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I got up this morning and turned on the news while I took my blood pressure and blood sugar, normal morning routine for a 65 year old! I was shocked at the news out of Japan of near record setting eathquake. My boss and dear friend, Bill Pekala has been in Japan this week in meetings and I don’t know if he is on his way home or still there. I’ve emailed him to see where he is and if he is o.k. I hope to hear form him soon. Please pray for the people of Japan, it sounds like so far a very small number are reported dead but the devastation seems very wide spread, plus a sunami is racing across the oceans in many directions. More opportunities for prayer.

This morning reminded me of an event from a number of years back in my life. Many years ago when my children were still very young, Sherelene and I had a fight over something, still can’t remember what. She took the kids and stormed out and tore out of our driveway, angry. A little later I got to feeling guilty and got in the car and went out to try and find her. While driving up the interstate to the next exit where I thought she might have gone, I saw that in the other two south bound lanes all traffic was stopped and there were a large number of emergency vehicles. Some people had been in a very serious accident. I was struck with fear that it was Sherelene and the kids. I rushed to the exit and then joined the long line of traffic headed back south to see if my family was o.k. It took forever to get to the accident scene, when i got close I couldn’t make out the vehicle over the side of the road but it was the color of Sherelene’s car. I was even more stricken with fear. I had been praying furiously and the prayers gotten even more intense accompanied by tears running down my cheeks. When I got to the accident scene it was awful several cars all torn apart, but none of them were Sherelene’s. I thanked God all the way home and when I got to the drive way my prayers were further answered when her car was in the driveway.

I went in and apologized and held Sherelene and the kids and wept over my family. Both Sherelene and I agreed that whatever we had fought about was not worth the effort.

Two points, (1) Prayer works, (2) Be careful what you argue about.

Today’s Prayer; Father, please be with the people of Japan that have suffered under this mighty
earthquake. I pray that your spirit of peace will be upon them in this time of great stress and anxiety. I pray for any that are trapped that a rescue will come quickly. Amen

the pilgrim

I will be in North Carolina this weekend at a photo event speaking both Saturday and Sunday,
please pray for those people in my audience!

*Photo Note: Close up of cooking oil in water. D7000, 200mm Micro Nikkor f18 @ 1/25th of a second, ISO 1600.

As a photographer when we walk up to a subject in early morning, we anticipate what the light will give us. We wonder if it will be flat and colorless or abound with the rich early morning hues of gold and red. On this morning above, I got very fortunate and the right light appeared for the perfect subject. One of the things that makes photography so exciting is you never know what your going to get, as they say in Texas, “some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you!”

I think what keep photography new for me after 41 years is the anticipation of what just might happen! Light makes or breaks most photographic situations. Sometimes the light is not what you had prayed, or hoped for. The measure of a real shooter is can you find the right subject for whatever light you get?!

In life, there is only one light, Jesus. You either have Him or you don’t. Life just won’t be what it should have been without Him.

So, if you have The Light, you have it made…….

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: Nikon D3, 70-300 AFS VR lens f16 @ 1/5th of a second.

1971, the pilgrim, twenty five years of
age and 170 lbs. I promised this would
not be about me, and believe it or not, it
still isn’t, but let me share this with you.
A little over two months ago I asked you
to pray for me as I went after what has
been the biggest stumbling block in my
life, my weight. I’m sure all of you have
had to face the demons in your own lives
and you know how much fear you have
when you face an opponent you have
never been able to defeat. This morning
I weighed in at 216 lbs. That’s the lowest
I’ve weighed in maybe thirty years. I’m
not at my goal yet of the 180’s but I’m
closer than I’ve been in a long, long
time.

How is this not about me?????? Actually this road that I’m on is because of your prayers, and God’s power. I hate admitting defeat, but time and time again I’ve tried to beat this monster and
have always ended up the one bloody and beaten. This time armed with your support, and God’s
grace, it is happening, slowly but surely. Now, when I get to my goal, I won’t look like the young man above, but I won’t look like I looked in December either.

I want to thank my friend Vinny Collucci for sticking with me and holding me accountable all the way. Vinny has lost almost 50 lbs! He and his teaching partner Melissa Southern have done great on this program and I really appreciate that they’ve been there for me. My daughter, Catherine and my grand children, and Sherelene have all been there too, encouraging me all the way. As much as they have helped, the real accolades go to my Heavenly Father. He has done two things for me that has never happened before, He has given me the reminder of the Holy Spirit when I have been about to skate to close to the edge, and the strength to say no to what I’ve never been able to say no to before.

This all started because I wanted to be healthy, which I was not at the start. I feel so much better, and all my key numbers are back where they should be. Please forgive me for spending this blog space talking about my own battle, but I needed you to know just how powerful your prayers are.
You can make a bigger difference in others lives than you ever imagined by simply lifting them to God. Please, everyday, look for people that need your prayers and write down their names and take them into your prayer time and lift them up. Pray that God will fill their lives with His Love, and His healing power. Stick with it and keep praying for them, keep a journal and record when you start to see unbelievable thing change in their lives. Trust me you will. God wants us to put Him to the test, to allow Him to prove to us just how much He cares. I know this from countless other victories He has given me in my life, and now He is making it possible for me to face my biggest challenge…… From the bottom of my heart, thank you for not giving up on me.

with great gratitude, I am,

the pilgrim

Yesterday, I was working around my office when the phone rang and it was my son Wesley. Wes and Rhonda are moving into their new home across town and they needed someone to keep Abigail, while they made the move. I had worked all weekend so I needed part of a day off so I said sure, I’d be thrilled to hang out with her this morning. While we were watching a movie together, (Up) which I can hardily recommend by-the-way, the UPS guy came with a box. The folks at Lensbaby had been kind enough to send me their Composer model and a few accessories to use for my up coming close-up class for Kelby training. I opened the box and put the lens on my D7000 and while Abigail, was watching the movie, I clandestinely snapped a few shots.

I loved the one above it just captured her pensive mood watching this bittersweet film. The film was about one of the things that matters most in life, our relationship with our loved ones. I’m sixty-five years old, I’ve photographed five presidents, seen six shuttle launches, shot countless NFL football games right from the sidelines, and I once had an image that was in a portfolio that one the Pulitzer Prize. I’ve photographed every major National Park at least twenty-five times, and taken photographers to both Africa and several times to the Galapogos Islands. I’ve photographed
things I never imagined I would ever see, but yesterday watching an entertaining movie on the couch with my granddaughter, was as sweet as any of those experiences, actually maybe even more!

It’s funny how when you start out on this journey called life, you dream big dreams and you think all that will make you happy is to see those big dreams come true. You work and scheme and do everything in your power to make them happen. For me, thankfully most all my dreams have come true, but yesterday watching the movie with Abigail, I realized that all I dreamed of pales in comparison to time with those we love.

Years ago when I had cancer and thought I might die, the thing I most was sad to lose was time with my wife and children. Thankfully God me the desire of my heart and now 30 years later I’ve seen them all grown, married and they have given me six wonderful grandchildren. It’s interesting how much we learn the more we age.

I’m glad that I’ve been so blessed, and I’m thrilled with the life God has given me. Charles Dicken’s in a Christmas Carol wrote that man has the most difficulty learning the meaning of a simple word, “enough”….

Today’s Prayer;
Thank you Father, for in my life, you’ve given me so much more, than enough…….

the pilgrim