Long before CrossTrained Blog came into being, Crossing Nature Photography was. I discovered that I really enjoyed nature photography when my husband and I traveled to Ft Benning, Georgia for our son's "Turning Green" ceremony at his Basic Training graduation. We stopped at a natural bridge while passing through Alabama, and it was there that the beauty of Adonai's creation opened up for me in a whole new way.
Since then, I have taught myself about how to use the manual settings on my camera, to shoot with natural lighting and not a flash, about depth of field and much more. To enhance my proficiency I have done different photo prompts and challenges, used www.gurushots.com , and have spent several hours behind the lens on many different hiking and geocaching adventures, as well as just going out in areas specifically to spend the day shooting photos.
Instead of cluttering my personal Facebook page with so many photos, the page Photos by Lis was created, and would eventually be changed into Crossing Nature Photography. As a follower of Yeshua, and thankful for the fact that He chose to surrender His life for our salvation on a cross, I have a deep appreciation that my married name is Cross. I knew that I wanted to use my name somehow in the renaming of the page, and the phrase "We cross nature when we hike" came to me, thus Crossing Nature seemed the obvious choice. While I have done some portrait, flat lay, and still life photography, I have never been as passionate about them as I have nature photography, my granddaughter being an exception.
I never imagined that I would be writing a blog, and when I first started this journey, I thought it would be limited to breaking down the song He Is, the whole reason I began writing in the first place. The name CrossTrained is one I actually hijacked from my husband, and is also the name of his LLC, CrossTrained Services which provides law enforcement training and process service. While his implies, trained by Officer Cross, this blog implies, trained by the One who hung on the cross. Through this blog, Adonai has led me in various areas of the Word, showing me things I never noticed before, it opened my heart for the love of the Hebrew language, a language I want to learn to read, write, and speak. It has been a vehicle to help me walk out a word that was spoken over me over twenty years ago.
Now, nine months into this writing adventure, I find myself merging photography and blog. As I looked for photos to use for each post, I found myself utilizing some of my own, but it wasn't until the post "Even If" that I created a picture with scripture. At the time, I didn't really think about creating more, until one of the recent posts on Jeremiah 29. When I read the post to my mother, the last paragraph resonated in her spirit so much that she said, "I need that printed out so that I can read it every day." That sentence set me looking through my photos for one that I could combine it with. When I sent her the photo, she was so excited about it that it inspired me to do more as I felt led.
Each day, my morning starts with a cup of coffee and the Word. I read the daily Torah portions and the daily Psalms, coupled with Johnathan Cahn's The Book of Mysteries and Sapphires and most often that is when I will see a verse that makes my spirit leap and one of the photos I have taken will come to my mind. In other cases, I will look for the photo that I feel fits the verse and in doing so take a walk down memory lane of places I've hiked or been and relive some wonderful times through the wonder of photography.
It is said that no one paints a prettier picture than God. And I would have to agree without a doubt. There are times that I have lamented not having my camera on hand when I have seen such beauty and wonder in the sky or across a landscape, and there have been other times that while driving I have literally had my husband roll down his window and have taken a photo across him. The beauty, wonder, and miracle of Adonai's creation surrounds us. The question is, in this era of social media and other technological distractions, do we take the time to appreciate and see the beauty of the works of His hand? Do we stop and listen and hear creation sing praises to the One who by His Word spoke them into existence? It is my hope to capture a moment of His creation in still from, and bring it to life; an image coupled with His Word, so that He is glorified with each photo I take.
[5] Thus says God, Adonai, who created the heavens and spread them out, who stretched out the earth and all that grows from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it; [6] "I, Adonai, called you righteously, I took hold of you by the hand, I shaped you and made a covenant for the people, to be a light for the nations, [7] so that you can open blind eyes, free the prisoners from confinement, those living in darkness from the dungeon. [8] I am Adonai; that is my name. I yield my glory to no one else, nor my praise to any idol. [9] See how the former predictions come true; and now new things do I declare - before they sprout I tell you about them." Isaiah 42:5-9
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