Refreshing Spirits, Nourishing Souls
“The most precious gift that one person can bestow upon another is gentle encouragement.” Phillip Keller
Faith. Family. Friends. Serving God. All of these things are important to her. Being a writer is one of the ways she lives out her faith and serves the One who first loved her. Cheryl's prayer is that you will be refreshed as you join her on her journey. Read More…
Wedding Inspiration Cards by Author
Cheryl Barker
Verbs of the Proverbs 31 Woman
Prisoner of Hope
Quieting Your Heart
Tender Mercies
7 Things I Would Tell My
Younger Self
God's Calling Card
Learning About Grief
What We Can Do When Grief Is
Compounded
Prayer for Wisdom and Direction
I'll Be Your Wall
Who Does God Want?
The Trenches of Faith
Staying Focused
Living to Tell About It
Morning Symphony
Adjusting Our Vision: Battling
Dissatisfaction
Secret Pain
The Blessing Is on the Way
What Will I Do When a Storm
Descends?
Love That Propels
Waiting Rewarded
Roots
Hungry For More
Prayer Changes Me
Confessions of a Choir Junkie
The Trickster
Winter's Beauty
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Dross Before Gold: Photography, Arts, and Other Skills
Compliments sure feel good, don’t they? I never dreamed they were in my future as I snapped photos right and left during our vacation to the Tetons and Yellowstone, several years ago, but that’s exactly what happened after I started sharing my photos.
Much to my delight, several people commented about what great pictures I took while on our trip. What fun to hear people say things like “Beautiful shot” or “What wonderful photos” after they’d looked at my albums on Facebook or the ones I posted here on the blog.
What they didn’t realize is that I took lots of bad shots in order to achieve the glory shots. They didn’t see the dross that preceded the gold.
Believe it or not, I downloaded over 750 photos to my computer after we returned home. Plus, I’d already deleted the without-a-doubt duds from my camera during the trip. After getting a chance to examine my haul more closely at home, I sent several more shots to my computer’s recycle bin. Even with that, I shared only a portion publicly. Bye- bye, dross. Hello, gold.
As I learn more about whatever camera I’m using and put in more practice time, I won’t have quite as much dross to sift through during future photo-athons. But you know what? I don’t mind the dross so much if I end up with some gold to enjoy.
Photography’s not much different from writing—or any other skill or art for that matter—in the dross and gold department. I write lots of so-so sentences before I finally get some good stuff. I delete and revise certain words or phrases as I type and get rid of others after closer examination. Then I select just the right ones to share with the world. Bye-bye, dross. Hello, gold.
Looks like the old saying “practice makes perfect” proves true once again. It’s up to us to decide if we’re willing to put in the practice to perfect the skill, to deal in some dross in order to gain the gold.
Is it worth it? My spirit says “yes!” Does yours say the same? Okay then—what are we waiting for? Let’s go for the gold!
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.“ Colossians 3:23 GNT
In what skills are you working to achieve gold?
*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early May. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive a $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.
*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.
*Flickr photo by photosteve101, Creative Commons License