First of all, as a little side note to my Confession series—I’ve been contemplating a reining in season for myself. When I started this blog in October, I was literally floating on a cloud of peace—focused on God.

To be honest, sometimes I fear lately that I spend more time talking ABOUT God, than I do talking TO Him. I have a tendency to run VERY far ahead of Him, and I can almost envision myself tripping up. Not drinking, but that “free will run riot” thing.

It is an absolute MUST for me to stop and listen to Him, and my eagerness and excitement about life these days can get in the way of that. Like Gil always says… my faith is very childlike… and I really DO feel like a child. And my Father needs to be in my sights…

…or I am doomed.

That being said, I had an epiphany while I was sitting outside, thinking about all of that. I was lost in thought and heard the old crow across the bridge. I woke from my thought slumber and considered running inside to grab my camera. That’s when it hit me.

Photography is not just a hobby. It’s a tool. It forces you to LOOK and LISTEN. It gets you OUT of your head, and teaches you to pay attention to what’s around you. That’s an awesome tool!

Then I thought about writing. Writing is also a tool. It helps you make sense of the garbled thoughts that run wildly through your head, and you discover that they actually mean something. Like all that I’ve learned about myself through my writing! If I hadn’t put those thoughts onto paper, there is no way I’d be as far along as I am today.

And, my writing is really only helpful when I do it slowly… with prayer and conversation with God. When I write, or perhaps better stated- when I write effectively– it’s on account of pausing, asking, and listening.

So… today I realized: ONE- that God must come first always, and I need to focus on that this year- and be sure to LISTEN to Him, and TWO– that photography and writing really ARE gifts from God. They are tools!

My prayer today is that others will find the tools they need… to keep them on the right path… towards a better life- full of Christ’s love, peace and joy.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:18-19

A Way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, indeed!

Thank you Father!

And lastly- Marcus– the photo is my first attempt at a stranger portrait. I DID ask the boys if they minded if I took their photos while they skateboarded. I want to do a better, facial portrait, before I post results on your comments section- but it was fun to experiment.

And I’m afraid I could see them getting nervous, knowing I was pointing a camera at them, so I decided to let them be. But, I did show them my shots and they were excited about this one. They said it was SICK. That’s a good thing.

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. -Socrates