When was the last time you stopped?

Nature's Dazzle

Its been ages since I've blogged. Its not that I've abandoned my own blog or been to busy; honestly I think about this little ol' blog quite often and finally decided that today is the day! LOL

Since I last posted a story (2/14/09), I passed oral and written examinations and have been ordained and installed as the Co-Pastor of our church. Its been an amazing six months or so, but the most important thing other than ministry I've done is making time to Stop and take notice of the Beauty that God has created all around us.

This picture is of a Hibiscus blossom, from a plant that my wife got from her Secretary a couple of years ago. And its been blooming off and on ever since. But its just been these last few months that I've stopped to take notice of how beautiful these blooms can be!

You know, there are many other equally beautiful and important things that God has placed in all of our lives; wives, husbands, children, family. Don't let the life that God's blessed you with pass you by. Do yourself a favor -- take time; no MAKE time to stop and enjoy the beauty that by His design, God has placed right in your life.

"Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." (Psalms 100:3-5)

A love that endures...is a love that binds!

Reflections on Love and life on Valentines Day.

This is a picture of our neighbors, Ron and Dorothy, opening gifts at their 50th Wedding Anniversary party almost 4 years ago. 50 years of marriage -- Wow, what an achievement!!

In addition to that lifetime of love and labor, another thing that made this a special day was that the party was something the entire neighborhood shared in. The party was hosted at the home of their next door neighbor (who lives directly across the street from us), and in addition to their family, pretty much everyone in our little cul-de-sac community was invited (and most attended); binding us all together to share in the celebration of their love and life.


Switching gears, the second picture is one of two siblings that I was able to capture not long ago. I was at the library shooting birds and they were with their mom and I shot them because the three of them (the kids and their mom) startled the birds so that the birds flew away. And when the mom stopped to take pictures of them, since I no longer had subjects, I shot pictures of the three of them and then the two kids. It was a fluke moment, but I thought it captured the essence of happy siblings loving one another.

You see, Valentines Day doesn't have to be about romance (although Hallmark and the candy companies want you to think that). Quite often we forget that love also means family, siblings, and friends too. Don't get so caught up in the marketing of love by the Vermont Teddy Bear company (among others) that you forget to appreciate your siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends and even neighbors who love you too...

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:11-13)

Something to think about.

The Kid Turns 10!

Yesterday, the Kid turned 10. And what an interesting day it turned out to be!

I had stayed up the night before, baking him a cake so he could take to the sitters. They were planning a Valentines party and were going to add the Kid’s birthday to the mix. The wife had also picked up some snacks for the sitter’s party, so when I dropped him off, the Kid was all set. Moreover, knowing birthdays don’t come every day, I texted my co-laborers at church and let them know that I wouldn’t make it to Bible Study that night, because hey, it’s the Kid’s birthday.

Now usually, the wife gets home before I do, but unbeknownst to me, she had made a detour at Target, so I was the first to greet the Kid in the evening program and boy was I in for a surprise…I guess the Kid was expecting the wife, so he had a little dejected look on his face when he saw that it was Dad and the first thing he said was “Where’s Mom”? Taking it in stride, I said to the Kid, I don’t know son, how was your day? He said “Oh, it was ok” and started back to the family room I guess to play on his DS. I thought to myself, “wow”, and then asked the Kid if he was ok and why was he pouting? He said he wasn’t pouting and that’s the way he always looks in the evening. I said to the Kid, “Ok” and proceeded to put my phone, keys etc. away. And before I could even think about what to cook for dinner, the Kid says “What? No presents??” Ah, I thought to myself, now it all becomes clear…the Kid is hurting for some presents! *LOL*

Thinking to myself, this would be a great chance to help the Kid better appreciate what he has, I didn’t mention to him that we had got his present several weeks ago and it was upstairs in our room. So, I just replied to the Kid and said that I thought the Birthday Cake I baked you was a pretty good present and the Kid just didn’t respond…whoa! Thankfully for the Kid, the wife made it home shortly thereafter. She too asked the Kid how was his day and the Kid just said it was ok. She then asked the Kid how was his party? And the he said “which party? I had two”. The wife and I were both surprised and asked how did that happen and the Kid explained that he took the cake to school and the teacher used that for a party in the classroom and so there wasn’t any more cake. And then he had a party at the sitters too. So I said “wow; you had two parties and you’re STILL Pouting? Bro, that’s not good”. Then the wife laughed and the Kid finally said he was sorry. And I thought to myself, “Gee Kid, you’re slowly getting it”.

I proceeded to the kitchen to start on dinner for the Kid and the wife and while I was doing that, the older siblings were calling to wish the Kid a happy birthday. I overhead the Kid telling one of his sisters that all he got from his parents was a cake (how sad, I thought)….and she reminded the Kid that she asked for a cake and didn’t even get that (but hey, she lives in Texas!) so he should be thankful and we all laughed again. Anyway, it was getting late, and the Kid seemed to be handling the fact that maybe his parents didn’t get him anything, and I was really struggling to constrain myself. When the Kid went to put on his pajamas, the wife and I decided that we’d finally give in and let the Kid see what we had for him all along. But before we could do that, the oldest son called, and that conversation kept going and going and going; so long, that I was wondering if the Kid was purposely dragging this out for a no present payback! *ROTFL*

Finally, the wife broke in on their conversation and told them both that the Kid had to go. Tomorrow was still a school day and it was well over an hour past the Kid’s bedtime. We sent the Kid upstairs one last time to brush his teeth, and I snuck out the present and put it in one of the chairs, next to one of the DS styluses that the Kid keeps leaving all over the house. When the Kid came back down to say good night, I told the Kid that again he had left one of his styluses in the chair again and he needed to keep up with these things because if he lost them, he wouldn’t be able to use his DS and by the way, I thought there was another stylus in the bag that was next to the stylus.


My friend, words cannot express, and even though I had my camera ready, I was so taken away with the Kid’s stunned reaction to getting Shining Force and The Hobbit for his DS, I didn’t get to capture the moment on digital; but its forever embedded in both the wife’s and my minds. Honestly, the Kid was so stunned that we thought he was going to faint…*ROTFL*. After getting over the initial shock, the Kid was just beside himself with Joy. After he finally calmed down, we explained to the Kid how we had gotten those games weeks ago and that there were so many other things he’s missed out on simply because of the attitude he often displays when things don’t go his way. Finally, the Kid gave us a look that would melt any parents’ heart (see his picture) and gave us both a kiss good night and went upstairs and I thought to myself, “this time I really think he’s got it”!

Sometimes we don't even realize how many blessings we hold up because of being unappreciative of what God is already doing in our lives. The day turned out to be a biblical object lesson and birthday presents all rolled into one. Yes indeedy, it was truly a great day when the Kid turned 10!!

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Balancing Act

Generally, I go out shooting on Thursdays, but I went out today because it will probably be raining tomorrow. Since, I left for lunch late, most people had already left the street faire to go back to work, so this was going to be a quick shoot indeed.

I wasn't out long, but before I left, I was able to catch this shot of a woman walking three dogs; and let me tell you, it wasn't that easy. On the train ride home, I reflected on this image and soon realized why it struck me so when I took the picture earlier in the day -- quite often, I feel myself in the same bind as the woman I had captured in the photo: struggling to balance the three demanding aspects of my life: my job, my family and my ministry. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining because right now, all three are great. I work with some great folks who appreciate my skills; my wife is wonderful and my kids are pretty cool too and I'm steadily holding my own ministering at friendship.

Yet like the woman in the picture, its not easy because each of the areas have their own unique demands (and bring their own pleasant rewards).

My job pays well and allows us to enjoy the life we do.

My wife is wonderful (96.2% of the time *LOL*) and most of our kids are adults doing well on their own and the three youngest are blossoming as young adults; and believe you me, when a man has peace at home, his outlook on life is greatly enhanced.

My ministry is not earth shaking, but truly makes a difference in the lives that it touches and gives me a wonderful sense of purpose.

I'm sure each of us has our own struggles and rewards as we do our best to succeed in the balancing act we call life. And when you find yourself in need of a little help keeping the balance, ask the Lord to give you a helping hand from His ever present grace and lovingkindness:

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." (Eph 4:7)

Prayer, the key to Power…

Church was great today! The title of the sermon, stated above, was right on point. The speaker was our supervising pastor, Cor Pool from Hope Community Church in Riverside, California. When our church was in the middle of crisis and turmoil, Cor and his church were appointed to work with us to rebuild the church, which has been a great blessing to our little church indeed. Now at a glance, one might think that Pastor Cor might not be their style, but when he gets warmed up and on a roll, I’m telling you; Cor Pool is the stuff!

Anyway, the three main points were (1) Prayer gives you power; (2) Consistent prayer brings brokenness and diminishes pride; and (3) Prayer gives you power over the enemy and all of his works.

In my opinion, one of the things that made the sermon so great was the point that no matter where one is in their spiritual walk they can never say that they’ve reach that plateau where they are praying enough. Cor also mentioned out how even the Lord himself was always praying and that He (Jesus Christ) made prayer a priority and he was always getting away from the crowds to pray. Not only that, but Pastor Cor also pointed out how the only thing that the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them was how to PRAY; whoa!

Its hard to try to recreate the power and impact of that sermon, so I won’t. So I'll just say that we all can benefit from increasing our prayer life just a little bit more each day. Now I’m not saying you have to start praying 24/7, but simply that if you make a commitment to increase your prayer time a little bit each day, I guarantee you’ll experience more power in your own life, you’ll be broken (and made anew in Christ) and you’ll exercise more authority over the enemy than you were able to previously. Now who wouldn’t want that??

Finally, I’ll leave you with something my grandmother taught me about prayer when I was a kid and still remember after all these years:

“Whisper a prayer in the morning;
Whisper a prayer at noon
Whisper a prayer in the evening
to keep your heart in tune”

Take the prayer challenge for 21 days and see what happens!

Its all a matter of Perspective...

You know, this past week United Teachers Los Angeles ("UTLA") held a protest Rally against the Governor and the School District to sound off against proposed classroom cuts that will happen at the end of the current school year.

My photo pal, Jemal, and I were at Pershing Square for lunch doing the photoshoot thing when we encountered members of UTLA setting up for the evening's rally. As such, I was able to catch this shot of one of the teachers, and for me, it made their entire struggle more personal. She could be a neighbor, a friend's mom or a coworker's sister; just standing up for what's right. Ya know?

After lunch was over, I realized that I needed to put a little zip in my afternoon work flow because there was going to be massive traffic delays as a result of the rally. I did, and was able to catch the earlier shuttle, and it was a good thing because the shuttle had to be completely rerouted in order to get to Union Station and I would have otherwise missed my train. On the long ride to the station, other commuters were complaining about the traffic delays and how they were going to miss their train. One asked did anyone know what it was all about and that gave me the chance to give UTLA's perspective as to why they were protesting and rallying.

You see, a few years ago, when Arnold first became governor, he borrowed several BILLION dollars from the teacher's union in order to balance the State's budget and to date he has never paid that money back. And now that the state is experiencing yet another budget shortfall, in addition to not discussing his broken promises to the teachers, the governator is also looking to cut more from classrooms to close up the state's shortfall.

After explaining those details, several of my fellow commuters nodded in agreement and one even stated, "well if that's the case, I don't mind missing my train".

Sometimes when we don't have a stake in or understanding of why things are going on around us, its easy to become indifferent as to the struggle of others. But when we are able to make it personal or paint a picture that helps us to see things from another's point of view, we gain knowledge and our perspective changes. Indeed, that is the point that the Apostle Paul was trying to make in the Book of Philippians:

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Phiippians 2:4)

Its just a matter of perspective.

Redeeming the Time...

Well, its 2:17 p.m. and time to get back to work...

You know, at the heart of photography is the desire to capture a moment in time for eternity because once the moment is gone, you can't bring it back.

Indeed, there is one thing sure in this life - Time waits for no one. Thus, in order to get the most out of life, its it essential to make the best use of the time you have. As scripture exhorts us:

"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16)

In other words, don't be "penny wise, but time foolish".

Be mindful of the difficult times we live in and take note of and put stock in what's really important:

Appreciate those who are near and dear to you and let them hear that from you (don't assume that they will understand this by osmosis).

If you have a job, let your company know that you're thankful for your job by working diligently each day (don't give the impression that the company should be thanking you for your presence or you may be in for a surprise).

If you are without a job, then do your part to rejoin the workforce by being diligent in searching for employment (and if necessary, using this time to increase your marketability by expanding your education and knowledge).

And last, but surely not least, slow down from the hectic pace of these trying times and be sure to give thanks to God for the gift of time that he's given you each day.

Are you redeeming the time?

A New World to Explore..

You know, there are many different disciplines in photography; Sports, Portrait, Nature, Street and many, many others. I’m trying to tackle a few of them, but right now, my primary interest is in Macro Photography. A simple definition of Macro Photography is “Close-up Photography”. In other words, the goal in Macro Photography is to take something rather small or normally unnoticeable and make it larger than life. Flowers, plants, insects and even discarded coins are reborn when seen through the lens of a Macro Photographer. Indeed, when successful, a good Macro Photographer is able to introduce others to a new and wonderful world that has always existed right in front of their very eyes.

One of the most important things that a photographer has to realize when venturing into the world of Macro Photography is that unlike the other types of photography there is a very limited depth of field. What that means is that in a great sports shot, for instance, the main subject will be in sharp focus, but likewise, most (if not all) of the other persons involved in the shot will be in focus too. However, in Macro Photography the primary subject will be in sharp focus and detail and yet other elements in the frame only a millimeter away will be out of focus. The difference is illustrated in the two photographs below:

Thus, in Macro Photography success is being able to focus critically on the most important part of the subject, as everything else, even a millimeter away, will be out of focus.

In a similar way the key to successfully understanding and applying the principles and teachings of the Bible to one’s own life must be applied in the same way – One has to critically focus on the aspects of scripture that are speaking to your life situation right now, and not be so easily distracted by the other passages that are great in and of themselves, but do not critically or essentially apply at the moment. Or in the words of the Lord himself:

“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42)

Traveler, as you go through life, if you make it a point to focus on and grab hold of what’s really important; you’ll start to see a whole new world unfold in front of you, that was actually there all along….

Godspeed on your new adventures and discoveries!

Lost Camera Found!

Its amazing how the Bible speaks to us wherever we may be in our lives.

Some time ago, I was searching diligently for my first Digital Camera, an Olympus 765 UZ. It was a good little camera and it got me started in Digital photography and after coming home from one of our vacations, I was looking for it and it disappeared.

I had looked off and on for a good while and to no avail it never turned up. I asked the kids and no one had seen it. Being that I had moved on to the Nikon and now Olympus, I just accepted that the original Olympus was gone and had moved on. And since most of the pictures I had taken with the camera were saved on various flash drives, the sting of the lost Olympus was not as deep as it otherwise could have been.

However, yesterday while preparing to leave the house, I moved one of the bags in our closet to get a shirt and believe it or not, the Olympus rolled out! It along with the wife’s old Kodak had been stowaways in that bag, trying to flee one of the wife’s cleaning spirit frenzies! *LOL* Had I not been looking for something else, I don’t think I would have found those camera anytime soon. And just like the Bible says I was overjoyed with my find and wanted to share my joy with my friends:

“Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:8-10)

And while my search wasn’t as diligent as the woman in the verse above, my joy of discovering the long lost Olympus was just as exuberant. Indeed, this entire episode has given me new insights as to how the Bible can speak to use all the time; we just have to be listening! And to show you just how great a camera the Olympus was (and still is), note that the picture of the youngest (above) was taken with the Olympus 765UZ a few years ago!

Rejoice with me friend, for I have found the camera that was lost!!

President Obama

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, the United States swore in a new president. What was historic about this inauguration was that Barack Hussein Obama was a person of color; the child of a Caucasian mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father, was born in Hawaii. For the first time in the history of the country, the President of the United States was not a white male. Truly historic and it brought America so much closer to Dr. King's dream.

The wife and I were both home to watch history unfold and it was moving to say the least. As the cameras panned the nearly 2 million people who filled the national mall, braving the bitter cold to be part of this historic moment, the impact of that visual made it all the more profound.

While I do not agree with all of President Obama's policies, I am proud to say that I voted for him because after 8 years of things going from bad to worse under Bush, the nation was not only ripe, but long overdue for change. The country is in very bad shape and there is much work to be done to turn things around.

However, I understand that many do not share my perspective on the new president, and that's ok too. Being able to freely and openly disagree with presidents, policies and perspectives is what makes America great and each of us truly free. But let me say that if you are a Christian, then it is your duty to regularly pray for our new president because the Bible tells us so:

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Pray on, praya!

Beauty is all around; if your eyes are open...

Today is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.

Dr. King was one of the pillars and champions of the Civil Rights Movement. It was his leadership, courage and ultimate sacrifice that made many of the civil rights gains in our present age possible; especially and including the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

Because of the MLK holiday, the wife and I were both home, and as such, we took a walk down to Fiesta Park, which is only a short distance from the house. We had a good time and along the way we got some pretty good shots in.

One of my favorite from the day is the picture you see in this post. Its an ordinary California Wildflower, something most of us see all the time and never stop to pay them any mind. But through the lens of the camera, the beauty and majesty of this simple flower is unveiled.

In a similar vein, while we may seem ordinary to everyone else, when we are able to be seen through God's eyes, the individual beauty that he's placed in each and everyone of us shines through:

"When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before him." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (1 Sam. 16:6-7)

Truly friend, there is beauty in each of us and God spread that beauty all around...you just have to be looking with your eyes open.

What's good for the goose is not always good for the gander...

You know, there's an old saying that most of us has heard before "What's good for the goose ought to be good for the gander", and the meaning amounts to "what's fair for one should be fair for the other". If you look at the picture, most of the kids on the field trip are enjoying their lunch and the ducks and geese hoping to get a morsel or two of food. Yet there is one child (on the far right of the photo) who does not appear to be enjoying the moment and seemingly traumatized by the goose getting too close...

This picture is another from our day at the Nature Center last Friday. I like it because it captures something that many of forget as we go through the busyness of life: What's good for one (or many) is not good for the other (or all). Sometimes, life is that way too -- we may find ourselves enjoying the moments as we go through life and not realize that the person next to us may be enduring a personal hell all by themselves. Indeed, this sobering reality brings to mind a verse from the Bible that speaks to these types of situations:

"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray"

(Mat 18:12-13)

The Lord is good because he sees our hurt and will leave everyone else around us to themselves so that He can reach out to us so we're not hurting all alone...

That's what Jesus would do and those who follow him should be no different. Don't be oblivious to the needs and hurts of others. As you go through life, look around and see who might be in need of a hug, a kind word or simply a smile -- any of which can signify a helping hand in difficult times.

Food for thought.

The Olympus did not disappoint!

As I mentioned a few days ago, for my Birthday I got a new camera. It started out as a search for a supplement to my Nikon D40 (which I love) and it ended up being an Olympus 510 (which may in fact replace the Nikon as my primary camera).

I already knew that that the Nikon was superior in low light/no flash situations (from my initial research on the Olympus), but I did not get the chance to take the Olympus out on an outdoor shoot until this past Friday (the day before my birthday). The wife and I went back to the Mary Vagle Nature Center, which is only 5 minutes from our house and is the home for Ducks, Coots and other waterfowl.

We shot for about an hour or so and in my humble opinion, the pictures are stunning. The Olympus is able to get you right in there (thanks to the 2.0 crop factor) and the dynamic range of the Olympus Sensor performed far better than most reviewers give Olympus credit for.

Needless to say, I am quite happy with the Olympus and it did not disappoint! Here's the wife checking her settings on her favorite new toy, the Panasonic DMC-FZZ28 (taken with my new favorite, the Olympus Evolt 510):

The Battle of the Bulge

I'm a big guy. I wasn't always this big, but unfortunately, I've been a big guy for too long.

For the past few years I say I'm going to take on the Battle of the Bulge, and this year is not any different. In times past, I've exercised consistently, but ate poorly, or I ate healthily, but was lax on my exercising. This year, I'm not going to set any ambitious goal in regards to the battle, but to try to be consistent in exercising regularly and eating healthily every day.

Perhaps if I can be consistent with both, I may finally win the Battle of the Bulge once and for all....

Anticipation, Its making me wait.

Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? Like that song says, the anticipation can drive you crazy! My birthday is coming up and I’ve been researching for another camera. There’s nothing wrong with the camera I have, but wanted/needed a back-up camera (or a better camera and make the Nikon the backup).

When I started seriously thinking about this, I was looking at the higher-end point and shoots; namely the Panasonic FZ28, the Nikon P80 and the Canon SX10IS. They all had 18 zoom capazity (actually the Canon as 20 zoom), programmed and manual modes and lots of dSLR features. However, only the Canon had a hotshoe available, but it was pricer than I wanted to go. A little more research led me to the Olympus 570 UZ, which actually had a hotshoe. I was familiar with the Olympus ultrazooms (as they were updates the the older Olympus we had that disappeared). I was quite familiar with Nikon’s setup (as it was a step down from my D40), so there would not be a learning curve because all of the menus were the same; but it didn’t have a hotshoe. I was intrigued by the Panasonic because it was the rave all over the web, it was a newer generation of the Lumix FZ20 that I had used for a couple of years and still use from time to time at home (I guess it was too big go grow legs and walk away from home *LOL*). The Z28 didn’t have a hotshoe, but some of the pictures I’d seen taken with this camera made that not as important (or so it would seem).

Canon’s price for the SX, plus the higher prices for some of its speedlites put it out of serious contention. Nikon was right up there until the end, but it didn’t seem to be as highly received as the Z28. I finally got first hand info on the Panasonic because the wife got one for Christmas and she not only loved the camera, but was taking some good pictures. It looked as if the Panasonic was going to win the day, but during the holidays I stopped at a Circuit City that was closing and got my hands on one of the Olympus UZ’s. Although it was quite small, I liked the feel in my hands and that visit to Circuit brought the Olympus back onto the playing field. I didn’t buy the camera, but it left quite an impression.

As I continued to look into this, I realized that in time (maybe a short time) I would not happy with a high-end point and shoot because of my booming interest in photography and better understanding of the advantages of a dSLR over a point and shoot. What a quandry! Even more research uncovered that Olympus made the smallest dSLR available, the Evolt 410. It was so small that with a “pancake” fixed lens, it could actually fit in one’s pocket. Whoa; that really started to make me think of the possibilities. A dSLR the size of a point and shoot…hmm.. Thus began my next phase of research down Olympus avenue.

Travelling down the Olympus Avenue, I ended up parking between two houses, the 410 and the 510. As I studied the buildings, I soon discovered that the structures were the more or less the same, with the most serious difference was the 510’s in body stabilization. Having in body stabilization is a great feature because over time you’d save much money on lenses (because you wouldn’t have to pay the extra for the in lens stabilization which makes lenses quite pricey). However the in body stabilization gives the 510 a much larger body, so you can forget about the advantages of the 410’s diminuitive size.

Finally, I ended up parking in the 510’s driveway and the wait began! Anticipation, its TRULY making me wait! *ROTFL*

A Ripple of Hope

I preach the 2nd and 4th Sundays at our church. Today is my Sunday and the Title of the Message is "A Ripple of Hope". The theme comes from the famous RFK Quote:

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation... It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

The service turned out to be great. In addition to my giving the Word, the Gideons were there. The Gideon Society is the ministry that leaves Bibles in hotels all over the world as well as to people who simply ask. It was a divine appointment indeed, because while the time I deferred to the Gideon speak cut into my sermon, it was a great blessing because it laid the foundation for the major theme of my sermon, that each of us going our little part helps give people hope. For the Gideons, they express that with Bibles, and for each and every one of us, we have the same opportunity to give hope to the people God brings into our lives, by simply sharing of ourselves.

I was able to illustrate this point on a personal level because one of my most treasured friends, Jemal, drove out from Torrance to hear me speak. Now Jemal is the person who introduced me to my wife. It was his determined nudging to get me out of my self-made shell after my divorce many moons ago. And from that nudging, I ended up falling in love with and marrying the beloved wife, and that gave me hope that despite a difficult divorce, I could yet be reborn and have a part in God's plan for the future...what a ripple of hope!

Thanks bro for your looking out for a friend and being instrumental in God's plan for my personal redemption and eventual embracement of the ministry that God always had planned for me...

Blogging time in 2009

After watching the wife become lost in blogging from time to time, I thought I'd try my hand at this craft and see where it leads...

Generally Saturday is spent as a Sabbath, a day of rest. Which means we don't do much, but try to regroup from the business of the week, do a few things around the house and rest.

Today was not too much different, only that I went through some older pics on my computer and was amazed by all of the memories contained therein. I'm really getting into photography these days, and as such have been going back, looking at old pics to see whether or not I've improved, and how I can take better shots than what I have in the past. 2 Christmases ago, I got a Nikon D40, a good entry-level dSLR, but it took a year before I really started taking photography on a much more serious level. In looking back, I realized that I have a decent eye for capturing the moment, as many decent pics were taken with an older Panasonic FZ-20, a Olympus 765uz, and a Kodak 7440 (both of which seemed to have grown legs and walked out of the house)..*LOL*

While they're not as advanced as the Nikon, they still were good cameras that served both I and the wife well, so it was kinda annoying that they left us so abruptly. Below are samples from each:


Taken with the Panasonic FZ20:



Taken with the Olympus 765UZ:

Taken with the Kodak Kodak 7440: