5 Photo Friday #8 – People Portraits!

Happy Friday, hope you have a good weekend coming up. It’s Father’s Day weekend so I thought today’s theme should be people. Obviously I’ll include a picture of my awesome dad. See if you can pick him out of this lineup of my favorite people photos. Check out more photography on my SmugMug page here.

Play Ball. This guy is a friend of mine in Nashville, Tennessee. He has vintage baseball stuff and he also learned how to ride a unicycle. A man of many interests for sure.

Drop A Line. Fishing is fun for everyone. Men, women, kids. Of course, it’s more fun to actually catch the fish! This young lady was walking out to the end of a pier with her father. Hope they had success!

Peek-A-Boo. My niece and I went exploring one day and we stopped for a few photos. Don’t worry, we didn’t get any ticks or bitten by any gators on this particular exploration.

Golden Hour. Sunset is great for photos… or just a walk along the shore. Both are happening in this picture in Florida near Henderson Beach State Park.

The Man. My mom and dad joined the gym this year. They love being active and I had no idea they’d be there more often than I am! One day I was doing the stair climber machine and my dad was over on the treadmill. I thought to myself, “No one here has any idea they’re in the presence of a real hero.” He lives a life of service to the country, his family, and the community. If they knew everything he’s done in his military career, his work around the country and the world, they’d be strolling by secretly snapping selfies for sure.

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-Out of the Wilderness

Sports are simple, Simone… part 2

I’m pretty sure I’m the 3,103,928,647th person to offer up personal thoughts about the dialogue (is what we’ll call it) between Simone Biles and Riley Gaines. Read the first post from yesterday here. A friend of mine read it and pointed something out that I didn’t catch at the time. I stated a few talking points about the situation between the two athletes, mostly stating that Simone’s image will be tarnished for her harsh response to an X post from Riley. I went on to talk about more stuff going on in the entertainment industry and finished with a thought about grace. How we all need it. But this last portion was somewhat incongruent with how I’d presented the Simone/Riley situation. I wasn’t typing with any sort of grace towards Simone, someone who needs grace just as much as I do, as much as Riley does, along with everyone else in the world.

Here’s the thing, though. My showing grace to Simone (or you showing grace to Riley if you find yourself more on Simone’s side of the issue) isn’t really about Simone or Riley at all. They don’t need my grace. They don’t even know me. It’s a lot like one of the Madea Tyler Perry movies. I can’t remember which one but they were talking about forgiveness. I think an elderly mother was imploring her daughter to forgive her cheating husband. But the wise mother said the forgiveness isn’t for him, it’s for her. To forgive him is part of the process of healing for her, virtually unrelated to his acceptance or rejection of that forgiveness. By holding on to the hate, she only hurts herself. To forgive him is to let go of the hate.

Transferring that thought to real life, this grace I should have towards people I don’t agree with (and them towards me) is extended towards the person but it’s to help me not hold a grudge, not be bitter, to have the ability to overlook whatever the offense is. Riley and Simone disagree about transgender involvement in single-sex sports. Riley should show grace to Simone but not for Simone’s sake. It’s for Riley’s heart to remain soft, open, and kind. Simone should show grace towards Riley but not to boost Riley’s ego, rather to let go of bitterness, expectations, and to keep a tender heart.

When I posted what I did yesterday, I could’ve included this part about grace; who it’s for, why it’s important, but I hadn’t really thought about it until I heard from my friend. I think the Lord uses all kinds of situations to help us grow. We’re certainly not born with every admirable quality so today I’m grateful to be even just a tiny bit further down the road towards a guy with characteristics God likes.

-Out of the Wilderness

Sports aren’t that complicated Simone…

A few Public Relations teams are running around putting fires out this week, huh? Everyone and their mother is aware of the back-and-forth between former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines and former Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. In the words of every child, she started it! Wait, that doesn’t really clarify anything. Factually, Simone started it then Riley jumped in to defend herself. The most recent thing I read was from Simone where she said these are “sensitive, complicated issues.” Umm. OK? A lot of people are seeing right through her PR-prepared statement and disagree about the complexity of the situation. In men’s sports, men play. In women’s sports, women play. There. Now it’s all untangled.

Simone was once a beloved figure of the American work ethic, a championing voice for women and sports but her image cracked a little last year when she publicly called on Biden to “make some things shake” as he prepared to leave office. *Eye roll* She exposed herself as someone who has a lot of muscle but not a lot of original ideas. Now with the unprovoked blasting of Riley Gaines, Simone is turning into a villain. From being body-shamed to body-shaming. I guess we can say we’ve lived long enough to see the hero become the villain.

The people on her PR team are about to earn every dollar they make.

And then there’s Michael Tait, the guy from Newsboys and DCTalk. He recently confessed (after being found out) to some unsavory behavior– to put it lightly. His public image will never be what it once was. His hidden activities coming to light reminds me of a couple of other people: Comedian John Crist and also Elvis Presley. John’s character trajectory is kind of like Michael Tait’s. A big story coming out, he apologizes, gets help, etc. John is further along in the recovery stage, of course, since his dark side was exposed a couple of years ago. Both accusations of John and Michael are terrible, I want to start there. Nothing they did was beneficial to really anyone involved, and a lot of people close to the stories were hurt (or so I assume). But because both guys are Christians, there is an almost unspoken belief that they’re living “above reproach.” Had any other person not known for being a Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, etc, done what these guys have confessed to, it would be called… Tuesday. In fact, I’d say most people in the entertainment industry partake in the same thing, probably even today while I was writing this post!

Obviously, there is a need to comfort the victims who didn’t consent to what went on behind closed doors, do our best to help them recover and regain a zest for life, as well as love (which covers a multitude of sins) the sinner. After all, are any of us really good anyway?

Elvis. He was on drugs, sleeping around, and doing who knows what with who knows who. I wasn’t alive back then but I imagine if the culture was anything like it is right now, he’d have to go on a big apology tour, admit he’s a terrible human being, and withdraw into the shadows of society never to be seen again. Wait, maybe that’s what he did. People do claim they see him around. #ElvisSightings

We need to show each other grace. Justice when it’s needed, of course, but remember we’re all in this together. You have your background and opinion on things, as does the person next to you. They may agree with you, they may not. You may love what I wrote today or you may hate it. Actually, if you loved it chip in $2 and if it ticked you off, donate just $1. I’ll use this as an unofficial poll. 🙂

Donate to Out of the Wilderness here

-Out of the Wilderness

When the video doesn’t match the song

I love when people have a sense of humor. This week’s news is all about riots and Riley Gaines vs. Simone Biles, but let’s all take a second to forget all the drama and laugh a little. Where have these videos been all my life? Below are a just a few “video doesn’t match the song” clips. Enjoy!

If those don’t make you laugh, then something is seriously wrong!

-Out of the Wilderness

I do workouts next to a restaurant

It’s the afternoon and I’m walking through the parking lot in front of the gym. As I think about what I’m wearing– a dry fit shirt, athletic shorts– and carrying a water bottle and a towel, there are other people walking in this same parking lot but dressed quite a bit differently. They’re walking towards the restaurant connected to the gym. I’m underdressed… except that I’m not going to the restaurant. Now I feel uncomfortable but I don’t know if it’s for me or for them.

45 minutes later and I’m on the way out. Except now I have an empty water bottle and I’m really sweaty, walking alongside people arriving at or leaving from that restaurant. I guess it just seems weird to me that there’s a restaurant sharing a wall with a gym. Doesn’t it ruin the atmosphere for anyone trying to have a decent evening out? Pulling into a parking spot, making sure your shirt is tucked in, walking hand-in-hand with your significant other, but then glance around to see people in gym clothes trying to get buff. It must break the mood, right? Plus, connected to the other side if this restaurant is Dollar Tree.

It’s kind of like seeing an 8 in a group of 5s. Something just doesn’t fit. But I guess it’s nice that we can all coexist in this strip mall parking lot. Howdy, I’m Ben. I’m going to the gym to become a better triathlete. Have a good dinner!

-Out of the Wilderness