Brett Sayles

My friend Hinsel kept posting photos of this beautiful place. I hounded him for a while and he decided to entrust me with its location. Whether that trust was deserved or not, I thank him from the bottom of my heart. Nestled out in the sage brush of Idaho’s high desert, is a location he named, “The Ersity of Was.”

It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. My wife and I headed out on a Monday morning to experience it. We got to drive the Jeep through a creek, met some cows and met a cowboy that was one of the most pleasant people I’ve ever met. Sitting on a rock watching the water flow by, all I could think about was how in the midst of all the troubles of this fallen world, the majesty of God’s creation still shines through.

The world is a mirror of infinite beauty, yet no man sees it. It is a Temple of Majesty, yet no man regards it. It is a region of Light and Peace, did not man disquiet it. It is the Paradise of God.

Thomas Traherne – Centuries of Meditations

I picked up Aurora HDR. I headed out, braving the pandemic to get some bracketed exposures. Here they are!

I woke up this morning feeling sick. My wife had been down with a fever for four days. I realized that it was really cold outside and the day before, our water delivery had come. Eleven big old bottles of water sitting on the porch. I went out to start hauling them in, and looked up. I see beautiful clouds all the time, here in Idaho, but this morning was awesome. Being a the stalwart photographer that I am, I grabbed my camera and headed out the door in my flannel pajamas. Here’s what I saw…

At about four in the afternoon, my friend Kevin and I decided to make the drive to Stanley to get some photos. It was cold… Here are some of my shots from the trip.

I took the day off, got up early and got some shots. On this morning during the festival, they let the kids take free balloon rides!

Here are a few photos from my short trip to the Fair. We spent more time looking for a parking spot than we did shooting…

You made a way when there was no way

And I believe I’ll see you do it again

I’ve seen you move, you moved the mountains

And I believe I’ll see you do it again

I’ll be playing with the worship team at Calvary Boise this weekend. During the week before playing, I make a play list on Spotify and listen to the songs while I work. One of the songs for the week is called Do It Again.

For some reason, the words hit my like a freight train this morning.

When I heard the words “you made a way when there was no way” my mind got blasted by images of moments from my past when this was true. Not casually true. Not kind of true. True.

First up was a vision of me kneeling in a dirty bathroom stall, praying. Yeah, gas station bathrooms are a mess and that’s where His promise stood. Five minutes before, some guy in a white, Fantasy Island suite (no joke) walked up to me on a corner in Thousand Oaks, California, handed me a little piece of paper and told me that God doesn’t get tired out and He hasn’t stopped following. The guy told me that it was time to throw down my weapons and surrender. He said that my treason would be pardoned and I could start over. That was a long time ago and I’m not sure what exact words he said, but that’s what I heard.

Then he walked away.

I felt like running. I also felt like there was no where to run. I was like a frozen rabbit that couldn’t figure out which direction to bolt to. So I ran to the nasty gas station bathroom.

I ran into the stall, locked the door, got on my knees and prayed. And cried. A lot. I’d like to say that when I got done reading the prayer on that tract that the heavens opened and something amazing happened.

Nope.

Well, the next image I saw was me walking through a parking lot at night. This was a few weeks after my stall incident. This lady named Janet walked straight up to me and told me what the next step was. I could go on, but what my little lyric-music-vision showed me, was that in that specific moment, mountains moved. It showed me that His promise to forgive still stands.

Images of me later, addicted to meth, drinking myself to death, the Secret Service breaking down my door… those came too. Images of my faithlessness came. Images of rebellion. After so much mercy I dug myself an even deeper hole. Then there I was again on my knees.

His promise was still standing…

What have I been reminded of this morning? I’m reminded that it doesn’t take digging your own hole and asking God to pull you out to know His faithfulness. My life might seem boring now, but I’ve seen mountains move.

I believe I’ll see it again…

Hopefully, the next mountains won’t be giant piles of my own making.