ancient times...

Have you ever wondered what life was like
for early man?
No television, no computers... what
did early man do with his pastime?
I suppose there was little time
to have a hobby or just to do
any thing but gather food, find shelter,
or keep warm. Any time left over
from the pursuit of survival
was usually needed to rest.

Times have changed, we have changed...
our culture has changed.
But God has not changed.
And His Word has not changed.
Oh, we have tried to change
the meaning of His Word to fit
the present culture and our desires,
but the original intent remains the same
and it always will.

"If you believe what you like in the Gospel,
and reject what you don't like,
it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself."
- Augustine of Hippo

desolation...

desolation

"Do we not each dream of dreams?
Do we not dance on the notes of lost memories?
Then are we not each
dreamers of tomorrow and yesterday,
since dreams play when time is askew?
Are we not all adrift in the constant sea of trial
and when all is done, do we not all yearn
for [something or someone] to carry us home?"
- Nathan Reese Maher

pets...

pets

photo by Alex Ronka

"Such short little lives
our pets have to spend with us,
and they spend most of it waiting
for us to come home each day.
It is amazing how much love and laughter
they bring into our lives
and even how much closer we become
with each other because of them."
- John Grogan

gratitude...

gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie

bonding...

bonding

"You get a feeling when you look back on life
that all God really wants from us
is to live inside a body He made,
and enjoy the story, and
to bond with Him through the experience."
- Donald Miller

passport...

passport

Yesterday, I turned in my application
for a new passport.
At the post office I was informed
that my photo was not representative enough.
It seems that the photo must show
all your flaws, blemishes, disfigurements
looking directly at the camera from a
straight on perspective.
My head was turned ever so slightly
to the left showing my better side. :)

Hence the photo had to be retaken.

Our appearance before the Lord
when it is time to leave this world
does not have to be perfect
although the Lord views us,
through our justification in Jesus Christ,
as flawless (sinless) from all angles.

My passport to Heaven shows me
the same no matter what side
I turn to Him.

windows...

Have you ever wondered what happened inside
old abandoned buildings.

Windows may give us a glimpse of the current interior
but there is nothing more mysterious
than imagination kindled by these
black square panes of glass.
People lived their lives inside experiencing
joy, sadness, hope, remorse, depression, anger,
kindness, cruelty, birth and death...
many of life's triumphs and defeats.

"What you need to know about the past
is that no matter what has happened,
it has all worked together
to bring you to this very moment.
And this is the moment
you can choose to make everything new.
Right now."
- Author Unknown

"For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life."
- John 3:16 NIV

autumn...

autumn

"No spring nor summer beauty
hath such grace as I have seen
in one autumnal face."
- John Donne

world of things...

a world of things

"A new world is not made
simply by trying to forget the old.
A new world is made with a new spirit,
with new values.
Our world may have begun that way,
but today it is caricature.
Our world is a world of things.
What we dread most,
in the face of the impending debacle,
is that we shall be obliged to give up
our gewgaws, our gadgets, all the little comforts
that have made us so uncomfortable.
We are not peaceful souls;
we are smug, timid, queasy and quaky."
- Henry Miller

temple ruins...

temple ruins

Your body is a temple.
Do not let your temple become ruined.

"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
If anyone destroys God’s temple,
God will destroy that person;
for God’s temple is sacred,
and you together are that temple."
- 1 Corinthians 3:16,17 NIV

deliverance...

deliverance

As we journey through life
we hope someday to see the light
at the end of the tunnel.

With Jesus Christ as our guide,
we are assured of reaching our desired destination.
However, our journey will still involve traveling
though many sticky webs... the webs of deceit,
deception, destruction, and those tangled webs
we, ourselves, weave.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight."
- Proverbs 3:5,6 NIV

[and your destination assured]

lighthouses...

lighthouses

"God built lighthouses to see people through storms.
Then he built storms
to remind people to find lighthouses."
- Shannon L. Alder

reading nook...

reading nook

I am re-arranging my man cave.

This is the new reading nook.

I have been removing a lot of the clutter.

In addition to this corner, and just opposite it,
is my computer/desk area.

The majority of the room, however,
is being cleared of everything.

That larger section, about 8x11 feet,
is being readied for a VR experience.

Yes, I seem always to be excited
about the newest innovations in technology...
particularly as it pertains to new experiences
and a new source of photographic opportunities.
I will never apologize for dreaming
and for my vivid imagination.

But, we must keep things in their
proper perspective. We need an area
in which to read, and to contemplate...
an area in which to meditate and to pray.

It need not be fancy, it can be small,
but it is needed more than all the rest.

Welcome to my little corner of solitude...
welcome to my reading nook.

resting place...

resting place

"God never asked us to meet
life's pressures and demands
on our own terms
or by relying upon our own strength.
Nor did He demand that we win His favor
by assembling an impressive portfolio of good deeds.
Instead, He invites us to enter His rest."
- Charles R. Swindoll

expression of life...

expression of life

We are experiencing a hot spell right now...
a little uncommon for this time of year.
Soon enough there will be a chill in the air,
and the leaves will fall from the trees.

I wonder if this will be a year of fabulous
autumn color or more a drab brownish ending
of another year.

Whatever is the case, decay is just another
expression of life... a promise of
rejuvenation and new beginnings.

"I have always looked upon decay
as being just as wonderful and rich
an expression of life as growth."
- Henry Miller

not nine lives...

not nine lives
(photo by Erin Doyle)

Our journey of life is a circle.
We begin at birth and we travel first
through a stage of physical and mental awareness
in an age of relative innocence.
In time, we enter the world of grown-ups
and set out to fulfill personal goals
and to find our niche as we experience this world of men.
Finally through reflection we turn inward
and seek meaning to all we have experienced
through the choices we have made...
the sadness and the joy.
Our focus shifts from the physical to the spiritual.
Eventually we return to our starting point.
All of what happens next is dependent on one choice.
This can be made anytime while we journey on this circle of life.
The earlier we decide will help determine
the source of guidance and purpose
for the rest of our earthly journey
so it wise to make the correct choice soon rather than later.
It is, however, never too late while still on life's circle,
a simple acceptance of the gift of grace from our Father.
Eventually we will all enter (one place or another)
the never ending journey of eternity.

“The perfect journey is circular...
the joy of departure and the joy of return.”
- Dino Basili

the hats we wear...

the hats we wear

photo by Erin Doyle

I tried on this hat recently
at a Deerskin Leather store.
Been thinking, for some time,
about replacing my old hat
I have had for many, many years.
Originally, I was thinking of a leather fedora
or an Australian style leather hat.
Then I was introduced to the
"Tilly" hat made in Canada.
This hat seems to be a lot more practical
than a leather hat
and has a lot of great features.
I love it.
Perhaps I will find one under the Christmas tree.

We wear many hats as we journey through life.
Some we are given and some we choose.
Child, teenager, adult, etc.
And in my case... son, husband, father,
teacher, photographer, blogger, and old dude.
One hat we wear our entire life is sinner.
Because of this last hat,
we need to wear the hat
freely offered to us by the Lord.
This hat we get to choose.
It is the hat of forgiveness,
one that brings us
into the family of God forever.
Please accept this hat and wear it
with the assurance that we can all
spend eternity with our Heavenly Father.
Now that is a hat to love... praise God.

use your imagination..

use your imagination

photo by Lori Snyder

"Imagination is everything.
It is the preview of life's coming attractions."
- Albert Einstein

stand reverent...

stand reverent

"These mountains, which have seen untold sunrises,
long to thunder praise but stand reverent,
silent so that man's weak praise
should be given God's attention."
- Donald Miller

if it is His will...

If it is His will
(photo by Faye Doyle)

Use me for Thy glory alone, O Lord.

changes...

On top of this mountain, it began to snow
but you could still see the golden glow of autumn
in the valley below.

Weather changes, seasons change,
and we change as we grow older.

Change is inevitable.

As things earthy change, we must hold onto
our faith and core beliefs as they
are found in His word.

He is our fortress and He does not change.

"It is well for us that,
amidst all the variableness of life,
there is One whom change cannot affect;
One whose heart can never alter,
and on whose brow mutability
can make no furrows."
- Charles Spurgeon

keep alive...

I like security and am pretty conservative...
a tendency for most of us as we age.

However, unlike many of my age,
I am always looking for new experiences,
particularly in some forms
of technology.

We aren't finished with our journey
as we can still learn and grow.
Never completely give up
your adventurous spirit...
and never ever give up your imagination.

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances
and yet will not take the initiative
to change their situation because
they are conditioned to a life of
security, conformity, and conservatism,
all of which may appear to give one peace of mind,
but in reality nothing is more dangerous
to the adventurous spirit within a man
than a secure future.
The very basic core of a man’s living spirit
is his passion for adventure.
The joy of life comes from
our encounters with new experiences,
and hence there is no greater joy
than to have an endlessly changing horizon,
for each day to have a new and different sun."

- Jon Krakauer
("Into the Wild")

the journey is long...

The journey is long but necessary,
and worth taking.

When I was processing this image in Photoshop,
I, as is my usual habit, was playing music
from my created Pandora station.

Interesting to note that the first song playing was
titled “Lament” by Rufus Cappadocia from
his album, “Songs for Cello”.

The journey has many trials and tribulations
along the way... we stumble and we fall...
but with the Lord's help and our own perseverance,
we pick ourselves up again, hopefully learn
from our mistakes, and continue onward.

Along the way there is also joy which
sustains us, and brings an inner peace,
found only through a personal relationship
with our Heavenly Father.

Appropriately, the last song playing while putting
the final touches on this image was,
“Joy” by David Nevue from his album,
“Whisperings”

Isn't it wonderful how the Lord
provides guidance, hope, and whispers
to us, as we travel this path?