Lightkeeper's Journal

God and the Cloud

 

 

Photography and Article by Curtis Beaird

 

Exodus 13:17-22

17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

 

Thankfully, we can count on God’s leadership. Not only does he make a way. He also shows us the way.
And, that way can be surprising.

When “Pharaoh let the people go” in Exodus 13:17, the scripture tells us that God “led them” in the direction they should go.  However, He led them home not by the shortest route, He led them by the safest route.  He chose the longer route “by way of the wilderness” rather than “the way of the Philistines” for a kind and generous reason.

God is not only considerate of his children, He knows us well.  Sometimes, when the tired and weary meet enough resistance, they change their mind and return to a former misery.  This was the case with the recently freed Hebrews.  God was concerned that “when they see war, they may change their mind and return to Egypt.”  The way of the Philistines, while a shorter route, meant a battle the Hebrews were not prepared to face.  The way of the wilderness, while longer, was the safest route and the one that their caring God chose.

His leadership was unmistakable. Its evidence was something that everyone could see; and, was understandable to all.   God chose to be present in a cloud, a garden-variety everyday cloud.

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them in the way…..He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day….from before the people.” Exodus 13:21, 22.

Thankfully, we can count on God’s leadership. Not only does he make a way, he also shows us the way.

Note: I was thinking that I needed an appropriate picture to demonstrate this blog post; and, when I walked outside, the above picture is what I saw.

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Clouds Remind Us to Look Up

 

Goldenrod blooms in September and October in the U.S. and Canada.  

Behind the Goldenrod are fascinating cloud formations.  

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

Article by Norma Beaird

 

Clouds Remind Us to Look Up.  

When we look at the cloud formations, we cannot look down at the ground.  

We cannot look to the left or the right.  We must look up.  

The physical act of looking up forces us to look towards the Heavens.  

It reminds us that far above the clouds, above the Milky Way and stars, above the most far away galaxy is a sovereign God.  

He is a God Who sits on the throne in a glorious place of beauty, looking down upon us with eyes of love and a heart of mercy.  

When looking at the clouds and their billowing shapes, we are looking towards the sky and know, that even if rain is coming out of the clouds, we're receiving showers of blessings upon a parched Earth.  

Just as rain pours from the clouds to cure a summer of drought, God will flood our souls with streams of peace and rivers of joy.  

Every time we walk outside, we must look at the clouds.  The habit of looking up will keep our faith focused, knowing that answered prayers come from above, and not from down below.  All good things come from God, the Creator of the clouds and the Source of every good gift that we will receive today and tomorrow.

GOD 

...the Source of the Clouds, the Source of the Rain, the Source of Life.  

 

 Canada Geese soaring through the clouds over a rural Georgia wheat field

 

The extreme Georgia humidity contributes to the formation of amazing clouds.  

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Jesus...His Words in Red

 

 

Acts 1: 8 - 11

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.

We pray that you and your family, your friends and neighbors experience abundant blessings as we celebrate the glorious beauty of Easter Sunday, giving praises to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Friend and soon coming King.   We pray that you have experienced the saving power of His work on the cross, clinging to the eternal hope of salvation, the promises of His Word and the power of His Holy Name.

Glory to God in the Highest  

 

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

 

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

God's Canvas in the Sky

  

Beautiful cloud formation above a rural Georgia cotton field

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

Both of these pictures were taken on the same day.  It's amazing how the sky transforms from one minute or one hour to the next.  Every day that we wake up to experience another day of God's grace, we have the opportunity to encounter artwork on a grand scale.  

It's not in the Metropolitan Museum or Art or at the local art gallery in your city or town.  It's doesn't require the price of admission to enjoy the viewing.  

With much gratitude, I have named this celestial wonder.....

God's Canvas in the Sky

A lovely and most unusual sunset

 

 

Copyright 2014, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

Springtime in Georgia

 

 

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2014, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

 

 

Autumn Skies

  

Cirrocumulus clouds over South Georgia

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

Cirrus Clouds

 

 Cirrostratus Clouds

 

 

Copyright 2013, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

Change......For Sure

 

 

Article and Photography by Curtis Beaird

 

If clouds define anything, they define change.

Their shape-shifting is a fascination.

On first sitting, they appear full and fleecy. 

 

 

Without notice, they shift and move.

 

 

Without fanfare, they diminish and fade.

 

If clouds define anything, they define change.

Going, going......

Change, we are told, is the only constant.

Really?

Forming. Fading. Reforming. Disappearing.

Blown by the wind. Dissipated by the heat.

Really?

Who captains a ship crossing the Atlantic without knowledge of the North Star?

 Which ship's captain leaves port without a compass?

Can we manage our lives with any less of a guide?

 

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

 

 

Copyright 2013, Curtis Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Photography as a Teacher

 

 

Article by Curtis Beaird

Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

Even Photography can be our teacher. 

 

If a mind is a terrible thing to waste, photography is an excellent way to develop it.  The world we live in is filled with ever-changing variety. While a cloud structure may be given the name Cumulonimbus, there are no copies.  Each one is original to the moment we see it. 

The view through a camera lens first engages, then immerses the mind in that time of originality.  Questions present themselves. How long will it build?  How high will it climb?  Will the rolling gray edges expand and gather into the blue? 

With face fastened to the back of the camera, with my eye intent on every advantage that sight offers, my energy builds as the intensity of concentration gathers itself through each click of the shutter.  That moment.  That single moment has come and gone, and will never be again.  I made a record of the sighting.  The moment was not lost for lack of attention or focus.  I saw it.  I remember it.  I will share it.  I am a photographer.   

 

Photography taught me focus. 

Turning or sliding the barrel of a lens produces one sort of focus. That technical process produces the mechanical reproduction of what the lens is pointed at.  The sharper the better, unless of course; we prefer the soft focus of a child's cheeks or a puppies nose.  Gentle focus is also ours to produce.  Just turn or slide the barrel a little more or a little less. 

The focus that photography offers me is more a matter of attending to the subject.  First seeing, then appreciating what I see.  As Switzer put it, "The universe in a drop of water."  It is the focus of being captured by colors.  The reds, the greens, the blues as they blend, offering that "one of a kind" moment. 

Shadows play across the edge of the rose.  Light reflects, refracts and redefines the melting ice as a mirror of wonder and enchantment. Click. Click. Click.

Paying attention becomes more like breathing than grim determination.  Strident discipline and forced concentration are non-existent.  Flow replaces the brittle edges of effort and will. "I can" replaces "I must."  The moment becomes what it is - eternity.  The tattered is stitched together.  Life is made whole.  Click. Click. Click.

 

Photography taught me Faith.

I love clouds. Their boiling immensity of grays and blues.  Their fleeting wisps of thin whites playing free and easy on a wind only they can make visible.  Both the bold and powerful, the fluffy and gauze-thin streaks playing against a blue background called sky, so rich that it takes your breath away.  It has forever held me spellbound.  

While Joyce Kilmer said, "I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree," I would say, "I think I will never see a poem as powerful, as captivating, and awe-inspiring as a cloud."  And then, it is gone.  Clouds in the spring and early summer form and reform.  They appear in all their unique wonder. I scramble for my camera. 

Where is the memory card?  It's in the slot on the side of the computer.  Grab it.  Flip the door on the edge of the Canon.  Slid.  Snap.  Move.  I'm out the door.  Back at the spot in the yard.  The perfect angle with the green of a huge pecan tree as foreground. The exact spot where I saw the cloud shaping and shifting.  But wait. What happened?  It's gone. 

Thirty seconds in the life of a cloud is forever.  Whoever said, "The only constant is change" must have learned it from a cloud. 

As it often turns out, the best cloud I ever saw has always been the last one I didn't manage to photograph.  From imagination-powered fascination to a sense of loss is a photographers periodic experience.  That is the dark side of fascination.  Some really do get away. 

The experience is common enough that we even invented a term for that moment when we are captivated by a visual moment and capture it right then and right there.  It's called the "grab shot".    

Then it dawned on me. Like the manna from heaven that was fresh every morning, there would be another cloud.  Then another and another.  Each one offered by the creator God, Who is endless with His offerings and generous with His bounty. 

Now, instead of lamenting the loss of the last and presumably the best cloud that I missed and will never see again,  I enjoy and share the many I have photographed.  I celebrate the many more waiting to appear in all their beauty and grandure. The best cloud?  I will see it tomorrow. 

Click. Click Click. 

 

 Copyright 2013, Curtis Beaird.  All rights reserved.

Clouds and their Creator

 

 

 

Article and Photography by Curtis Beaird

 

I love clouds.  I learned their basic names in seventh grade science.  There were low clouds called cumulus, flat on the bottom and fluffy on the top.  The middle clouds, the big, tall and boiling cumulo-nimbus.  The upper clouds that looked like thin wisps of white streaks high in the sky called cirro–stratus.   I liked them all.    

From the slight puffs of free-floating white to the rain-filled lightning-streaked thunderstorm, clouds have always been a fascination to me.  Their quiet presence floating free in a blue sky......  Their ever changing forms and shapes as they drift on a breeze or hustle by riding a high wind..... They all fire my imagination.   I always wondered why? 

I found the answer in the Bible. 

From Genesis to Revelation, clouds are important to their Creator.   It was a simple cloud that formed the backdrop for the rainbow that would remind everyone who saw it of God’s covenant.  Clouds and rainbows translate into the promise of God’s care.

A cloud was critical to the Hebrews in making their Exodus from Egypt.   Even in their wandering, they would find a guide.

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud…...”

Exodus 13:21

 Then, when Israel “looked toward the wilderness.…..the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.”  Exodus 16:10. 

Whatever clouds might mean, to me, they remind me of the presence of God.

Clouds were important to the unfolding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Once again, God chose a cloud to both signify His presence and to announce Jesus as his “beloved Son”,  Mark 9:7.   At that same moment, instructions were given to three of his disciples, “……listen to him.”

Following his death and resurrection, Jesus describes the future of his disciples as “witnesses” of Him from Jerusalem “to the uttermost part of the earth".  Then......

"while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

Acts 1:8 - 9.

In the last book, a disciple named John has the last word.  “Behold” he says, offering everyone an invitation not only to listen, but to also look and see.  

“…….He (Jesus) cometh with clouds …”   Revelation 1:7  

 “ I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”   

Revelation 1:8