The 40 day photo challenge: Day 9

Photo 9:

Jillian

Jillian and I went to the ol' mansion that the President of the seminary is supposed to live in (when there is one) and took some photos. It was a lovely day, a taste of fall, and we pretty much filled up the 4GBs of space on my memory card.

Jillian is a counseling student at the seminary and has a beautiful heart for prayer.

Shes also does these amazing prophetic paintings... I love her.

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 8

Photo 8:
If Only I had a Green Thumb

Justin is growing things in our kitchen. It's really nice to have someone around that can identify just about any stick or leaf or flower that you hand him. AND my roomate and I don't really need to worry about our plants ever dying. Its really quite convenient. And it also adds aesthetic appeal to our kitchen.

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 7

Photo 7:

A New Thing

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up;

do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert

and streams in the wasteland...." Isaiah 43

I took this today up by the baseball fields behind the Luce at Asbury. The old building is rotted and torn apart. The grass around it is dry, the fields look like a wasteland. I walked out there and found myself mumbling "wow, theres no life out here." Instantly afterwards I saw a small butterfly on a flowering plant, it forced me to look closer. He's causing life to spring up in the wilderness, he's making a way when there is none. The mountains melt like wax before him. Watch out Wilmore, Revival is coming.

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 6

Photo 6:

Are You in the Game?

"For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Rom 8

He's equipped us with his spirit, he said we could do greater works than these (John 14) - because he's [Jesus] is going to the father -and he's left his spirit as a guarentee. He's given us authority and dominion over darkness, because of the death we died in Christ, because of the life we live in Christ. Will we receive his power and authority? Its time to stop sitting on the fence (I speak this over myself). We're either for him or against him, in or out of the game. His spirit is here, empowerment is here, freedom is here -waiting, ready for the taking. Are we in the game?

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 5

I misplaced my battery charger, so I didnt get to take a photograph today with my nikon. However, tonight at starbucks as we were shutting our little kiosk down, I accidentally spilled about 20 some Ibs of espresso beans on the floor (after we had already mopped it). It wasnt one of those "the bag falls over and they all spill out" accidents either. It was a "I knocked one container over and then all the other containers kept falling like dominos and I just couldnt stop them" accident. Picture me aimlessly flailing at the espresso beans trying to keep them up -because thats what happened. To make matters worse, the vacuum cleaner needed to be emptied, so I attempted to take it a part and broke it also spilling its entire content on the freshly mopped floor. Bekah and I just had a good laugh though -at that point it was either that or crying. I took various photographs of the mess with my little 2px camera phone. It kind of looks like a billion little ants all over the floor and Bekah very much enjoying the experience of vacuuming them up. Most of the beans are hidden from site behind her though, so the photograph doesnt really give the full effect of the mess I made. Gotta love the pixelation too.

Photo 5:

Espresso Beans

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 4

Photo 4:

If I were a Painter

.

"...and I'm dreaming of a place

where I can see your face

and I think my brush could take me there

but only...if I were a painter

and could paint a memory

I'd climb inside the swirling skies

to be with you..."

-Norah Jones

.

.

I've been painting a lot more lately. (as well as photographing) When I paint, I get lost in the process of creating whatever it is I am creating and it is almost as Norah Jones puts it, "[climbing] inside the swirling skies." I hear Gods voice intimately when I'm in this place of deep contemplation and joyful worship. Its beautiful.

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 3

Photo 3:

The Everyday Ordinary

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

Psalm 91:1

Recently my roomate and I decided we needed a chalkboard on our wall to write messages to each other. This week she wrote psalm 91:1 across the top of the board. I took this picture, not because I intended to use it as my "photograph of the day" but because I have a little bit of a fetish with photographing words. I assumed that the photograph was black and white (being the colors of the board and chalk) but after uploading it to my computer I realized that the sun glaring on the board added a strange green tint. Earlier today Bethany encouraged me with an email in which she quoted a recent conversation with a photography friend of hers..."you stated that you have to look for beauty because of your unchanging environment and im saying you dont have to look very far." After reading this, it was like a lightbulb went off in my brain (if someone had been photographing me at that moment I am positive a glowing orb of light around by head would have been captured on the film). What is this strange feeling of satisfaction and deep joy that is increasing inside of me? Could photographing my everyday mundane environment really be growing my appreciation and love for life itself? Never have I been so excited to step out in tomorrow and discover what new revelation awaits me. Never have I been so excited to live in THIS window of time, here in Wilmore, Ky. Never has God spoken so clearly in the everyday, unchanging environment I find myself in. Or maybe I just never stopped visualizing the future, to hear him in the present. I often think I need to some how lift myself up to meet with God, that I have to try and take myself to his level. Theres such joy in letting go and letting him meet me at mine. (cause my finite mind cant understand an infinite God anyway) Truth is, I dont have to look very far to find God, he's already found me and he's gracious enough to give my little mind glimpses into his unending uncomprehendable one. Whats even crazier than that is that I can actually understand his mind, because I now have the mind of Christ. I really dont have to look very far to find beauty, its all around me. Even what appeared to be a simple black and white photograph of a chalkboard contained a beautiful arrangement of colors. Why? Because light was cast on it. Okay, thats another really cool concept that I'll have to externally process later.

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 2

Photo 2:

Figg Lane

I often venture out to Figg Lane. Whether its to soak up the silence, spend some good time in the word, or to wade through muddy water with a friend, its never failed to consist of a good time. Today after work, Samantha and I decided we needed some sunshine and we went and visited ol' figg. The water was freezing, but we braved the frigid temperature and went wading anyway. (mainly because samantha lost her shoe and we were forced to retrieve it)

The 40 day photo challenge: Day 1

The 40 day photo challenge:
The great day has dawned (today) and although seperated by the state of Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia find a way to unite through the photographic journey of Bethany and Amy. Bethany (one of my favorite people on the entire earth) and I have long discussed the idea of a 40 day photo challenge. A few years back we took part in a similar assignment in our photography II class at Asbury, which required we take a photograph a day for a week in order to visually describe our life in a greater way. And so here we are, greatly inspired and immensely excited about our creative adventure. We're going to take a photograph a day, and post it on our blogs, possibly writing a little something about each photograph. Check out B's blog here: http://www.xanga.com/sundowner83 (and if the link for some reason doesnt work, its linked on the right from my blog.)

Photo 1:

Magic Shoes

This year I've had the opportunity to volunteer as a youth leader at my church - gcf (great commission fellowship). It has been an amazing experience and is truely a blessing to be able to take part in the lives of these beautiful kids. One of the youth and I happen to have matching shoes. She excitedly claims they're "magic shoes" and insisted we both wear them for youth meeting. We rocked them out playing kickball and soccer the other night and well okay, we pretty much rock them out whenever we wear them cause we're cool like that.

lomography

i figured out how to do the fake lomo effect in photoshop today. itll have to do until i can buy a real lomographic camera. ive decided i think lomography is pretty darned sweet.

the greatest reality is this...

so we do not lose heart. though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen but the things that are unseen. for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 cor 4:16

my dirty secret exposed

i have a love affair with the taylor 12 string....

sowing to the spirit or sowing to the flesh

indwelling spirit
i am not alone

indwelling spirit

i am not my own

you have not left me here alone

but what you've done

what you've done

is given me the dignity to choose you

the dignity to choose you

its life or death

sowing to the spirit

or sowing to the flesh

come and strengthen

with righteousness

come and strengthen

with christ within

(justin rizzo)

come unlock my heart
awaken love
set me free
come speak life
for you're alive
i shall live and not die
cause you're alive