime gloom.

 

So do your deeds, pretend to hide,

God sees you day or night,

the weathered barns on red dirt roads,

exposed in full moon's light.

 

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.         

The Moon of March

 

Waxing Gibbous Moon at 99.5% illuminated

March 4, 2015

 

Photography and Poem by Norma Beaird

 

.....a breezy Georgia night,

in the glow of pink moonlight,

and a lamp so full and bright.

 

She admired the glistening hues,

of a sky so vivid blue,

what a wondrous, lovely view.  

 

From the Farmers' Almanac:

The Full Worm Moon of March. As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full moon of winter.

 

The Almost Full Moon of March

Waxing Gibbous at 99.5% illuminated

March 4, 2015 at 6:45 p.m.

 

We want to thank EarthSky for featuring our moon photo in their Full Moon feature! 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

January's Full Wolf Moon

 

Full Moon was on Sunday, January 4th, but we had quite a bit of cloud cover.  

However, the January 5th Waning Gibbous Moon at 99.2% illuminated was beautiful to behold.

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

From the Farmer's Almanac:

Full Wolf Moon – January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.

 

Waning Gibbous Moon at 96.8% illuminated

.....peeking behind the Georgia pecan trees

January 6, 2015

 

...and a little later

 

Waning Gibbous Moon at 96.2% illuminated

January 6, 2015

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.