New Life

Magnolias are probably my all-time favorite flowering trees.  Maybe it's because they are the among the first to bloom each spring...bravely unfolding beautiful pink when everything else surrounding is brown and dull and dead-like.  

Unfortunately, they are also among the most fragile flowers, and that very thing that makes them so eagerly welcomed at the beginning of spring is also very often that which leads to an early death.

We've had an absolutely gorgeous spring here in Pittsburgh this year...everything began blooming around the middle of March, which is several weeks earlier than usual.  But we were holding our breath for that inevitable cold night, hoping that we would have at least a few days to enjoy the colors before the frost destroyed them.  I'm so thankful I ran outside with my camera to take some pictures of our magnolias when I did, because we had a hard frost shortly after, and that was the end of their flowers.  

But, not by any means the end of the life of the tree.  In this week leading up to Easter, I've been wondering what the disciples of Jesus must have been thinking during that whole week.  What an incredible roller-coaster of emotions!  From the heights of excitement to the depths of despair, and from the depths of despair to hesitant, glorious wonder and amazement.  From Palm Sunday, to Passover and the crucifixion, to Resurrection Sunday, and the realization that this Jesus was exactly Who He proclaimed to be.

More and more, I'm beginning to understand that God's ways are not our ways.  We like to think sometimes that we have Him figured out...fit into our little "boxes" that we can understand.  But what is the sense in a seemingly untimely death?  Jesus was at the height of His ministry - everyone was ready to make Him the King in Jerusalem - He could have had anything and everything He wanted.  

But He choose death.  Cruel, agonizing, painful death.

Do you ever wonder why?  I mean, He is God - He could have designed the redemption plan differently.  He could wipe out the enemy with a single word.  But He didn't.

I don't know the answer to that, and I'm not going to pretend to know.  I just know that a God that would become flesh and die for me is a God that loves me more than I'll ever understand here on earth...and He is a God that can't and won't be fit into my limited understanding of reality.  His ways are not my ways, and His thoughts are so far beyond mine (Isaiah 55:8).  

For Him, death meant life.  Not life as it looked before - those three years the disciples spent with Jesus were over, and life never really went back to the way it had been before His death.  But His death meant new life...a better life.  Because of what He did on the cross for us, we now can have new life in Him.

"We were buried therefore with Christ by baptism into death, in order that, just as He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in {newness of life}." Romans 6:4

Heinz Hall

One thing I love about this city of Pittsburgh that I call home is its rich cultural district downtown.  

Besides providing numerous options for amazing photo shoots :), there is a lot of history behind many of its buildings and structures.  Heinz Hall has always held particular fascination for me - many times as a child I attended free day-time concerts for school children there, and remember being somewhat awed by the ornate decor.  Originally built as a movie house, it was considered to be the most magnificent theater between New York and Chicago.  After being forced to close its doors in the 60's, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra saved it from being replaced by a parking garage and completed a 10 million dollar renovation on the building in the early 70's.  Since then, it has been a center for the Performing Arts and home to the PSO and the PYSO.

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to photograph the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra for their 2011- 2012 season yearbook.  It was such a great experience to see a little behind the scenes of this gorgeous building, and photograph these talented young people.  The architecture outside the building is beautiful as well, and I had fun taking a few shots here and there when I had a break...

Oh, and happy first day of Spring!! :)  I'm so looking forward to getting back outside with my camera!

Blessings,

Rachel Elisabeth

March Ramblings

I recently rediscovered Oswald Chambers, and his wonderful little book, "My Utmost for His Highest."  

The book is divided, devotional-style, into short articles - one for each day of the year,

and it takes about one and a half minutes to read each morning.

Can I highly recommend this book to you?  You will be blessed and challenged, I know. 

I certainly am.

Here is yesterday's article:  The Time of Relapse, March 9th

"Will you also go away?" (John 6:67)

A penetrating question.  Our Lord's words come home most when He talks in the most simple way.  We know Who Jesus is, but in spite of that He says - "Will you also go away?"  We have to maintain a venturing attitude toward Him all the time.

"From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him."  They went back from walking with Jesus, not into sin, but they relapsed.  Many today are spending and being spent in work Jesus Christ, but they do not walk with Him.  The one thing God keeps us to steadily is that we may be one with Jesus Christ.  After sanctification the discipline of our spiritual life is along this line.  If God gives a clear and emphatic realization to your soul of what He wants, do not try to keep yourself in that relationship by any particular method, but live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ.  Never try to live the life with God on any other line than God's line, and that line is absolute devotion to Him.  The certainty that I do not know - that is the secret of going with Jesus.

Peter only saw in Jesus Someone to minister salvation to him and to the world.  Our Lord wants us to be yoke-fellows with Him.

I know there hasn't been much photography on this photography blog of mine lately, and for that I am sorry.  Soon, I hope...in the meantime, I've been grateful for lengthening, sunny days, the birds singing outside my window, and peaceful, prayerful morning coffees. :)

Everything Good

It's almost here...I know it.  Spring is only a few short weeks away, and that's a happy thought that makes my heart smile.  I love this time of year, when the earth seems to be holding it's breath, awaiting glorious new life and growth.  Today was one of those "teaser days", and I took full advantage of it...grabbed my camera and my bike and headed to my favorite trail up the river.  

Usually I'm a firm believer in social exercise (who doesn't agree that running and swimming and skiing are much more fun with friends? :), but biking is my absolute favorite way to exercise, and I don't mind doing it by myself...it's such a great time to think, and talk to God, and hear from Him.  And today I took my camera along because the photographer side of me can get a little starved by the end of winter - I'm looking for any excuse to use my camera that I can find.

So...I decided today that it's still a bit early in the season to capture any stunning landscape photos. :) But, God did speak some things to my heart as I was enjoying the warm air and sun.

He reminded me, again, that there is beauty in every season of life, if I am looking for it.

And sometimes, we do have to look for it...hard.  It may look like winter in your soul, feel like winter in everything that is going on around you.  But, I guarantee you, because our God is so very good, there are good things happening, too...promises of the spring that is just around the corner.  We just have to look a little harder for them...slow down, get off the bike, stop rushing through each day...and look for the beautiful bits of life that are persisting in spite of the deadness we feel.

I've been listening to a song lately called Everything Good, by the Christian group Ashes Remain.  I heard it on the radio a week or two ago, and the lyrics, especially the chorus, stuck with me, reminding me of Truth I need to be thinking on at this time in my life.  Here is the chorus:

You're everything good, everything True

When all the world is fading, You're everything new

You are my eyes, when I can't see

When all the world is broken, You will always be

Everything good.

Everything good.  I can only speak for myself, but knowing this about God...that He is good...brings such peace and trust.  He is good, and is working all things in my life to be good in the end (Rom.8:28).  And in times of my life when I feel like "spring" is never going to come, days like today remind me that it's just a season...signs of spring are all over the place. :)  

And somehow the road ahead isn't as scary...unknown, yes, but I know the One Who walks it with me.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good..." (Psalm 34:8)

Rachel Elisabeth

A.W.Tozer on Loneliness

This winter, our church has been working though Kyle Idleman's book and DVD series, "Not A Fan; Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus."  And last night, the video we watched as a group challenged us to consider what sacrifices Jesus is calling us to make.  

Not because these sacrifices will make Him love us more.  

But because these sacrifices will help us remember that this world is not our home...we're just passing through on our way to our eternal Home with Him.  And, because we are commanded by Jesus to 
"take up your cross {daily} and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)

During our group discussion after the video, a friend of mine recommended the following article by A.W. Tozer, called "The Saint Must Walk Alone."  Often, if we are truly seeking Jesus and walking as He leads, we will face loneliness...friends and family won't understand the choices that we make, and will drift away from us.  Yet in the suffering this causes, we can find comfort in the fact that Jesus knows what it is like, since He faced that reality during His time here on earth.  But Tozer says it much better than me. :)  Here is a portion of this thought-provoking article, with the link to the full article following:

"Sometimes we react by a kind of religious reflex and repeat dutifully the proper words and phrases even though they fail to express our real feelings and lack the authenticity of personal experience. Right now is such a time. A certain conventional loyalty may lead some who hear this unfamiliar truth expressed for the first time to say brightly, “Oh, I am never lonely. Christ said, `I will never leave you nor forsake you,’ and `Lo, I am with you alway.’ How can I be lonely when Jesus is with me?”

Now I do not want to reflect on the sincerity of any Christian soul, but this stock testimony is too neat to be real. It is obviously what the speaker thinks should be true rather than what he has proved to be true by the test of experience. This cheerful denial of loneliness proves only that the speaker has never walked with God without the support and encouragement afforded him by society. The sense of companionship which he mistakenly attributes to the presence of Christ may and probably does arise from the presence of friendly people. Always remember: you cannot carry a cross in company. Though a man were surrounded by a vast crowd, his cross is his alone and his carrying of it marks him as a man apart. Society has turned against him; otherwise he would have no cross. No one is a friend to the man with a cross. “They all forsook Him, and fled.”

The pain of loneliness arises from the constitution of our nature. God made us for each other. The desire for human companionship is completely natural and right. The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God-given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share inner experiences, he is forced to walk alone. The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way."  (read the full article here)

Andrew and Heather

It's a cold, snowy winter evening here in Pittsburgh...I have a candle lit on my desk, and am wrapped in a cozy blanket.  It's hard to believe that just two weeks ago, we were sitting on the beach, worried about sunburn and dehydration.  While in the Philippines, Andrew, Heather, my dad and I took a short, two day trip to the island of Cebu, just to have some time together, and to see more of the country.  

The view from our hotel room

Cebu is a beautiful island...several days after we left, there was a fairly severe earthquake in the area (6.8 magnitude) that killed a number of people and caused panic in Cebu City, and other surrounding cities.  When I heard the news, I was so grateful for God's protection while we were there, but my heart goes out to the families that are suffering as a result of this...somehow it brings a disaster like this a little closer to home when you know the area, have rubbed shoulders with some of the locals, and just escaped going through the nightmare yourself (from what I've read, no one was killed in the immediate area that we visited, just a lot of chaos caused by the aftershocks, tsunami warnings, etc.).  

Sunrise the next morning

This was low tide, about mid morning - there were a lot of fishing boats like 

these up and down the coastline.

It was so nice to have some time to talk and catch up with Andrew and Heather.  While we were there, they asked if I would take a few pictures of the two of them together - their 8 month anniversary had just passed, and of course I was happy to. :)  It was the perfect place for a quick photo shoot...

Matthew 25:40

"...Truly I say unto you, as you did it to the {least} of these my brothers, you did it to Me."

It was towards the end of our time in Manila, and I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed, 

and unsure as to how much more I wanted to see.  

I realized halfway through the day on Saturday that I was a little depressed, and finally was able to figure out part of the reason why.   Stories and scenes of human and animal suffering were overloading my mind, 

and I was starting to question the purpose in it all.  

I didn't want to see one more child walking through the lanes of traffic trying to beg a few pesos for something to eat...

I didn't want to see one more mangy, homeless dog or cat wandering around or dead on the side of the road...

I didn't want to hear of another girl sexually abused by a family member, 

or see the hardness in the face of another young girl selling herself to a foreign man she didn't know or love for the sake of money and a few material comforts in life...

and I didn't want to see the hopelessness behind the eyes of hundreds of thousands of adult men and women eking out an existence, working 16-18 hour days, 7 days a week, for 100-200 pesos a day (equivalent to a few American dollars), never an end or better way in sight.  

Selfish of me, perhaps...but it's such a helpless feeling - where do you even start?

How do you even begin to make a difference when the need is so enormous?

And what of hope?  What is the purpose in a life like that?

Quietly, but surely, Jesus spoke to my heart, and reminded me that indeed there is hope, 

because of what He did on the cross...we know that those who are found believing in Him will have a life after death free of suffering and pain, and more beautiful than anything we can imagine.

And He also reminded me that while I probably won't fix any cultural tendencies towards poverty, I can start with one person...the "least" of these...by giving a smile, a word of encouragement, a cup of cold water in His name.

His ministry was always about the "one"...the one needy person in front of Him received His full attention and love.  The woman at the well....the tax collector...the woman caught in adultery...Peter after he had betrayed his beloved Savior.  The realization of that is to me a huge relief in many ways - not to say that I can't or shouldn't have big dreams, but not at the expense of the one person Jesus brings across my path today.  

So we went out on the streets to help with the children's ministry

...and we gave out cookies and juice and hugs and smiles,

and breathed prayers and spoke words of life into those children...in the name of Jesus. 

And we played games with the students, and laughed together...had heart conversations with some of them, and took walks arm in arm.

This is Darwin :)  All I know about him is his name, because he speaks only Tagalog and I speak only English...but we were collecting the children to start the program, and he came running over to me and gave me a huge hug - I picked him up and carried him for a while, the whole while he was chattering away with the most beautiful smile on his face....totally stole my heart.

While it's sad to see so much pain and suffering, I came home encouraged that God is at work there in Manila, and around the world - through His people and their willingness to stop for the "one".  

Never underestimate the power of a simple act of kindness.  Zec.4:10 says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..." (NLT).  

The more you give, the more joy fills your heart in return....even that which seems small and insignificant to us can be used by God for great things (John 6:1-13).   

There are lots of other things that I've been thinking about as a result of that trip, but that was one of the main things. :)  On the plane ride over, I read an interesting book by K.P. Yohannan, 

the founder of Gospel for Asia.  

He has a beautiful heart of love for the people of his country (India) and a passion for world missions.  All of his books are wonderful, but Revolution in World Missions, and No Longer a Slumdog 
are two that I've been reading lately...they've reinforced some of the things God has been teaching me lately, and further opened my eyes to the fact that all the world problems of hunger and slavery and 
human trafficking and whatever other means of suffering 

{begin with the individual}. 

A child is hurting...a human being is hurting...and if I can help that one person, God can multiply it a thousand times over, beyond my wildest imagination...if I am doing it in His name and for His glory.

"...Truly I say unto you, as you did it to the {least} of these my brothers, you did it to Me."

-Matthew 25:40