Here is the next picture.
Directions {PICTIO DIVINIA}:
1. Look at the picture. What sticks out to you in the picture and why?
2. How does the picture make you feel, make you desire, or even wish?
3. What scripture or spiritual truth does this picture remind you of?
Type up a great masterpiece in the comment area. I’ll post my comments before the next picture goes up.
And the social image experiment continues… here is the next pictures.
Directions:
Comment away… and once again I’ll post my comments before the next picture goes up.
{HINT: Are you drawn to the size, colors, void, people, lighting, activities in pic?}
I’d love to try a social image experiment. Over the next few weeks, I will post a picture that is interesting on multiple levels to me. My hope would be that you’d take a moment and follow the steps below, then post a comment or two. It’s easy… fun… and as quick as you’d like it to be.
Here is the first of many pictures that spur conversation and curiosity in me.
Now comment away… can’t wait to hear what you get. I’ll post my comments before the next picture goes up.
{HINT: Are you drawn to the size, colors, void, people, lighting, activities in pic?}
{HINT: click the photo for larger view}
Well it has been awhile since I’ve posted here. And since that time, a lot has happened.
I took a family vacation to the classy land of San Diego where we saw Shamu and the other caged Zoo animals– lots of 
walking but lots of fun. Shortly after that I went with the fam back to East Tennessee to visit the in-laws and chill in the raging Southern humidity– ugh. It was steamy, but the fellowship & food was great (and greasy– not the fellowship).
After returning I spent most of the month reading. I was able to finish the following books; all of which I recommend: The Furious Longing of God, Patched Together, Working the Angles, & Forgotten God. Now I’m re-reading Sacred Companions, and starting Praying the Psalms. Scroll over the titles for a mini-review. Reading has definitely become a renewed passion.
In addition to reading, my writing times have been revived. I have finished the outline, intro, and a few chapter or two (almost). It’s slow going with the schedule I keep and the creative space it requires. I hope to have a pretty rough draft by the end of the year, but we’ll see.
At Big Valley, we are finishing up an in-depth look at the Book of James on Sunday nights in Catalyst. It has been a great study as well as an extremely convicting one. There is no doubt that the scripture can grip the heart like no other work of literature ever. If you get a chance, come and listen to the conclusion this weekend and go back and podcast the rest.
Of course, there has been riding too (sounds like writing, but very different– ha!). I finished the LIVESTRONG ride in in 
5:47 (which was about the same time as last year). That was shy of my 5:30 goal, but for doing the ride by myself with no shared drafting efforts I felt good about it. And without a doubt, I have watched tons of TOUR de FRANCE (bummed that it’s not quite the Tour de Lance this year though– go Schleck!). Hands down, cycling announcers Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen are the best announcers around.
And finally… the whole first week of August will be spent cycling from the border of Nevada (near Lake Tahoe) to Monterrey, CA. I will be serving with the Brigade Summer Camp ministry as a spiritual coordinator for a group of five guys; mostly high school and young adult. This is a trip where we will have SAG support so I don’t have to carry all my equipment on the bike like last year (YAY!). It’s going to be quite a bit of climbing but our longest day of 108 miles will consist of 7000′ of descent (whew!). This will be a great opportunity to be a shepherd on a road bike– combining two passions; not too shabby.
So, needless to say, life has been a whirlwind. However, in the days to come, I hope to be a bit more active in this digital realm. Come back tomorrow for a look at a fun visual experiment called Pictio Divina!
Later…
Reasons to Ride… Again!
The LiveStrong Challenge is one based out of the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s goal to raise global awareness about the fight against cancer. In addition to awareness, every cycling event raises millions of dollars for much needed cancer research.
I’m riding again on July 11, 2010. I hope you can donate to the cause and help me out!
{read more about this adventure here}
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Wrestling with time like most people; therefore, the abrupt nature of this post. I hope to post more in the near future.
I’ve actually been reading a bit more… so there might be a book review or two coming soon.
Another thought I’ve had was to post a series I’d like to call “Pictio Divinia.” With a bit of time, there might be some fun posts soon.
Here are a few pics and “phone” videos of the day! Went pretty well… I’m sore though.
Today I’m riding the Wildflower Century in San Luis Obispo, CA. And from what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to contain quite a few hills. A friend told me that “you’ll either being going uphill or downhill… no long flat stretches.”
It was nice to cruise through the green rolling mountains yesterday to get here. There is something majestic about the California coast, especially in the Spring and Fall. I can’t even imagine being an early explorer that stumbled on these amazing sights. I stopped in Morro Bay on the way down and had the seafood lunch (chowder, fish & chips) followed by coffee at The Coffee Cottage. You you should visit if you’re here. They have a great location and a relaxing view of the bay, ships, and big rock!
I hope to post some pictures on Facebook throughout the day… it’ll just depend on signal strength. 100 Miles of shear fun (and work) just around the corner.
I was thinking the other day about the spiritual discipline of celebration. It’s not often that we think of this topic as a spiritual discipline. But it actually makes sense. We should take time to celebrate all that God gives us… all that we have been blessed to experience because of His grace. We shouldn’t have to earn a moment of celebration based on our religious duties. We just celebrate being.
These discipline thoughts come from much of Richard Foster’s work in The Celebration of Discipline.
To me, it’s much like the difference between a birthday cake and a trophy. Trophies are the rewards of accomplishment and achievement. Birthday cakes are given just because you exist. Your being is celebrated… the grace of being alive verses a celebration of somehow working your way out of the womb.
The same is relevant in the areas of faith as well. We celebrate because we are alive in Christ more than just because we’ve accomplished much in His Name.
Got a reason to celebrate today? I think so!
Well, I’m back from Mexico. Actually I’ve been back since late on Friday. It’s just taken me awhile to recover and sit down to type up a report. These were so many good, funny, spiritual, clumsy, creative moments that I can’t list them all. But I hope to bullet point quite a few amazing moments of the trip. For deeper details, come to the Mexico share night at HSM on April 21st.
Alright, here goes (in random order and significance… bold some favs with good stories):