something she said

"It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. The motive is everything. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart and he can thereafter do no common act." -A.W. Tozer

I first saw this in Charlie Peacock's Love Life cd.
It came to mind as a woman spoke at The Summit @ LW, a while back.
She asked about a "more ambiguous" art form. "how do I do this & proclaim God's glory?" [actually she said it so much better, more achingly, & more "from the heart" than this] So... I'll use my photography to try to "put an answer" to her question. [it is SO much easier to have courage from behind a keyboard!]
First, I'm not trying to "save somebody". To be simple, I can't. I can't even save myself. What's more...I'm not impressed enough with me to bother to save me if I could. [if you knew me like I do, you'd understand]
Maybe you [& I] are going about it the wrong way. I always liked that song by In Reach, called God you are. "...& God you don't need, to stand on my shoulders, to reach the waiting crowd, God you are..."
When I go out... on a Sat. morning... in solitude... camera in hand. It isn't to preach about God. It is to drink deeply of his creation. To celebrate, to be swept away by/in, to thank, to praise, to be in awe, of the one who made the world... in six days... with his voice. [imagine what the rest of Him can do!]
I guess I'm saying [or trying to] get lost in creating with the creator. Don't do it for Him... rather with Him. I think you'll both get more out of the experience. You don't have to worry about whether your art is guiding someone to God. For, maybe, by guiding someone to you, you can explain the relationship that you have, that inspires you to create the way you do. So they will ask you: "what inspires you to create with such passion?" or "How do you do it?" ...& an opening arrives.
I've been asked, how do you get such pictures? It isn't where I go... it's who goes with me. It isn't the camera it's the maker of the scene in the photo. It isn't my hands... it's His. I'm just loving walking with Him. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words... than my photos are thousand word thank yous, to the maker of all things.

May His grace drip from your fingers,
B