This blog is mostly about images. A photo captures a moment in time and lets us slow down long enough to see the rich texture of the life all around us. It's mostly for my own amusement, but if you stumbled here somehow, please enjoy.

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Emmanuel

(From mural in a Bethlehem chapel)
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matt. 1:23)

With us. Not a high priest afar off who can't be touched. In the flesh. Fully man yet fully God. 

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.


Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
(From "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" by Charles Wesley)

"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)

Friday, December 9, 2016

The Heavens Declare

Few things draw me to praise like water, sky, or mountains. God has truly revealed Himself in his Creation!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." (Psalm 19:1)

Friday, December 2, 2016

Janelson

It's hard to find words when a lovely young lady says your son is her "best friend, spiritual, head, and love of my life!" We are truly blessed to welcome Janelle to our family.

And they even have their own hashtag! #janelson

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD." (Prov. 18:22)

Friday, November 25, 2016

Fungus Among Us


Even a rainy hike yields beauty and photographic opportunities. I had to catch up with my companions several times after pausing to capture these huge fungal growths along the path. Some expert can tell me whether they should be called mushrooms.


Friday, November 18, 2016

Big as a Moose


When a mama moose looks at you like this, with her calf nearby, you silently give thanks for your 300mm lens--maybe even the presence of others who run more slowly than you.

I can't help but wonder, did Adam call it a moose because it was so big or did "big as a moose" come later? Another chicken-egg conundrum.

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." (Gen. 2:19)

Friday, November 11, 2016

30 Percent Club


The peak of Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley) is often enshrouded by clouds. Visitors are told to expect that it is only visible 30% of the time--that only one in three get to see it on their Alaska trip.

So, when we caught this glimpse upon our arrival in Talkeetna--and gloried in the full extent of 20,310' from a near sea level vantage point--our shutters were clicking incessantly.

I'm more than slightly bemused by human nature, arriving as we do at the smugness of attributing to some superior aspect of our character the reason for our gaining access to such a limited group. Or that it "hardly rained at all" on our vacation. If that isn't the rooster taking credit for the sunrise, I don't know what is. God must smile. Knowingly. Maybe a little sadly.

Rather I should give Him glory for those little glimpses He affords of the marvels of His creative work on this earth; remembering it rains on the just and the unjust--and pray God my conduct may be that of the former.

"Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?...Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?" (Job 38:2, 28)

Friday, November 4, 2016

Treasures of Snow


As slowly as it moves, a glacier is fascinating to watch with its seemingly infinite textures and colors. This one is called Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.

 "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?" (Job 38:22)

Friday, October 28, 2016

On Eagle's Wings



We were blessed to visit Alaska this past July and were told that 80% of the American Bald Eagles live there.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)