Beauty ever after

Life's circles and cycles (harmony, balance and beauty) flow through the insanity of our 1.) hectic pace or 2.) serene existence.

How difficult it is to hear another person when we are thinking of life's impact on us, and how we are going to respond ... strange, when we want to be listened to as well! As stated by one wag, life is full of interesting monologues.

Some of life is needing to struggle so we can enjoy the times of peace and serenity ...

Being homeless is a constant state for believers in Christ, so why do we freak out when it actually happens to us?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... what happens when scars get in the way of sight, and we don't see clearly?

Pride goeth before the fall ... we must really be fallen with all the people saying how proud they are of so many things!

Why do we get jealous of people who experience miracles? Come on, don't let your pride get in the way of being honest!

If being meek is srength under control ... we should really be afraid of meek people! They can whoop our backsides, if God gave them cause to!

Tears refresh and clear our eye ducts when mud from our shortcomings keeps floating up and hitting us in the face. That stuff really gets into our eyes, making it so hard to see!

Seeing someone we don't understand or really know prosper will tell us what kind of heart we have; or we glad for them or envious for ourselves?

I know it says He will not forsake the righteous or let them go begging for bread ... but, the bread of life is Jesus, and He will always be with us! Besides, most of us can stand to fast or go on a diet! He wants us lean to be able to go into battle and not make huge targets!

Train Wreck - Pride and Differing Perspectives

The value of life can never be diminished; it is, however, abused due to pride, neglect, abuse and differing perspectives.

Mistakes occur. How we rise to address the mistakes is what makes us valuable to our Creator. Is it with humility and a hunger to be of service, or is it self-serving and vanity (as Solomon would put it)?

Injustices occur, and will until the millenia. Obviously, I am on a platform right now ... it can be ignored, or it can be thought about. Family is our strength ... it is also our weakness. The opportunities to serve others can never be diminished; it can become centralized and lose its authenticity, however.

Right now, I am in a battle over perception, honesty and legacies built and left behind. Being mistreated and abolished to the realms of peon-ship has really proven to be humbling and very enlightening, all wrapped into one experience. How to address this is a question I am taking to God, and praying about. He, after all, is the one in control. How do we deal with our problems is a question I have for Him ... most people do!

I can not hate a person that gives their best effort and fails. We all belong to God. I can be hurt by a person who chooses money over truth ... but, God loves that person as well. It makes authenticity even more important to me, as I get older and learn more about the frailness of the human creature. I hope you have the opportunity to let God rule in your life today, before the world captures your heart.

The character of our beings

Life is full of the unexpected. Such a cliché, yet so true! What we expect to happen, what we want to happen, what actually does happen, and what it means to us later in our lives ... the perceptions and desires all change so drastically over the course of weeks, months and years. It molds and develops the character of our beings ... it bakes into us the attitudes we carry with us today.

Our focus on economics, relationships, personal goals and development ... these basic ingredients all participate in what we offer our families, friends and communities. What life has given us shapes our beliefs that we live by, expecting to accomplish what we set out to do, whether it is bringing home the bacon or having that next relationship ... or, being angry and drowning our sorrows in that next glass of whatever, or puffing/snorting/shooting up whatever is the drug of choice, or being a workaholic, narcissistic, pessimistic, angry, a sex-addict, etc. We trust in the Bernie Madoffs in this world, and then we find out we were actually being lied to all along!

"We become, too late, smart and are too dumb when young" paraphrases a joke I often hear. Impatience, lack of knowing what tomorrow brings ... all of these have an impact on our actions of today. Too often, it seems, the phrase, "If I had only known ... " reflects our lack of knowing our best course of actions. The real estate meltdown, the economic meltdown, our country in turmoil, the divorces, the disappointments that reflect that activity that permeates our country and societies demonstrate that quite effectively.

Having a strong, well reasoned foundation will help take that heat and passion of youth and turn it into something marvelous, something wholesome and healthy for us to live by. We are able to let the experiences of our lives turn from disappointment and regret into something marvelous ... the power of truth in our lives. We must protect the ingredients of our lives with honor and intelligence!

Living under Duress - the sin of being proud

Life is challenging. No news flash there. How we deal with the challenges are often what do produce the news flashes. (Man kills self and family over debt. Baby found in suitcase. etc., etc.)

Do we have a humble heart, or a prideful heart is the question I find myself asking. Pride is the main "problem" element of how people respond to whatever challenges and/or situations arise in life. Pride is a sin. That is what Satan had before God; yet, how many times do you catch yourself saying how proud you are of yourself, your family, your job, your ___________ (fill in the blank). Where do you think that leaves your gentleness of spirit or your character?

People look at their own situations and forget the power of meekness and humilty that will help them respond to situations in power. Meekness is having the strength to handle a situation without responding out of pride ... strength under control, not responding to our training. Living under duress provides a lot of opportunities to demonstrate how we have been wronged and how we are injured ... our responses come out of our duty or out of our "stations" in life.

A gentle spirit is not a weak spirit, but one of strength. Our desire to be strong to others provide our own stumbling blocks, usually resulting from being proud. It has often been said one's biggest strength is also their biggest weakness. Duress will bring out the best and worse of our strengths. How we respond is based on cultural bias, social bias, economic bias ... rarely out of faith-based strength and knowledge.

People are killing themselves over money, over a lack of stability ... duress provides us with the opportunity to demonstrate what we truly believe in. It demonstrates what we believe ... no matter what we say. Actions speak louder than words.

I hope U sing and dance today!

Living life well ... YHWH has given us options to serve Him.

I hope you sing and dance to our Creator today. So many are grumbling and complaining. We R a selfish people ... we don't sing to the LORD unless we are focused on Him. We sing to ourselves ... we R a selfish people ... sing to the LORD a new song! His power and presence can lift us out of our way, if we but let Him.

When I was young, I was bulletproof! Insecure, but bulletproof! I heard so many old people talk about wasting youth ... it gave me great insight, though, into or about people when I finally realized the validity of that statement! I realize this is a gift YHWH blessed me with. People are captive to the mistakes they make because it forges their present and future. Mistakes come from our upbringing; since no one knows it all, we will follow the mistakes we are taught. I've come to realize that is why children pay for the sins of their parents; it is the damaged way we look at life! Don't blame the parents, they were damaged as well by their parents (and so on and so on).

Singing and dancing to the LORD gives us grace and mercy in our lives, and that is the changing elements of being captive to our mistakes. We can take advantage of it if we have a humble heart ... that is the hardest part of life, I surmise. Talk, talk, talk ... we live with what we believe. We believe that bad things shouldn't happen to good people and blame God, or think there is no God. We are a foolish people. Angels must shake their heads at us, but they know and see God, so they trust in what they know and realize He has a plan, and it will all be good.

Life is a battle of good versus evil. People should realize this is why bad things happen to good people. Good has won, though. This is cause to sing and dance today!

Joining Twitter and the social network revolution

I am a child of faith, a photographer that sees life in images and words. The last 51 years have prepared me for change being a constant ... yet Twitter, Facebook, flickr have altered the way I now look at the world. So many people are left behind with the rapid advances technology is bringing.

It is awesome that there are so many people and tools to help with all these changes. The wave of the future is already here, and the changes are continuing to emerge. I can now take images that would have cost me a small fortune 5 years ago, and make them available for anyone to see. It has cost me the way I use to do things, and that is now the biggest challenge to address.

Life has begun anew, and what tomorrow brings is going to be interesting, but I am not worried. I know who holds the future, and I trust that He will provide the ways to stay rooted and grounded in love, honor and the ability to serve others. That is the joy that I look forward to sharing, and it is this very change that allows me to move forward.

Thanks to one and all who share their knowledge, love and support. The future is terrible, yet exciting, contentious yet filled with love and power.