Category: Photography

I try to worship God through words. And sometimes I run out of things to say. And honestly, my words can’t even begin to describe God’s glory and grace.

One of my hobbies and passions is photography. It’s a way for me to capture God’s glory.

So today, I’d like to offer less words and instead share some images that I find incredibly worshipful.

In addition to some of my work, I’m honored to share some pictures from my sweet friend Courtney. In the last year, she’s become an amazing photographer. Thanks, Courtney, for sharing part of your passion and your heart.

Do you have a favorite photo that you believe shows God’s glory?

I love nature. One of my favorite things to do is take long walks on nature trails. It helps me clear my head and focus on God. I can’t help but worship when I’m out in creation.

Unfortunately, summer in Florida doesn’t lend well to long walks outside. They’d probably have to send a search team out, only to find me collapsed from heat stroke on the trail. I tend to stay inside in the air conditioning during the intense heat.

So I love it when God brings the nature to me.

This is my new friend.

She’s in my front yard. This brazen little thing has wandered from the safety of the woods behind my house to the wide open space in front of my house. All for this.

She is eating all my bird seed. I don’t really mind. In return, I get to watch her from my window and take pictures. My husband keeps referring to her as “dinner,” and I have to keep reminding him that shooting deer is probably illegal in our subdivision.

I love watching some of God’s creatures up close. Their beauty and grace makes me smile.

Do you worship through nature? Have you had an up close moment with one of God’s creations?

As much as worship music often does not seem worshipful, being outside in nature does.

I recently went to visit an old college friend. She’s one of those friends who makes my heart smile. We usually end up having deep, real life discussions. She’s deeply spiritual, but has also struggled greatly with Christianity. I knew I could be open and honest about the crap going on in my worship world and she would totally understand.

On Sunday morning, we had originally intended to head to her church before I had to take the long journey home. Saturday evening before bed, we made a change of plans. We began talking photography terms (the “creative release” for both of us) and decided we would get up early to catch the sunrise on the beach. We packed our cameras up and went to bed early. (I was glad for the time change that weekend! We desperately needed that hour.)

We woke up the next morning groggy and disoriented (partly because our phones set themselves back TWO hours instead of one). We bundled up to prepare ourselves for the brutal wind on the beach. I slipped on two pairs of pants and grabbed an extra pair of socks, just in case. I borrowed a jacket and we waddled our way to the car.

We lamented the fact that Starbucks wasn’t open yet, and I commented that I hadn’t been up this early since my days of working at a coffee shop. As we drove through the quiet streets, I gazed at the dark horizon and wished yet again that I could be more of a morning person. I love the quiet of morning; unfortunately, I don’t always wake up so well. As I wiped sleep from my eyes, I teased her, “Whose stupid idea was this?” even though I was totally excited at our photographic experiment.

We arrived at the beach and discovered we were almost alone. Early morning fishermen were our companions. We grabbed our camera bags and tripods and trekked our way out to the beach. I set up and played with my settings, hoping that I would get it right. We had about ten minutes until the sun was over the horizon, so we snapped pictures of the intense waves that were washing onto shore.

It was peaceful, beautiful, and with the exception of the waves crashing onto shore and the click of our shutters, totally quiet.

The sun started peeking over the horizon and we began to rapid fire.

It was a bit overcast, so we didn’t get the drastic colors that we had hoped for, but it still turned out beautiful.

Standing out on that quiet beach with a dear friend was more worshipful for me than scripted music. No matter how confusing or overwhelming life gets, I can still sense God in nature. I don’t think I should be skipping church every week (although that’s been my latest tactic… avoidance is so much easier than actually dealing with the issues), but I’ll take the sweet worshipful moments when I can.

Question: What ways do you worship outside of church?