a drop of water

We were planning to shoot in the rain if need be, but thankfully the weather report was wrong and we took advantage of the brief respite in the storm that weekend, to have a beautiful wedding in La Jolla at Windansea Beach. Dave was telling me how the other option for a wedding was on a mountain bike course :) We wish you the best Dave and Marie! Thanks for giving us the honor of capturing your special day! Here are few sample pics:

Here is a reproduction of the sermon handout from Coast Vineyard, on Sunday, February 22, 2009.  Pastor Jamie gave the first message in a series focused on the Kingdom of God.   

At small group there was this idea shared that what we do is often the best vision we have for our lives.  This is slightly different than what we would want to do with our lives (dreams) and more in touch with reality, dependent on our perception of the reality of our circumstances.  When we make a decision that someone else believes wrong or unwise, it is because they have a different vision, or perception the circumstances.  No one makes a wrong or unwise decision consciously.  I want to live under kingdom visions.  I want my decisions, my actions, my words to be based upon God’s understanding of my circumstances.  I’d like to read the Bible through, picking out visions (truth) about how life, is.

So here are a few familiar visions of what reality that I picked out from a scan of Galatians (just because it came to mind first):

• I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20 - I think that understanding this vision, of Christ living in me, is a life long journey, but its a vision that I want to keep at the forfront of my mind always.  I think that a lot of people sometimes wish they could live other people’s life and I believe that desire is partly rooted in our desire for self worth.  The fact that the reality of being a Christian is the that our self worth is rooted in Christ living in us, through us, and with us brings our focus back to what really matters.

• But now that you know God—or rather are known by God… Gal 4:9 - We always talk about wanting to get to know God more, when that is only half of the coin.  The reality is that maturing in faith is also about letting God know us more, about opening up the deepest part of ourselves so that God work, cleanup and restore us.

• For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Gal 5:6 [and] But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Gal 5:13-14 - Life, especially relationships to people, things, responsibilities, etc, gets complicated.  But the vision of the kingdom is that “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”  Something I need to remember when I’m trying to figure out the best plan of action to fix this or fix that.

• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Gal 5:22-23 - Maybe the vision, the hope for life is that every one of my actions and responses to the circumstances and events of every day could be categorized into one of the these words.  Maybe not all actions and responses could be categorized in one of these words, but the world would significantly different if most did.

• Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Gal 6:2 - This vision is two fold, not only must I be more willing to carry others burdens in prayer, financially and through friendship, but I must also be willing to share my burdens in vulnerability, in humility and dependence.

This was the last message in the annual Tough Questions series at Coast Vineyard this past Sunday. Pastor Michelle gave the message and here are the sermon notes:

Bible often uses the metaphor of blindness when referring to sin; when you can’t see, you are a hazard to yourself and those around you.

When should Christians Take a hard stand against sin? (Luke 6:39-42)
1. First and foremost, when we find it in our own lives. (We can not help anyone without dealing with ourselves first)
2. Second and only second, when we find it in the church. (Must be saturated with humility, compassion and patience. – Gal 6:1) The message is not to never look at others and only at yourself, but instead to look at yourself very hard so that you can be available and able to help others around you. It is a responsibility to each other, for us to get ourselves in shape.

Is that It? What About Everyone Else? (Matt 5:15-16)
Our good works and not our rebukes are our witness to the world.

What About Politics
Pitfall #1: Confusing our faith with politics.
Pitfall #2: Removing our faith from politics.
Solid Ground: Acting like Jesus in our politics.

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
We must be a light in our community and show the world God’s invitation into relationship through grace.
Separation of church and state was intended to keep government from enforcing a particular form of religion, and not prohibiting religions influence on the state.

I like the idea for us to take a hard stand against sin “when we find it in our own lives,” but I’d like to explicity add that it is important for us to take a hard stand against the sin in our own lives.  Its there, so its not a matter of when we see it, its a matter of when we decide to see it. I like the idea that its importance is rooted in supporting and helping those around you.  We aren’t taking a hard stand against sin in our own lives just to make ourselves ‘better’ or make those around us ‘better’,  instead we are taking a hard stand against sin to glorify God, together.  It is a communical process and commitment in relationship, to stand firm against sin together.

I think that it is helpful to break up this question further into a few ideas.  1. Whether we should and how we should take a hard stand against sin are two completely different questions.  2. Does it matter what type of sin it is and the scope that it has, i.e. personal or global (social injustice)  – though admittedly all sin is far reaching in its effect no matter how personal it may seem.  I believe we should always take a hard stand against sin, but how realizes into action is a lot more fuzzy.  I’m torn between the idea that we should wait for an opportunity to share our hard stance against a specific sin or if we should openly and readily share it, regardless of who is listening.  I’m torn because it seems like taking an uncompromising stance on sin is of so much more value when someone is seeking guidance, or encouragement to not compromise, or to hold fast to a prior commitment versus someone who doesn’t see, believe, or entertain the idea that they are in error.  But at the same time, what if that opportunity never comes?

How to take a hard stance against sin – this to me is the tough question.  Maybe the how lies somewhere in the gray area of how much it affects me?  Does the sin’s scope directly affect me and should that dictate how active I am in expressing my hard stance agains it?  Sin has the ability to make everything around it rotten, imperceptibly until its too late.  Soemthing I’m realizing is that sin often begets sin, i.e. the extreme example of someone killing someone starts the vicious cycle of killing.  So I believe that one key aspect of taking a hard stance against sin is making sure that you aren’t sinning in the process (more emphasis on examining yourself first).  Sometimes taking a hard stance against sin is passive, sometimes its active.  Jesus takes a hard stance against sin and in a world where sin is very present, each of us has the free will to choose to sin or not to sin.  So I guess that comes back to the closing point of the sermon, to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Since the Chargers weren’t in the Super Bowl this year, we had the opportunity to take some engagement shots for Ken and Renata in the La Jolla area a few Sundays ago. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky! Here are a few samples :)