It was a smoky afternoon in Montana. That was the story of the week, if I'm being honest. But challenging situations caused us to travel, to look, to try something different. Which I'm actually glad for. But on this particular day, we ended up driving all over. I can't recall the original plan, but it fell apart, and we drove northward to one mountain range in particular, if my memory serves me correctly. Montana is full of back roads, dirt roads, and roads that you can't rea

It's really hard to believe today marks twenty-five years since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. It's also hard to believe that an entire generation has been born and come into adulthood since that time. It's hard for me to believe, as well, how quickly it seems that we as a nation have forgotten those events. My desire with this blog is not to be highly political or unnecessarily controversial—meaning I don't feel the need to make bold accusations about leaders

If you've followed me for any time, you've likely noticed some recurring themes. From nostalgia to getting back on track, showing up when others might not, or just taking the next step because you can't see past it, these are common themes for me as I continue this venture. But they're themes that are important for all of us, quite frankly. I suppose nostalgia can be important in helping us remember our purpose. Sometimes we do have to take a step back, look at the big pictur

Do you remember back in the nineties when TV shows would have recap episodes? A couple of people would talk and remember something. Then the screen would get all fuzzy, chimes or some dreamy music would play, and then there would be a scene from an earlier episode. I suppose I do something like that on this website at times. But hey, I was a nineties kid. It is amazing to me, however, that here we are, around a year in. By God's grace and with His help, I've been able to writ

I mentioned the other day that I am often asked Bible questions. A lot of those times, if I'm honest, seem to revolve around my views on the end times. Now, this post isn't the time or place for me to talk about my beliefs on the topic, but I had a thought I wanted to share. If you're not familiar with the various views of eschatology (the study of last things), then I may link to a few articles soon to help you understand the differences. Regardless of the view, there are es

I get asked questions at work sometimes. Okay, a lot of times. And often, they have to do with certain stances that I have Biblically. I don't mind the questions, and I run with it. Sometimes it leads to great conversations; other times it's simply an opportunity to mess with my coworkers. But all in all, when disagreement strikes, I think we've done a decent job of not being angry with each other. I am incredibly thankful to God for that, because on our own, it would be easy

Not the typical photograph I would go for, but when conditions are what they are, you have to make do. Is it everyone's cup of tea? Perhaps not. But it actually is one of my favorite shots from my recent trip. It tells a story. And those are my favorite photographs. Mountain vistas, alpine lakes, wildflower meadows, epic sunsets brought on by afternoon thunderstorms. These are all things that come to the mind of a photographer when they think of the American West in summer. B

I can hardly believe it: Three hundred posts. I have to stop and let that sink in, honestly. But I am thankful that God has given me that. I look forward to what He will do from here on out. As with my previous mile-marker posts, I wanted to share highlights from the previous hundred posts, and today that means sharing my Top Ten posts from that stretch. I hope that this work has been helpful and meaningful to you, and that it has and will continue to bring honor to God. Now,

Greatest shot of all time? No. But a stunning scene that points to God's beauty and creative power? I believe so. I'm in Montana with a friend of mine. A big part of why I'm here is because it's a spectacular place to photograph, and lately I've been wanting to be better at photography. But, as you have probably seen in posts I've written on the topic, photography itself can be a challenge. If you've ever played golf, then you know how it is. You may have all the knowledge in

The light was looking pretty good. That's what I was thinking as we cruised along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park the other night looking for a sunset. The weather had been promising a couple of days prior. But I hesitated and opted to wait for another day. So, it would be the last opportunity to venture into the park before my upcoming trip to Montana. I wanted to make it count. A particular location I know of seemed a good option. I had scouted a couple of shots i

If you haven't already gathered from many of the blogs on this website, I'm a tad bit nostalgic. On a walk recently, I got thinking of all the small adventures I've had in life. Nothing crazy really. Many a solo hike in Shenandoah or other parks. I even briefly thought of what the top three might be. But it's a tough choice, maybe something I can write about at another date. Then, I got thinking about life in a broader sense. My spiritual life and those adventures as well. It

This will be my 250th post. And, while I certainly wish that this thing launched into the stratosphere off the bat, the reality is that endeavors like this typically take time. Sometimes, a lot of it. For much of the time up to this point, I also recognize that, perhaps, the direction hasn't been clear. Is this a photo site? Is it a ministry site? What is it? I hope that with the recent name change and the content I have put out, the answer to that has become clearer. I trust

Continuing the theme for the week, today I want to share this podcast from Fortis Institute on rejection/fear of man. I'm not going to admit that I deal with this personally, I wouldn't want you to think less of me. Facetiousness aside, it was a pretty good listen. Fear of man is a snare, as the Proverbs say (29:25), and is something I think a lot of us deal with. And, tying in to this weeks theme, can be a definite source of anxiety for many of us. If my memory serves me, a

Well, Kingdom First Photography is now Upward Focus. I had been contemplating a name change for quite a while, as I felt the former name was confusing. I mean, why is this landscape photographer posting about the Bible and mental health and foster care? I can understand the confusion. Photography and Scripture have been a major part of my life. This was always meant to be a place where they join. Even so, I felt a name change was in order before this thing could really move f

Image Credit: Unsplash The current state of this world can cause us a bit of distress, to be sure. But it struck me today upon hearing yet another piece of distasteful news that that feeling that we have deep down when we see something unjust done to another person, is a normal response to wickedness. Now, what we do with that response of course is another matter, and both sides of this must be guarded and guided by Scripture. But we all long for a day when justice will reign

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." - Genesis 1:1 If you were to ask the question: "what is the most well-known Bible verse?", Genesis 1:1 would arguably be one of the responses you would receive. It's a very familiar verse. It is also an incredibly foundational verse. Regardless of what comes next, if we stumble over this verse, we'll stumble over what follows. "In the beginning", that is, at the start of time, the beginning of creation. There was only

For this trip report, instead of re-write the events of the day, I realize I had actually written out a draft of a post the day of. So, what is written below (with some corrections, etc. ) is from September 27th 2025 while in Montana, a day of photography, challenges, and a lot of cows. As I've mentioned in recent posts, I am currently away from home. This has inherent challenges in and of itself, especially with blogging. But I'm determined to continue on writing. Maybe th

A couple days ago I shared the biggest influences I've theologically, and then a video from Todd Friel about Ray Comfort (two of my biggest influencers). So today I'm going to share something from my third mention, R.C. Sproul. I would argue that one of his greatest contributions in terms of messages is his series on the holiness of God. Instead of pick out a single message to share, I commend to you the entire series. They're not long messages, and he is so easy to listen to

I recently shared my top three photographic influences. And so, today, I'd like to share my top theological influences. It can be especially dangerous nowadays with the technological advances we've made, to fall into bad teaching. There's a LOT of bad theology out there, and a lot of things that aren't all that helpful. That said, there's also a wealth of good, quality, sound doctrinal teaching as well. Couple caveats: first of all, we must always be careful to not elevate me

While the direction of this site is shifting some, it doesn't mean that photography is not going to continue to be a part of it. It's a major factor of what I want to showcase here, and it's a good way to document God's creation, and the story that He is bringing about in this world. It's a skill that I need to continue to grow in; we never arrive, we're always growing. This is true of everything in life. But what has influenced me photographically? What factors have brought