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The three weeks I spent out west in June gave me an eye opening opportunity, God taught
me some very important lessons;

Get Low: In photography some of your best
compositions will come when you get low to
your subject and make it bigger in the frame.
In your spiritual life your relationship with Him
will be greatly improved when you get down
on your knees and know your proper persp-
ective to Him. You get God’s attention with
genuine worship bowed before Him.

Get Closer: Good images are sometimes in
the details. Getting closer allows you to see
clearly what is of interest and then compose
it for a more effective photograph. Getting
closer to God always pays great dividends.
Only when we draw closer to Him, can we
have the kind of fellowship that pleases Him,
and helps us grow. Closeness to God is our
safest, most peaceful, and best position.

Trust Him: In the past three weeks, I’ve
written a blog to a very large audience, and
bared my life and soul, I’ve written about
loss, not knowing to whom, and shared my
deepest concerns and hopes to people I
don’t even know, all because God said,
do it. In every case God has shown me
a magnificent result, first hand responses have
confirmed His wisdom, I know even more than
before, I can trust in Him, for He knows best.

Give to others: We never really accumulate
anything, it’s all His, given to us so that we
might share it with others. God has been
working in my life to teach me that if I have
received it, it has been given so that I might
turn around and share it with others. This
pertains to everything, money, possessions,
wisdom, insight, talents, love, and hope.
Not only is this God’s will for us, it is the
source of the greatest happiness & joy for us.

Celebrate life: With every breath, in
every step, around every corner, down the
road, across the street, from great distance,
and holding someone close, celebrate the
joy that is life, Honor and love God. Share
your best with those you love, and those you
don’t even know. Forgive those that have
hurt you, and help those that love you. Stop
and smell the roses, touch the cool water in
the stream, breath in the morning air, and
sleep in perfect peace. Celebrate…….

This is God’s will for you….

the pilgrim

I seldom drink, usually when I do just a little glass of wine, but I love bars. Don’t get me wrong, bars could get you in a lot of trouble, and I’m sure more than a few lives have been ruined in them, but you have to agree, they could teach a lot of churches a thing or too about being friendly…… O.K. before anyone flips out, I’ve had alcoholics in my family and I’ve seen the tragedy that can bring. Like any drug, alcohol can destroy a life, destroy a family, but a lot people that choose not be a Christian do so because they think Christians are just not any fun. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m tons of fun. I love life, I love to laugh, I love to fellowship with Christians and non Christians as well. Jesus spent most of His time hanging out with people the “church people” looked down on. He knew who needed Him, and He made himself available to them, we need to do the same.

I can’t and won’t attempt to speak for everyone, but as for me, I don’t think having a glass of wine or a beer is a sin, I do think drinking until you can’t drive, or work, or take care of your family is. One good point is that if you never take the first drink you’ll likely never let it get out of hand, and that’s true, but some people can, and do, and I can see no problem with that.

When Richard Small and I and later Mike Anskat and I went to Bodie, we stopped in Rhino’s Bar and Grill to have a couple of lunches. I thought the signs, and the things the bar payed respect to, all were pretty interesting. I had a few laughs, joined with the others to honor law enforcement, and the military. Hey a bar owner that supports all that can’t be all bad. I hope you enjoy these images and you find some people this friendly on your next trip.

Share His love and show forgiveness, remembering it was offered to you long ago when you needed it……. Smiles and Blessings,

the pilgrim

When a hated tax collector asked Jesus to come and eat with him in his home, Jesus went, and lives were changed forever. If we walk with Him, and for Him, we have nothing to fear……..

I awoke this morning from a dream, as I laid in bed wondering why I had the dream it became clear that it was not for me, but to be shared. God has a message for someone out there, the only thing I can be is obedient and share what came to me. I have no idea why I’m sharing this, but God does and I want to do as He asks. He is assuring me that it is for someone that reads this blog.

Here is the dream. I dreamed that some relatives were visiting at our house when a big storm hit blowing over some trees. The winds were so strong they actually uprooted large trees in our yard.
While walking though the house I found one of my older Aunts weeping and in dispair, she has lost her husband some time back and was still unable to recover from the loss. I asked if I could help her and she angrily reacted that no one cared, that everyone was tired of her continued suffering.
While that was not true, family members were running low on patience as her recovery had been drawn out over a very long period of time. I didn’t know what to say, I knew how she was feeling.
When I lost my father I experienced much the same event in my life. I was very close to my father, he was my role model, the man I wanted to be like, and always felt I could never live up to what he was. As I thought about that time in my life God started to give me something to share with her.
Her loss had been like the fate of those mighty trees that were uprooted by the wind.

This is what He gave me for her. I told her that the kind of loss she had experienced was devastating and it was normal to feel the great emptiness she was feeling, it was nothing to be ashamed of. I shared with her that I wanted her to imagine, if she could talk with her husband one more time, what would he say to her? I could tell she was really thinking about it and then she said, “ I think he would ask me not to suffer, that he was in a better place, that it grieved him to see me this torn up.” I knew that was what God wanted her to know. Then He gave me this to share. I told her I believed she was right that, that is exactly what he would say. I told her that I also believed that she still has work to do here. When we are suffering from loss we are looking inward at the pain we feel, the emptiness we experience. When we are going through that we can’t reach out and be of help to others, we are too focused on ourselves. While this is normal for a period, over time it is destructive, not only to us, but to any service we might be to others that need us.

I told her she had children and grandchildren that loved her and needed her wisdom and love and that they too were suffering watching her be in so much pain. They understood, but missed the person that was now bound in a prison of grief. I told her it was time to ask God to set her free, free to serve him and her family. In giving love to others we regain the love we’ve lost. Life is not about us, it’s about Him and those He sends us out to love and minister to. It’s time to start climbing the stairs to recovery. I believe I could see in her tear filled eyes that she was ready to take the first step up.

I will be traveling all day Monday and will not get home until 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, so this will serve as my post for Tuesday. I don’t know why this dream came to me, but the longer I laid in bed thinking about it the more I was being urged by God to get up, unpack the computer and get it down while it was fresh in my mind and in my heart. If you are suffering, whoever you are, know two things; (1) God loves you and His plan for you is for your good and the good of others around you. (2) Loss hurts, but with His love you can and will recover and go on to make a difference in the lives of others. God understand loss better than any of us could ever imagine, He gave up His Only Son for us. He can help you at a time that it seems there is no help. Trust Him,
He will never let you down.

the pilgrim

When I couldn’t change my flight to Sunday, Mike Anskat, (who had the same problem), and I decided to go back to Bodie, actually it was Mike’s first time. I find it interesting that the more you return to a place the more comfortable you feel with the location. I felt more in synch yesterday
and I hope the results cause you to agree. Either way, we sure had a good time and I hope you enjoy the results. Blessings from a blessed man, the pilgrim

*Photo Notes: D7000, 12-24, 24-120, 70-300.