Pilgrim's Progress

Two Perspectives on Fear

Someone once said to D.L. Moody, "Mr Moody - I have found a great promise in Scripture. 'When I am afraid I will trust in you." to which Moody replied "I have a better one - 'I will trust and not be afraid."

This is what life feels like at the moment - trying to find the next stepping stone. I realise I am too often like the first image - waiting before I step out, but the call is there to be more like the second, to step out in faith, and trust that the ground will appear beneath my feet when I do.

Christmas Greetings

Transformation

Longing for the fire to come … longing for transformation.

Come, Heavenly Light

First in a series of Advent images. May the light begin to shine more brightly than ever in your life, in the lives of those around you, and in our broken world.

Voyage

Fire Walker

“When you walk through the flames, I will be with you …”

Easter No 3: Arise

“This same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you …” (Rom 8)

Easter No.2: Watching & Waiting

Easter Saturday … watching, waiting, hoping … 

Easter 1: Wrath

No 1. The wrath of God is poured upon Jesus as our sin is dealt with.

(Click image for full size)

Spring Harvest 2011

Just back from an excellent few days at Spring Harvest where I was part of a team leading worship at one of the evening venues. I was responsible for the visuals used during worship.

What a great bunch of people to work with! There was a lovely sense of unity in the team, and a “can do” atmosphere, and serving one another and seeking to lift up the name of Jesus.

If you’re visiting this site on the back of what you saw at Spring Harvest in Skegness, Welcome! Thanks for dropping by. Some of the visuals we used will be made available very soon over at EngageWorship (click the logo to visit), the worship resource site run by Sam and Sara Hargreaves.

Maybe see you next year!

A Prayer for 2011

Season’s Greetings

Undiscovered Country

“Follow the ark … because you have not been this way before.” (Josh 6) …

There is a great deal happening right now, and I can’t see very far ahead. But deep in my gut is a profound conviction that it is all going SOMEWHERE and that HE is leading it.

I for one want to get behind the ark as the Lord begins to take back the land.

One More Step Along the Road I Go

Dedication to everyone who’s having to dig deep at the moment.

Illuminate Me

One of my lifelong prayers – maybe one of yours too?

(Latin translates as “out of the darkness I cry to you: illuminate me”)

Flow

Angel Dance

If You Don’t Go, We’re Not Going Either!

Lord, if you don’t go with us
We’re not going either.

Simple as that.

Growing Pains

... or should I say "all the time" :)

Feel Like A Glory Carrier Today? That’s What You Are

You Shine

I suspect we may miss the light if we don’t let our spiritual eyes adjust to the dark!

(Click image for full size version)

Take Me Into The Flame

Some things I’ve learned about creative flow –

1. When it flows, capture it, otherwise the moment will probably be lost.
2. Let your creativity express itself in different ways on different days. Right now it’s fractal prayers – tomorrow it might be something else.
3. Be alert to Holy Spirit promptings as the flow comes through – if that happens, stay in that moment until it passes.
4. If other forms of prayer, Bible study, worship etc are dry and hard work, start to create – for me, creating can often get me going spiritually when I’ve got stuck.

(The fractals were created using some free software called Apophysis. You can find out where to get it and how to use it here.)

A Prayer - When Things Don’t Make Sense

I started writing this prayer at 30,000 feet today, as I flew to Spain. The air is clearer up there. How we long to fly 4 miles above our lives and see with God’s eyes.

Are We There Yet?

For all that was good, there were a couple of reminders at Greenbelt that I’m not there yet.

I’m finding it easiest to pray through creativity at the moment – it helps me keep my mind and heart in one place for one, and offers me a focus.

I pray this visual prayer may bless you too (click image for full size).

Technorati Tags: art,healing,fractal,prayer,journey,Christian,digital

If You Found the Tree of Secrets …

(created in 3D and then given a natural paint look in Photoshop. Click image to enlarge)

… what would you ask it?

All my life I’ve been looking for “the tree of secrets” – that place in my inner world where the answers are. It is the place where the Holy Spirit now dwells, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of the Ancient of Days, the one who has watched over us all our lives knows all our secrets.

I chose to represent the Spirit as a tree, because trees are a favourite image of Bible writers – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of life, the tree whose leaves heal the nations.

So my journey to the Tree of Secrets continues … who knows what it might whisper to me where I get there?

Prepare the Way

Something’s definitely going on. I want to be ready when it all goes down.

What Makes You Great?

Just back from a few days at the Keswick Convention.

One stand out moment was driving past Bassenthwaite Lake on a beautiful sunset evening, and suddenly feeling prompted to pull into a lay-by, walk to the lake’s edge and seek God’s presence. Before long I found my heart pouring out to God. I love those unexpected God moments. (The above illustration, done in Adobe Illustrator afterwards captures the essence of the scene).

The other stand out moment was hearing Prof. Don Carson speak so movingly, with tears in his eyes, about what it is that makes Christians great, greater than John the Baptist and all who went before him (from Matt 11). Simply this:

We are great because we get to bear witness to Jesus

… in a way that John the Baptist and all before could not because Jesus was not yet crucified and risen!

What a wonderful reminder – there were tears in my eyes too. May we never forget this!

Lessons from Rothbury #2

A visual prayer to let God deal with our hearts, so that everything violent in us is dealt with by his love lest it spills out and causes damage and destruction in the lives around us.

(This style is a new departure for me. I’m finding my feet with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop)

Easter in a Nutshell

As usual, I create images that express where I want to get to, rather than where I’ve already arrived.

A minor incident over Easter weekend reminded me that despite all the ground covered, that there is still some way to go, but there were three signs of God’s grace that ministered right into the heart of it, so once again, my weakness is trumped by the overwhelming grace of God.

Christ is risen – he is risen indeed, hallelujah!

I Want To Know Christ

I’m determined not to let Easter slip past without entering deeply into it. One way that helps me do this is creating artwork and music. So here are some more fractal images that have come from my own search to plunge deeper than ever into this holy mystery. May they lead you deeper in too, and help you lead others to do the same.

You can download these images (and some others) at 1200x900 resolution from EngageWorship.