The First Entry… again.

Back to my roots… Myself  When I Am Real… It is what it is…

These are all valid tag-lines to explain my urge to post a new entry on this old site. If you still haven’t made the switch, and you happen to be looking me up to find my photography then just head to www.jpreding.com, you will find all the goodies there at my web-blog-site.

But today, I’m taking back this space as a place to just be myself. To write, reflect, and meditate… albeit publicly, this site is more for myself than anyone else. If you happen to stumble up on this, then it is my prayer that you may be encouraged by the honesty and the perseverance I am attempting to live.

Along with photography, I enjoy writing. Well, I used to enjoy writing. I haven’t set out to write much lately. Agghhh… what’s with all the introductory stuff, I’m just going to dive in.

There has been an image in my mind in the past few weeks of myself as a bird that loves to be near this wonderful tree. The tree is full of life, amazing fruit, and peaceful shelter. Yet there is something that prevents me from making my home in the tree. I like to come for visits. I like to be refreshed by its fruit and find rest in its shade, but I am a fluttery bird that is continually quick to take flight.

If this imagery is confusing to you, then I’m relieved to know I’m not alone. It is particularly disturbing to me because in my image I am fully aware that I am supposed to be a branch on this tree and not a bird. Weird, I know… but the image stems from the scripture in John 15 that says “I am the Vine, you are the branches.” How I became a bird in my image is uncertain, but what is certain is that I am fearful to stay connected, to dig in, to invest myself in the One who gives life.

Man, this is a rough post.

Forgive me if I’m jumping around a lot, its been a while since I forced myself to stay on topic and write things out. This evening I spent some time reflecting on John chapter 1. I never made past verses 10-13 where it says:

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent,^[c] nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The more I read these verses the more distraught and torn I became tonight. He came for us! Imagine his excitement in coming, only to be spurned and met with our disregard for who He is and what He brings. Tears flowed as I realized tonight that have not been receiving the abundant life Jesus came offering.

The other major thing that stuck out to me as I reflected were the words, “he gave the right to become…” and “not of human decision or a husband’s will…”

It isn’t often any more that I don’t get something I want. I don’t have to tell myself “no” about much… or so I thought. But regardless of my will or my decisions, I did not have the right to become a child of God until Jesus came offering the Light and the Way to become a child of God. To those who accept there is nothing that can separate a child of God from the love of the Father, to those who refuse there is only a darkness, a void, and confusion.

Lord God, quiet my fluttering heart. Open my eyes to see the Light. Break my heart to realize that You are everything I need and everything I cannot attain on my own. Be still my soul, be still… wait patiently upon the Lord, be still.

Quarter of a Century

Quarter of a Century, originally uploaded by JPReding.

Have you made the change?

Things are really starting to roll along on my new website. Have you made the change in your feed readers? Check it out!

jpreding.com

NEW SITE!

Hey Friends…

I’m moving along once again. If you’ve got your RSS readers set to check my blog you might want to make a change.

Check out the new site at www.jpreding.com.

It’s sweet!

Whirlwind weekend

If you been following me on Twitter, you know that KB and I took a whirlwind trip to Ft. Worth this weekend to photograph. My Sister-in-law, Haley, was generous enough to brave the wind and the cold and model for me in her wedding dress. It was a fun and very quick shoot that ended with a very chilling wind! This last picture was taken as the sun was setting. I had on a fleece and another coat and Haley braved the elements in her wedding dress.

I’m having a blast looking through all the images and I will post more soon.

The other reason I went down to photograph was for the Bryson Family. The Brysons were a great group, seven in all, and we spent an hour frolicking through the Botanical Gardens there in Ft. Worth. Here is the first shot of the afternoon with them.

KB and I had a lot of fun with everyone this weekend! We made it back to Amarillo shortly before midnight and were so glad to fall asleep in our memory foam bed.

–

A funny moment… my nephew asked KB and I at church if we were moving to Texas! Hard to believe, but though far away from Ft. Worth, Amarillo is still Texas. The lady in the row in front of us heard my nephew ask the question and immediately turned around during meet and greet excited to welcome someone from outside of Texas who may be moving. …. not the case

–

Also! I’m working on a new website so for all of you who track my blog through RSS readers be prepared to change the source of the feed soon! It’s going to be neat!

Twitter?

Hey guys, thanks for the encouragement I’ve been getting lately on my photography. It has been fun to play around and really learn my new camera.

Just wanted to put myself out there completely and confess that I’m joining the Twitter bandwagon and that I need help… I just signed up and I don’t know how to use it quite yet, but I’ve already learned some neat things about my friends.

I’m thinking that I will be posting some short updates on Twitter a little more regularly than my blog for the time being so if you are on Twitter hit me up… twit me or tweet me… whatever. Let me know if you are on Twitter.

I’ve got some great opportunites coming up so look for new pictures!

Unexplainable

I can’t figure out what it is about this “work of art” that draws me repeatedly. Perhaps it is my amazement that people are constantly stopping to take the short walk in to a cattle field to gaze upon and add their spray painted mark to the monument. Technically speaking, monument is not the right word. This icon is solely the work of strange beauty in a few people’s mind.

I’ll admit that I Googled “Cadillac Ranch” and delved into the depth of potential knowledge in Wikipedia to try to understand something that is unexplainable.

It really befuddles me to admit that I have been to this site a half dozen times (sometimes without stepping out of my car) to wonder at this mystery. Only once was I alone at the site, and then my solitude was interrupted within a 5 minute stay by some tourists of Amarillo or I-40, I’m not entirely certain. People are always stopping each time I attempt to go here.

Today I pressed on again to snap a few more photos… although the subject today was less the Cadillac’s and more the Amarillo Sky. The wind was light and breezy today and the temperature on the bank sign said 57 which is pleasant with bright sunshine and puffy clouded skies. I got off work during the mid-afternoon while KB and all other normal people are still at work so I ran home and grabbed my camera (braving the little amount of battery left in the tank) and I threw on a wide angle lens hoping to capture what had been an absolutely splendid display of the Simpson’s Cumulus Clouds.

By the time I got there the multitude of giant puffy clouds had moved on but there were still some remnants that left me in wonder of it All. Anyway, to bring a rather pointless story to an end, today was a beautiful day here in Amarillo and I wanted to share it with you all. The sky had this awesome natural gradient from deep rich blues to the lighter haze of the dusty fields. It was pretty sweet. Enjoy.