Author: ltross17

I heard something today that made me pause. A woman said “Sometimes the greatest gift we can give to people is to receive the help that they’re offering.”

The idea of giving and receiving are always a bigger topic this time of year.

Receiving help is HARD. It’s humbling. But it’s absolutely part of the life experience. Some have more than they need. Some have less. And we often complain about God making things so unfair. Why would He do that?

The more I’ve thought about this, the more I think He’s just waiting to see what we’ll do with it. “There is enough AND to spare.”

Some have more. And some have less. And it’s our collective job to figure out how to redistribute. How to take care of each other. How to show up in love and make sure people know “we got you.”

Each year I do some version of help for my local homeless community. You can read ALL about why HERE and HERE .

This year, if you’re looking for a place to give, I would LOVE your help. My heart is still, and always will be, with the homeless. But my heart this year is also with the working poor. The ones who aren’t homeless, but who are barely scraping by. Not sure if they can cover rent, let alone pay their other bills and buy food. I am aware of three families in this situation. People I know and love.

So. Whatever money is donated will be used to:

1. Buy new socks and other needed items for the homeless community in Utah (socks are like gold to people on their feet all day).
2. Buy blankets for the homeless to help with the winter cold.
3. Provide Christmas (money needed to get kids gifts), pay some past due bills, and get some groceries for the 3 families who are just trying not to drown. Sometimes people just need a little boost to help them finally get ahead.

I know it can feel impersonal to just give money, but I also know many of you are stretched on time. So you can make a HUGE difference with any amount you give, and I’ll take care of the rest.

This isn’t just money. Or things. This is showing up. This is love. And love DOES things.

“People are not just objects to satisfy–Here’s your green soup; now go sleep on a cot.  We are meant to hold the promise of life to others.  Start treating people with dignity and respect.  Start doing that, and the world–cannot–will not–stay the same, because people respond to being loved.”

People respond to being loved. And here is a great opportunity for all of us to love. Super grateful for all of you.

If you want to participate:

Venmo the money to me, @lindsayross17 (my profile photo is me on a little motorcycle) OR

Paypal to [email protected] (be sure to mark that you’re sending it to friends and family or they’ll charge a fee).

Or if you’re close to me (and know me), feel free to just drop some cash by or I’ll come pick it up.

Any questions you can e-mail me [email protected]

As awesome as school pictures are (and by awesome I mean great blackmail for the future), once my own kids started school I decided to do my own head shots and offer it to others as well.

If you’d like an alternative/replacement for the traditional school pictures that no one ever displays, this is for you.  They’re also nice to have for those times you need a picture of your kid (for a school project, grandparent, special occasion, etc) and realize you don’t have any where they aren’t being a complete booger.

The cost is $10 per kid OR $40 per family (so if you have 3 kids, it’s $30, if you have 4 or more kids it’s $40).  This will include a vertical and horizontal headshot of each kid with a white background.

If you want a GROUP photo of all of your kids together, you can add that on for $25.  

Pictures will be edited in color AND black and white and you will receive a high-resolution digital copy (via Dropbox) so you can print whatever you want.  Cheaper (and cooler) than school pictures.  Non-school age children are welcome as well.

Our school allows us to just buy the class photo, so my kids still get their school picture taken and we just purchase the class photo (in elementary).  Then we use these alternative photos as our yearly photos.

I will be taking “school picture” head shots in LEHI (I will e-mail you the address after you sign up) on Wednesday, September 4th, Friday, September 6th, Monday, September 9th and Thursday, September 12th.

Click this LINK to sign up for Wednesday, September 4th

Click this LINK to sign up for Friday, September 6th

Click this LINK to sign up for Monday, September 9th

Click this LINK to sign up for Thursday, September 12th

Sign-up times are first-come-first-served so if a specific time works better for you, signing up ASAP is a good idea (I’ve run out of time-slots each year).

Once you sign-up, please be sure to make your appointed time.  If you need to change your time for any reason, please do it as soon as possible so someone else can take your time-slot.

You only need ONE TIME SLOT PER FAMILY!  (Each kid only takes 1-2 minutes plus a group shot if you want to add that on so just 10 minutes per family is enough time).

If these dates/times don’t work for you, I will probably be doing a make-up date for those who can’t make it.  E-mail me to let me know you are interested and we’ll try to work something out.

The head shots only take about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the moods of the kids (because you know, kids).

Please mention in the comments (on the sign up sheet) how many kids you’ll be bringing and if you want a group shot or not.

A few days ago a text message popped up on my phone from a life-long childhood friend that said “You’re on my brain. How’s your day going?”

It took her maaaaybe 10.5 seconds to send depending on how well she paid attention in keyboarding class in 7th grade. But those ten seconds made me instantly feel seen and loved.

I think at our core, we all want to be doers. We want to be reliable and loyal and consistent and constant for the people in our lives. We WANT to show up.

A friend/family member gets diagnosed with cancer.  The infertility treatment didn’t work, again.  A child dies.  Someone loses their job.  A child is diagnosed with an incurable illness.  Their dad unexpectedly died.  The neighbor lost his job.  A friend with small kids has the flu.  A friend has depression.  Someone’s just having a hard day.  A new baby is born.  An addict continues to wreak havoc on their family.  We can’t stop thinking about a certain person even though they seem fine. Our strong, independent friend needs to feel seen and loved.

The stories are endless.  And we find ourselves saying “What can I do to help?” or “Call me if you need anything.”  The problem isn’t that we don’t want to help.  The problem is we really want to DO something.  But often can’t figure out what to do.

This was a perpetual problem for me. I wanted to help but didn’t always know how. And thus was born the Helping Others Guide. With contributions from dozens of people who have been through all the things, this comprehensive guide will move us past the “what should I do” part and get us to the actually helping part.

This PDF guide can be downloaded straight to your phone (or desktop or tablet) for instant access when someone’s name comes to mind and you want to DO something for them or show up in some way.

Included in the guide are:

• General ideas for ANY situation
• Guidelines and suggestions for taking in meals
• Specific ideas for specific situations
• Huge list of things to take or drop-off to someone in immediate need or to someone who just needs to be loved
• Acts of service we can do for other people
• The best chemo care package suggestions from chemo patients themselves
• Motivation to get to the DO part of love

“Love is never stationary. In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it or keep planning for it. Simply put: love does.” Bob Goff

To get the guide, just click the “I want this” button below!

I want this!

This quote from Brene Brown really resonates with what this guide is all about:

Often we make showing up for people harder than it needs to be. The first step is a willing and empathetic heart. The second step is to just.show.up. This guide will help you do both.

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written anything, but I’m aiming to bring it back.

I’m still convinced reading is one of God’s greatest gifts. Books are just so dang good. I started sharing the books I read each year back in 2016, and here in 2017.

Here are the books I read in 2018. I was down a little bit on reading this time due to an entire house remodel (so so glad that’s over) but hoping to ramp it up this year.

Also, for anyone who loves reading as much as I do (next to photo management stuff this is the thing people ask me the most–book recommendations), I started an Instagram account dedicated solely to books I feel worthy to pass along to others.

You can find it on Instagram: @lindsayrossbookclub

On to the books.

My top 5 in no particular order.

1. Love Does for Kids. If you have kids, get this book and read it WITH them. We read a few chapters each night and my kids loooooved it. The stories are engaging and so so good. Perfect message for the world we live in.
2. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. This isn’t in the genre of books I normally read, and I can’t even put my finger on why, but I loved loved loved this book. The writing was incredible and the story was compelling. I didn’t want it to end. So good.
3. Becoming. Politics aside, I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the Obama family and how the ended up in the White house. My criteria for a good memoir is how I feel about the person at the end and I loved Michelle Obama by the end.
4. This is How it Always is. This book. Wow. I read it fast and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Some people may be turned off by the topic, but it gave me an entirely new perspective on a difficult subject. Thought provoking and painful and the writing was some of the best I’ve ever read.
5. The Sun Does Shine. This guy was wrongfully imprisoned and on death row for THIRTY YEARS. Thirty years in prison for something he didn’t do. I was gutted for him and amazed at his never give up spirit.

These are just the ones I’d start with. So many great books! Happy reading.

{It’s that time of year again!!  I’ve been offering these headshots for several years and we can’t stop now. Here we go again!}

As awesome as school pictures are (and by awesome I mean great blackmail for the future), once my own kids started school I decided to do my own head shots and offer it to others as well.

If you’d like an alternative/replacement for the traditional school pictures that no one ever displays, this is for you.  They’re also nice to have for those times you need a picture of your kid (for a school project, grandparent, special occasion, etc) and realize you don’t have any where they aren’t being a complete booger.

The cost is $10 per kid OR $40 per family (so if you have 3 kids, it’s $30, if you have 4 or more kids it’s $40).  This will include a vertical and horizontal headshot of each kid with a white background.

If you want a GROUP photo of all of your kids together, you can add that on for $25.  

Pictures will be edited in color AND black and white and you will receive a high-resolution digital copy (via Dropbox) so you can print whatever you want.  Cheaper (and cooler) than school pictures.  Non-school age children are welcome as well.

Our school allows us to just buy the class photo, so my kids still get their school picture taken and we just purchase the class photo (in elementary).  Then we use these alternative photos as our yearly photos.

I will be taking “school picture” head shots in LEHI (I will e-mail you the address after you sign up) on Monday, September 10th, Tuesday, September 11th, Friday, September 14th, and Monday September 17th.

Click THIS LINK to sign up for Monday, September 10th

Click THIS LINK to sign up for Tuesday, September 11th

Click THIS LINK to sign up for Friday, September 14th

Click THIS LINK to sign up for Monday, September 17th

Sign-up times are first-come-first-served so if a specific time works better for you, signing up ASAP is a good idea (I’ve run out of time-slots each year).

Once you sign-up, please be sure to make your appointed time.  If you need to change your time for any reason, please do it as soon as possible so someone else can take your time-slot.

You only need ONE TIME SLOT PER FAMILY!  (Each kid only takes 1-2 minutes plus a group shot if you want to add that on so just 10 minutes per family is enough time).

If these dates/times don’t work for you, I will probably be doing a make-up date for those who can’t make it.  E-mail me to let me know you are interested and we’ll try to work something out.

The head shots only take about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the moods of the kids (because you know, kids).

Please mention in the comments (on the sign up sheet) how many kids you’ll be bringing and if you want a group shot or not.

To see more samples of what the headshots will look like, click on the arrows to scroll through the photos!