an update on the box

still plugging away at the exhibition box i've been working on since the summer. still a long way to go, but it's starting to take shape. that i can get excited about. Lord willing, I'll finish it soon. For now, I've got one day at a time to see what the Lord has to teach both my hands and my heart as I build this puzzle. Here goes nothin'!

late night design

every once and a while I feel inspired to do a little in house design with what's laying around. here's one of my late night creations from last week. a towel rack and shelf for my downstairs bathroom. call it, scrappy-sheik. enjoy!

skyline

the cave

the box_a work in progress

There's been something profound to the making of this exhibition box. It's been one of the most difficult puzzles that i've had to try to piece together. There are moments that I'm inspired, and moments when I just want to walk away. I feel like the Lord is teaching me quite a bit through the experience. I spent weeks planning, drawing and pondering this project, avoiding its construction because I had to get it right the first time. I felt the need to get every piece right the first time. Have you ever felt that way? Felt as though you needed to step back and plan and ponder until you had it all figured out? I do it all the time. But things just don't work that way. You've got to step up, take and shot and be willing to learn. What if the Lord held us to that perfect standard. What if, when you gave your life to Him he said, "alright, I've got a lot of great things for you to do, but you've got to do them perfect the first time. don't try unless you're sure you're going to do it right." I tell you, I don't think we'd end up accomplishing much. Instead the Lord decides to use imperfect men and women to slowly and blunderingly the things that he could do perfectly with ease. I wonder why that is? He just asks us to walk with Him as we are and be willing to learn along the way. Praise God. I am a student of my Lord and God. Just a student. I hope I never stop learning.

more from bootcamp....

peter and geno at the pass

sunset, our first night

preparing for the ride

amen tony, the Lord is worthy of praise

where do you begin.....as beautifful as all of this is, our God and our savior Jesus Christ are better than any thing this world has to offer.

a wild God

the continental divide

geno + jep

from the roof of the auditorium

on horseback

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." -Genesis 1.............all this, spoken into existence. there is no doubt in my mind.....we serve a wild God.

footprints

when you venture into the wilderness, it's nice to know there's a God who's bigger standing at your side....

False Cape

Over this weekend, Jon Shealy and I went

trudging into the marsh wilderness of the Virginia coastline. The Lord's glory in creation was all around. Although the locals [wildlife] were quiet for the most part, we ran into a few of my friends from my church in richmond....fairly random, but pretty cool.

For a sense of peace, there are few better things than to wake up at the rising of the sun to the sound of waves washing onto a sandy shoreline. While the sun rose, I sat and watched the sand crabs cautiously make their way across the beach, the larger ones waiting for just the right moment, between flocks of sandpipers, to make their way to the ocean. Our neighbors in campsite 9 enjoyed traveling in packs and playing horseshoes. Neighbors in campsite 8 did not enjoy the mosquitos in campsite 12...that's how they became out neighbors. Both chose to rise early and hike out. Jon and I then enjoyed a peaceful pancake breakfast followed by frisbee and a passing rainshower. A brisk walk back to the car and a dip in the water ended our stay in False Cape.
We'll be back.....but on wheels next time.

Enjoy the photos!

landscraping.....

a raingarden I'm working on...

the gnome_world traveler

me and my gnome

VMDO

my workplace...

Witness [n].

"You are my witnesses," delcares the Lord, "and my servant who I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed--..."You are my witnesses," declares the Lord...
[Isaiah 43:10-13]

'Witness' has become one of the most frequently used verbs of modern christian evangelism. We talk of 'witnessing' to the lost to bring them into a relationship with Christ. I wonder, what are we witnessing? Are we truly witnesses to what we profess? The word, witness, implies that we have seen or have first hand knowledge of something, or that we have evidence. What evidence are we presenting? Have we SEEN the Lord at work? Do we believe because of what we have seen or because of what we have heard on Sunday morning?

I am challenged to seek God so I can 'know and believe' what the Lord has 'revealed and saved and proclaimed' BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN Him at work.

Paul said to the Corinthians, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." [1 Cor 2:4-5]

Whe Paul 'witnessed' he brought the Lord to the table so that when he was done, they were ALL witnesses of the Lord an His power. How can we be witnesses to what we have not seen. Then our words fall to the place of hearsay.

I want to be a witness to what I HAVE SEEN AND HEARD, not to what I have read and been told.

..."You are my witnesses," declares the Lord...

created to serve

There's a Bob Dylan song that speaks to the inevitable need to serve someone, some-thing. One of the stanzas reads like this:

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Who are we serving? Who are we slaves to? What are we slaves to? Do we even know....do you even know?

After the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah gathers the people of Jerusalem and calls to memory their history as a nation through freedom and captivity. To that extent, their history ended with their present condition:

"But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you [God] gave our forefathers so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. Because of our great sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress"

Having rebuilt the walls of the city, the people had a moment to reflect on their position and realize that the very land which God had given them and intended for their joy and His glory was now subject to other kings which had stepped in when Israel rejected their true king, The Lord. Nature abhors a vacuum. A people/a person will be subject to someone or something. The fruit of our harvest will be given to something. Where? Who? A man, a thing, or its creator?

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." [joshua 24:15]

you're gonna have to serve somebody...

this day

Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." [Nehemiah 8:10]

Waking Up the Dead....men of the 'Church'

Men of the Church of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Where are you? Think what you want about this article [link below], but THINK about it. The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is His name! Stand up! Follow Jesus, not religion. A revolution is necessary....

http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=4394

and while your at it, there's something going down in charlottesville, Jesus style. check the link out for necessaryrevolution in the links coulmn.

work in progress

I've been working on a traveling exhibition for the last two months. topic_historic african american sites from the segregation era. my site_the Whitelaw Hotel on 13th and T St. in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington D.C. There are 9 others being built basesd on sites in 9 other cities. Each of these traveling boxes, self-contained exhibits, will come together to travel from New York to New Orleans along the Amtrack Southern Crescent Line. The hope is to tie together each of these sites in a way which will show them to be historically dependent on eachother--a thread of historic fabric on a totally different scale. drop a comment if you've got questions. i'd love to answer.

clarity

Ears that hear and eyes that see--
the Lord has made them both.
[Proverbs 20.12]

hands at work

So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
—Ecclesiastes 3:22

openingday

never thought i'd have one of these, but here I am.......the blog begins