Photographs And Glory
April 26, 2008
Yesterday I took pictures of my two oldest daughters, Brooklynn and Lauren. We have been home schooling them this year. Since we just got the official public school pictures of our two youngest, Morgan and Michael, we decided to take our own home school pictures of our teens. This task landed squarely on my capable (and cheap) shoulders.
I’m no photographer, but I think these pictures turned out fairly well. With a digital camera, you can take as many shots as required to get what you want. I think I took around 200 poses to finally get the final four that we all liked. That’s a bunch of photos. Mind you, I have beautiful daughters, so maybe the insinuated indictment is more for the camera operator than it’s subjects.
These photos will be great memories of a year working hard from home, working with mom, and experiencing a taste of what home schooling is all about. These pictures will help create a great scrapbook. These digital snapshots will forever recall a unique time in the life of our family and our two oldest girls.
However, there’s nothing really like the real thing. Oh sure, my photography prowess abounds with astounding brilliance, but the living presence of my girls is what’s really spectacular. A great photo is cool, but just hang out with my kids and you’ll know why a photograph will always rate as second best. There’s really nothing like being in the presence of my kids.
I’ve been reading in I Kings lately. There’s some interesting ideas attached to an aging King David, and to Solomon. I’m gleaning some cool thoughts, and I’m taking notes on things I need to dig deeper into. For instance in chapter six, why wouldn’t Solomon use hammers or chisels at the construction site of the temple? What’s going on here that I need to uncover? Someone recently told me that great Biblical insights occur when you dig deeper into the verses that raise questions or aren’t making much sense. I’ve got to figure this one out.
As I read through chapters six and seven, the Bible goes into great detail concerning the architecture of the temple. I found myself skimming. Have you ever done that? You skim when you are reading something deemed trivial. You skim when you are reading, but you really want to get to the good part. Like a kid hurriedly swallowing a bite of green spinach because chocolate pudding is waiting, I think I got to the good part. In chapter eight of I Kings, the temple is finally finished and properly dedicated. In a moment that must have been nothing short of Grand-Canyon-like amazing, God’s presence fills the temple. Smoke was everywhere. A cloud was so thick the priests couldn’t even see their own religious robes. The glory of the Lord filled the temple. This is where the Lord would dwell and hang out.
That must have been a very satisfying moment for Solomon. After all those details, all the costs, all the headaches, and all the years (seven to be exact) of preparation, God was there. Not a photograph of Yahweh, but the real thing. There’s nothing like being in the presence of my God.
Suddenly the details I had skimmed in chapters six and seven of I Kings began making sense. The cedar walls, the carvings of pomegranates, the gold overlay, the olive wood doors, cedar-plank roofs, and other tedious specifics all began to become necessary review instead of relegated skim. The hard work was meticulously carried out because the end goal was the presence of God. The temple was outlandish, but the living presence of a living God is what’s really spectacular. The hard work became worth it.
Growing up, I can vividly remember a picture of Jesus hanging in the main lobby of our church. For 18 years I stared at this photo. A brownish tinted picture of a demure Jesus with the back lighting of a faint halo is something you don’t easily forget. It was a great photograph, but did my childhood church have the presence of God? I think so. I hope so.
In my mind, there are great times I’ve shared with Jesus. Retreats, prayer times, circumstances, Sunday mornings, brokenness… moments and memories that are great to remember. These are snapshots that create a great mental and spiritual scrapbook for me to fall back on. However, there’s nothing like the presence of Jesus. What am I doing these days to practice His presence? What details am I paying attention to that will fill my life with his glory? How meticulous (and sometimes tedious) are my plans and schedule towards God that my life will be thick with His presence? Am I skimming over the hard work and missing the glory? Perhaps in asking the question, my answer is somewhat obvious.
Thanks God for being more than a great memory or photograph. Thanks for mornings like these to remind and prompt me into your presence. God, I’m sorry I so often skim. Fill my life with so much glory and smoke that I can’t see my own religious robe.
Yesterday I took pictures of my two oldest daughters, Brooklynn and Lauren. We have been home schooling them this year. Since we just got the official public school pictures of our two youngest, Morgan and Michael, we decided to take our own home school pictures of our teens. This task landed squarely on my capable (and cheap) shoulders.
I’m no photographer, but I think these pictures turned out fairly well. With a digital camera, you can take as many shots as required to get what you want. I think I took around 200 poses to finally get the final four that we all liked. That’s a bunch of photos. Mind you, I have beautiful daughters, so maybe the insinuated indictment is more for the camera operator than it’s subjects.
These photos will be great memories of a year working hard from home, working with mom, and experiencing a taste of what home schooling is all about. These pictures will help create a great scrapbook. These digital snapshots will forever recall a unique time in the life of our family and our two oldest girls.
However, there’s nothing really like the real thing. Oh sure, my photography prowess abounds with astounding brilliance, but the living presence of my girls is what’s really spectacular. A great photo is cool, but just hang out with my kids and you’ll know why a photograph will always rate as second best. There’s really nothing like being in the presence of my kids.
I’ve been reading in I Kings lately. There’s some interesting ideas attached to an aging King David, and to Solomon. I’m gleaning some cool thoughts, and I’m taking notes on things I need to dig deeper into. For instance in chapter six, why wouldn’t Solomon use hammers or chisels at the construction site of the temple? What’s going on here that I need to uncover? Someone recently told me that great Biblical insights occur when you dig deeper into the verses that raise questions or aren’t making much sense. I’ve got to figure this one out.
As I read through chapters six and seven, the Bible goes into great detail concerning the architecture of the temple. I found myself skimming. Have you ever done that? You skim when you are reading something deemed trivial. You skim when you are reading, but you really want to get to the good part. Like a kid hurriedly swallowing a bite of green spinach because chocolate pudding is waiting, I think I got to the good part. In chapter eight of I Kings, the temple is finally finished and properly dedicated. In a moment that must have been nothing short of Grand-Canyon-like amazing, God’s presence fills the temple. Smoke was everywhere. A cloud was so thick the priests couldn’t even see their own religious robes. The glory of the Lord filled the temple. This is where the Lord would dwell and hang out.
That must have been a very satisfying moment for Solomon. After all those details, all the costs, all the headaches, and all the years (seven to be exact) of preparation, God was there. Not a photograph of Yahweh, but the real thing. There’s nothing like being in the presence of my God.
Suddenly the details I had skimmed in chapters six and seven of I Kings began making sense. The cedar walls, the carvings of pomegranates, the gold overlay, the olive wood doors, cedar-plank roofs, and other tedious specifics all began to become necessary review instead of relegated skim. The hard work was meticulously carried out because the end goal was the presence of God. The temple was outlandish, but the living presence of a living God is what’s really spectacular. The hard work became worth it.
Growing up, I can vividly remember a picture of Jesus hanging in the main lobby of our church. For 18 years I stared at this photo. A brownish tinted picture of a demure Jesus with the back lighting of a faint halo is something you don’t easily forget. It was a great photograph, but did my childhood church have the presence of God? I think so. I hope so.
In my mind, there are great times I’ve shared with Jesus. Retreats, prayer times, circumstances, Sunday mornings, brokenness… moments and memories that are great to remember. These are snapshots that create a great mental and spiritual scrapbook for me to fall back on. However, there’s nothing like the presence of Jesus. What am I doing these days to practice His presence? What details am I paying attention to that will fill my life with his glory? How meticulous (and sometimes tedious) are my plans and schedule towards God that my life will be thick with His presence? Am I skimming over the hard work and missing the glory? Perhaps in asking the question, my answer is somewhat obvious.
Thanks God for being more than a great memory or photograph. Thanks for mornings like these to remind and prompt me into your presence. God, I’m sorry I so often skim. Fill my life with so much glory and smoke that I can’t see my own religious robe.
posted by Alan's Blog @ 9:29 AM
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