JAM4the1Lamb's Xanga

Beside Quiet Waters, Going to Waterfalls, and Cityscape Photos

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:25:15 GMT

Gentle to Rapids
"...he leads me beside quiet waters" (Psalm 23:2). We all want a bit of rest; a time where we can relax and enjoy the calm around us. We need it to function. Yet how often do we look to God to lead us to where we can find the most rest? Do we follow His lead not only through the rough moments when we have no certainties, but also through the quiet times when all seems easy and predictable? Deciding that the calm, easy, restful times are something that we can control sets us up for disaster. We become complacent, no longer faithfully following in every moment, believing that because the times are easy, we can manage. Then the road becomes rocky, the waters beside turn to rapids, and we suddenly scramble to find His steps again, perhaps on our hands and knees having stumbled. What if we stayed in step with Him? Would the change from calm to rocky, from quiet waters to rapids, even be as noticeable? Would we even be as attentive to the struggles versus the peace around us?

Skyscrapers to Waterfalls
I am by no means a morning person. I do not dread mornings and am not an angry person in the morning (unless you wake me early... then stay away), but likewise I do not jump out of bed singing at 5am (or 6, or 7...). So it took all my self-convincing to get out of bed for a dawn shot of Cincinnati from the hotel room. The night shot was easy, since it was when we had returned to our hotel room. I never was very happy with any of the compositions of my 25 shots, but oh well. Tomorrow we head to a place more along my type of photography: West Virginia. From city shots to mountains and waterfalls, which you know me for. Probably no post tomorrow, but I should be able to continue posting Friday and Saturday. Where would you rather be right now: downtown in a city or deep in the mountains?

Showing Christ, Shooting Fireworks and Cinci Photos

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:42:57 GMT

Love of Christ
Someone recently said "When you go to church, you aught to be made to feel like somebody. Someone loved and cared for. Someone special." It's sad that there are so many places that call themselves a church, but look and act nothing like a church. Sure they have a steeple, meet every Sunday morning, and have "church" printed on their sign, but they've become little more than a social club patting themselves on the back. A church must build up it's members, but it must never forget its first priority: reaching out to those who are separated from Christ. Our value is not in ourselves but in God's love for us. Whomever you come across, let them see the love of Christ in you. Let them see it in your church.

Shooting Fireworks
This is one of those unfocused days where my mind seems to be anywhere but what I'm trying to concentrate on. It's not a bad day in the least, mind you. But that isn't very interesting reading... It seemed like the night for fireworks the other night in Cincinnati. While waiting for the end of the baseball game and ironically as soon as I set up my tripod, a festival in Newport started setting off fireworks. I wasn't in the best position for shooting it, but it wasn't too bad. I was in a great position for the stadium though. Unfortunately the fireworks after the game didn't go off where expected, so I had to make quick adjustments which left too much sky in the picture. It was a nice evening. Is baseball still Americas passtime?

About Encouragement, On Ohio River, and Cincinnati Photos

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:30:16 GMT

The Who's Who in Heaven Book
"Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven" (Luke 10:20). What a temptation it is to be excited about what we can do. When we see the things we can accomplish, it would be easy to become encouraged because of that. At the extreme, we might even become arrogant in something (or many things) about ourselves. Without question, having others submit to our will and command can certainly effect us. But Jesus gives us a particular reminder here that we readily overlook. 'Rejoice because I've redeemed you... not because of anything you've done or can do.' Or rather, 'Let your encouragement be because you're God's own, not in anything of yourself.' In fact, be encouraged by His love, not encouraged or discouraged by anything of this world. Not by anything surrounding yourself. Be encouraged by God. Be encouraged because God has never abandoned you; He has guaranteed a place for you.

Anniversary and Photos
A wonderful new friend joined my wife and I for an anniversary trip in Cincinnati: Canon's EF 24-70mm F2.8 L USM lens. That's a long way of saying "fanominal lens." No, I do not now own this $1200 lens, but it was fun to shoot with on the trip. So everything Cincinnati photography for the next couple days is all by a happy photographer with a nice lens. Paul Brown stadium (Brown?...shouldn't that be a name of a stadium in Cleveland, not Cinci?) made for a good subject for a wonderful sunset. It was taken from a pier that made for an interesting subject of it's own. Whoever lived there seemed to be people that loved being active! The new profile photo was also taken on this pier. Is there any new "toy" you've been really craving?

Freedom & Slavery, Inconsistent Posts, and Photo such-as-it-is

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:14:03 GMT

Dining on Rocks
As I understand it, certain animals will swallow stones to help them to dive deeper and faster in the water (penguins, if I'm correct). People can be quite like those animals at times, although we don't dine on physical stones. Our stones are quiet pains, little fears, and secret guilts. We take them in again and again, but rather than aiding us to be better swimmers, they drag us down and nearly drown us in the deep and dark waters. Why do we do this? Because we insist that we can do things ourselves; we refuse to believe that we are wrong. Sometimes even it's because we grow accustomed to the struggle, perhaps even thinking that it's what we deserve. We deserve far worse in all honesty, but we've been given the chance for far better. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Find your freedom in Christ.

Blasted Inconsistency
It's always my goal to post every day. But some days like Wednesday come along where my thoughts are too jumbled to be written out yet, so I wait a day. Then there are those other days like Thursday when I'm rushing madly out the door to be on time and never make it to the computer. Then there are those times when those days are back to back, and I realize that if I don't post on today, I won't until next week because I'm gone all weekend too! Oi. Sorry if that's meaningless and boring to you. You have to give me meaningless and boring at least on occassion! I went through my most recent photos and wasn't impressed enough with any of them to post them. Should have some better shots from this weekend. Happy 5th Anniversary to my wife! What's something you are looking forward to celebrating?

Changing, Photographing and Carwash Photos

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:38:48 GMT

Change is a good thing
"...the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). After several entries about us changing, it's reasurring to remember that chage isn't without direction or a solid anchor point. While some reassure themselves that truth is dependent only on what you believe, Truth in fact is independent. There is a God that isn't given to the slight breeze that makes for ever changing shadows. Our change isn't a whimsical self-improvement project. It's a Spirit-powered effort to become more like He who created us.

Abandoned Carwash
Wow, wonderfully cool weather has returned here! I managed to sleep the entire night without waking up (I don't sleep well in heat and humidity). But then of course I overslept... The photos are of one of the two abandoned places I was visiting the other day. These are of a carwash. I had determined to shoot in black-and-white, however the faded and stained paint of the access door and wall made me switch over. I had a dead-on shot, but wasn't quite straight. So you see the alternate angled shot. It's strange, but it had some strange attraction as well. The second was a bit of playing with Photoshop. If it had not been raining, I would have prefered a double exposure... but it was raining. Added to it in a way I suppose. An old towel gave protection to the tripod-mounted camera as I drove the Jeep in. Were/are you ever the adventerous type, especially with exploring?

A Little Change, A Lotta Stuff, and Firetruck Photos

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 09:47:28 GMT

Change, sir/ma'am?
Have you yet come to "Peniel" in your life (meaning "Face of God", named by Jacob [Genesis 32:30])? What did you do there? How did you react? Jacob became a new person, complete with a new name. Noah became the servant of God, that was used to spare humanity. Abram became the father of nations, also with a new name. Moses became the bold vessel for God to use to save His chosen people. It's notable that none of these men were perfect. None were made perfect after their encounter(s) with God. But they were changed and sought to be faithful to God. What was your moment when you faced God? Your place of Peniel? Did you allow yourself to be changed for the better? Did you struggle against it, finding yourself limping away. Or turn away from it completely, changed for the worse?

"Woah-woahs daddy!"
A rough weekend, though of course there were definitely good parts. Unfortunately, I doubt there will be a lens upgrade anywhere in the near future. I was hoping to get rid of some things no longer needed to raise the money, but the quotes given to me were horribly negligible. I'm having trouble just having enough support in working with the church start. So needless to say, it wasn't an easy weekend. After a good time Sunday afternoon with church friends, I decided to take my camera out for some personal time when I saw that there was about to be a fire run. I stopped and got ready just in time for the first shot. A split second later might have made for a better shot. Oddly enough, the second shot of the same engine was taken sixteen minutes later elsewhere while I was shooting a couple abandoned buildings (one in the background). I think the weather added to the shots. Have you ever had the fire department or rescue units come to your aid?

People Are Idiots, Graduates Have Arrived, and "Abandoned Path" Photo

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 11:46:15 GMT

"Do you know what this means?" - "Yes. ... Wait a minute...No."
"A murderer, no doubt... and [when they] saw that he wasn't harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god" (Acts 28:4-6). People are fickle creatures. Or as Scott Adams (Dilbert Principle) says, "Everyone is an idiot...The only differences among us is that we're idiots about different things at different times." One minute, they are convinced that they have it all figured out. The next minute, they've learned that they didn't after all... so they decide that now they have it all figured out. Much to the frustration of philosophy professors and some scientists, we will never have it all figured out. What kind of god could be completely figured out? God is far more than we can ever take in. I find it a comfort that God is above the "stupid" gene that people seem to carry, including me.

College Life
Welcome to June and soon to be summer. It was welcomed in by a rather sleepless night. For others though, it's graduation party time. Talk about a big change in life! From high school to college. At least in my case, college life was far different. I think that's especially true for those that move away for college to someplace completely new. Not that commuting is a bad thing at all, I just believe that being away for college makes all of life a bit different. I still miss where I went to school. Not because of the tremendous job opportunities... those consisted of fast food jobs, Walmart jobs, and college jobs. I miss the beautiful terrain. So it's probably no surprise that I've gone back to that region many times since. The photo is not from there, but from a local farm. Where did/will you go to college, if at all?

Paul's Freedom, Day's Rollercoaster, "Thirst" Photo

Thu, 31 May 2007 10:20:22 GMT

"God, Family, Country"
"He could have been set free..." (Acts 26:32). We love our freedom. We hold on to our freedom as if it's a right that nothing should interupt. From the standpoint of the world, that may well be the correct thing. It is the forefront of thought in the US. But to hold to the name of Christ is to hold to something far more inportant than supposed rights, including freedom. Paul was a man wrongly imporisoned, guilt only of revealing that Jesus is above all of our self-made importances. Yet he did not fight for his freedom. He could have been set free, but God called him to imprisonment. Paul was to be used to reach people all over the Roman Empire, including the very court of Caesar. Don't think of rights, think of your Lord.

Thirst

The Ups and Downs
Yesterday was one of those up and down days. Actually, it was a down then up day. There are sometimes those days that just start off a little rough. But after an afternoon of preparing for a Bible study, the Bible study (small group_ itself, then some time wandering a field with camera in hand, the day ended well. You may or may not like the photo, but it just struck me for some reason. The full moon and pleasant evening however left me wanting to head down to southern Kentucky to take pictures of Cumberland Falls at night with its white moonbow. I would probably take the opportunity to do it, but I want to have my new lens in hand when I do. So next full moon. What do you do to cheer up a down day?

On Christians, On Photography, and Explained Photo

Tue, 29 May 2007 10:03:27 GMT

Not Superman
"Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" (Acts 26:28) Paul could not convert everyone he talked to. We often see him as the super Christian, but the truth is that a Christian is a Christian. We are not people leaders, but Christ followers. We serve Christ and allow Him to lead. To work through us. We cannot persuade or convince anyone to understand or believe in Jesus, nor should we try. We must only seek to please God, and in that, hope that everone we encounter "may become what I am," (Acts 26:29) a new creation.

Random Photo Ramblings
Sadly I missed the perfect shot yesterday by but a few seconds. I did take a few other pictures, but nothing I felt was worth posting. Our Memorial Day was an enjoyable day of family time then good-byes to old friends. Obviously I have posted a photo though. An odd one at that. The reason for the shot has absolutely nothing to do with the shot, but more to do with the lense that I used to take the shot. My goal is to be in the process of purchasing that lens this week! I have seen a few shots as I've been driving around lately, so I'm determined to take a few moments here and there to get those this week as well. Have any ideas that you'd love to work on/out but haven't yet had time?

Why I Don't Read Newspapers

Sun, 27 May 2007 14:03:12 GMT

I glanced at an article in the local Dayton Daily News. It wasn't even intentional to start reading that article, but by a series of little events, I was reading about Hamas and Israel going at it. The article featured a very sizable photo of people working in ruble, Palestinians suffering from airstrikes by Israel. Another photo showed the faces of relatives of a dead militant leader. The headline revealed that it was about Hamas' rejection of a truce after Israel's airstrikes. Readers were educated that Hamas leaders had been considering a truce, but because of the airstrikes they were calling for serious attacks on the Israelies instead. Three fourths of the way through the article, one might pick up on the short mention of how the airstrikes are a response to continued rocket fire (225 rockets) by Hamas on Israeli border towns. Do you ever wonder if there is such thing as unbiased?

Back to photography after Memorial Day...