Category : Pilgrim’s Chronicles

I don’t need to be reminded that what God has placed into my life is being held in a jar of clay.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18  (New Living Translation)
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
 13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke. 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[d] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
The apostle Paul knew true success in ministry, but he also knew a thing about pain and turmoil. During his ministry, he was hunted, imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked, and mocked. His fellow Jews branded him a traitor, and he was often scorned or not trusted by his Christian brothers. Paul faced the worst that life had to offer, yet he retained the joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus.

God chose to place His gifts into us, earthen vessels or jars of clay. The image here is of unimaginable power and glory from God, poured into fragile, cracked containers. God’s glory is not revealed in spite of our brokenness, but rather through our brokenness.

Do not be ashamed of your “cracks”, but instead examine how God may be more fully revealed to you and others through your hardships.

Thank you brother Charles Stanley for this wonderful insight from your book Pathways to His Presence. What a wonderful message to carry us through the Thanksgiving Weekend.

In Christ,

the pilgrim

Happy, “much to be thankful for” day…………….

*Photo note: D3s and 28-300 AFS VR II lens, Zion National Park

My dear friend Richard Small shared these with me, we all need a good laugh, even if we laugh till we cry. These are as true today as when they were spoken, in some cases very long ago!
Enjoy,

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more, is a congress.
— John Adams

2. If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.
— Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.
— Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle .
— Winston Churchill

5. A government, which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always depend on the support of Paul.
— George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
— G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
— James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries, to rich people in poor countries.
— Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
— P.J. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
— Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

11. Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
— Ronald Reagan (1986)

12. I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
— Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free!
— P.J. O’Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
— Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you!
— Pericles (430 B.C.)

16. No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
— Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap…except when Congress does it.
— Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end, and no responsibility at the other.
— Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
— Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
— Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
— Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class…save Congress.
— Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
— Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
— Thomas Jefferson

1. With God all things are possible, inspite of Congress.
– the pilgrim

the pilgrim

Thanks to my friend Donn Jones, team photographer of the Tennessee Titans, Ricky Skaggs and I got to shoot their game yesterday in Nashville, with the Washington Redskins. The last time I shot and NFL game I was using a film camera and manual focus 400 f 3.5 lens! Wow, how things have changed. The gear we enjoy today insure a lot more tack sharp images. But of what?

In the first quarter I was pretty rusty and got a lot of really well exposed, tack sharp images of nothing in particular. My timing and sense of movement was way off. Not to make excuses but it has been almost 35 years since my last NFL game……. I am in awe of the great work today’s sport shooters do, even though the technology is far better, you still have to know the game and prepare for that decisive moment, and then capture it! I got a little better as the game went on, maybe.

Well, I guess I’ve still got a lot of rust to knock off, but at least I caught a few. Great fun, great fellowship, great technology, and a great day!

Slip, Slidin’ Away – Moss has a potential, game winning touchdown slip through his hands.

the pilgrim

*Photo Notes: All images D3s and D7000, 200-400 AFS VR II, and the new 28-300 AFS VR. If you can’t tell which are which, don’t feel bad, neither can I, without looking at the EXIF data.

texture |ˈteks ch ər|
• the quality created by the combination of the different elements in a work of music or literature : a closely knit symphonic texture.

“The quality of our lives is a closely knit texture of all the gifts imparted to us through God.“
the pilgrim

Yesterday I promised to spend quiet time with my Saviour on the road and seek to find some not so obvious things for which I’m thankful. It was a good day, and He revealed some interesting gems to me. Remember, yesterday I’ve already listed my relationship with Him, my wife, family and friends as great blessings. Of course my job and professional associates must be on that list as well, but these are the things God brought to my mind yesterday;

Intellectual Curiosity: I’ve been blessed with a need to learn, a desire to know more, to read, pray, research, and experiment to gain knowledge. This applies to every aspect of my life, photography, relationships, and the art of serving others. God gives us that desire to excel for Him. God wants us to stay engaged. I love the old Kentucky basketball saying, “You will miss 100% of all the shots you do not attempt.”

Compassion: My children love to tease me about my extremely emotional nature. I’ve been known to shed a tear even over a McDonald’s Christmas commercial. God has given me a deep concern and care for others, it brings much pain as I see the hurt and distress in our world, but it opens me to the greatest of His joys, the knowledge of what it’s like to take great delight in the victory of others.

Laughter: The sweetest sound I can think of is the unbridled laughter of my grandchildren, my bride, and my friends. Laughter is one of the greatest natural healers, it releases something vital in all of us, the need to express sheer joy. Jesus told us that He wanted us to realize, experience, and share His great love for us and the incredible joy that brings.

Praise: I’m listening to contemporary Christian music as I write this entry and my spirit is soaring.
My greatest release is to openly and unashamedly praise Him. These wonderful musicians and performers bring my spirit to new heights as I join them in raising praise to the Man who died for me. I’m listening to Chris Tomlin sing, How Great Is Our God, Amen, no truer words were ever spoken.

Hope: We live in a world filled with fear, doubt, and anxiety, but God has assured us that the last thing Jesus said, will be true for eternity; “For I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Love: How could I live without Love, His love, my families love, the love of my friends, brothers and sisters. Love truly does conquer all. It is often misquoted that God loves. It says in the scripture that God IS Love. He is the very embodiment of Love. If you search the word and see what His Son did and what He taught us, there can be no doubt of this proclamation.

Please share your thoughts on thankfulness with all of us, you are welcome to use this blog site to share your thoughts of appreciation for all your feel thankful for. Remember gifts are meant to be shared and as we approach Thanksgiving, I can think of no better way to thank Him, than to share those blessings with others.

May we all humble ourselves as a little child………………..

the pilgrim

* I know it is Tech Friday, but I will move those thoughts to Monday. I will be shooting the Washington Redskins vs Tennessee Titans game Sunday with Donn Jones, the Titan’s official photographer, and my dear brother, Ricky Skaggs. I probably will want to share some images, and technical thoughts, Monday about that adventure.