Seeing Through the Fog

Do you ever feel like your life is in a fog?

There are decisions that need to be made but you just can't seem to find  a clear, confident path to follow.

My prayer is that I, and you, will see clearly the things we need to see, that we will discern the direction our daily walk should take, that we will know His will and, most importantly, that we will follow where He leads.

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes.

Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored,

and he saw everything clearly.

Mark 8: 25

Which Path To Take?

He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

Psalms 23: 3

In life there are many paths.  Times come frequently when we must choose.  Do I go this way or do I go that way.

Often the world will be crowding around us, pushing or pulling, trying to influence our choice of paths.  Situations, circumstances, even friends, will be urging us to move in a certain direction.  The choices the world suggests are not always the best ones.

As a photographer I often make an image that has the subject in clear focus.  The rest of the image is blurred.  That makes the subject stand out clearly for the viewer.

If we always listen to God when we make our choices the paths will always be according to His will. Unfortunately, I often don't listen to Him, or at least my listening is influenced by the world.

My prayer today - Lord I long to let You be my guide.  I want You to make the right choices in focus. Help me to blur the world's choices and see only the path that You would have me walk. Amen.

It's All About Me!

Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your Paths.

Psalms 25:4

I hope everyone who reads this understands clearly that the thoughts expressed in this blog are thoughts that the Lord gives to me to help ME.  

I share them not to impart something wonderful to you, the reader, but rather to simply share with you what God is trying to teach me.  Sometimes, okay, many times, I am slow to grasp. So, God teaches me over and over. Thank you Lord!

I pray that you can draw from these thoughts ways to move yourself closer to His word and His will.

We are Pilgrims On a Journey

Where are you going?

One of the great joys of our retirement has been the opportunities to travel and see this great land we call home. 

We don't just get up and decide one day that we will take a two week trip to the New England area. 

When we are going somewhere we spend much time beforehand making preparations.  There is the shopping for supplies, the reservations for sleeping, the research about what to see and do.  And, of course, there is the financial planning.  

Long before the journey there is the preparation for the journey.

We would never leave on a long journey without preparation.

But what if God asks?  Are we prepared, do we prepare, for those journeys that He might ask us to take?

Where are you going? How will you get there? What difference will it make in your life? What difference will it make in the lives of others?

These are the journeys of the sons of Israel,

by which they came out from the land of Egypt

by their armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 33:1

What Lies Behind or What Lies Ahead?

I recently visited the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

At one time, before the park was established, there was a logging community there.  In the late part of the 19th century a group of wealthy folks from Knoxville began to build summer "cabins" in the area.  They even had a railroad to take them there.  The families would spend summers in the cabins to avoid the heat of Knoxville.

Some of the cabins, though abandoned, still remain today.  It is always fun to visit and wonder what it must have been like to spend the summer there.

I like old things.  I like to photograph abandoned things.  But, I live for the future!

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself 

yet to have taken hold of it.

But one thing I do: 

Forgetting what is behind and straining

toward  what is ahead,

I press on toward the goal

to win the prize for which

God has called me heavenward

in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3: 13, 14

Love One Another

By this the love of God was manifested in us,

that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world

so that we might live through Him.

In this is love, not that we loved God,

but that He loved us and sent His Son

to be the propitiation for our sins. 

Beloved, if God so loved us,

we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:9-11

I woke up in the night singing "God so loved the world,".  My first thought was, "Why don't I love Him back the same way?"

As I read posts on Facebook, see stories on the news, hear people talk, I am struck by how we don't really love each other.  We have become so polarized and self-centered. If someone holds different political, religious, or social views from us they are "stupid", "bigoted", "worthless", "ignorant" individuals.  And, we don't hesitate to share our ill feelings toward them.

There is so much in this world to be thankful and appreciative of.  I should not spend my days being negative about others.

A lot of people talk about tolerance.  But, I have learned they are really only willing to be tolerant of those who agree with their beliefs.

My prayer today is, "Lord, teach me to love those who disagree with me.  Show me how to live in this world for You.  Help me to see those who need to be loved. Amen."

Stick With What You Do Best

One of the lessons I have heard over and over again as a photographer is, "Develop your own style, your own niche in photography.  Don't try to be a generalist."

I spent the past weekend with some amazingly talented photographers.  Many of them are excellent at making images of the streams and rapids found in the Smokies.  And, you can tell that they love making those images.  They can spend an entire day going from river to river.

I spent some time with them on the river.  However, my photography style just doesn't lend itself to that genre.  I made some pictures which I like (above is one example), but most of the time I found myself shooting away from the water.  I found other smaller scenes to be of more interest to me.

It is good that we are not all exactly alike.

The same is true of our spiritual gifts.  One of my friends and I talked about that this weekend.  As an educator I saw many people in the classroom who knew that teaching was what they were called to do.  Those men and women were excellent teachers.  They loved what they were doing.  There was a contentment in their lives.  I also saw a few teachers who were always miserable!  They had not yet figured out that they were not called to be a teacher. Theirs was a life of discontent and often a lot of grumbling.

Life is going to be better for us if we find the career, the service opportunities, the situations that fit who we are.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:4