The Problem with Human Nature

One of the things that I can say I benefit from in having children is seeing the reality of how early Sin manifests itself in our lives. Our children are perfect examples, since their lives are still lacking a lot of the complexity of psychology and neurosis that we adults would attribute to.

Take my son Liam, for example. Liam is about 9 months old. He's finally discovered how to crawl and explore his world. One of the things we are discovering about Liam is that nothing is off limits to his curiosity. This is particularly true when it comes to areas of the house that we would rather him not visit, such as the shoe rack (where he loves to put all of our shoes in his mouth, one at a time), under the computer desk (for obvious reasons), and near bandit's dog dish (again, for obvious reasons). These rules just don't seem to apply to him in his mind. But that's not really the point. Liam is 9 months old, and we don't expect him to yet grasp the concepts of bacteria, viruses, and the imminent dangers of electric shock.

The amazing thing is when we put a whole lot of toys in front of him, he still seems to show less interest in them (even new toys, at times) than in the "off limits" areas we have designated. This kind of reminds me of the Garden of Eden in Genesis Chapter 3. God gave Adam and Eve paradise. He gave them love and everything they could want. They had full reign to anything except one tree. I can't imagine what was appealing about the that tree that the other trees didn't have. There was even a tree of life, which God didn't leave off limits. However, they were drawn and then ate from the forbidden tree, despite all the other things that God had given them.

Now, let's look at Liam: This morning I went downstairs to our basement to bring up a whole bin of toys, the likes of which Liam had never seen before. Our hope is that these toys would be a good distraction to Liam from the forbidden areas of the house. While it seemed our plan had worked, it wasn't more than 10 minutes later that I found this:


Where was Liam? Why wasn't he playing within the "toy paradise" that we gave him? Because his little sinful heart would rather be here:


Our hearts are always drawn to disobey our authorities as well as our God. Even before sin, Adam and Eve did it. Why should we be any better off than they? We have the curse of sin. Even little Liam at 9 months has this. Thankfully, he has parents who know of a Savior who can rescue him from this problem. Oh, it won't make him sinless (at least not in this life), but at least he will know that God loved him enough to give him a cure for it.

We have a lot to learn about ourselves, and sometimes I think children are great reminders along the way.

Thank you, God for reminding me each day that I need You through my children, because I know that my sinful heart would like me to forget.

New Photoblog address

I recently decided that it was time to move on to a different format for posting my photography. I was using a complicated method of using Flickr.com and Wordpress.com. These sites have their limits as well as made it tedious just to post 1 photo. The new site can be found at the following address:

http//jurina.aminus3.com

I hope that you will continue to come and view my work and photography there, and, as always, I welcome your comments and thoughts.

A shout-out to the little guy

Conventional wisdom states that while a large chain store, such as Walmart may offer lower prices and other extra conveniences , the small shops and stores lend a personal elegance to their business with quality customer service and a good trust-relationship between the employees and the consumer.

Usually, I just gloss over this sort of thing. I'm kind of a fickle person when it comes to parting with my money and ike to keep most of it, while at the same time have the convenience of quick-and-dirty "buy and fly" shopping. This can also be done online these days as well.

Recently, however, I took the opportunity to try out a local camera shop in my town. I had to get my camera's digital sensor cleaned and was faced with the choice of sending it away to a manufacturer, buying a kit and doing it myself, or taking it to the local shop and having them do it. After reviewing my options, I figured that sending it to the manufacturer could be both expensive and also separate me from my camera for too long. The cleaning kit was another option, however, I have never cleaned a camera sensor, and from what I gather, doing it wrong will cost you dearly in repair costs if you mess up. Being a bit skeptical about my abilities to clean my 1-week old camera myself, I chose to try out the camera store in town.

I arrived about 5 minutes after the shop closed and for the sake of persistence decided to knock on the door anyways. The shop owner eventually came to the door, heard my pitiful excuse on why I'm standing there after hours and decided not only to treat me with dignity, but to quickly allow me to drop off the camera and explain the cleaning process to me for reassurance. I was extremely grateful for his help and expertise. My camera was ready early the next day and when I check it, it appears the the service made things as good as new.

So to conclude, my experience with "the little guy" camera shop was a great one. They offered exceptionable customer service, proved to be efficient (and not too expensive, either). I can hardly expect that a larger camera shop would have opened their doors for me after hours, and my experience with larger stores certainly pales in comparison to how I was treated and respected at this place. Here's to the Little Guy!!!

Mom-o's Day

Each year, I'm finding that Mother's day becomes more and more special to me. Not because of my own experiences with my mom, but actually from watching another mother in my life grow in grace, wisdom and beauty each day: My wife, Megan. I remember how the first few months had been rough for her, and how the struggles of motherhood can be overwhelming. I think of how much she's grown since then, impressing me with the amazing work she puts into being a mom each day. I have to say that I know it's not easy being a mom. In fact its harder work than I could ever do. God makes special people when He makes mothers, and my wife is evidence of that in so many ways. Happy mother's day, Megan. I love you!

Ladies and Gentlemen:The Canon 30D has just entered the building

Ever since I've really gotten into photography in a serious way, I've been wanting a real Digital SLR camera. My work has given me ample access to the school's Digital SLR cameras, and I've been able to make lots of images using them, but the fact that the cameras were school property, and that my using them would sometimes be subject to their availability was somewhat bothersome. Also, I felt bad about "making art with someone else's paintbrush".

Well, the opportunity for me to earn some extra money came and I've been saving up for months and months to get a camera. After spending days and hours contemplating the brand of camera (Nikon or Canon) and they type of camera (entry-level SLR or pro-sumer SLR), I finally came to a decision and made my purchase. The camera came yesterday afternoon. With much joy and anticipation, I've already taken several photos with my new Canon 30D. Here is a test shot I've taken just today.