Have you ever walked into a space, indoors or outdoors, and you could tangibly feel presence of El Shaddai (God Almighty)?

You could feel in your gut that that you needed to pay attention. That you needed to just shut up and be?

To just be.

That God wants nothing from you but your love.

Your heart worship.

God grabs your attention and you can only respond with praise and worship?

That’s what I try and capture with my photos. Those liminal moments between God and me, without words. These photos are camera prayers…where I am trying to record what God is showing me. Where I can say “Wow God” with my camera. It is an act of worship for me. When I go back and look at the photos, I am taken back to the moment between God and me when I saw God’s gift to me in that moment.

I know this sounds a bit dramatic—even over dramatic—but it is actually understating what I get from the photos.

I think this is why so many of the world’s religious places are so beautiful. I think this is why icons and stained glass have been so popular for centuries. We get this sense of transcendence when we go into these holy spaces. Often these experiences of God draw me closer to God and the Holy Spirit reminds me of verses in scripture, or song lyrics, to deepen my time with God. I believe that God speaks to us through what we see. Sometimes it breaks our hearts. Sometimes it gives us joy. Sometimes God uses it to motivate us. What are you seeing? Really seeing?

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, Most High; to proclaim your loyal love in the morning, your faithfulness at nighttime with the ten-stringed harp, with the melody of the lyre because you’ve made me happy, LORD, by your acts. I sing with joy because of your handiwork. How awesome are your works, LORD! Your thoughts are so deep! (Ps. 92:1-5, CEB)

I am now feeling compelled or called or pushed or strong-armed into trying to put some of that into words so that others can learn to lean into these holy moments. Or maybe God is just trying to get me to pay more attention to what he is saying through them as I try and write it down.

You may be able to get what I get from the photos. God may give you something else if you look at the photos with God.

Or, even better, you may be inspired to capture your God moments in your own camera prayers.

Or you may paint them,

or write poems,

or do a private journal,

or just talk to God.

I would love to use this blog as a place for you to share where you come into the presence of God.

El Shaddai, Ele-elyon na Adonai. Erkamka na Adonai.

A great book for getting creative with God is Waking up Grey by Jennie Schut.

I think I will go and listen to Amy Grant’s El Shaddai, the first “Christian Pop” song I knew! Don’t love these graphics, maybe I will do my own version at some point!