On Mission Photography by Bryan Nowak

I'm not sure which I enjoy most... Spring or Fall. Each has its own unique beauty, but while Fall brings the mind harvest season and putting to rest nature's covering, Spring is all about revitalization, life and new beginnings. I love the wide array of blooms that fill the forest floors and adorn so many trees in the Great Smoky Mountains and other locations around the southern U.S. I suppose the Dogwood is among my most favorite of flowering trees. However, most people mistakenly think that the white of the tree is the flower when it is actually a bract (a modified or specialized leaf) that surrounds the flower in the center. The bract provides the beautiful color that attracts the bee or other pollinating insect to the flower. The flower is the reproductive part of the plant that ensures a legacy or continuation of similar plants in the future. Like the bract, we ought to be attracting others to the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can reproduce Himself in others so ...

This was one of my favorite barns to photograph in the Townsend area, just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains boundary. It was difficult watching it slowly deteriorate. It was a sad day when mighty winds blew through and took it down completely. I've learned to stop and take the picture while I have the opportunity because:  I might not have the opportunity again, and  the opportunity may cease to exist by the time I pass that way again. Likewise, never take time with your family for granted because time is fleeting. Never forget to tell the ones closest to you that you love them. Take lots of pictures of them even if they think you're a nuisance... because one day pictures and a hole in your heart may be all that's left. This picture stands as a testimony to this truth. The splintered pile of lumber remaining in its place today is my witness. Take the photo when you have the chance. Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not ...

Why would God create a wildflower so beautiful even when in its short lifespan it could go completely unnoticed? Why indeed? Because He created it for His glory. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11) And that is the same reason that He created you and me. "And every one that calls upon My name, I have created him for My glory, I have formed him, and made him." (Isaiah 43:7) Even if you go unrecognized all your life, there is One who knows you and cares for you intimately because He made you just the way you are. And He receives glory when you show others His image in you and through you. Columbine (Aquilegia canadensi) Great Smoky Mountains National Park

One is labeled an unusual flower that must be photographed... the other a common weed that must be poisoned. Yet God placed both in the Great Smoky Mountains... each having their own unique beauty, place and purpose. How often do we judge a plant by other's opinions, a book by its cover, or a person by the color of their skin? May you see the value in all of God's creation before critiquing its worth and enjoy the extraordinary even in the ordinary. All things were created by God and for His glory. Who are we to devalue the handiwork of the Creator? "For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him." (Colossians 1:16) Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum) Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert energy from the sun. It is the process that allows plants to create organic molecules that they use as fuel/food. As Christians, we ought to look to the Son, Jesus, for our energy and life-giving nourishment to sustain us and help us thrive. Physical food sustains us temporarily but there is a fuel source that enables you to really live. When tempted by the devil, Jesus quoted scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3 about the power of receiving and taking in God's Word as opposed to just eating a meal of bread. Jesus answered, " It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4) And, as Jesus often did, He took that analogy of food one step further when He told his disciples, " My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work." (John 4:34) Jesus let it be known that the energy and fuel He received from God was not just f...

The puddle was almost too muddy and murky for a reflection.This reminds me of the story of David in the Bible. King David was known as a man after God's own heart, yet he allowed sin to creep in and muddy his relationship with God to where he no longer reflected Him with his attitudes and actions. There was only one way to be restored and made clean. Look at David's prayer very closely. Perhaps it ought to be the yearning of your heart as well. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret p...

The rails are shiny. Trains travel them regularly. But weeds are growing up in the rail bed. I suppose it must be a real challenge to constantly maintain the steel, timbers and gravel for thousands of miles of rail lines without having a few weeds here and there. Where am I going with this? Consider your life and activities. If you are a Christian then you may find yourself very busy with activities that abound with every church. Don't get me wrong -- activities are good if they fulfill the purpose for which you exist: to glorify God and lead others to faith in Him. But in the busyness, sometimes we can get weeds growing in our lives because we have failed to pray sincerely, study God's Word diligently, and practice Christ-like behavior and attitudes whether in the public eye or in our private times. Just like in your yard and this rail bed, weeds can get out of control quickly, and this is true for our lives too. Consistently walking and talking with God, learning and gro...