Price: $25.00 (includes shipping)
Includes an extra month (Jan 2013) because of the late delivery
Photography features award winning pictures exclusively shot by yours truly
Gives snippets of my story of photography as a spiritual discipline
My Story – Worldly Holiness
For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed photography as a form of creative expression and a path to connecting with God. Expressing myself with pictures has… Uplifted my spiritual journey…. Served as the pen for my journal…. Helped record and contemplate daily life, both the good and the bad…. Gain perspective in difficult times…. Soar with gratitude and awe….
Overwhelmed me with the beauty and sense of wonder as an image unfolds before my eyes.
Much as the constant rising of the sun everyday, I’m re-established and strengthened in the rhythms of God’s faithful and abiding presence through the ability to capture his creation in a moment that stands the test of time.
Here are some of the pictures featured in this year’s calendar
“According to Jesus, there is no authentic Christianity, discipleship or Christian ethics apart from doing the deeds he taught his followers to do….†– Glen Stassen
“Life naturally provides those moments and occasions of unintentional contemplation, times when the foundations of life seem swept away and we are left with the need to see life from a different perspective. – Parker Palmer
Recently I had the chance to help with a project building a home in North Africa in a region that was struck by an earthquake a few years ago. Many in the host community lost their lives and the survivors are struggling to put the pieces back together as they put a new roof over their heads, hopefully a home that will better withstand a future quake. I volunteered with a non-profit that is rebuilding communities, house by house, making an impact on lives and families and helping the local economy by employing local tradesman for various aspects of the building projects.
It was our job to dig ditches for the foundation of a new home. Not a large home but one that makes sense for the region and fits the lifestyle of a small family. As we worked harder than I’ve worked for a long time, family members dug alongside us investing sweat equity and pride in the building of their own home. They also provided food and wonderful, sweet mint tea during breaks. The weather was intense for a guy from the Northwest and the topography did not easily yield to our intentions to dig ditches. But we made headway. A particular feature that slowed our work were the veins of rock that decided to hide themselves under the veneer of normal dirt where we drew our lines for a hole or trench. The rocks probably saw us coming and wagered on which of these white guys could break them down. Ha.
I pounded on one such rock for the better part of 30 minutes one morning. After me, another guy on our team spent yet more time on the same stone. Thought I had loosened it for him. Apparently not. One of the local workers finally came to our rescue. He got into the same hole we were in for 45+ minutes with a pick. He taped in several places, found a weak spot, pried with the point of the pick, tapped a bit more. In less than 10 minutes he dislodged a huge rock to our shame and chagrin. But were we glad. We also knew who knew what they were doing right then.
I don’t want to over spiritualize this little story but the parallels are striking. Sometimes in my inner life I try to remove the rocks myself, with brute force of will or determination. These are good qualities for some tasks in my life but generally not the inner life. The best way to become conformed to the image of God is to yield, to trust the Holy Spirit to apply his gentle hand at the inner surgery that is sometimes needed in my heart. That is not a passive, static posture. I still need to get in the ditch to uncover the rocks and use the tools given by God. But ultimately it is a work of the Holy Spirit.
The guy who unearthed the rock at our project site has a nickname. They call him “rock whisper.” I kind of like that idea when I think of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.
“The things that come out of a man are they that defile him, and to get out of them a man must go into himself, be a convict, and scrub the floor of his cell.” – George MacDonald
Here is a great video to help people put Muslims in a broader context than normally done. I’ve told my Imam friend that part of my job when I speak in churches is to tell the truth about Islam and to help correct negative stereotypes that often prevail. I also said that the other part of my job is to help Muslims understand my faith in Christ and who Jesus is, how he shows us the straight path to God. That is part of the work of a bridge builder and peacemaker and follower of Christ. I think I need to add “truth teller” to that list. So my answer to the question posed by this little video is obviously NO.
Most of my Muslim friends so far are peace loving, kind, spiritually oriented to follow God as they understand him, concerned about raising their kids with a good foundation and a moral compass that takes its bearing from God, not the world. We actually share many things. I did meet a young gentleman in another part of the world that at one point in his life wanted to seek revenge for the suffering his people had experienced. But we talked at length about that too in a larger group of friends and about Jesus in Qur’an and how to deal with bitterness. We also talked about American presidential politics and that was fascinating in its own way. We also broke for prayers in the middle of a 2 hour conversation.
I try to live by Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.” The brother of Jesus also had some important things to say about this activity in James 3:18: “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”
Would love to know your thoughts or hear your comments.
My sons and I have been training to climb Mt. Rainier [to the right of the frame] with a group since January. I mentioned this in my last post just below. Notice the slight change in the picture. This time, I got on top of the rock. Maybe this indicates my growing confidence and sense of preparation for the big climb! Last Monday, two of us loaded up about 50 lbs. into our packs and made a quick assent to the top of Mt. Si in about 2 hours. That is a 4 mile ascent [8 miles round trip] in about 3200 ft. and is one of the training grounds for prospective Rainier climbers. I am tired from the climb, needless to say. It was worth it and now I feel ready to climb Rainier next week. We are beginning to lay out our gear and do an inventory on all the pieces and equipment that need to come together to make a successful attempt at the summit.
I don't want to over analyze this or make too many analogies to the spiritual life but what is a former pastor to do? The entire experience of training for and then attempting to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier is really pregnant with so many connections. I guess the most obvious to me currently is the distinction that is often made between "training" and "trying" for the spiritual walk with God. It really is true that orienting one's life around God takes a little more than just a whim or fancy that hits one day as easily as it evaporates the next.
This has nothing to do with God's grace and his love which is unconditional. It has more to do with our own awareness of God's active presence in our lives, which is sometimes very quiet, subtle and most importantly rarely overwhelming. Again, don't get me wrong, God sometimes overwhelms me with a sense of his great goodness but it usually does not come in the form of a lightening bolt, but rather as a still small voice that speaks to the depths of my heart and consciousness. Which reminds me of an excellent quote from Frederick Buechner on this aspect of how God reveals himself and the role of our doubt–"Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal himself in a way that would leave no room for doubt? If there were no room for doubt, there would no room for me."
Sometimes my "radar" for this God awareness gets dirty and the receptors lose their capacity to hear and know God's love. This is where the training comes in. I need to cultivate a listening ear with regular spiritual exercise. If I fail to do this my capacity to take in what is available from God diminishes. The bottom line is this. Effort and training are good. Though God is also spontaneous we will recognize more of God's work around us if we train to hear, know and see his presence. I have to get above the timberline of my own struggles sometimes to see God's view of things. This has nothing to do with earning God's love. That would be warping the idea of God's generous and unconditional offer to all who believe.
I like breaking above timberline when hiking. The vistas are really incredible when you get to this altitude.
Rainier looks a little small in the photo above, but I know we will feel all of 14,410 ft through our bodies in about 5 days. I would love it if you'd join our team in prayer for safety and a great experience on Rainier, August 10th-13th. Drop me a note when you have time.
"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words." Psalm 19:1-3
One of the responses to this photo on my blog said this looks like a party, like the flowers are celebrating something. I found the comments fitting as well as suggestive. Nature once again comes to our aid in leading the song through life, the good, bad, the mediocre and the sublime pieces that make up life.
This last month has been difficult for me. There are many aspects that have contributed to this being the case, most recently a fowl cold that has put me on my back for about a week, effectively eliminating any residual energy for writing, taking pictures, getting out, let alone doing ministry. Other things have also added to the burden of April this year. Some looming deadlines have not paused during this month either so now as I'm coming out of the hole and they are looming that much more, coming at me faster than last week! Eeeches. Sometimes life works this way. This is when I need to be reminded by God's creation that with God, there is the promise of new life each day. In the midst of lament, I am reminded that, "The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is thy faithfulness." [Lamentations 3:22-23].
Henri Nouwen reminds us in his little volume, Clowning in Rome, that "it is sad that in our days we no longer believe in the ministry of nature to us. We so easily limit ministry to work for people by people. But we could do an immense service to our world if we would let nature heal, counsel, and teach again" [p. 93]. The other day, after several days of hiding away inside with my cold, I got out to the local park and found the flowers were able to minister to me. Without demanding they be noticed, without making noise, they made the quiet but unmistakable statement that God's lovingkindness never ceases. In the context of a difficult month, they were nice and welcome reminders that God is good.
Flowers, and nature, however, are generally not demanding our attention, so can go unnoticed. I can think of a qualification to that statement even as I made it, like storms for instance, or the kickback we are beginning to see from global warming. Having said that, however, nature generally does not force us to listen. But we miss this little and significant piece of God's handiwork, along with it access to the language of the soul, at our own peril. Again, Nouwen reminds us that "our difficult and very urgent task is to realize that nature is not primarily a property to be possessed, but a gift to be received with admiration and gratitude."
I am right there. I don't like to work in gardens. Weeds, dirt under the nails, sore knees. Not my cup of tea. But it is in the garden, at least those tended by others, where I have recently found new strength, perspective, and reminder of God's unfailing mercy and faithfulness. That is something to celebrate, with pompoms!
