Tag: photography

Presumption

On By Charis PsalloIn Black and white, Man made, Photography, UncategorizedLeave a comment
Building up
Building up and knocking down

I’ve been cleaning house in preparation for Christmas.

OK, the truth is I needed to mail some presents and by the time we dragged out the boxes of tree decorations and cards with mismatched envelopes and holly jolly wrinkled wrap the place was a disaster. I had to get Grampie to move the portable table saw and the camping equipment out first to get at it and that led to a multitude of forgotten junk, old toys and sports equipment from years past spilling out of the tiny storage room under the stairs as well. I had no choice; there was no hiding this stuff. Some thingys had been there so long we forgot we had them and had gone out and bought new thingys when we needed them. Six air mattresses. Really?

So I have been cleaning and sorting and hauling stuff to the thrift shop.

In the middle of my trying to pare down Grampie brought home a big box of wooden blocks he found at a going-out-of business sale. Since we have four grandchildren under the age of three and a half — soon to be five grandchildren– the purchase of blocks does make sense. They love to build to build castles and high towers. Well, some like to build up –and some cannot resist knocking down. They don’t always have the same plans. The little boys especially presume the whole point of building blocks is the satisfying crashing sound they make when they plow through a structure in their stocking feet. That’s when we need to talk about understanding that we need to find out if the other kid wanted their tower knocked down or not. Pay attention. Listen. Usually an adult suggests a plan and gets the kids working together on a project. When it’s done they can all knock it down.

As I was cleaning and sorting, looking for a place to put them, it seemed like a good time to do a little spiritual house cleaning too, what with all the reminders of advent and John the Baptist and repentance and preparing the way and all that, so I asked the Lord to show me any hidden sins –you know, like in the song, “Create in me a clean heart, Oh Lord, and renew a right spirit within me, and see if there be any hurtful way in me.”

Sigh. Dangerous prayer. When I decided to deal with the obvious, other junk I had forgotten about just kept pouring out of my heart closet.

OK, the need to confess sins of omission and sins of commission I understand; some hidden ones in my blind spot became painfully obvious too. Not fun, but God is quite willing to forgive when we are willing to agree with him and it feels good to be clean. Then I ran across this verse about presumptuous sins.

Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me! (Psalm 19: 12, 13)

I asked a few people who seem to be a little further ahead on the road than I what they thought it meant.

A kind, wise woman answered, “The sin of presumption is thinking  Jesus came to fulfill our plans rather than that He came to equip us to fulfill his.”

I like this. I need to remember to ask God what His plans are before I go barging through something he is building up -or before I scramble to fix something he is tearing down. I need to ask him what his priorities are, then take the blocks he gives me and work alongside him. Like my husband says, “God’s a good listener, but he doesn’t take direction well.”

Sorry, Lord. Thank you for forgiving me.

The Good Mentor

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Photography8 Comments
The Road
The Road

 

The good mentor always tries to work himself or herself out of a job.

The good mentor is not afraid to say,

“You have caught up with me.

Now pass me.

Keep going.

And don’t look back.”

There are rules and then there are guidelines

On By Charis PsalloIn Man made, Photography, Trees and forests, Winter2 Comments
Rules and Guidelines
Man-made Posts and God-made Trees

You don`t obey your way into love; you love your way into obeying.  -Chris Hewko

You should be free to serve each other in love.

For after all, the whole Law toward others is summed up by this one command,

‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’.

(Galatians 4:13, 14)

In the Lane Snow is Glistening

On By Charis PsalloIn Black and white, Mountains, Photography, Winter6 Comments
Light arises in the dark
Light arises in the dark

Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark. 

                                               ~George Iles

Never stop them

On By Charis PsalloIn Just folks4 Comments

snowsuit pencil chThe Polka-dot Snowsuit

Then some people came to him bringing little children for him to touch. The disciples tried to discourage them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant and told them, “You must let little children come to me—never stop them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Indeed, I assure you that the man who does not accept the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and laid his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

I love to watch children learn. They can be so hungry for knowledge. Our daughter and son-in-law have instituted a time of blessing as part of the bedtime ritual. Our little granddaughter calls it “kind words time.” I wish I had thought of this. They just soak it up. Not only does this practice reinforce positive character traits, but the children learn how to say kind words to others. There is nothing as heart-melting as a cuddly two-year old boy who says, “Thank you, Nana. You are good, and gentle, aaaaaand kind. I wuv you.”

Our three-year old granddaughter craves knowledge. She is so hungry for it. She loves letter games and is starting to read. We can easily lose track of the number of times in a day she asks why or how. The other night, as she tucked her in, her Mommy told her she was kind, and loving and inquisitive.

“What’s inquisitive?’’ she asked.

“It means you like to ask a lot of questions,” Mommy said.

“Why do I ask a lot of questions?”

“We’ll talk about it in the morning. Night, night, sweetie.”

Her ten-year old cousin is also inquisitive. That girl uses Google and Wikipedia as much as I do. When she was younger and her Daddy couldn’t think of a Bible story she didn’t already know she told him, “Daddy, you’re my pastor too, so I expect you to go into your office and study your Bible harder so you can tell me more.” She asked for botany textbooks for Christmas last year. Her younger brother is fascinated by knights and medieval warfare. He practises his gaming skills with the intensity of an officer in training. Both of them get in trouble for reading under the blankets with flashlights.

Our three-year old grandson constantly pushes the limits for the number of stories read to him, always asking for just one more, prolonging the time he spends with Mommy and Daddy. When his Daddy stopped for a minute to run an errand and joked that Mommy got to sit in the car and listen to little guy’s  favourite song on the CD player eight more times, he piped up from the back seat, “Nine more?”

He patiently taught me the names of all his toy trains (with their numbers) so I could keep up. If play is the work of children, he is a very hard worker.

The baby is intent on following the cat everywhere. This pursuit has already gained her some advanced hunting skills as well a friend in McGyver.

I was wondering what child-like characteristics Jesus was talking about when he said we must learn to accept the kingdom as children. There is trust and belief and dependency, of course, but I wonder if child-likeness is also about the intense quest for both knowledge and relationship. I wonder if the Lord enjoys watching us pursue wisdom and understanding, if he enjoys leaving puzzles and toys around for us to delight in, and if the reason he doesn’t answer all our whys is because he wants us to come to him and keep asking more.

I’m sure His heart is melted when we say, “Thank you for the bread, Abba. You are good, you are gentle and you are kind. I love you –very much.”

White

On By Charis PsalloIn Man made, Photography, Trees and forests, Winter4 Comments
Frost
Frost

longview frost house crop chDSC_0003

He launches his promises earthward—
    how swift and sure they come!
He spreads snow like a white fleece,
    he scatters frost like ashes

(Psalm 147)

Middle of the Road

On By Charis PsalloIn Animals, Photography4 Comments
Complacent
Complacent

Note to self:

Even if you are on the right path you’ll get run over if you just sit there. –Will Rogers

“Then write this to the angel of the Church in Laodicea: ‘These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation: I know what you have done, and that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish that you were either cold or hot! but since you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I intend to spit you out of my mouth! While you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and there is nothing that I need’, you have no eyes to see that you are wretched, pitiable, poverty-stricken, blind and naked. My advice to you is to buy from me that gold which is purified in the furnace so that you may be rich, and white garments to wear so that you may hide the shame of your nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes to make you see. All those whom I love I correct and discipline. Therefore, shake off your complacency and repent. See, I stand knocking at the door. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will go into his house, and dine with him, and he with me. As for the victorious, I will give him the honour of sitting beside me on my throne, just as I myself have won the victory and have taken my seat beside my Father on his throne. Let the listener hear what the spirit says to the Churches.”  (Revelation  3:14-22)

com·pla·cent [kuh m-pley-suh nt] adjective

1. pleased, especially with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied, smug.

2. pleasant; complaisant.

Coming to Your House for Tea

On By Charis PsalloIn Man made, Photography7 Comments

Photo: Drop by any time

Grandma sang this song. About forty of us kids would be crammed into the Cumming’s basement rumpus room for Happy Hour Bible Club after school on Thursdays. We sat cross-legged beside the mountain of jackets and snowpants that threatened to avalanche on us. Snow-soaked socks flopped off the ends of our feet in the too hot after being too cold temperature quandary that was our norm. My Grandma stood beside her flannel story board and “did the actions” to this song:

Zacchaeus was a wee little man

And a wee little man was he

He climbed up into a sycamore tree

For the Lord he wanted to see

And as the Lord came passin’ by

He looked up into that tree

And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!

For I’m going to your house for tea

For I’m going to your house for tea.”

I know now the last line is usually “coming to your house today” but coming to your house for tea made perfect sense to me, because on days when Grandma wasn’t teaching Happy Hour Bible Club at four o’clock on Thursdays, tea was either happening at  Mrs. Stuart’s house or Mrs. Page’s house or at her own house around a quilt stretched out on a frame in the living room.

Here’s the story as told in Luke 19 without Grandma’s creative embellishments (Zacchaeus quickly ran out and bought raisin bread and milk in her version):

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.  But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” 

Genuine encounters with Jesus are life-changing.

The story I heard was that tax collectors in Israel at the time were even less appreciated than tax collectors in our time. Apparently they not only collected money on behalf of highly resented foreign occupiers, but they had to “raise their own support” and frequently turned the screws to squeeze out a little more cash flow for themselves.

I used to think that Zacchaeus’ change of heart came after Jesus sat down with him at the kitchen table and gave him a good talking to, but the story in Luke says Zac made his announcement after Christ simply addressed him by name and announced he would be Zac’s guest. Jesus said he was seeking and saving the lost and that day was Zac’s day. I bet he went to Jericho specifically for that one man.

The eagerness of the tax man and his desire to see Jesus, the quick response of admitting fault, and changing his ways, tells me this man had a heart that was already softened.

May my heart be so prepared to change when Jesus calls my name.

I’m going to go buy some raisin bread and milk now.