ciao./ciao.

I'm sad to say this is my last post on Beauty in the Blue. I've been a bit absent the last few months and I know it is time for me to pull the plug. I've enjoyed blogging and have gotten a lot out of it, but I'm going to shift my time to other things. And so I say good-bye.

I labeled my last post ciao/ciao because ciao means good-bye and hello in Italian. I say good-bye to this blog, but hope to say hello to a new blog for just photography at some point in the near future.

Thank you for reading my posts over the last few months, I truly appreciate it. As a bridge into what I hope will be, I'd like to share a few photos with you. My friend asked me to help her with a wedding she was shooting. This is what I saw.

the joy of Christ.

"My key to heaven is that I loved Jesus in the night. I know what you feel - terrible longing - with dark emptiness - and yet He is the one in love with you. Never let anything so fill you with sorrow, as to make you forget the joy of the risen Christ."
-Mother Teresa

go fly a kite.

If you care to find me, look to the western sky. As someone
told me lately everyone deserves a chance to fly...a kite.

passion, not posts.

Facebook and Twitter are going to save the world. Or so some may say. In the recent history social media has been heralded as the savior of the masses, giving a voice to the causes of the disenfranchised. Perhaps that is a bit too strong of a statement, but when you hear about the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and the like it is clear that many see social media as the catalyst to change.

I disagree.

Revolutions and upheavals have been occurring for centuries. Social media doesn't create revolutions, it is impassioned individuals with a will to fight. I read an article the Economist did a few months ago, "How Luther Went Viral" and I think it speaks well to the nature of communication in revolution.

Exhibit A, the Reformation. When Martin Luther and co. wanted to get their message out they turned to printing pamphlets and writing songs. The result: well many of us are still living in the wake of that today, it impacted faith and understanding in massive ways. To quote the article:

Modern society tends to regard itself as somehow better than previous ones, and technological advance reinforces that sense of superiority. But history teaches us that there is nothing new under the sun. Robert Darnton, an historian at Harvard University, who has studied information-sharing networks in pre-revolutionary France, argues that “the marvels of communication technology in the present have produced a false consciousness about the past—even a sense that communication has no history, or had nothing of importance to consider before the days of television and the internet.” Social media are not unprecedented: rather, they are the continuation of a long tradition. Modern digital networks may be able to do it more quickly, but even 500 years ago the sharing of media could play a supporting role in precipitating a revolution. Today’s social-media systems do not just connect us to each other: they also link us to the past.

I like social media. It connects us, it has given voice to individuals, and it is fun! But, to prop it up too high would be a disservice to ourselves and the past. (For the record, I do think social media is impacting our society in significant ways.)

Social media might not be the driving force of change in the world, but it also isn't a non-factor. So keep posting, tweeting, pinning, but don't just communicate for the sake of communication. If that be the case we will just turn in to a society that sits around delighting to hear about every new idea and happening, to no end or purpose. Instead find your passion, then use whatever means you can to light it up!

scary stuff.

love.

the thirsty.

 ...Jesus walked into a group of people whose ritualistic practice of religion had so numbed their souls that they no longer were conscious of unsatisfied desires. To move them from lifeless ceremony toward the vitality of knowing God, He stood up and shouted 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink' (John 7:37)...After Jesus asked if anyone thirsts he didn't tell people to ignore their thirst, to get on with duty and stay away from people so you don't get hurt, or deeply explore that thirst, understand it with others. No, He says "Come to me". - Larry Crabb, Inside Out

Larry Crabb's Inside Out is a fantastic book for anyone looking to grow in personal wholeness, connection with others, and in relationship to God. The book focuses around the idea of taking an inside look - looking at our desires, unmet and otherwise, our past, and the unsuccessful methods we use to deal with life. I recommend it to you whole-heartedly.

I would say that I tended to fall in the camp of one with buried desire. It seemed far too dangerous to me to want too much from life. I thought, if I actually felt my deepest desires I would be consumed and eventually disappointed. In reading Crabb's book I realized this: if we ignore desire we will be half-hearted and disconnected people at best. Conversely, if we chase after each desire as it crops up we will be at the mercy of want – no longer over it but under it, serving its every whim.

No, the only way to deal with desire is to go to the One who says: come to me in your thirst. He knows our thirst, He knows the very fabric of your being. There is no one else that can handle and fulfill our desires like He can. But even this is not an easy, painless, or buttoned up process. It does however allow us to leave that safe, lifeless state and step into the world with hope. Dangerous, I know. But it is entirely worth the fight. If reading this strikes any chord with you, think about reading this book. It just might impact you in a way that you desperately need to be.

Just one more thought from Crabb's Inside Out, "Desire much, pray much, but demand nothing."