Glimpse of Light

Sometimes I feel as if life is in a fog.

  A grey mist that swirls about everything we know, everything we do. It distracts us from our real purpose, it distracts us from God. It distracts us from really living the life we were made to live.

 
  This grey fog is filled up with our busy days, stretching and pulling at us. The grey is the lies we've believed, who we've made ourselves to be.The perfect image that we compare ourselves too.

  This fog is deadly.

  But there's something about it that can be even deadlier.

  The fogs wraps around who we're made God out to be. It shadows God in lies and ideas and assumptions. It injects lofty religion and loftier rules. It takes away the beauty, power, glory and mystery of God and replaces them with a boring, mundane god that knows nothing about our dreams and nothing about who we are.

  But there are times when a ray of sunlight cuts through the fog, the beam shines onto our soul and awakens and warms our hearts.
It resurrects the mystery, the beauty of God once more by banishing this fog. It's as if God is whispering, "I'm here. Behind those ideas and lies you've made me out to be. Let me show you who I really am. I'm here." God is trying to break through this fog that holds us captive by showing us the light.

  These beautiful, sunlit moments shatter the fog and break into our lives. We're often caught unawares and such pure beauty cuts to our souls. It's something we feel, something deep, mysterious, as if you've just stumbled upon the truth. For that's what it is: Truth. It resonates in your heart and makes you say, "Yes, this, THIS is what I was made for. THIS is the God I know."
 
  These moments are beautiful: In DTS when I read and truly believed that I was a conqueror in Christ and it had me jumping for joy. The first time I heard 'The Way' by Jeremy Camp and knew my soul was made to cry out to Jesus! The first time I read Zephaniah 3:17 and realized God's love is so much greater. When I cried listening to Gandalf describe those white shores because I knew someday I would stand on those white shores with my Savior. When a blog post about grace takes my breath away.
  You know what I'm talking about. Moments when you finally understand. When you finally see.

 These things make us feel, and for a time, illuminate our life and dispel the fog around us.

  It's for these moments, those beautiful, glorious moments; that we are alive.

  Let us fight against this fog, for this is a very real fight. But by these small glimpses of light we shall see everything. 

1 Corinthians 13:12, "We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!" The Message

Some Cloudy photos - Thematic 206

Over at Written Inc. , this week's thematic theme is Cloudy. There are some amazing photos over there so you should definitely check them out! Here are a few of my cloudy pictures....

"Then suddenly Merry felt it at last, beyond doubt: a change. Wind was in his face! Light was glimmering. Far, far away, in the South the clouds could be dimly seen as remote grey shapes, rolling up, drifting: morning lay beyond them." -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

 

The two pictures above were shot on the same night, a few minutes apart. It's incredible how quickly the clouds can change into such beautiful colors. 

 

                  

Faith...

So this week over at Written Inc., the theme for the thematic pictures is Faith. And here are my photos that remind me of this theme:

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the staircase."-Martin Luther King Jr.

I love this picture because it reminds me that without fail, these tiny flowers bloom every spring. Even after a harsh winter, they are faithful to show up. It's a reminder that while we may be going through a winter, a hard time in our own lives, spring will come again. And it will be all the more beautiful.

Our God can paint beautiful masterpieces. Faith in Him that His love for us is shown in the beauty all around us.

We don't always know where this road in life is going to take us. There are twists and turns and surprises of every kind. But we can have a faith in the assurance that everything will turn out in the end.

A few of my favorites from 2011....

So thematic theme 117 at Written Inc. , is your favorite pictures of 2011. 2011 has been a beautiful year of change for me and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store. Here are few of mine, as we look back at the year:

These first two remind me to slow down and enjoy the beauty of simplicity.

Not only are these some of my favorite snapshots of the year, but each picture represents something different to me. Each has a certain memory. And each is a small piece of life, so that when I look back at them, I can recapture the beauty and joy all over again. We can't stop or slow down time, but having photos are the next best thing.

Have a Happy New Year Everyone!

The colors of Fall

So over at Written Inc. , they have a weekly thematic photographs and they invite you in on the fun. So I thought I'd post my Fall entries for theme 165-Welcome Autumn.




The Fall colors hasn't fully reached the trees around here. But this one decided it was time for Fall, despite those around it.

 




This was taken last year, as my family and I went through a corn maze. Nothing says Fall more than the beatiful colors, pumpkins, and corn mazes.

I used to dread fall. After the beautiful summer and the lazy days, it seemed like a mockery to have to have to start work and everyday life again. But I've come to learn that it's not Fall itself, but it's how you view it. Now, I love the start of Fall. Not so much the things that come with Fall, such as work and school and eventually snow (!) but the season alone.

It seems as if God has taken a paint brush to all of the trees, leaving us in awe of His masterpiece. It's the feeling that you get when you breathe in the cold, crisp air. That something is happening, that feeling of being fully alive. Thanksgiving, pumpkins, color and candy. Fall has alot to offer more to offer than we give it credit for.

Maybe it's not so much that we don't like Fall but rather what comes after it. When the cold weather traps us indoors and the beautiful colors are taken from the trees to return next year. Winter brings it's own cold awe, but I'll wait to write about that when we get there. 

For now, let's just enjoy the scenery and time that God has given us.