Psalm 107 - Oh Give thanks to the Lord ... Yucca and juniper glowing in morning sun after a heavy rain

This is the original picture.

When I saw it, I knew it was calling out for a Bible verse.

I laid down for a while- as is the necessity of life for me with fibromyalgia (see fibrofog.blog.com ) and when I got up, I knew exactly the verse to use!

I took this picture and many similar this morning after a TORRENTIAL rain storm overnight. (I went down to our creeks and recorded some sweet zen water vids after shooting this.) Seeing it pulled me out of my fibro-agony, and into a delightful adventure delighting in the goodness of God's creation.

I used photofiltre to create the special effects. The file names reflect what I did for each. Since I'm coposting this to my new "TheArtOfSuffering.blog,com", that's why I'm giving more of the behind the scenes story.

Once I had the base one done, it was very easy to create the effects. I did a number of monochrome versions and uploaded them all because it was easier than trying to decide which is best.

The images in this post are hosted at multiply- having a bit of a problem getting up to Picasa web. I can when I will. You may not be able to download high res originals from multiply, but by the time anyone reads this they should be on my picasa album.



I was captivated by the way the sun transformed the foliage... the juniper looked like it was painted in quicksilver.

I tried shooting video of the water droplets dripping from the juniper, but I've not had time/energy to review them.

Living with a condition such as fibromyalgia means grabbing the beauty and goodness around you with all your might. I always find my thinking is made more clear and my awareness of pain and related torments less when I get lost in nature and the creative process.

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Color engrave

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Ok, sorry, quickly running out of steam... the others are at multiply, and I'm working on getting them to picasa, where they will be easier to put in this post.

Here is a slide show of all the Word Pictures at Multiply

At least this was a good "Art of Suffering" post

I'll post the rest another time.

John 3:16 King James on mirrored heart of leaves and snowdrop flowers - Word Pictures

A request came in for this verse, and it was my greatest challenge. Through all my thousands of photos, I've yet to capture an Image of God yet... not in the most literal sense.

(If you understand why I had to make that caveat regarding the Imago Dei , you need to take a trip outside the hallowed halls of ecclesiastical buildings.)

Time was short, the need was urgent, my mental horsepower was down around zero, so this was the path of least resistance, but it turned out quite well.

I will do a version in portrait orientation and one with a modern English translation (probably ESV) sometime soon I hope.

From Word Pictures - Inspiring Images & the Inspired Word

From Word Pictures - Inspiring Images & the Inspired Word

From Word Pictures - Inspiring Images & the Inspired Word

Seeing through a mirror dimly - 1st Corinthians 13:12

I had no particular agenda regarding when I would make a Word Picture for the verse whose reference is the dedicated blog's name. I just happened to be outside taking photos of something else when I noticed that my wife's expression and the reflection of the bird feeders and clematis flowers and so forth were absolutely perfect for this text.



I went with a translation I had not previously even known about- the World English Bible. This is a fascinating and commendable project. Their goal is to create a public domain Bible in the tradition of the King James. Among scholars, the New American Standard Bible has long been held in high esteem, but its licensing is very restrictive. The English Standard Version is a very well done project which tries to maintain a high degree of accuracy to the original languages while still keeping as much of the King James' "ear feel" as possible. The ESV has very generous licensing terms, but the WEB had EXACTLY the text as I would have rendered it. My wife and I were half way into picking through the text when I came across the WEB.

In the process of looking at the different English translations, I came across one which has a very clunky cadence but conveys the Greek idiom especially well and in a way worth mentioning given my choice of photo for this verse.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (Darby Translation)

12For we see now through a dim window obscurely, but then face to face; now I know partially, but then I shall know according as I also have been known.

My wife of 15 years as of yesterday & Pentecost Sunday would wish me to point out that the Greek word used refers specifically to polished metal plates which is what what they used in that time. These were usually made of precious or semi-precious metal such as silver or bronze. Look at any silver object which hasn't been polished in a while... that darkened film which dims the luster of the metal and makes it reflect poorly is the idea here.

People who know me or us from other walks of life will remember that I produced a video using similar images and a poem I composed. Ironically, it was one of the most artistically superior and involved projects I did before I myself suddenly became beset by unyielding and untreatable pain.

I hope I can create several other versions of this. My hope with each verse I work with is to provide at least two versions: one in landscape, one in portrait. This way they are most easily adapted to any need- care cards, posters, etc.