Showing posts with label Vail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vail. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Sample 51 - A Clear Path To Follow (Vail, CO '11) (1)

This was taken from the gondola that took us to the top of one of the mountains overlooking Vail, and the glass I needed to shoot through gave this shot some extra blur. Couldn't complain though; the shot looked nice when I played with it as I converted it to black and white.

I liken an achievement as getting from one place to another. You were in one place/condition and you ended up somewhere better.

There can be many paths to get from one place to another. Some paths are less taken than others. Some paths are clearly the best routes to take. It's rare but possible for us to make our own paths to achieve something.

It's easy to fall into the temptation of over-assessing a situation and all the paths to the next step. Something I thought about this morning:

Thinking too much about everything + focusing on nothing = Headless Chicken.

I found out that I can rely on coffee to help out in thinking about everything, but if I'm not focused on anything, frustration can suddenly take over.

Sometimes it's best to let other people go on with their own paths, while we take our time in assessing, consulting when we can, and praying all the way.

That last bit was important. Solomon was absolutely correct in stating in Proverbs 3:6, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

The quickest and most effective path to take is taken while walking with the Holy Spirit.

God bless you.

 
_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sample 47 - The Frozen Waterfall (to Vail, CO '11)

So in the previous Sample I said something to the lines of 'Thank God for giving us opportunities to shoot even when the sun is up high in the sky"; Well, thank God for also giving us opportunities even on the road. This was shot en route to Vail.

Recently I've been fighting all thoughts I had about me being in a standstill - that everything I have going on for me is on hold or on pending. I've been fighting these thoughts by rationalizing; I would overcompensate on certain activities that I knew I had ease in executing just to think that I was actually doing something. In short, I was productive on my own terms, and sadly I was satisfied just feeling that I was productive.

It's so good to know the facts of who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ, as mentioned in the Word. Jesus Christ Himself mentioned that it was necessary for Him to go away (to die) in order for the Holy Spirit to be sent to convict the world (see John 14) accordingly. He went on by saying that the Holy Spirit convicts those who do not believe in Christ of their sin, therefore stressing the futility of salvation through any effort and work that man has to put on the plate. The Holy Spirit also convicts those who believe of their righteousness, therefore placing focus on the victory Jesus Christ won over any more obligation we have to our sinful nature.

It's been revealed to me during these past days that any worker despite his or her vocation depends on both tools and skill. A worker who has raised his life to Jesus Christ is not only dependent (and consequently empowered) by just tools and skill, but also by the Holy Spirit who directs him into the paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:4).

I've been a Christian working only with my tools and skill, without really acknowledging that I have the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. A Christian who doesn't regularly and constantly acknowledge what can be done with the proper power and sound judgment the Holy Spirit gives is bound for burnout, or like the case of waterfalls in the winter, standstills.

If we yield to what the Holy Spirit has to say to us, and cast aside any other thought that glorifies itself above Christ, then we can hear council that strikes deep into our core, deep beneath the hard surface that some of us have in our hearts. In my case, around a few hours back, I was told in a service filled with the anointing of the Holy Spirit that God had a word for me:

"You have not failed Me."

This spoke to my heart more than anything else I heard today - that though I may be dilly-dollying by my own standards, the Lord comes and says to me, confirms that He indeed makes things happen for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I just have to say that without the Lord in my life, without the Holy Spirit working in me, and without the confirmation of the Holy Spirit working in me, confusion and chaos is inevitable.

So come, Holy Spirit, and continue to minister to us in our lives as we keep on dying to ourselves every day - though there may be times that we may see that the flow we're used to seeing is frozen, help us always to remember that You never waste Your time. Help us to always remember that though we may be seeing ice, that Your Spirit, like water, is still moving inside, in one way or the other. Thank You Lord, for Your revelations. October 21, 2012 is a memorable day for me, for Your glory. In Jesus Christ's Name I pray, Amen.


_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Monday, October 15, 2012

Sample 42 - Towards Midday (Colorado '11)


This is the first shot I'm uploading without reduction. Please take the time to view it in full resolution.

 Based on all I've been through these 4 years I've owned a camera, I honestly felt iffy in posting this. The picture was shot at approximately 10 am in the morning from a moving car (we were on our way to Vail - more from there and on the road to there to follow! :D ). You'll see noise and the softness of the 18-200mm (though I remember shooting this at f/8)...

...But I guess it's better left alone. After going through the first black and white landscape photo in a reprint of Ansel Adams' work as compiled in his book, The Camera, I felt more encouraged in posting this picture. Thank God for the creativity and the eye He gave Mr. Adams. What an absolute genius in landscapes he is.

Besides, Pao liked the shot too.

It goes to show that though the sun is so high in the sky, there are still opportunities to take some landscapes to be happy with...

...sometimes God sends you motivation to share it through the work of a legendary landscape photographer, and my girlfriend (who, I must say, shied away from my camera during the first months of our relationship).

God bless you.

Verse of the Day:

"The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so." Proverbs 15:7

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26