Several weeks ago my wife and I took a vacation down to the hill country of Texas. We split our time between two places and did a lot of fun things (some of which almost killed us). I STILL have photos I haven’t finished editing, but I am going to start posting those that I have made it through since its already been three weeks.

This is the first cabin we stayed in was just a few minutes outside of Wimberley, TX. There are actually three small cottages at Canyon Sunrise and you can’t see one from the other. Yep, total privacy. Each one has its own kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom, just like an apartment. Each also has it’s own hot tub on the back porch and it’s own private swimming pool. Yep, private pool…in the woods…fun. That’s all I’ll say about that.

As you can see from the fridge space, there isn’t just a whole lot of room for storage, but mix in an ice chest fro drinks and you’re good. We went to the store in Wimberley and picked up some groceries to minimize our need to travel into town to eat/waste money on buying dinner out. It was fantastic. We used this cabin as a place to relax and do nothing part of the time, and as a base for our explorations into surrounding areas that you’ll see in future posts (so subscribe to my feed NOW!).

<i>And as always, click on the thumbnails to open the slideshow!</i>

[View with PicLens]

Just to be sure I didn’t get ripped off, I used a checking account that I keep very little money in just for such purchases. To further be careful, I used my PayPal account to make the purchase. The next morning my wife received a text alert saying we had hit the mark in our checking account where we have created an alert so the account doesn’t get TOO low. That made me nervous because we had BOTH just deposited our paychecks the day before and hadn’t yet paid the monthly bills! I had a momentary panic before realizing the most I’d probably be out was $50 thanks to fraud detection, but that was a scary moment, nonetheless. Long story short, the alert was because Mint.com hadn’t updated our account balance since we deposited our paychecks.

So have you figured out how I got this so cheap?

Here is a tease:

I love going back and looking at old photographs from earlier in the century. Its awesome to stare down a city street now and then find a photo of that same street 50 years earlier. One photographer has found a way to do exactly that with old World War II photos. He has taken pictures from WWII and the same locations in present time and blended the two using Photoshop. This create some visually powerful images and I can only imagine what they would do for someone who was actually in these places during the war.

(Thanks to Keith at BagOfNothing for posting.

I am keeping this site just as is, but I have added a feed in the side bar (see it to your right?). For now I think Tumblr might come in handy for random things I find while I am out that don’t deserve a regular blog post on this site. This will allow me to use dchristian.net for regular things like articles, et, while Tumblr. will get mobile photos, quick thoughts, and similar useless items.

Check me out: Me on Tumblr.

Fight Club and Toy Story

Inception and UP

The old Cotton Mill in McKinney has been a favorite place for photographers. Search for it on Flickr to see some great pictures of what it looked like before they started renovating it for offices and a venue for weddings, parties, etc. Here are a few shots from the back side.

[View with PicLens]

Last Sunday, our Bible class discussed Gideon. During this discussion, I began to think about the differences in our faith and those of people who lived in Biblical times. Several times over the years Ihave wondered if faith today is more difficult, or more hard won than it was then. The story of Gideon once again brought this to mind.

Think about why you believe in God (for those of you who do). Surely, nothing as complex as our universe could be created by chance or accident. Imagine for a moment all of the functions that go on within the body. Or look at the different ecosystems around the globe and how they interact. Many people will claim this is evidence of God’s existence. Yet, at the core, we still must rely on faith, because we haven’t seen or spoken with Him (literally…I don’t mean through prayer).

Is our faith different from Gideon’s? If you remember, Gideon was chosen by God to free the people of Israel from the Midianites and Amalekites. He had a hard time believing God would choose him because he was young and from an unremarkable clan. His lack of self-confidence cause him to ask God for a little proof of that God really was who he said he was.

36Then Gideon said to God, “You say that you have decided to use me to rescue Israel. 37Well, I am putting some wool on the ground where we thresh the wheat. If in the morning there is dew only on the wool but not on the ground, then I will know that you are going to use me to rescue Israel.” 38That is exactly what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the wool and wrung enough dew out of it to fill a bowl with water.

But that wasn’t quite good enough for Gideon…

39Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be angry with me; let me speak just once more. Please let me make one more test with the wool. This time let the wool be dry, and the ground be wet.” 40 That night God did that very thing. The next morning the wool was dry, but the ground was wet with dew.

People in Biblical times saw Jesus perform miracles. They spoke with angels, and even God. How many times have you wished you could ask God for a sign that He exists? Wouldn’t faith be easier if you could ask for a donkey to talk and it happened without the help of Eddie Murphy? Would it be easier to believe if you saw a man who was crippled for many years suddenly get up and walk with the mere word from a man in the room with you? We don’t have these things. Many claim to see miracles today, and I am certainly not saying they don’t exist, but certainly not in the way they did 2,000 years ago. A child with cancer may mysteriously be cancer free at her next doctor visit, but I doubt any of us will ever see a stick turn into a snake.

Have you ever wished you could have the physical proof of God’s existence like those who were able to witness miracles first hand? Would it be easer to have faith?