What Do I Know of Holy, Really?

You have a rare and beautiful gift, a gift for seeing that has to come from the Lord. Just last week I jumped over to your photography blog and cried at the beauty of the images you captured there. I believe He must love the way you see, capture and share what He's made -- be it people or nature. There is a fresh spin on your work, something I'd even venture to call holiness. There is a breath-held-in quality, a transparency that light can shine through without difficulty.

- excerpt from a personal email from M.M. Allen to me

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I stared at her words, blown away by the unearned affirmation that seemed to come out of nowhere, words that raised questions in me about what God has been doing in refining my photography dream.

Somehow can I capture His holiness in my lens? I don't know the answer to that; I know I have asked that He make Himself known in me. I can only pray it is true, that He is spilling out into my work, making my dream His dream and letting me do something I love for His glory.

This is my song today, my human "I don't know You enough," my "teach me, Lord, help me let You in..."

"What do I know of Holy?" by Addison Road
(click song title to listen)

I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life "its" name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?

(Image © Informal Moments Photography)

107/365 - it wasn't too bad

Obviously, a skirt does present certain problems that I had to be aware of. But when it came to the shoot and we were rolling, I didn't really pay it any attention. It wasn't too bad. (Chiaki Kuriyama)

Fifty-Three - As the Music Ends

"By ceasing for a moment to consider my own wants, I have begun to learn better what I really wanted. When I attempted...to describe our spiritual longings, I was omitting one of their most curious characteristics. We usually notice it just as the moment of vision dies away, as the music ends or as the landscape loses the celestial light...For a few minutes we have had the illusion of belonging to that world. Now we wake to find that it is no such thing...And part of the bitterness that mixes with the sweetness of that message is due to the fact that it so seldom seems to be a message intended for us, but something we have overheard...[And] we pine...And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire."

(C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)










"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
(2 Cor. 4:16-18 NKJV)

I wanted something vintage today when I went shooting. This quick point-and-shoot was the one that captured the mood for me. Tomorrow, I'm going to try another self-portrait... How's that for planning?