A haven of rest for the weary…

Where do you go to recharge your creative batteries?   How about when you know you are weary and you just need to rest?    For me, as you likely have guessed from reading my other blogs here, that rest comes in natural settings.   Get me away from the screens and the screams and into nature scenes…

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I found a place last week where you can hear your heart beat.  The pictures above were on the way…it was a beautiful day!  But it’s winter here and where I was headed would soon show it.

I suspect with a high powered telescope or and 2000mm lens you could see the haven of rest from this spot.   It’s way up there…to the left…I think?

Jesus said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31).   When He speaks this into your heart you know the only answer is “yes Lord, show me the way!”

My haven of rest I was built for helps Pastors, Missionaries and other folks in Leadership roles to step away from the work a day world.  To step back and rest and reconnect with our Creator surrounded by His glorious handiwork.  It’s a wonderful place to be even in the winter time!

Here’s some pics along the way…

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Did you know a Sabbath rest is actually supposed to be fun?   Thanks Ken Shigematsu for your book, God In My Everything,  “Rhythms of Life” for that great reminder!  I found your book in my cabin, and enjoyed it so much!  (hint…click on the word Rhythms above for a YouTube of Ken speaking about the Sabbath).

This was the beginning of my Sabbath rest and  I was given a special (just right for me) retreat because God knows me.   God knows that when I need rest, I need space to unwind and be alone.  Airspace that is!

The cabin I was in was about as far away from the lodge and other cabins as it could be.  So that was great but what made it even more special for me was the fact that it was far enough away from airports, in class G airspace, and in the woods and away from any built up areas.    So I could play like a little kid for an hour or so a day with my flying camera and not violate any rules that I know of.   I fly purely for the joy of it. It’s a great hobby for a contemplative…you can’t possibly be camped out in your own mind-space when you have a drone in the air.  You’ll crash!  I use it to get my brain off of thinking about other things for a while and resting.

So, all I needed was permission from the Director of the Retreat to fly…and the Director of the Retreat Center gave me full permission.   Yippee!

Here’s some of my  experiments with the new camera on my drone.    I tried various settings and at different times in the day.  Some worked…some didn’t…but I had fun on my short Sabbath break!

In the above photo I stitched three together. I shot this on day 2 about 1 pm.

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Every day I was there the wonderful views changed….  As a recreation flyer it was the perfect place to play.

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As a photo guy I enjoy the challenges of light and subject … especially in the winter time.  And as it turned out, right out my cabin’s back door, I had several subjects to experiment with.   The valley below…the birds above…and drip…drip…drip… ooo  that’s neat looking too..

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If you are not bored yet with drone footage here’s some more of the raw footage: