When I was in seminary one of my professors said engaging with beauty helps us become discerning people. I loved the idea, but at the time it sounded too good to be true. And then I tried it out (okay, there was an assignment involved).

In my time engaging beauty I discovered it leads to truth at a very fundamental. And depending on where our hearts are at, and where God is leading us, we may discover truth about him, ourselves, others, or the world.

Even though my experience confirmed engaging beauty does lead to truth I wasn't sure how it worked -- and I really like to understand how things work.

Here is what I've come to so far:

When we look at something beautiful (and understanding how we personally define beauty is crucial to this process) it leads us to truth because at its root beauty reflects the kingdom of God. What God intended, planned, and created was beautiful.

It's like when a restoration artist of any medium sees a car in the junk yard, a dresser in the thrift store, or a scrap of discarded fabric they see the potential of the item -- they see it's true identity, not just the scars of the life it lived. And in working with and caring for the piece they restore it's purpose and meaning. In doing so they help others see it's truth, as well.

When we then take time to look, to really see, beauty (whether overt or hidden) we realign our souls. Like going to a good chiropractor, no longer distracted by the very real pain in our lives we get a glimpse of reality in God's already but not yet kingdom. And through resurrected eyes we see more clearly, and discern and steward from a foundation of truth.

• Self-portraits are more than our mug in the frame (of the camera). Although they can include our faces, many times meaningful self-portraits are like a great auto-biography: they give us a snapshot of who we are at the soul level. So allow yourself to think outside the box.
• Before you begin shooting, take some time to sit with the questions, and perhaps journal through them: Who am I? How do I see myself? Where have I come from?
  
• Allow yourself to be in-process. The goal is not to rush through, come to a new conclusion or realization about your identity...then photograph the outcome. The goal is to photograph in process. It will be messy. It may be uncomfortable. This is good.
  
• Give yourself (ideally) 2-3 hours to photograph your portrait.
• Share your favorite 1-3 photographs with people you trust. If you're comfortable, I invite you to share them here in the comments, or on our Facebook page. If not, please do share them with at least one person in your community who can listen well to your story of shooting your self-portrait.
  

• What was the experience like?
• How was it to think of yourself in the context of this self-portrait?
• What was the most surprising, or uncomfortable, part of the project?