Month: January 2015

Pictures from December

Published on by Amanda Tero4 Comments
Here are some random pictures from December that I recently got around to editing.
Taken with a Nikon D90 (no, I don’t own a Nikon, but my pastor’s wife lent me hers to help her learn how to use it):

Tree roots:

And old, dilapidated barn down our road:

And . . . pictures of people! (Sidenote: remind me not to take pictures of people in full sun again as it creates horrible “hot-spots” and harsh shadows on their faces :))

Walking down the road with friends:

And more pictures with my family and friends:

What have you taken pictures of recently?
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“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” (Psalms 143:8)

Word Wednesday #37

Published on by Amanda Tero4 Comments
Mark 5:24-30
24 And Jesus went with [Jairus]; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
In every instance of Jairus’ story, there is the interruption: the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus stopped and patiently tended to the need of the interruption – even though to human eyes, this delay cost the life of Jairus’ daughter. What is it in my life that I think “interruptions” will harm? Do I forget that God is able to fix any “problems” that may result when I follow Him to serve in an interruption?
The rest of the passage (because it’s just amazing!):
 31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

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Commands for Masters (Bosses) | Ephesians Study

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Ephesians 6:9

And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

“Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.”(Colossians 4:1)
After instructing the servants, Paul turns to the masters and says, “do the same.” In other words, just like the servant should remember that they are ultimately serving God, they are servants of God, and should be doing the will of God. They are not to seek the applause of men or do that which is right in man’s eyes, but their goal should be blameless before God, realizing their testimony of the doctrine of God and the reward which comes from God (or punishment for doing wrong).

Added to that, masters are not to threaten but remember that there is One above them – God Himself – and they are accountable to Him. Then, there is a reminder that in God’s eyes, all men are equal. He holds the same judgment for the servant as well as the master.

Word Wednesday #36

Published on by Amanda Tero9 Comments
“And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.” (Mark 4:24)
We have a responsibility to apply what we hear. The more we apply, the more we’ll be taught.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)

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Share a verse that God has given you today or copy the button if you’d like to join in Word Wednesdays with your blog!

 
 

A Couple of Random Pictures . . .

Published on by Amanda Tero8 Comments

I didn’t have much time to play with new photoshoots last week (and if you noticed, didn’t post on Friday due to being away from my computer), but here are a couple of pictures that I took in the beginning of December that I just got around to editing. With these pictures, I played around with cropping – because sometimes a fun crop makes the picture pop.
For example, the picture of us friends . . .
This was taken with a wide-angle lens so you see the whole angle of sky and ground. And it gives it a neat look as a 4×6. However, crop it as a 4×3 and you see:
Your eyes are instantly drawn to the people and not the surroundings (after all, if I wanted a picture of the ground, field, and sky, I could have easily done so without the people). I personally like this crop better (or perhaps I have just “discovered” my new favorite crop and like it in many different pictures :)).
And the picture of my sisters (credit my friend Julia for the cute pose idea – I just sneaked beside her and snapped my own picture ;)) . . .
When cropped to a square, you again are less distracted by the excess of trees and ground.

Have you played around with cropping recently? What has been your favorite experiment? 
And for those of you who have been bugging me about more photoshoots, I took another sister out on a photoshoot this afternoon. Come back Friday to see who my newest captive was. 😉
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“Remember that thou magnify His work, which men behold.” (Job 36:24)

Commands for the Servants (Employees) | Ephesians Study

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Ephesians 6:5-8

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:  Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Other verses for servants:
“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” (Colossians 3:22-25)
“Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” (Titus 2:9-10)
Between these three passages, we find a list of Biblical instruction for servants:
– Obey masters
     ~with fear and trembling
     ~in all things
     ~not answering again (dispute, refuse)
     ~not purloining (sequestrate for oneself, embezzle)
     ~shewing all good fidelity (credence, moral conviction)
– Work in singleness of heart: to the Lord
     ~not with eyeservice (that needs watching)
     ~not as menpleasers (man-courting, fawning – the idea of flattery) but pleasing their masters
     ~fearing God
– Work as servants of Christ
– Work heartily
– Do the will of God from t

he heart

– Realize the testimony of the doctrine of God they hold
– Realize that reward comes from God (or in contrast, punishment if servants disregard these commands)
Today, these commands should not remain unheeded because we no longer have servants and slaves. Instead, we should consider these commands towards anyone who is in authority over us (i.e. boss, employer, managers, owners).

The matter begins at the heart: we must realize that in any job, work, or task at hand, our goal first and foremost should be to please God. We are His servants and the work we do are a testimony that reflect His work in our hearts and lives. Complaining, murmuring, backbiting, and disputing are not a characteristic of a servant of God. Likewise, stealing, embezzlement, “borrowing,” etc. should never be a part of our life. We should show responsibility and be trustworthy. Instead of doing enough in man’s eyes or judging our work against our co-workers, we should be working as pleasing God (doing the best we can, being diligent). Our attitude while working is a great testimony – is it positive or negative? Do we realize our influence as a worker? Not only are those over us watching, but also those around us (co-workers, others who might hang around the workplace). Do they see a reflection of Christ in us?