(This will be the first of three posts.)
Remember those W.W.J.D. bracelets that EVERYONE was wearing back in high school? (Half of them sadly having no earthly idea what WWJD stood for.) Of course, WWJD is an acronym for "What would Jesus Do?" which came from the classic book, "In His Steps" written by Charles Sheldon in 1896. In the book, a pastor asks his congregation to commit for one year to ask themselves "What would Jesus do?" before they do anything or make any decision, and then act based on the answer to that question, and subsequently, that challenge changed their lives.
That idea has been in the back of my mind for the last couple of months. This is your fair warning now that in this post I am not holding anything back for fear of offending someone with my spiritual convictions. So if you are prepared to come along on the ride, read on.
Many of you know that my dad is the Senior pastor of Canopy Roads Baptist Church in Tallahassee FL. I am very proud to be a p.k. (pastor's kid), but that's for another post. This year most members in their church have committed to do a year-long "Radical Experiment," which you can read about here if you want to know more, and my husband and I have made the commitment as well. It promises to be a spiritual turning point for many of us, but it will also be a year full of spiritual warfare and self-evaluation. I feel like, I have already run a spiritual marathon in just the first month of this commitment, and who knows what the next 11 will hold?
This post will likely become one of many as God is working in me this year. Part of the radical experiment is committing to meet weekly with other believers in small group or mentor relationship. Jim and I are already members of a Sunday morning Life Group at our church, but recently I've been hungering for something more (not that I'm knocking Gene's lessons because he definitely puts in a lot of prep time and does an awesome job). I wanted a one-on-one relationship with someone that I could be completely open with who would hold me accountable and push me to grow in my spiritual walk with Christ. So a friend, Keri, and I have started meeting every other week for mutual discipleship and accountability. We've decided to start off by reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was the "real deal," staying true to his Christian convictions in Nazi Germany even when it cost him his life. We're just two chapters into the book and already I'm having a "meltdown" of sorts! This chapter is called "The Call to Discipleship," and it starts out talking about the calling of Peter and Levi, both of whom immediately dropped what they were doing (fishing and tax collecting respectively) and followed Jesus. Bonhoeffer talks about the importance of immediate and complete obedience and being willing to drop everything that we have considered important in our B.C. (before Christ) life in order to follow Christ. He connects faith and obedience stating, "only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes" so the two most co-exist in order for either of them to truly exist at all.
By this point you're probably thinking, "What does this have to do with photography?" Just hold your horses, I promise that I'm getting there. ;) But I think this is enough for one post. Check back tomorrow for more!
That idea has been in the back of my mind for the last couple of months. This is your fair warning now that in this post I am not holding anything back for fear of offending someone with my spiritual convictions. So if you are prepared to come along on the ride, read on.
Many of you know that my dad is the Senior pastor of Canopy Roads Baptist Church in Tallahassee FL. I am very proud to be a p.k. (pastor's kid), but that's for another post. This year most members in their church have committed to do a year-long "Radical Experiment," which you can read about here if you want to know more, and my husband and I have made the commitment as well. It promises to be a spiritual turning point for many of us, but it will also be a year full of spiritual warfare and self-evaluation. I feel like, I have already run a spiritual marathon in just the first month of this commitment, and who knows what the next 11 will hold?
This post will likely become one of many as God is working in me this year. Part of the radical experiment is committing to meet weekly with other believers in small group or mentor relationship. Jim and I are already members of a Sunday morning Life Group at our church, but recently I've been hungering for something more (not that I'm knocking Gene's lessons because he definitely puts in a lot of prep time and does an awesome job). I wanted a one-on-one relationship with someone that I could be completely open with who would hold me accountable and push me to grow in my spiritual walk with Christ. So a friend, Keri, and I have started meeting every other week for mutual discipleship and accountability. We've decided to start off by reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was the "real deal," staying true to his Christian convictions in Nazi Germany even when it cost him his life. We're just two chapters into the book and already I'm having a "meltdown" of sorts! This chapter is called "The Call to Discipleship," and it starts out talking about the calling of Peter and Levi, both of whom immediately dropped what they were doing (fishing and tax collecting respectively) and followed Jesus. Bonhoeffer talks about the importance of immediate and complete obedience and being willing to drop everything that we have considered important in our B.C. (before Christ) life in order to follow Christ. He connects faith and obedience stating, "only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes" so the two most co-exist in order for either of them to truly exist at all.
By this point you're probably thinking, "What does this have to do with photography?" Just hold your horses, I promise that I'm getting there. ;) But I think this is enough for one post. Check back tomorrow for more!
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