As we wrap up the week, and the month, we finish out this week's theme of thankfulness by looking at one more area that the Scriptures show we ought to be thankful for: people. "We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers;" - 1 Thessalonians 1:3 The New Testament example clearly shows the various authors being thankful for a variety of people in their lives, mentioning how they pray for them, thank God for them, and are thankful for the

Oftentimes, it can be easy to take things for granted. The things we've discussed this week are no exception. That said, relatively speaking, it's easy to be thankful for the good things. Relative to what? The difficult things in life. Even the secular world shows gratitude for the positive things, but Christian thankfulness extends to every area of life, even the difficult parts. "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials," - James 1:2 This is a dif

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving Day, amidst the feasting and the family, the football and fellowship, whatever it is you find on this day, may we remember Paul's words to the Corinthian church: "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:15 We have so many things to be thankful for but the greatest is the fact that God has and will continue to save sinners; and that if we are in Christ, it is by His grace, so let us be thankful for that. Because of Chri

While being thankful for good things, for people, and for many other things is of utmost importance, one of the primary objects (if that's even the proper word) we are to be thankful for is God Himself. "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting" - Psalm 107:1 I'm sure you've heard of different acronyms to assist in prayer, but if you haven't, one example is the acronym A.C.T.S., meaning: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplicati

Landscape portrait of me in Yellowstone, taken by my friend, Dean. For something that I didn't get into until I was well into my adult years, I'm pleasantly surprised how much I've enjoyed photography. More than that though, I realize that I am thankful for the gift of it, and everything good connected with it. As a child, going outdoors was oftentimes a mix of fun, but also fear. Not fear of danger, but I just didn't like getting dirty. But when I was 11 or 12, a visit to th

For the final theme of November, we're going to look at... You guessed it, thankfulness. Some of this may be a slight departure from the intent of this site, but I hope you'll see that it fits in the greater context of life itself. I know it seems a bit cliche, but thankfulness is not a cliche idea. In fact, if we're honest, it's a very difficult thing, especially when it comes to the Christian idea of thankfulness which isn't just thankful for the good things, but also fo

You may recall in fairly recent years that a banana duct taped to a wall was sold for multiple millions of dollars as 'art'. More recently an artist sold, well, actually it was nothing, for a pretty penny as well. The invisible sculpture sold for over 18,000 dollars. Modern art has oftentimes been ridiculed by many for the very simple yet abstract shapes, with many saying "even I could do that!" Even some landscape scenes far 'surpass' that of reality with gaudy over saturati

Continuing our theme for the week, one of the areas closest to my heart as a nature photographer is how theology affects how we view nature itself. Is it the product of natural laws, processes that have been going on for millions and billions of years? Is it the creation of an all powerful God? Could it be both; could God have chosen to use the process of evolution and uniformitarian principles to bring about the world that we observe today?

Thinking about this week's theme, I had wanted to go over what I do and use as far as technology and editing of my photos, etc. But this morning in my Bible reading I was reminded of something that might be of much more benefit. To recap the week, we started with an article from ACBC on speaking the truth in love. While not immediately evident, it ties in with the rest of the weeks discussion on A.I. and integrity by giving us a groundwork for telling the truth. With the adve

A number of years ago, National Geographic came under scrutiny for digitally moving some pyramids, if memory serves me correctly. It was not a major adjustment, but was meant to make the image fit their front cover page. But for a publication noted for journalistic integrity, it wasn't something that could just be swept under the rug. Even though the scene evoked the same sense of place and realism, and no one would have known, the reality is, truth was altered. Digital manip

The Psalmist has a tendency to strike a chord (pun intended) with those who read their work. The full gamut of emotions can be seen within the Psalter; it is a book the depth of which can't ever be reached. Yet it is such a simple read. I recommended to a friend of mine who struggles some with reading Scripture, that they consider reading the Psalms. They're oftentimes short, and very approachable. The writers very much wear their emotions on their sleeves. Sometimes so much

The other day as I headed to church, I noticed, as I often do, the trees alongside of the road. At this time of year, the trees along this particular stretch of road are adorned with some of the best fall color. But a thought came to mind about them. Spring is a very pretty time of year, but I think many would argue that it is fall where trees really are at their most beautiful. And yet, it is for such a brief time and then they are bare, lifeless, asleep. It reminded me that

I'm kind of purposely not following the polling results for todays voting. I did of course exercise my right to vote today. But politics has become so unsettling anymore that sometimes it's best to not follow. It can also be a huge source of worry and anxiety, and to that I'd like to just put a few verses to think on. "Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against th

Well it's time again for the clocks to fall back. I find the time changes to be challenging to be honest. Just feels weird that we mess with time like that. It's a bit of a disruption you could say.

Stony Man mountain stands majestically in the distance, second only to Hawksbill in height in Shenandoah National Park. The warm sunset light bathes the landscape with a reddish glow as clouds cross the sky. Moments like these last for such a short while. Before you know it, the light is gone and the land sits in silent darkness awaiting the coming dawn. As I sit here in the doctor's office it's hard not to have a mixture of emotions. This isn't the time or place to go into a

Montana feels like it was months ago and yet it was just a little over 2 weeks. It's weird how that works. Anticipate something for a long time, it comes, and it's gone before you know it, and then the memory of it so quickly goes. It's kind of like Christmas as a kid. But it's time to start going through some of the many photos and memories from Montana. One of the first evenings out there, we had driven around for quite a while looking for spots to photograph. But the fall

There's always a concern in writing a blog that one can get too personal, and in fact sound a bit on the whiny side. I really hope that that hasn't been the case for me recently, nor with this post. I hope instead that it just comes across as real and relatable. We all deal with ups and downs, pit stops and road blocks, and in some small way, the hope is that you'll find some encouragement and a Christ-ward focus through these. The truth is, coming off of the recent travel ex

It's been a long day. If that's the right phrase. We. Had a midnight red eye flight, and I am just plain wiped! Perhaps that is as good a reason as any to do something that bloggers do at times, though I personally have been shy to the idea; that is, to not only communicate ones thoughts, but to curate and share the thoughts of others. So today, I am going to share this article by Tim Challies. In it, he shares one of my favorite verses, as well as the very difficult applica

I recently wrote a post about packing, you can check that out here. Simple enough idea: work for the things that are eternal, because everything else you can't take with you. Now here I am, ready for a second trip, hoping I have everything packed that needs to be. It's easy to second guess, but eventually you have to just recognize you have it packed, somewhere. Our team leader for this mission trip sent a fitting message to our group this evening. In it he quoted a very help