Month: February 2014

Wait For It…

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Photography2 Comments

seek the Lord and his strength2 ch DSC_0818

But here on this mountain, God-of-the-Angel-Armies

will throw a feast for all the people of the world,

A feast of the finest foods, a feast with vintage wines,

a feast of seven courses, a feast lavish with gourmet desserts.

And here on this mountain, God will banish

the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,

The shadow of doom darkening all nations.

Yes, he’ll banish death forever.

And God will wipe the tears from every face.

He’ll remove every sign of disgrace

From his people, wherever they are.

Yes! God says so!

 

 Also at that time, people will say,

“Look at what’s happened! This is our God!

We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!

This God, the one we waited for!

Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.

God’s hand rests on this mountain!”

(Isaiah 25:6-10 The Message)

Indeed Everything

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Photography, Winter4 Comments

Steeples gap IMG_7163

All that is great and powerful and glorious and victorious and majestic

 is Yours, O Eternal One.

 Indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth belongs to You.

 The kingdom belongs to You, O Eternal One, and You are the head of it all.

 Wealth and glory come from You,

 and You rule over them all.

 In Your hand is power and strength,

 and You use them to make great and strengthen everyone.

 Because of your greatness, our God,

 we testify about Your greatness and praise Your glorious name.

 (2 Chronicles 29:11-13 The Voice)

Steeples peaks 3 IMG_7165

Streams of Hope

On By Charis PsalloIn Photography, Water, Winter1 Comment

Ice on creek IMG_6270

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,

and encourage those who have weak knees.

Say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, and do not fear,

for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.

He is coming to save you.”

And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind

and unplug the ears of the deaf.

The lame will leap like a deer,

and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!

Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,

and streams will water the wasteland.

The parched ground will become a pool,

and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.

Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish

where desert jackals once lived.

 

And a great road will go through that once deserted land.

It will be named the Highway of Holiness.

(Isaiah 35:3-8)

When Fear Crashes the Party

On By Charis PsalloIn PhotographyLeave a comment

dinosaur coming IMG_7070

My grandchildren reminded me what happens when we live in the clash between two kingdoms. My granddaughter, the meticulous decently-and-in-order one, had just finished setting up the fairy princess wedding scenario when the dinosaurs ventured out of her brother’s castle to try to crash the party. We had a problem -and it involved a lot of volume.

Dinosaur at the wedding party IMG_7081

Fear is a nasty weapon. I have seen fear bombs land on quite a few people lately -myself included.

For the Lord your God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17)

I’ve talked to other people who have had the most bizarre charges laid against them lately.  Folks feel helpless to deal with accusations that are ridiculously unjust, and don’t know how to disarm them. The fear bombs are not from God, but He is neither surprised nor dismayed by them. He invites us to trust Him as He teaches us more about who He wants to be for us in these circumstances. His ways are often the opposite of our natural responses, and  He is excited to show us what He wants to do instead of the plans of the enemy of our souls. The devil’s most effective low-budget weapons are still fear and accusation. Love dismantles fear. Truth sets us free. When we let God carry all our burdens and worries it’s humbling, but empowering at the same time.

All of you should treat each other with humility, for as it says in Proverbs,

God opposes the proud
    but offers grace to the humble.

 So bow down under God’s strong hand; then when the time comes, God will lift you up. 

Since God cares for you, let Him carry all your burdens and worries.

 Most importantly, be disciplined and stay on guard.

Your enemy the devil is prowling around outside like a roaring lion, just waiting and hoping for the chance to devour someone. 

Resist him and be strong in your faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are fellow sufferers with you. 

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of grace who has called you [to His everlasting presence] through Jesus the Anointed will restore you, support you, strengthen you, and ground you. 

For all power belongs to God, now and forever. Amen.

( 1 Peter 5:5-11)

dino-envy IMG_7068

We need to be careful not to shoot the hostages. As my three-year old grandson pointed out, dinosaurs get lonely and sometimes they need love too. They don’t often get asked to tea in a princess castle because they don’t fit, but a princess can visit theirs.

I think Jesus would approve.

Princess visits dinosaur castle IMG_7063

Speaking of Unfailing Love…

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Sky, Uncategorized, Winter7 Comments

alpenglow Steeples

How good it is to give thanks to the Eternal

and to praise Your name with song, O Most High;

to speak of Your unfailing love in the morning

and rehearse Your faithfulness as night begins to fall.

How good it is to praise to the sound of strings—lute and harp—

the stirring melodies of the lyre.

Because You, O Eternal One,

thrill me with the things You have done,

I will sing with joy in light of Your deeds.

(Psalm 92:1-4)

Breathe

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Photography, Sky2 Comments

rundle


“Breathe”

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me
And I,  I’m desperate for you
And I,  I’m lost without you
This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
-Michael W. Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzDiBYCk1VE

Take Heart

On By Charis PsalloIn Photography, Trees and forests2 Comments

aspen tracks DSC_0250

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” -Jesus

(John 16:33)

Behold Thou Art Fair

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography10 Comments

gardenia

Behold thou art fair, my love.

Behold thou art fair.

(Song of Solomon 1:15)

When I look in a mirror I see the toll the years have taken. Like the woman in the Song of Solomon I have spent seasons toiling in the sun, and when I was young the only sun screen we had was baby oil and mother’s cautions to wear a hat. My cousins inherited glorious red hair; I just got the red head’s complexion, and spent many a summer’s night nursing a sunburn with a cold wet cloth. When I look in a mirror I don’t see fair.

I watched a professional photographer edit photos a while ago. I had seen her enhance lighting and subdue blushes on blushing brides before.

“People want to remember their wedding,” she said. “They don’t want to remember the giant zit that showed up on the end of their nose that morning. The zit was temporary. The love is permanent. The zit is not who they are. The zit goes,” and with one click it vanished.

This particular day she was processing a photo for her fiance’s professional biography. I watched from a distance to see if she would go photoshop crazy to idealize this man. She didn’t. She has much better equipment than I have, including a huge computer screen that will reveal the tiniest detail. She kept enlarging the photo until his eyes shone from one side of her screen to the other. Then she just stopped and stared.

“Look,” she said after a while.

“What do you see?” I asked.

“I see me,” she smiled.

I looked more closely and realized that bright spot was not a highlight. It was her own perfect image reflected in his eyes. She was concentrating on him when she took the photo, but the whole time all he saw was her, and in his eyes she was beautiful. She was the light in his eyes.

When we look at ourselves we see our flaws. We see the stupid zits in our character that may have vanished twenty years ago, but remain in our memory as freshly as if they were were still there. But when we look closely into the eyes of the Lover of our souls, the one who gave everything to show how much He loves us, the one who has promised to never leave us and who is incapable of lying or breaking a promise, we see ourselves as He sees us.

And He says, “Behold thou art fair, my love. Behold thou art fair.”

The Sunshine of Forgiveness

On By Charis PsalloIn Art, Mountains, Sky, Trees and forests, Water4 Comments

 

Harbour Sun

We tend to drag up our old sins, we tend to live under a vague sense of guilt…we are not nearly as vigorous in appropriating God’s forgiveness as He is in extending it. Consequently, instead of living in the sunshine of God’s forgiveness through Christ, we tend to live under an overcast sky of guilt most of the time.     -Jerry Bridges    

 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. (Colossians 1:11-14)