Tag Archives: vision

Be Thou My Vision

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Glorious waves of grace

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible”
Jonathan Swift – Thoughts On Various Subjects

I often think the scenes I try to capture and preserve in photos are little bits of the great beauty that Jesus splashes across His creation. Whether anyone notices is not relevant to beauties existence, it just is because God is good. Wave upon wave in unending splendor speaks of the glory of God. This is also true in my life; I have ongoing grace lavished upon me––His glorious presence working for my good. Sometimes I have the eyes to see it and thank Him, but often I am too preoccupied and it goes unnoticed. Like the beauty in nature, grace is not given only where it will be appreciated, it is freely poured out in abundance because that is the nature of God. His goodness and love lavished freely upon His creation.

You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23 :5-6)

I need to continually remind myself to pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and wisdom to comprehend all that God is doing. Then with a heart of gratitude I can truly see, hear, and give thanks.

Fog Along the Way

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Clouds rolling over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

There were times that the fog became so thick you could barely see the road, let alone knowing which way to go.

We have all had times when we wished we had taken a different direction. Looking back we can see how a right choice would have been so much better, but we just could not see far enough ahead.

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.
They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways. Psalm 119:1-3

God is all about helping us choose the right direction. We just have to ask.

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:13

What we receive is not only help in making the right choices going forward, but forgiveness for all our past wrong choices.

When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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Sunrise through smoke

After two weeks of gray thick smoke, this morning held blue skies, clouds, and distant peaks in full splendor. Each breath felt clean and wonderful. It brought to mind the joy we’ll have on that day when we enter our Lord’s kingdom. The smoky haze of this fallen world will be blown away, and for the first time we will see clearly––Jesus in all his glory. I think the beauty of that morning will truly be off the scale, and my photos do not do even come close to capturing the glory to be revealed.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

If you’re lungs are burning from the smoke of this world remember:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

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The glory of sunrise

Dreamscape

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A heavenly dream

We all dream,
Life is full of dreams.
Our dreams are sometimes good, and sometimes nightmares.
Sometimes dreams come true…sometimes not.
But all our dreams will fade and get old with us.
I wonder if God dreams?
I bet his dreams are good.
Good beyond our wildest dreams,
And His dream will never end.
For in Jesus we are not the dreamer, but the dream.

Approaching the Throne of God

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The heights of heaven

I can approach the throne of God in His grace and be confident I will find mercy and help. (Hebrews 4:16)
I can leave my past behind and know that it does not cling to me.
Life is be pure again.
It is not mine to lose or spoil, I can only receive it, and it is a new gift every morning.
This amazing grace comes with God’s power to live for Him,
And the knowledge that He will never leave me nor forsake me.
I do not have to worry about tomorrow for the end of my story has been written.
I can breathe in the peace of God.
I can rest in the knowledge that God will cause all things to work out for good when I walk in His love. (Romans 8: 28)
When I get lost, He finds me and restores my soul.
What Jesus has started in me will be carried onto completion by His grace and power not mine. (James 1: 6)
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. (Psalm 145:8)
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

Where Is My Focus?

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Flowers of the field

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18

When I have no clear vision of God then my thoughts begin to drift.
Worries about what the future holds draw me further away.
In my fear I hoard and build embattlements.
I imagine everyone is coming to take what’s mine.
Then I see this flower and am reminded,
If God clothes the grass like this, how much more will he care for me.
I release my anxious thoughts and grab hold of my makers hand.
Something beautiful happens as I walk with Jesus,
I begin to see his goodness blossom in me.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?              Matthew 6:25-30

On This Brand New Day

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Brand New Day

A brand new day in the Icicle Canyon

On this brand new day what do I most need?

I need to reaffirm my hope is in the Lord and not myself. With His help I can scale the wall before me.

You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall. Psalm 18:28-29

Along with hope, I need remind myself of God’s faithfulness to His promises (His Word). I can trust in Him.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

And most of all, I need to rest in His love for me.

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

This is what I need. This is what we are given in Jesus. Take a long deep drink of this “Living Water” on this new day.

Open My Eyes

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The others were hardened, as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes so that they could not see
and ears so that they could not hear,
to this very day.” Romans 11:7-8

Lord, open the eyes of my heart.

This first picture is what came out of the camera. Pretty dull why even bother.

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Snow in the Woods

This second picture is after some color processing. Brings it closer to what I saw with my eyes. A little better and more exciting.

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Sunrise in the woods

The third picture is what I saw with my heart—Heaven’s gate.

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Heaven’s Gate