Power of His Name

Lately a few songs have spurred me to think about the power behind the name of the Lord. Scripture is full of examples of just great and awesome the Name of the Lord is.

Jeremiah 6:10- No one is like you, LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power
Micah 5:4 - He will stand and shepherd his flock n the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
Psalm 8:1,9 - LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 102:15 - The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
Psalm 111:9 - He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name.
Proverbs 18:10 - The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Isaiah 47:4 - Our Redeemer—the LORD Almighty is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.

I have been struggling with just how Great it is. Now when i say struggle, i don't mean that i disagree with the power that is behind his name. I just struggle with really grasping at how great, how wonderful, how precious, how strong, is the name of the Lord. It has the power to weaken nations, crush enemies, move mountains. It has the power to heal the sick, make the lame to walk, raise from the dead. It has the power to love the unlovable.

How is it that His name doesn't daily bring me to my knees in total reverence and obedience? How is it that, daily, i continue to do my own thing, seek my own will, follow my own dreams? How can i possibly look at what's going on around me and not see the Lord working in a powerful and mighty way? Its beyond my understanding how i cannot be so humbled that i am immobile. But still, i am seemingly unmoved by the greatness that is His name.

A worship song or two lately has really pointed me towards craving and longing for the name of Jesus, to find the power that is in his name. I hear these songs and i am reminded of how Great His name is. How comforting the song of his name on my tongue can be. Just hearing his name being said brings joy, hope, comfort, peace.

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; that all the world will praise your great name. Natalie Grant, Your Great Name

Caught up, caught up with You my Jesus
Caught up caught up with You forever
In love in love with You my Jesus
In love in love with You forever Meredith Andrews, All Will Fade Away.

Toys! Toys! Toys!

I was and still am that kid who once she knows there are toys under the tree, she must unwrap them. As a child, i was the one who went hunting for the stash before holidays and even before birthdays. Trying to find where they could have been hidden. I remember one year i even admitted to my adult neighbor that i had found where they were hiding this years Christmas presents. Now that wasn't the brightest of ideas. That's how impatient i am when it comes to gifts!!!

My birthday is coming up and i already have a gift sitting in my chair waiting for me to rip into it. Another gift i have waiting for me is from the US Govt. My tax return has finally come in and just in time for me to buy the one thing i have wanted for ages. The Canon 60D. Its now probably not as top of the line as it was 6 months ago but its in my refund budget so that's all that matters.

I had this goal to wait until my birthday to get the camera. I am not sure why i wanted to wait. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that the refund wasn't due until Feb. 25th (my birthday) so it made sense to wait till then. But now its here. Waiting, taunting me. But if i were to get the camera now, i would be so distracted wanting nothing more then to play with it. My post a picture a day thing would finally be a more achievable goal. Why? not because i don't currently have a decent camera, but because i would have a new toy to play with which would force me to get out and shoot. See, as i write, i am talking myself into getting it at this moment. Patience hasn't always been something i have been good at.

So hopefully soon, you will start seeing more picture posts!

Upside Down

You come at me upside down
We're twisted, angry, unrecognizable.
I try to shake free of this wicked world.
Desperate for hope, change
But you come at me upside down.

Weary from these dessert travels
40 days, 40 years, 40 lifetimes of wondering
North Star, any star, looking to set my pathways straight
Wondering what could i have been
Still you are upside down

Redemption seems foreign
A life left to roam
Mountains unable to climb
Afraid i'll never make it back home
i wonder just who is upside down

Peace, comfort, hope
No longer sure of what they mean
Looking at you
I guess life's not always what it seems
When will i not feel upside down

I've fought you for so long.
Trying now to make up for lost time.
But you say come as you are
I no longer have a desire to hide
So I come to you upside down





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I know its not a picture, and its not how i normally write (in public) but i found myself being bound to a certain expectation i had made for myself and i don't want to stick with that expectation anymore. As stated in many earlier posts, i am truly afriad of baring myself through my writing, but i am starting to see that though the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, i also need to trust in the voice i might have whether someone likes it or dislikes it.

Day 12

photo: Snow in Central Park
Date: Jan 29, 2011
F 6.3
SS: 1250
FL 41
Shot with Canon EOS Rebel XT DSLR




I haven't been really good with shooting lately. I have, on some days, more to write about then i do images. I've had a lot to write about lately but haven't had the pictures to back them up.

Day 11: The Day After

Photo: Bryant Park, the morning after
Date: Jan 27, 2011
F: 8
SS: 1250
FL: 18
Shot with: Canon EOS DSLR Rebel XT

Day 10: Before the Storm

Photo: The night before our 19inch snow
Date: Jan 27, 2011
F: 1.4
SS: 160
FL: 50
Shot with: Canon EOS DSLR Rebel XT

Day 9: Focus Issues

Photo: Bryant Park Fountain
Date: January 26, 2011
F 4
SS 8
FL 25mm
Shot with: Canon Rebel XL DSLR

I have a little bit of a focus issue with my new lense. Its a 50mm fixed lens which is a little bit of a zoom lens. Most of our standard lenses are 18-35mm minimum lens. Its also a F1.4-F22 aperture range so i can get some great Depth of field shots in the right light. Most DSLR cameras have a setting on the camera for those of us who wear classes to adjust the vision in the view finder. It can be difficult shooting with your glasses on so there is dial that allows you to set your viewing to your eye.

With a 1.4/50mm lens, your area of focus is very small... So if you were up close on an object, like the coffee & phones image on Day 8, the camera would pick one small area to focus on, maybe a centimeter to an inch of the entire field of view. It often takes a while to get the focus where you want it. When you add bad vision to the mix, your focus with the camera can take a little work. What looks in focus to you, might not be in focus to the rest of the world, especially to your camera. The above picture wasn't shot with my 50mm lens but the same problem arose. What i thought i was focused on, wasn't. I was attempting to focus on the fountain but my focus is actually on the background which makes my desired object just slightly out of focus. You actually might not even be able to tell with the size as is. It isn't until I get the picture on the computer that i see just how out of focus it is. Its hard to see when in the tiny view finder on my camera or in the small image size above, but its very obvious when enlarged.

Sometimes i find life like that. I know its a cheesy correlation, but stay with me. I have been struggling lately with being able to see things as they are. Whether its work, church, family, friends, home, I have been finding myself just slightly out of focus. A word is said completely innocently, and i find a meaning just left of center then its intention. Someone does something, and i create a reality that is just slightly away from the intended goal. Now i am not saying that i blow things completely out of proportion. But i choose to see things slightly out of focus. So slight, that I could probably talk someone else into seeing what i see. The danger in that is.... its still not true. It might be slightly off, but its still off. Its not until i step back and see the bigger picture or the view is enlarged to 10x its current size that i see just how out of focus i have gotten.

Day 8: Things my day are controlled by

Image:: Phones, water and Coffee
Date:: Jan 25, 2011
F: 1.4
SS:: 200
FL:: 50
Shot with:: Canan EOS Rebel XT DSLR

Coffee: We have a new fancy coffee machine at work. Its one of the K-Cups. Because i am the office manager, I order all sorts of different flavors. I went from drinking 1 cup a day to drinking 3-5 cups. I am slightly addicted

Water: I have been trying to drink more water for years now and had gotten better at it but with the new coffee machine its been a struggle. Between the coffee and the water i consume in a day, i have to take a bathroom break almost once an hour ...

Phones: Yes i have two phones. One is the work phone and one is my personal phone. Both "smart" phones and i use both equally. My work phone is an iphone, which lets face it, is the superior phone. Sorry Blackberry, but it is. I can do so many more things and faster using the iphone. But my friends and family all have BB which means i now have two phones stapled to me at all times. So i have no excuse for you not to get a hold of me. Yay :S