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Based on Galatians 2:20. Ink drawing by Art, who has Cerebral Palsy and is an active member of our church.
Do you struggle with fear, anger, lust, unforgiveness or hate in your life? Surrender it all at the foot of the cross of Jesus.
In return He gives peace, joy, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, healing, love, hope and holiness. The old self dies and we have new life in Christ. --- Wow! Jesus offers a GREAT trade-in plan!
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We anticipate
what is not yet
and practice now
your future
we say and sing
that all you have made
your creation is good
laboriously
so very slowly
we work out your promise
in hope and fear
and strive to build
a city of peace
a new creation
where you will be
our light, our all.
Give us strength, O God,
to persevere
and bring us to
a happy end.
Another small fragment from one of Huub Oosterhuis' contemporary prayers...
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"Lumen Christi!" "Deo gratias!"
The big Easter Adoration of the Risen Christ.
The living room at my grandmother's house, where my mother passed away, and I endured much physical and verbal abuse throughout my life.
The piano replaces the couch my mother died on.
3/1/12 Toronto, ON Canada.
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The Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents the New Creations Festival at the Roy Thompson Hall..
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Photo©DaleWilcoxPhoto/DWP
Once upon a time I was 185 pounds and a size 15.
Just by being allowed to live my life, go outside, ride a bike, and not be force fed, I'm roughly a size 10 right now.
Yuh huh ... I'm pretty sure the Romans said that too.
Behind me there's a spectacular view of an enormous wholesale fireworks warehouse (Patriotic Fireworks Inc.) just across I70. Must remember to bring tripod on the next drive.
I went to Lane Tech, graduating class of 2007. If you weren't aware, Lane is one of the largest high schools in Chicago, with over 4,000 students. It is enormous and the campus is ridiculous. I used to call it Hogwarts. I wish that I could have enjoyed the beauty of the school while I was there, but throughout my four years there, I was completely miserable.
It was both a safe haven and hell at the very same time. I could get away from my grandmother and be around a few people I called friends, but.... on this campus, I had friendships go sour, ridiculous drama, rejection from boys, pity parties, and got dumped during the Turkey Bowl in the stadium in 2004.
A deacon and worship leader at my church Metro Praise, one of my 7 roommates, but most importantly, my best friend. The girl who was there for me even when I hated her, the girl who lead me to Jesus, taught me about Him, and took me into her home when I moved out. Until/if/when my husband comes, she is the person I love the most on this earth and I would take a bullet for her.
As viewed from the intersection of I-70 and U.S. 40. Visit New Creations Chapel, 6400 National Road East, Richmond, Indiana.
from my testimony narrative.
testimony project | formspring | tumblr
this is my best friend; it feels weird to say her name is now vanessa vitale instead of vanessa vargas.. so i'll just keep titling my photos of her as "vanessa"...
Leilani: Metro Praise deacon, youth ministry worship leader, one of my 7 roommates, and one of my closest friends. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met, and has been there for me in times of need, always keeping her word.
Eli rocks, too. Really!
Circumstances at home didn't allow me to attend a Christian church with Vanessa. My grandmother, who I lived with, forbid me from going, and kept me smashed under her thumb of oppression in every way possible.
The devil had me in almost every kind of bondage you could think of, minus sex, drugs, and alcohol. I somehow evaded those things, but I was still miserable. I called myself a Christian, but I was slipping back into depression, suicidal thoughts, and hopelessness because of my loneliness and the abuse I endured.
" You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
I'm not going to say I was full blown bulimic, but I hated my body enough to try it a few times. After several failed attempts, I quit trying, but I tried to starve myself whenever possible.
3/1/12 Toronto, ON Canada.
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The Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents the New Creations Festival at the Roy Thompson Hall..
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Photo©DaleWilcoxPhoto/DWP
I grouted this one with real sienna pigment from the archeological museum where I work, so you don't see the difference with the terra cotta bowl I used as a base.
3/3/12 Toronto, ON .
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's New Creations Festival performance..
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Photo©DaleWilcoxPhoto/DWP
I had extremely low self esteem for pretty much all of my life. I was very overweight, and no matter what I did, I could never be happy with myself. No matter how I dressed myself, no matter how little or how much makeup I wore, I completely loathed looking in the mirror, and I cried very often about how ugly I thought I was.
Richard's shocking story led to a journey of recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
www.newcreation.org.uk/nccc/nccc_about_video2.shtml
“I jolt awake with what feels like electricity spiking into my heart, muscles tensing rapidly. As I wake, I hear a shout. It’s my shout. I’m screaming."
“I remember the pure dread, blackness, death. Bullets whizz past my head, grenades fly towards me, exploding a few feet away. I can smell cordite, feel sweat on my hands; see the sky, strangely blue. We’re outnumbered!”
“I’m covered in cold sweat and can’t breathe. I sip some water and try to go back to sleep. But it happens again and again through the night.”
Richard Rock has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) since he experienced life-threatening situations in the Iraq conflict. PTSD is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to traumas like those experienced in war. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, anger and crippling anxiety.
Richard, 40, was in Iraq working in VIP protection when he experienced several ambushes and other life-threatening situations.
“We were driving a client somewhere when we were ambushed by insurgents with machine guns and RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades)” remembers Richard.
“Our vehicle was hit multiple times. We raced toward the safety of a check point, only to find it manned by insurgents. They’d killed those who had been manning it and put on their uniforms. As we drove in, a bomb exploded and destroyed the rear of our vehicle.
“We jumped out and were attacked on all sides. One of our vehicles raced off, but we couldn’t. I and another lad were left, fighting back to back, totally outnumbered” says Richard. “We should be dead. Somehow, a vehicle came back, in the nick of time. We jumped into the back of it. I’m very lucky to be alive.”
Ironically, Richard was born to the sound of gunfire. It was the early 1970s in Northern Ireland. “My mother tells me she could hear shooting as I was being born” says Richard.
As a young man Richard’s desire to travel was strong. By his mid-twenties, he’d seen a short stint in the army, a spell at sea, a season working in a French vineyard, and even spent time in the French Foreign Legion. Then, after intensive training overseas, he began working in security and VIP protection.
“Worldwide travel, posh hotels, private planes, great money – I thought I’d arrived!” says Richard.
But sitting on a private plane at the age of 33, Richard was suddenly disturbed by an unexpected thought: “I’ve reached the top – and there’s nothing there!”
It wasn’t Richard’s first “spiritual moment”. At 10, he’d had an experience of God that had never entirely left him. At 14, he’d again experienced God powerfully at a Christian group at his school.
And in the middle of the ambush, bullets whizzing past him, Richard had prayed – and lived.
But despite his epiphany on the plane, Richard was not quite ready to change his life. It took some more ups and downs to bring him to that point. A failed marriage and the first outbreak of PTSD – leading at one time to an arrest for disorderly behaviour – brought Richard down to earth.
But fighter Richard fought his way back up and 2010 saw him living a comfortable life in an Egyptian penthouse complete with private swimming pool. It was sitting there, with the sea breeze wafting over him, that Richard once again felt the emptiness of it all.
“I turned the TV off” says Richard “and said to God ‘What do You want me to do?’ I felt Him saying ‘Return to community’.”
Richard’s chequered past had included a spell in a Jesus Army Christian community house. Now he felt sure he had to return – this time for good.
Weeks after he left Egypt, revolution took hold of the country. For the past two years, Richard has been finding peace and healing in a Jesus Army house in rural Northamptonshire. He still experiences the horror of PTSD and is receiving medication and counselling. Yet the love he gives and receives as a member of a loving community brings a much needed peace.
“I know we all have our differences, but the bond of genuine love irons out most of the problems faced in community” says Richard, adding “I’ve travelled all over the world and I’ve learnt this: you can’t leave your problems behind. And I learnt something about people: they’re all basically the same, wherever you go, all searching for one thing: a meaning to life.
“And that’s what I’ve found” says Richard. “I’m home.”
3/3/12 Toronto, ON .
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's New Creations Festival performance..
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Photo©DaleWilcoxPhoto/DWP
Well, Jesus Christ, I'm alone again,
so what did you do those three days you were dead?
'Cause this problem is going to last
more than the weekend.
Jesus Christ, I'm not scared to die,
but I'm a little bit scared of what comes after.
Do I get the gold chariot?
Do I float through the ceiling?
Do I divide and pull apart
'cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark?
And this ship went down in sight of land.
And at the gates, does Thomas ask to see my hands?
I know you're coming in the night like a thief
but I've had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique.
I know you think that I'm someone you can trust,
but I'm scared I'll get scared, and I swear I'll try to nail you back up.
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Today's Song: Jesus Christ by Brand New
I specifically chose this song to go with today, the Saturday before Jesus rose and conquered death so that all of us might know eternal life with the Father in heaven. It might seem a bit "risque" or out of the ordinary for me to post, but the truth is, I love this song.
I have related to every single word of this song at some point in my life, and I know that so many others have as well. But the questions posed in this song are questions I no longer have. I no longer live in fear or confusion of what might come of me after I die. I no longer worry if I've been "good enough" to earn the gold chariot or "bad enough" that I will lose it.
Instead, I live in the full assurance of the salvation He has promised me because I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is LORD over my life. I live in confidence of this, knowing it has so little to do with me, and everything to do with Him. He has forever changed my life, and I will forever love Him for it.
He gives me the gift of GRACE when all I know is shame. He gives me the gift of HOPE to conquer my despair. He gives me LOVE when I am completely undeserving. He gives me PEACE to calm every fear. And He died so that ALL would share in the same grace, hope, love, and peace that I have come to know so personally.
That is what this picture represents to me... the HOPE He offers to each and every person in this world to free them from any "chains" they may feel hold them down... the hope that we celebrate this Easter season!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17