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Let’s have some fun at the blogger’s expense, and what’s more fun than a self-deprecating blog post, am I right?! I can handle fingers being pointed at me – they just have to be MY fingers.

 

I’ll let you in on a little secret – social media isn’t my savvy. I’ve never had an account on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. I’m a blogger who doesn’t read blogs. Not sure if that’s typical of most bloggers, but that’s my story, anyway. Prior to One More Truth, my laptop’s primary functions were managing the budget, checking emails, and googling recipes.

 

As a matter of fact, it was the googling of recipes that introduced me to blogs. A cornucopia of food blogs, to be specific. Talk about a diverse world of ‘about me’ photos. The gluten-free blogger’s ‘about me’ features her smiling children noshing gluten-free, dairy-free cupcakes at a tea party. The paleo blogger’s ‘about me’ is a full body shot of the author flexing while devouring a coconut oil infused turkey leg hot off the grill. The baker is wearing an apron, the penny-pincher is wielding coupons and a whisk, and the chef is chopping organic peppers from the local farmer’s market. Oh my. Needless to say, the blogging genre didn’t seem to be my scene. But God used a few pivotal conversations to change my mind and before I knew it, I had a blog that needed an ‘About Me’ picture.

 

I enlisted my eight year old as my photographer and we banged that photo shoot out in under 10 minutes, thanks to my daughter’s 2^nd grade attention span. And thanks to my 2^nd grade attention span, my headshot was cropped, filtered, and ready to go in under 5 minutes. We used really fancy equipment: my ‘eligible for upgrade’ smartphone (cracked screen and all) and its less than stellar photo editing tools. Pretty professional stuff. No props, no airbrush, no makeup touch-ups – just me, wearing the same unfancy clothes I’d worn all day with the same unfancy hair I’d worn for most of my adult life. That’s me, plain and simple.

 

Because I like simple. Maybe not always plain, but I do like clear. And practical. The more I read God’s Word, the more I discover how very clear and simple it truly is. Jesus absolutely astounded people with His simple answers to their philosophical questions. He often used trees and plants to illustrate faith and spiritual growth and other ‘Living like Jesus’ lessons because they were common and relatable pictures. He used mud to repair blind eyes, probably because it was practical and available. God used only words to create the universe. When Moses asked for a persuasive visual for Pharaoh, God told him to look no further than the staff already in his hand. I’m amazed how often God the Father and God the Son used simple commands, such as ‘Go’, ‘Come’, ‘Follow’, ‘Turn’, ‘Do not fear’, and ‘Love’. They didn’t waste words. The simplicity theme weaves its way throughout the entire Bible. I love that.

 

I chose the ‘sideways glance’ headshot for One More Truth because it seemed less vulnerable. I speak openly about lots of things and I’ll occasionally share what’s on my mind, but I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m passionate, but emoting isn’t my natural tendency. Talking about feelings is an act of bravery for me. When it comes to words, I like the Jesus approach – less is more. James (author of the New Testament book of ‘James’) was the earthly brother of Jesus. For everything James saw and heard throughout his childhood, I imagine he could have easily written several 500 chapter books. Instead, he wrote only a 5 chapter book, known especially for its warnings against saying too much. James kept it short and sweet. I appreciate that. I’m busy, you’re busy, we’re bombarded by information all day long, and sometimes I swear that if I have to read one more email, one more statement, or one more opinion, I’ll just explode. Talking like this makes me feel like a blogger.

 

But I’m not a blogger. Having my picture on a blog page doesn’t make me a blogger. Posting blogs more regularly makes me a blogger, and that’s been a little problem for me lately. Sure I’m busy, but most of my free time (when I have some) is spent writing. I have pages and pages of words, because writing is how God works out His truth in my brain and in my life. But OMT only appears in your Inbox when it’s something worth reading, and as OMT’s harsh editor and toughest critic, I quickly determined that nothing I had written was worth reading.

 

I’m teaching a class at Hope called ‘Living Bravely’. It couldn’t have come at a better time, because I’m learning more than I’m teaching. I’m in a season of change – internal change, mostly – and change often causes fear to surface. You can’t live bravely if you’re paralyzed by fear. In fact, Jesus repeatedly said, ‘Do not fear’ because He knew fear comes naturally for us. Fear consumes us, actually. But why not fear when you have much to lose? Why not doubt yourself when you’re in danger of looking stupid? Why not hide in terror when conditions are dangerous? Because Jesus said, ‘Take courage’. Courage is accepting danger, difficulty, and risk by acting anyway. Courage is action in spite of fear. Courage is getting over yourself so you can trust God’s plan. Courage is telling yourself to shut up and jump already. Courage is reminding yourself that you’re good enough, smart enough, and gosh darn it, Jesus picked you to be on His team. Courage is remembering that no matter what Jesus calls us to do, He promised He would be there with us.

 

I never would have chosen myself to be on a team as awesome as Jesus’. I’m imperfect, inadequate, and quite frankly, I suck at a bunch of stuff. Maybe you feel the same way. God used people like us all the time – look at Moses, Gideon, Esther, Peter, Paul, and the list goes on. He took weak, timid people, He gave them courage, and helped them become brave.

 

I began writing to encourage others in living the real Jesus life, and maybe it does, but in the process, writing is encouraging me. It’s helping me live bravely. It’s putting some fears to rest, which is pretty wonderful because there is no fear in love. When Jesus was asked to simplify His instructions for us, He sifted them down to love: Love Him and love others. Love with all we’ve got. It’s difficult to be consumed by love when you’re consumed by fear. It’s impossible.

 

So I’ll leave you with this: Live bravely. Whatever you’re supposed to be doing in His name (and I’m guessing you already know what that whatever is), whether it be a big deal or a small something, do it. Do it with love. And take courage.

The Crop…nope, not a farming post. Nor is this a post about the popular cut off shirts girls wear these days. You know the top I’m referring to – the cropped tee that offers questionable coverage and causes every onlooker to cross their fingers and hope a strong wind doesn’t blow through. Not that crop.

 

In olden times, long, long ago, every homemade collage, scrapbook, photo album, locker door, and bedroom mirror was adorned with a smattering of oddly-shaped, 1 inch squares of faces and skinny strips of people. These were crops – ‘otherwise great pictures’ made even better by the cropping tool of ancient times: scissors.

 

There were cosmetic reasons for cropping (eliminating bothersome objects and ‘visual noise’), there were practical reasons (locker doors have only so much space, you know), and there were frustrating reasons (random tourists walking through your shots at Niagra Falls – because that’s what tourists do.) But the number one reason for dicing up 4×6 glossies was removing people you knew. Or more specifically, a person you knew. Who was this person? The Ex.

 

We chopped the pesky Ex right out of our pictures, (and we ripped their number from our phone books, erased their answering machine messages, and pawned their gifts at the skanky shop downtown). Yes, back in the day it was a rite of passage to sit with stacks of once-favorite photos for a session of slicing and dicing. Cropping was a very labor-intensive process before the digital age, but it was the only effective way to salvage those otherwise great pictures.

 

But cropping wasn’t so effective for eliminating memories, or pain, because cropping always left half a picture – small, incomplete, and unable to fill a frame. The absent, unseen half no longer stared you in the face, but invisible as it was, it still commanded a lot of attention. It seemed to silently whisper, “I am incomplete. You are incomplete.” Focus on incomplete images and you’re going to feel pretty empty.

 

If the images in your mental gallery provoke you to feel empty, then it’s time for new pictures.

 

We were designed to need Jesus and without Him, the empty spaces in our lives are impossible to fill. The painful holes are impossible to ignore. When we choose to trust Jesus with everything we are and everything we have (and everything we aren’t and everything we haven’t), He comes into our invisible spaces. He transforms our minds, our hearts, and our lives by opening them to His goodness. He is love, joy, peace. He is patient, kind, trustworthy, and gentle. Turning our eyes toward His goodness fills us with gratitude. Even when our life picture doesn’t seem complete, we can be grateful for a completely perfect Savior who fills our emptiness with good things. Focusing on His goodness changes things.

 

So ditch those crops, already! Don’t focus on what’s missing in your life. Turn your eyes to the complete, larger than life images that only Jesus can display. Allow Him to change your focus and suddenly, you won’t just discover joy, peace, and gratitude – you’ll be filled with them.

 

The photobomb. I bet it’s been in existence since the first time someone said, “Cheese!”

 

Depending on your side of the camera, photobombs are either hilarious or annoying. Overall mood and atmosphere play a significant role in the entertainment level, as does age, however there are faults to this formula. The ‘old soul’ second-grader will never be tickled by the moose antlers behind his head, even at the most epic birthday party ever. But your ‘child at heart’ aunt will genuinely laugh out loud at every set of well-placed bunny ears caught on film. Even if it’s at her own funeral. Especially if the bunny ears are given to the loved one who is never amused. Ahhhh…family photos. That’s a future post. Count on it.

 

The photobomb has gained some popularity these days – in my house anyway – which is no surprise since I have school-aged children and elementary school humor seems to recycle itself with each generation. I sure thought about photobombing pictures as a kid, but back in the old days of film and photo processing costs, photobombs could have gotten you killed. If my sisters and I had ever photobombed any of grandma’s expensive Polaroid shots, she probably would’ve never bought us ice cream ever again – a very sad consequence for us, because we were quite accustomed to eating ice cream at grandma and grandpa’s house. In fact, I bet I have some Polaroids of us enjoying ice cream. Good times.

 

If you ask me, inanimate objects do a better job of photobombing than any person ever could. Background clutter (or ‘visual noise’, as I call it) silently creeps into otherwise adorable pictures all the time. Like a ninja. What are these ‘visual noise photobombs’, you ask? Let’s take a look…

 

The ‘annoying object’ photobomb: All you wanted was a memorable shot of your kindergartener stepping from the bus on her first day of school. You waited with your camera, ready. You waited as she came down the bus steps, you waited for a smile,  and…GOT IT! Perfect shot of her, the bus, and…the stupid trash can you forgot to roll back from the curb.

 

The ‘unsightly clutter’ photobomb: What a gorgeous homemade birthday cake! Looks like it came straight out of a magazine. Too bad it’s surrounded by all the dirty dinner dishes. On rib night. That’s just gross.

 

The ‘optical illusion’ photobomb (when distance and alignment collide): Everyone’s smiling real smiles in this photo! And everyone’s eyes are open! Only took 45 minutes. Hold on…is that a tree growing out of mom’s head?!

 

The ‘it was in style at the time’ photobomb: Yes, those are the glasses I chose. Yes, I loved that shirt. Yes, I know my bangs are 5 inches tall – I labored hard to get them looking that good. Okay, I get it, I look like a dork, BUT THAT WAS THE STYLE AT THE TIME!

 

A photobomb is, well…bombed, because usually the bomb is so close to the photo’s subject it can’t be cropped and short of photo editing skill and painstaking hours, the image can never be fixed. It’s ruined.

 

As Christ followers, we are and should be a clear picture of Jesus Christ to everyone around us. The trouble is, He is perfect and we are so imperfect. We speak carelessly. We make selfish choices. We offend, we ignore, we react and our thoughtless mistakes so often become a HUGE distraction to everyone watching (or listening). Our selfish sin is a ninja photobomb, distracting everyone from seeing our beautiful Savior. And short of His grace, there is no covering our mistakes.

 

Thank God for His mercy and grace. His masterful hand is the only one capable of airbrushing the photobombs from our spoiled pictures. His forgiveness covers and restores. And in His strength, we are privileged to reflect Him again.

 

If I had to pick one all-time favorite photo (impossible, by the way), it would definitely be a candid. Perhaps an image of open-mouthed laughter, or the face of sheer surprise, or a still frame of the typically ornery child caught reading quietly in bed. Unposed, slightly imperfect, and totally real, candids capture the true moment and the genuine person.

 

Studio pictures and school pictures are all well and good, but since when do they convey personality? Let’s get real – the last time my child looked at me with fixed eye contact, head slightly cocked, a strained smile, and arms calmly folded in front of them, I guarantee I was completely freaked out. In real life, if someone voluntarily chooses to pose as described, that person is either losing their mind or trying not to poop their pants. That’s only a theory, but I think I’m on to something.

 

Kids are the best subjects for candids. Perhaps it’s their inexperience with posing. Or maybe it’s the fact that they don’t think too much of themselves. They live with more abandon. They’re not too old, too mature, too smart, too refined, too clever, too polite, too experienced, too accomplished, too proud, or too darned awesome to live out loud. They’re not embarrassed by the picture that busted them messy haired, dressed like a hobo, shoving a donut in their mouth. They love that picture, because unbrushed hair and 2 bite donut consumption is good livin’. Kid rational is: ‘life is for living, not posing.’ Even if it means looking slightly foolish.

 

Grown-ups love candids of their kids – or any cute kid – but rarely do they love a candid of themselves. Why? Because candids sometimes expose us looking like a fool and we’re better than foolishness. We’ve learned how to pose, after all. We’re educated, successful, accomplished, respectable, and refined. As we mature, we tend to see ourselves from an inflated point of view.

 

So let’s get really candid, shall we? Saying you love Jesus is great. Truly. It sounds good and it looks good, but I’ll warn you – the faith life Jesus called us to live is one of humility. No studio sessions, just humble candids. And being seen humbled is similar to being seen as a fool. If living out your dedicated love for Jesus means thinking less of yourself and occasionally looking foolish, can you do it?

 

Sometimes we plan to do things for someone else and other times Jesus chooses the plan and the someone else for us. Sometimes we choose an opportunity to serve – a mission, a ministry, a cause – and other times our humble Savior ‘nudges’ us into straight up servanthood. Hypothetically, sometimes 600 VBS children and parents make a mess at your place of business and you know for a fact that it’s not your sole responsibility to clean it up (particularly in the last hour before you close – the hour you spend finishing up your ‘real job’ responsibilities) and you find yourself smack dab in the middle of a real life candid. What will be revealed about your true personality? What dark thoughts will you be thinking as you discontentedly grab and fill trash bags? (Hypothetically, of course.) Can you love Jesus happily even when it’s not fair, when you’re caught off guard, unprepared, and tired? Will you find yourself thinking that if living out loud in loyal love for Jesus means looking like a trash-collecting fool, well…you’re out. You’ll be the one to choose the candid moments of humility, thank you very much.

 

Maybe I recently saw myself in a candid moment. Maybe I didn’t look my best. Hypothetically, as I mentioned. But my kids, on the other hand…what a priceless picture. They were helping happily. Nothing had been promised for their work. It wasn’t glamorous to move chairs or empty trashcans. They wouldn’t be recognized for sweeping up the crumbs of hungry people, but they weren’t concerned with any of these things, nor were they concerned with whether or not they were too good or too skilled to serve. Help was needed and they were capable. And willing. That was the priceless part. That’s a candid to treasure.

 

Life is now. Life is happening in the moments when you’re unprepared. No one to comb the tangles before you say ‘cheese’. No white, toothy smiles free of spinach particles. We won’t always look our best living in humility. We won’t look professional being a servant. We won’t look accomplished and dignified doing the dirty work of Jesus living, but if we want to be truly grownup in our faith, we can better prepare ourselves by thinking like a kid. Live with abandon. Help like it’s your hobby. Love like a fool. Be willing no matter your paygrade. It’s a mindset of humility. And the result? Beautiful candids of a genuine, Jesus-loving heart.