Well. So it is. I have purchased, received, and shot an all new camera. I decided on Olympus' Evolt E-500. Astounding! The camera for the money here is absolutely unbelievable. In my opinion, it takes Canon & Nikon's closest equivalents and completely smacks them around.

I am using the 14-45mm & the 40-150mm and they are amazing. Virtually no shutter lag, 15 shooting modes, great set-up/control features, and a practical battery life. I am stunned. All for less than $850 bucks! Of course, i have yet to pick up an external flash and the ginormous memory card - but hey, first things first, right?

Just thought you'd all like to know!

every breath that's filled my lungs
every song i've ever sung
all the light that shines on me
all the hope that i'll ever need

everything you are to me
every single little thing

Arise, Zion and Shine!
For your light has come!

And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
and deep darkness, the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
and His glory will be seen upon you.
The nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising...

Isaiah 60.1-3

{LISTENING.TO}planetshakers+open.up.the.gates
{READING.NOW}brian.mclaren+the.secret.message.of.Jesus
{FEELING.LIKE}why.rush?

I recently photographed some of my students prior to going to prom. The anticipation they were feeling was so evident! It was funny, great, amusing, and interesting! You could actually see it in the air.

But it got me thinking.

We were designed to anticipate. We know there's something else coming. This life is not all there is. Humans naturally get "waiting". Life is a bunch of Hurry Up & Wait. And yet, we rush ahead. To be stopped. And then we climb over people to move forward. And then we must pause. We buy TiVo so we can skip ahead. But we have to wait 30 minutes just to do it. We fast forward to our favorite part of a movie, just so we can keep rewinding it and playing it all over again!

We truly are a mess of a people. Sheep, I dare say. But God calls us beautiful. Isaiah picked up on this when he noted, "Blessed are all those who wait for Him." 30:18

That we would wait. What a desire.

In other news, nah...I'll wait.

{LISTENING.TO}some.preacher.guy.who's.got.it.a.little.wrong
{READING.NOW}brian.mclaren+the.secret.message.of.Jesus
{FEELING.LIKE}the.week.is.beginning.just.like.i.knew

David Crowder says, "When our depravity meets His [God's] divinity, it's a beautiful collision."

I love that statment. It speaks to me. It resonates with my soul and the journey I have walked.

I don't know about you, but I know about me; and my life is often a mess. It is flawed. It is splintered and broken. Scuffed up and not neat around the edges. Then there's this Jesus. A real person. And he's in the business of making me beautiful. He calls me clean. He makes me whole, complete, and wonderful.

Ergo, I am a beautiful mess.

{LISTENING.TO}the.blind.boys.of.alabama+atom.bomb
{READING.NOW}luke.19+20
{FEELING.LIKE}Jesus.makes.everything.glorious

Some of you may remember the UBC Waco Pastor, Kyle Lake, and the fatal accident in October of 2005. Well, I just found out about something amazing! A few of his friends are working on an awesome new project/film, Kyle's Film. It is to be released next month! Including home footage, new footage, new crowder compositions, and some images that are sure to compel.

It should no doubt be anything more than incredible. Kyle's last sermon was crafted around the film, Garden State. Moreover, he embraced beauty and lived life to the fullest. Anyway, I think this film will speak volumes to many people and cause us to grow toward HIM.

Be sure to read about their progress with the film at [link]

In Other News, yesterday was the start of Passion Week. It reminds me of Passion '06: At the end of the conference they had planned a ginormous secret "reveal" where these banners would be lifted; the bands would be playing, but they would slowly be covered over by these huge sheets that spanned the stage. They rose some 40 feet in the air and were covered by declarations of who God was, what He had done in the student's life, etc. It was amazing. The lights went out. And then the writing began to glow...it was a beautiful sight.

Jesus, this week, was preparing for an eternal Reveal. He didn't look like some thought he should look. He didn't say things some thought he should say. And he certainly didn't do everything some thought he should do. But it was a beautiful thing, this week. Mixed with pain and love, death and life, it was altogether perfect.