R's rue

Some of you may recall that for quite a few years I have been contributing photographs to a British photo-mapping site called Geograph. In total, I have contributed over seventeen thousand five hundred pictures. The site itself has received 7.5 million images from 13,761 contributors. I am just a small fish in a large pond. Now when you submit your photos to Geograph, you do so on the understanding that your images will be available for others to use as long as copyright is always acknowledged. Many organisations such as news services or publishers have come to view Geograph as an incredible free resource. Let's say you need a picture of a particular village to illustrate a news report about a fire or a car accident. All you need to do is go to Geograph and press "Search". No need to send a photographer. Or maybe you are writing a book about English cathedrals and you need photo-illustrations. There's no need to drive up and down our motorways because you can find...

 Forty observations 5.  I can be upset, but my anger mustn’t fester. I don’t have the luxury of anger. It only triggers my anxiety and depression. Those two things may not leave anytime soon. I need to learn to cope. I’ve not coped with my past or present. I’ve been reminded of it this week.  6.  When I can’t internalize God’s words, I turn on gospel music. The African-American church loved me in a way I can’t explain. Much like churches in foreign nations have brought me peace. I immerse myself in a culture that loves me without expectation.  7. The world may be cruel, but I must not repay with cruelty. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I’m learning this very deliberately. If I repaid all the misdeeds of others with meanness, it wouldn’t cease. My lineage is an eye for an eye, but my Savior demands the opposite.  8.  As long as I’m able to live I’ve been given the directive to love as He has loved me. That is a goal to actively seek. I am hopeful to ...