art is beauty....

One reason I love photography is photography is art and art is beauty created. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Though it is subjective, I can discover, and create what is beautiful to me!

People often say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder,' and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves.

Salma Hayek

It Is Well with My Soul

I've been listening to old hymns sung by modern artists recently in my car on the way to and from work. As I took a break after work  today to walk by the river, this song played in my heart and mind.

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll;
   Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well with my soul.
   • Refrain:
     It is well with my soul,
     It is well, it is well with my soul.
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
3. My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
   My sin, not in part but the whole,
   Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
5. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
6. And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
   The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
   The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
   Even so, it is well with my soul.

Can you believe that these wonderful words were written in 1873 by Horatio G. Spafford?? Over one hundred years ago! When you look at the numbers 100 years doesn't seem so long ago but when you look at the details its a little overwhelming to think of all the changes and life events that have occurred in that small time frame: mobility: horses to cars to planes to space  economy: recessions, depressions, and times of growth, Added states: Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska. Wars: Spanish-American, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Gulf War, Iraq War, Afghanistan War. Events: Civil Rights Act 1875 but rights still being fought for almost 100 years later!! Prohibition, abortion legalized, walk on the moon, the internet, assignation of Kennedy / MLKjr, Y2K, 9/11,  Matthew Shepard Act, Columbine, same sex marriage legalized, Miranda rights, and the list goes on and on and on.....

No matter what happens in America or the world, this remains true:

Heb 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"

John 6:35,40, 47  "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty....For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.....Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life."

John 3:16-18     "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

Luca

Today I was blessed to see my little cousin Luca be baptized/have his christening at St. Rocco Catholic Parish in Avondale. http://www.stroccochurch.org/   Luca's mother, my cousin, is an interior designer who helped design this church. How special is it that all these years later she had her first child christened here!

It was a beautiful ceremony and I love all the symbolism to faith and life that these services hold. Whether you're Catholic or Protestant, the "baby dedication" "baptism" "christening" or whatever your church calls it,  is a sacred time to dedicate your child to the upbringing of your faith. Because I don't know all the symbolic steps I am not going to share them because I don't want to misrepresent the beauty of this service.

700 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah the prophet told of a people walking in darkness seeing a great light.  (Isaiah 9:1).  Jesus announces to us that he is “the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  (John 8:12) 
At Easter, the Paschal candle is lit as a sign of the risen life of Christ.  This life is stronger than death.  It cannot be put out but shines brightly in the world as a sign of hope and of the strength of love.  At baptism, a small candle for each child is lit from the Paschal candle. The priest says, “Receive the light of Christ.”  Parents are instructed to keep the light burning brightly and the flame of faith alive in their child’s heart. 

(http://htlenexa.org/signs-symbols-of-baptism)

Sweet Luca

His parents

Grandparents

Godparents

Cousins

Other loved ones

The reception

"One tiny hand to guide and hold,

One tiny life to shape and mold;
each child, a gift from God above,
a symbol of His strength and love."
- Author Unknown
"Let the little children come unto Me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Luke 18:16