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There are lots of debates about the value of the Canon EF 1.8 II lens, especially when compared to the EF 1.4 (here’s a very clear, level comparison). Dad let me borrow his 1.8, since he has much (much!) nicer glass, and I took some shots of the kids to see what I could get. I’m not smart enough about all of this to be picky yet. I’m sure the 1.4 is a far better lens for a multitude of reasons, but I’ll take the 1.8 over nothing any day!

Vignetting is manually applied. These are cut down and converted to JPGs from RAW, with no non-ACR processing, and only white-balance and exposure in ACR.

After my last post, Dad asked why I didn’t just use Bridge to manage photos. I started playing around with it, and am quite impressed with what it will do. I have a lot to learn, both with Bridge and in Photoshop with proper photo editing, but I know I have access to some great teachers (thanks, Sis and Dad!).

I got a new camera today, and Dad let me have an extra lens he doesn’t use. Amy and Dad were patient, kind, and unselfish enough to meet Tami and I and the kids at a local park and let me use all of their equipment (thank you both SO much!!). Man, I learned a lot, and got a taste of how much more I have to learn. I hope to study a few specific styles and really focus on them, but for now I’m shooting all I can.

Here are a few shots from tonight:

These all have pretty minimal post-processing done on them, since I haven’t figured out a good flow from iPhoto to Photoshop and back again, but I’ll work on it. There are a few more from the shoot on our Flickr stream if you are interested.

I have really been enjoying this iMac. In fact, I have plans (hopes, perhaps) to get another in the next year or so for Tami to replace the older one she has now.

There are so many useful applications for this thing, and it seems that each week I find another. Here are some of the ones I use regularly:

• NetNewsWire - This is an RSS reader that allows organization of feeds into as many folders as you want. I love the ability to navigate it all with the keyboard, and the ability to open web pages in tabs along the edge of the window is great. I can quickly scan through a list of feeds, popping the right arrow key to open the post in another window if I see something I want to read. I only have about 60 feeds, which is a small list compared to some hard-core junkies out there, but NetNewsWire makes it easy to buzz through them regularly.
• QuickSilver - It may be possible to use a Mac without this tool, but I can’t imagine why you would want to. I barely even touch the capabilities of this little gem, but still use it constantly through the day. Control+space, then type a few letters and hit enter, and any app, url, or document on the system or in my shortcuts will open. I can move files with a few keystrokes, append text to files, look up contact addresses, and perform actions within application menus, all with no mouse.
• Snap Pro Z - Screenshots or screen movies with no hassles.
• 1Password - Sure, Leopard has the keychain, but it’s not easy to update, I can’t access it from both Safari and Firefox, and I can’t store non-password items in it like bank account details, work passwords, etc. 1Password lets me organize by category, and I can store anything that needs fully secure storage. And it will automatically generate passwords for me according to my preferences (length, number of letters/numbers/special characters, etc.) when necessary.
• PandoraBoy - I love Pandora, but having to keep Firefox or Safari open to run it bugs me. PandoraBoy lets me launch directly into the Pandora “mini” player, and still provides the standard mini-payer interface, with access to channels, voting, and song details.

I have a bunch more (Parallels, Skype, Flickr Uploadr, Onyx, TextWrangler, MacSword, and others), but that’s a good start.

In this fifth chapter of Pink’s book “The Seven Sayings of the Savior on the Cross,” he addresses Jesus statement, recorded only in the book of John: “I thirst.”

As Tim Challies points out, this chapter shows the gift that Pink has for digging so much deeper than we often care to when we read our Bibles. From the two words “I thirst,” we can learn so much about Christ. Yes, this turns a bit of focus toward the true humanity of Christ, which is important to remember, but it also shows the full deity of Christ. John specifically states, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Christ spoke these words “that the scripture might be fulfilled!” Amidst the turmoil of his betrayal, his pleading of the Father that this cup pass from him, the humility of the trial and scourging, the physical pain of the crucifixion, and worst of all, the three hours during which the Eternal Father poured out his unrestrained, holy wrath on him, he had enough self-control to review the prophecies that foretold of this moment, recognize the one that had not yet been fulfilled (Psalm 69:21), and speak the words “I thirst.”

Pink concludes the chapter with a profoundly humbling observation. He ties these words of Christ to Revelation 3:20, where Christ seeks the fellowship of his own: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me.

Salvation is not like standing in line, waiting anxiously for Christ to pass by and tap you on the head as he moves quickly along to provide salvation and blessing for others in line. Christ desires a continued, intimate fellowship and communion with his own! In Revelation he says “I will sup with him, and he with me.” This supping is symbolic of communion with someone. And not only will Christ sup with me, but I with him too — this is specifically and explicitly stated, showing a two-way communion!

This by no means addresses all that Pink pulls from these two words of the Savior. You would do well to take fifteen minutes from your day to read it yourself: The Word of Suffering

You can read Tim’s post here: Reading Classics Togther - The Seven Sayings (Chapter 5)

This past Saturday was the Nutter Corporation’s Dozer Day in Vancouver. The sun was out, and the temperatures must have hit the 90’s. There had to be thousands of people at the event this year, and the lines were slow-moving and exhausting. But the kids really enjoyed getting to drive some heavy equipment, eating hot dogs, and scrambling for candy at the Dan Jones candy-throwing conveyer truck. And I really have to commend the volunteers and drivers, because every one of them I saw was just having a blast. The driver of the excavator the kids got to ride in was laughing and looked like he was having so much fun, despite the heat and constant flow of children.

Here are some pictures and videos from the day. And as soon as I get some links to the pictures Amy and Dad took, I’ll include them here as well.

I read this two weeks ago, on schedule with Tim Challies, but haven’t taken time to post my thoughts yet.

The first chapter in this book deals with Christ’s words “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This was a chapter completely overflowing with wonder and encouragement.

Pink explains that, during the most horrific and evil act of all time, with the Son of God hanging on a cross erected by His own creatures, Christ’s first recorded words were those of prayer. And the prayer was not one of calling judgment down on wicked man, or a prayer requesting strength, or a prayer for the “friends” who had left him alone. It was a prayer of mercy and forgiveness for the sake of his murderers. Pink concludes that none are beyond the reach of prayer.

I was intrigued by the idea that Christ’s prayer was specifically and directly answered in Acts, during Peter’s preaching. Pink draws the link between “they know not what they do” and Peter’s statement in Acts 3:17 to his hearers who he said had “acted in ignorance.” And 3000 people were redeemed after Peter’s preaching, not from Peter’s eloquence, but because Christ Himself prayed for them. This is supported even more in John 17:20, where Christ states that He did not pray for the apostles alone, but for “those who will believe.” We, too, need to intercede in prayer for the enemies of God.

It was also noteworthy that sin is always sin to God, whether done willfully or in ignorance. Leviticus 5:15-16 addressed “sins of ignorance,” and shows that even these required blood sacrifice. Pink writes that “God is Holy, and He will not lower His standard of righteousness to the level of our ignorance.”

Another point Pink addresses is one that I had discussed briefly in a Sunday School class just the Sunday before reading the chapter. He deals with the matter of forgiveness, and when we are to forgive. I admit I am not settled in my mind yet as to how to properly divide this matter. Pink points out that Christ did not specifically forgive people here as he had done during his earthly ministry. Rather, he asks his Father to forgive them. Primarily this can be viewed that Christ, in hanging on the cross, was no longer in a position to forgive. (Matthew 9:6 says Christ has power on earth to forgive sins, and John 12:32 says on the cross he was “lifted up from the earth”; on the cross Christ was our substitute, and was no longer in the place of authority on the matter.) Building on the facts that Christ taught to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44), and that he told us to forgive our brother if he repents (Luke 17:3-4), Pink concludes that Scripture does not teach that we must always forgive in all circumstances. He is careful to point out that withholding forgiveness should not include harboring ill feelings or ill will, but we are not to treat the unrepentant brother as if he had not wronged us. Most certainly, however, we are to pray for him. Again, I am not fully settled in my mind on this, and it warrants further study.

Pink pulls so much out of this first saying of the Savior. Do yourself a favor and read the chapter for yourself: The Word of Forgiveness

You can read Tim’s post here: Reading Classics Together - The Seven Sayings (Chapter 1)

We decided a few months ago to start a very small garden this year, both for the fun and for the fresh vegetables that we hope it provides. I had seen a post on LifeHacker regarding square foot gardening and thought it looked like fun. So a week ago we bought some seeds for string beans, snap peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a few other things, plus a starter container of “peat pods” for 24 plants. And after about a week, we have plants!

It’s been pretty amazing to watch these things grow. We took a seed and put it in a pile of wet dirt. That was it. Maybe I’m just really simple-minded, but that has got to be one of the coolest things in the world. And to think that one little seed will give us dozens of beans, and another will provide a host of peas. Wow.

Genesis 2:8-9: And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.

Thank you, Lord!

The primary difficulty in writing a summary of any seminar session or message is the complete loss of context and foundation for any of the quotes or conclusions presented. With Dr. Art Azurdia this is even more complicated, as he so carefully builds a foundation on the Bible, then articulately extracts incredible truths that are clearly based on both the immediate passage and the “meta-narrative” or over-arching story of the Bible. However, I would still like to try to present a brief summary.

Had the conference ended Friday night after the first session, we would have had enough to think and meditate on for months. But Azurdia continued Saturday with three separate sessions, the last of which was a in a question-and-answer format with Dr. Azurdia, Jeff Seavey (pastor of Living Water Community Church), and Dan Morse (pastor of Christ our Redeemer Church). I would also be remiss if I neglected to mention the incredible blessing that the music was during this conference. The songs focused consistently on the cross and the work Christ performed, and really helped establish a proper Christ-centered approach to the sessions.

The first session, from Ephesians 5:15-22, was based on the premise that the holy dignity of marriage is grounded in the fact that its ideal can be recovered by the means of the Christian Gospel. In this session Azurdia emphasized that the Old Covenant brought sin to light without any power to overcome sin, while the New Covenant provided the power and ability, through Christ, to overcome sin. The problems in a marriage are a result of the Fall, so the solution for the problems in a marriage is the same as the solution for the effects of the Fall: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Husbands are not commanded to be the head of the wife. The husband is the head, and his example for how to love his wife is exemplified by Christ’s love for the church: sacrificial (Christ died for the church), exclusive (Christ loved “her” — specific and exclusive), and undeserved (love her as a sinner, not a saint).
• I don’t need to be a better husband, I need to be a better Christian

The second session on Saturday continued with Dr. Azurdia’s third point: the holy dignity of marriage is grounded in the fact that it exists ultimately for God and His glory, not for our own self-enhancement, self-fulfillment, or self-actualization.

• A healthy Christian family, like a healthy Christian church, has been designed for a purpose outside itself.
• The purpose of every created thing is to bring glory to God. As “idol factories,” we end up making idols of anything, and consistently in the American church, this includes making an idol of the family. “The family” becomes the end, not the means or channel to the end.
• You shouldn’t marry for love. You marry in love for the advancement of the kingdom.

The final session was more informal and involved Dr. Azurdia, Jeff, and Dan answering questions that had been written and dropped into a box throughout the day. There were far more questions submitted than there was time to answer. Without going into any detail, these men address issues from the “exception clause” regarding divorce, to birth control, to the benefits and pitfalls of “full transparency” in a marriage, and how to practically apply the truths learned over the weekend. For me, one of the more refreshing aspects of this time was the humility expressed as these men discussed things for which their opinions differed. There were no egos to be fed, and there was not a hint of pride or divisiveness.

On a side note, one of the quotes from Dr. Azurdia that I found quite humorous was something along the lines of “I tell my students they can preach one topical message per year, but they must immediately confess and repent afterwards.” It would be an understatement to say that Dr. Azurdia preaches expositionally, with complete and utter devotion to the importance of both the individual words and structures of the text, and the importance and and significance of any passage in its book.

As I stated above, this post doesn’t even come close to doing justice to Dr. Azurdia. There are so many more things I could write, but if I could summarize the weekend briefly, it would have to be using a conglomeration of statements Azurdia made: Marriage is divinely designed by Sovereign God, and it carries an ultimate purpose outside itself, extending to the magnification and propagation of the Gospel and the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. The supreme end of marriage is the Gospel, not the marriage, and a strong Christian marriage is characterized by the willingness of each spouse to sacrifice the marriage for the sake of the Gospel.

Finally, Living Water Community Church has made the audio from this weekend’s conference available on their web site (God, the Gospel, and Your Marriage — scroll down to May 9-10). I can highly recommend that couples devote some time to listen to this together. You will undoubtedly benefit more than you can imagine.

If you are interested, Dr. Azurdia has a series of previous messages on the Christian Family available on his web site (The Holy Responsibility Of The Christian Family — scroll down). I haven’t had opportunity to listen to these messages yet, but expect to in the near future.

Last night was the first session from Dr. Art Azurdia on “God, the Gospel, and Your Marriage,” and I can honestly say that listening to him was like drinking from a firehose. Here are a few ideas and quotes:

• “The Bible is not a magic book. We are in all was completely dependent on the illumination of the Holy Spirit.”
• “The dignity of marriage is grounded in the fact that marriage is the holy creation of sovereign God.” He went on the explain that such a grounding removes any authority man thinks he has over marriage, and any right to change it to fit his purposes or dissolve it to accomplish his desires or changed feelings.
• “We must begin with God Himself. Your marriage is not your own. It belongs to God.”
• “Eve’s worth is based in the fact that she is an image-bearer of God, not that she came from man.”
• “Marriage is not the creation of man, so man has no authority to do with it as he wills.

His text for the evening was Genesis 2:15-25, and he consistently and constantly referenced back to this text.

We’re looking forward to three more sessions today with Dr. Azurdia. In another post I will see if I can provide the words to one of the songs we sang; it is easily one of the most powerful songs about Christ’s work on the cross that I have ever sung or heard.