Tag: direction

Shades of Gray from Grayson Co, TX #878 – Slowly getting my #$&* together, very slowly

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While it is using some old images, I’ve been playing with the magic powers of Photoshop CS6. Working on finding a new route eventual into collage and multi-medium creations. Taking an online course with Kelly Rae Roberts,(http://www.kellyraeroberts.com/) who just does some blow me away work and trying to find new avenues to travel.“

“I get symptoms . . . I’ll start to get in trouble . . . When you don’t do your work, vices start to creep into your life—and they get worse and worse and worse. They start out with potato chips and wind up with crack smoking or something like that.”  Steven Pressfield. (http://www.stevenpressfield.com)

Find you path!    monos en theos

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #725 – USE YOUR OWN BOX OF CRAYONS!

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I can remember as a kid at grade school, I was always envious of the kids that showed up with the huge 92 pack of crayons. Heck, that big box even had it’s own sharpener build into the back of the box. I was lucky if I got the small box of 16.

I really didn’t know what I might create if only I had all of those colors to choose from. Truth is I would not of had any more creativity with 92 colors.

It has taken me years, and I am still learning that it isn’t how large your palette is, it is more how you mix with what you got.

I still jump all over the place with my creativity and I shoot such a hodgepodge of subject matter. I read of how you need to find your niche, your voice, your passion, style, genre your ….. But, I still love that big box of crayons and I keep looking for my true color.

Paint with what you got! en theos monos ††† jim

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #716 – US 54 HEADIN’ SOUTH FROM US 180

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I’m not quite sure where my attraction to stop and make a quick photo of the long and straight roads that I often travel originated. I kind of think it stems from growing up in West Texas and having traveled down so many long and straight roads. It some how brings me comfort to see where I am heading.

Or maybe it is that I am always searching for a way to follow and some reassurance that I am going the right way.

” But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV)

enjoy life, know where you’re going! en theos monos ††† jim

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #697 – ON THE RIGHT PATH!

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I have been making  sports portraits around  West Texas for the past 20+ years. It has been a wonderful blessing. We have coaches at some of the schools that we made their sports portrait when they were in jr high.

But, I have to admit to becoming a little tired of making portraits of kids holding every kind of: football, basketball,baseball,volleyball, softball or golf ball. Yesterday the first young lady out for track photos came bounding up excitedly showing off her new tattoo.

It was refreshing to see a girl with Jeremiah 29:11 imprinted on her shoulder. I was quickly reminded that I sometimes wander off my path and plan. I become bored with the way I look at things. She refreshed my vision and allowed me to see something different than just another student holding a piece of sports paraphernalia.

She understood Who planned her path and helped put me back on mine.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 

en theos ††† jim

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #676 – Onward thru the fog!

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The last couple of mornings we have had fog. It is kind of a rarity here in the desert.  It has been nice, by not having it too often it seems to bring  clarity through it’s obscurity. There is the comfort of knowing something is there even though you can’t see it at the moment. I love living in the desert. It truly is a box of chocolates every day.

“Most of us live in a fog. It’s like life is a movie we arrived to 20 minutes late. You know something important seems to be going on. But we can’t figure out the story. We don’t know what part we’re supposed to play or what the plot is.”
John Eldredge

Onward brothers & sisters, trust your foglights….en theos †††jim

IMAGES OF SMALL – THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #669 – ONE STEP AT A ……

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“All my life affection has been showered upon me, and every forward step I have made has been taken in spite of it.”
George Bernard Shaw

I started looking for some powerful words to go with this weak image. I got lost in cyber-world for too much time reading all the motivation words that have been written about taking the first or next step.  BrainyQuote alone had  32 pages full of quotes & sayings. Somehow this gave me some comfort. I must not be the only one that needs encouragement for taking the next step.

I am not sure why I even like this image but it just seems to be the view I see a lot of the time. My problem has never been taking the next step, but to find the right direction.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/step.html#rCgIKV9EllfUL8Fu.99

All who wander are not lost. ††† en theos † jim

IMAGES OF SMALL – THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #649 – FOLLOWING THE RIGHT PATH

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Although she cannot hear a sound, Grace never has a problem knowing which path to follow. As a human, with all my senses intact (well some would question that) I have the hardest time finding the path that my heart wants and needs to follow. I listen to my head all too often. Most often planing my direction by logic and reason. My heart gets lost.

Today I had the most synchronistic morning reading from Melody Beattie.  It cried out to the reasoning of why I have such a hard time finding that seemingly illusive narrow road.

Trust Your Heart

“For so long, you relied on your head. Now it’s time to make the shift— the great leap into your heart. Are you beginning to see how your head gets in the way? How it creates so much noise? The chatter, the limited vision, the fear? Are you beginning to see how what you’ve relied on— your intellect, your assessments, and sometimes your logic— has complicated your life? It isn’t the head that sees clearly, nor does the head always see with love. Often, it sees with eyes of fear. The heart sees clearly. It balances the mind and emotions. It takes what’s real and processes it into truth, then into action. It takes into account all that needs to be done, then draws a map, an itinerary, for how to accomplish that. Yes, you say, but my head does that too. And then I don’t need to feel… Your heart can do it better because it maps the way in love. Learn to listen to your inner voice. Listen to your heart. It’s your connection to God, to people, to the universe, and to yourself.”

Beattie, Melody (2013-04-30). Journey to the Heart: Daily Meditations on the Path to Freeing Your Soul (Kindle Locations 104-113). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Ask,seek,knock….en theos ††† jim

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #571 – sometimes the view becomes skewed.

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Sometimes my view of the world seems to be much like the way it was reflected in an old camera. Some of you can remember having to try and frame a photo while looking down at a view that was totally reversed from  the scene you wanted. Like trying to cut your own hair in a mirror left became right, up became down. It all could get very confusing and frustrating trying to get your view  to match your vision.

So it is with our view of life. We lose focus of the view we want and settle for what is reflected. We can see the gate and the path we need to follow. Sometimes we have to go right when it seems we should go left. Yet right is always right.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:14-14

The path is narrow and it is seldom straight. ††† en theos ††† jimwork

Photos on the journey #468

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“If we claim that we experience a shared life with Him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.” 1 John 1:7 The Message

Sometimes, in a fifty shades of grey world, it is hard to find the difference between the dark and the light.

Work hard at finding your light today!

PEZFULEZFEELIN’@U ††† en theos ††† jlawrence

Photos on the journey #451

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I am not quite sure why everyone has shot holes in the stop sign. Myself, I would shoot at the yellow either or direction sign! The stop sign gives me a nice clear simple direction  to follow, where as the other forces me to make a decision. I don’t know about you, but making a decision can be hard. Just stop it!

Peace out ††† en theos ††† jim