tell my story Archives - Page 5 of 8

“Where Children Sleep.” Photos of children and their bedrooms from around the world.

This photography project by James Mollison is absolutely fascinating!

Where Children Sleep

“Where Children Sleep–stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms….I found myself thinking about my bedroom: how significant it was during my childhood, and how it reflected what I had and who I was.”

Two pictures. One of the child. One of their bedroom. The two together tell an incredible story.

Roathy, 8, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Kaya, 4, Tokyo, Japan

Lamine, 12, Bounkiling Village, Senegal

Delanie, 9, New Jersey, USA

One picture, of a bedroom, and a child, can tell so much about who someone is, what they have, and where they come from. So incredible. What a world we live in.

My dad! A hero for many.

Today is my dad’s BIRTHDAY. And in honor of this day, his day, here are some of the things I love when I think about my dad.

1. Never pass up an opportunity to serve someone else. My dad has given his LIFE to helping other people. And I have never, EVER seen him act like it’s an inconvenience. Because of his profession as a doctor, people ask him to do things all.the.time. For free. And he always does it with a willing heart.

2. Don’t act like you’re better than anyone else. My dad can put people at ease no matter the situation. Because he treats them like an equal. He also gets asked allll sorts of questions, and I have never seen him try to make someone feel stupid or talk to them in a condescending tone.

3. No trace camping. Whenever we went camping, my dad always made sure the spot we stayed at was better than the way we found it. Our goal was to leave the campground with NO trace we had ever been there. Same goes for church. Pick up the trash. Leave no trace behind.

4. Never ride in a car without a seatbelt. Growing up, my dad had a picture of a woman with half her face ripped off attached to the visor in the car. The woman was in a car accident and had no seat belt on. If anyone ever gave him grief about wearing a seatbelt, he wouldn’t say a word. He’d just pull down the visor and there was the torn apart woman. And the complainer would promptly put on their seatbelt.

5. If something is worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. My dad never half-asses anything. Ever. It’s one of my favorite qualities about him. He’s thorough about the little things as much as he is about the big things. (This is unfortunately something I did not inherit from him–I’m workin’ on it).

6. Waste not, want not. Sometimes my dad overdoes this one and we have to sneak expired food into the garbage. He is the poster child for reduce, reuse, recycle. He uses empty nut jars from Costco for all his nails and screws. And cardboard milk boxes to store magazines. Never wastes.

7. Sloooooow down. The only time I’ve ever seen my dad “rushed” is when a neighbor has called him with a life-threatening emergency (which has happened numerous times during my life). Other than that, my dad takes his sweet time. He never seems rushed through life. He is present in the moment and happy to take life slowly.

8. Take 4 ibuprofen with food. We tease my dad all the time about this. For most complaints we had as kids (or even now as adults), his remedy always seems to be “Take 4 ibuprofen WITH FOOD”. Most the time I don’t even call him anymore. I just take the ibuprofen.

9. Never give up on your kids. My parents have had their fair share of tough kid challenges. But there’s one thing I know–my dad (and mom) would never give up on any of us. They love us. No matter what choices we make. They’ve been put to the test on this one so I can say this with certainty.

10. Teach by example. I don’t remember my dad “telling” me many things growing up. Most of his teaching was through action. He sent “messages” to his kids by DOING things instead of SAYING things. And it was pretty effective teaching.

One of the most quality human beings you’ll ever meet.

And for everyone’s viewing pleasure: (My kids watch this over and over and over)

Happy Birthday dad!! I love you.

How do I know if it’s what God wants?

I struggled for a long time with my relationship with God. It seemed like we just weren’t communicating very well. I kept asking Him what direction I should go. What He wanted me to do with my life. Was this the right direction or this?

And I felt like I wasn’t getting any real guidance.

I always knew God was there. And that He was listening. I never doubted He was there. But I felt a little lost. And unsure. Like God was holding back on his answers. Or I wasn’t listening good enough. I couldn’t hear Him.

Because if I knew, for sure, that it was God telling me to do something, I’d do it. Not just me, or someone else telling me. But if it was God, I would do it.

And I worried about making decisions for my life story because I was afraid it would be the wrong decision. And it wouldn’t be God’s will. And I wouldn’t even know. I didn’t want to waste my time on things God didn’t want me to do. And I didn’t want to miss out on all these great plans God had in store for me. Because when you say “yes” to something, you also say “no” to something else. And I didn’t want to be saying “no” to the thing God actually wanted me to say “yes” to. Did you catch that?

So I was essentially doing nothing. Stalling. Waiting for the heavens to open and God to tell me what my next move was. In a fairly loud booming voice so I could hear over all the other life noise.

And then I was reminded of the following scripture.

“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their inheritance”

Men and Women should be anxiously engaged in a good cause. The power is in THEM. When all is said and done, God just wants us to DO good. To BE good. And to be anxiously engaged in good things. And he’s okay with ME choosing what good things those are.

I’m working my way through the book “Storyline Finding Your Subplot in God’s Story” by Donald Miller. (worth every penny by the way)

Miller supports this idea that God has left a lot of the decision making up to us. If it makes our heart sing and we’re anxiously engaged in something good, that will save other souls, then go for it. He says:

“I don’t believe God has a specific plan for most people. I could be wrong, though, because there are several people in the Bible for whom God had a specific plan.

In fact, here’s a little checklist so you can know if God has a specific plan for your life.

According to the Bible, you know God has a specific plan for you if:

A. Your donkey (or any other animal, for that matter) talks to you
B. An angel appears before you and wakes you up because he’s so bright
C. You are a virgin but pregnant

Where did we get this idea God doesn’t speak clearly when He wants something? When I talk to people who believe God has a specific plan for their lives, they act like God is some kind of mystic weirdo talking to them through riddles and we are supposed to use the Bible like a secret decoder ring.

If God has a specific plan for your life, you’ll know it because He’ll tell you. According to the Bible, it will be very, very clear.

For the rest of us, the scary truth is we get to decide what we want to do with our lives. And we get to decide with God.”

He then goes on to say,

“I think we are spending a lot of time asking God to tell us what to do when the whole time He’s asking us what we’d like to do instead. I think He’s asking us what’s in our hearts, what makes us come alive, what ignites our passion and saves many lives.”

What makes me come alive? What’s in my heart? And how can I use that to save many souls?

Now this isn’t to say God doesn’t provide direction. Because I absolutely know He does. And He’ll give me little nudges to pursue certain things. And sometimes He’ll speak loudly about a path He wants me to pursue.

But He also allows me to figure out what makes me come alive, and then wants me to GO DO IT. And trust that God will put on the brakes if he needs me to go in a different direction.

Project Life

“Cultivate a good life and document it”

That’s the slogan of Project Life. And I can’t believe it has taken me this long to find out about it.

I am NOT a scrapbooker. The thought of designing and even worse, creating a scrapbook page makes me want to cut my fingers off. It does not appeal to me.

Sure, I love the end product. But even then, I always had an “issue” with scrapbooking because it felt like it was more about the “stuff” than it was about the pictures. And I want my displays to be about the pictures. About the people. About the story.

So I’ve tried several different ways of displaying photos. And, unfortunately, I’ve just left a lot of my photos on my computer where no one gets to see them but me.

Until I found Project Life. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. Simple. Affordable. And something I can keep current with. And it supports my intent to display photos that will enrich our family’s life. Project life is about the STORY, not about the STUFF.

I listened to a 3 day conference Becky Higgins (the creator of Project life) did online and decided we should probably be friends. Because our mission is the same. Document your life. Tell a story. CREATE a story/life (cultivate a good life). And in the process of doing that, you become more grateful, more aware, and more intentional.

“The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” Donald Miller

Cultivate a good life, and then tell the story by documenting it.

Project Life goes hand-in-hand with the Tell My Story class.

Here’s how it works. You buy a Core Kit, an Album, and Sheet protectors (I use 40% off coupons and get them at Hobby Lobby or Michaels). Select and print your photos. Then it’s simple. You just slide pictures and journaling cards in pockets. And in no time, you have a completed album. (You can watch video demonstrations on the Project Life website)

There are a few reasons I prefer Project Life over an album you design digitally online.

First, I sit in front of a computer far longer than I’d like to for my business. Any more hours in front of the computer and my eyeballs might fall out.

Second, I like to be able to do it while I’m doing something else (like catching up on all my DVR shows, or sitting by kids while they do homework).

Third, it’s FAST. And super simple. Both of which are requirements in pretty much anything I do these days.

Fourth, they look AWESOME when they’re done. More visually interesting than a traditional photo album with pictures in pockets.

Fifth, my kids can get involved and help. They become invested in the project.

Sixth, you can also journal in the albums. There are “journaling cards” where you can write small amounts of information to supplement (note I said supplement as the pictures are the main focus of the album for me) the pictures.

Seven, you can make some killer unique gifts with Project Life. I’ll post some things I’ve done with them so far in a separate post.

But the biggest reason I appreciate Project Life is that I’m able to look through my albums and see what we’ve accomplished and what efforts we’ve made at living a good life story, but it also helps me see what we’re missing so we can be more intentional about our future and live the life we want to live.

The boxes also make a great spot for folding paper cranes. Folded 30ish of those (out of 1000) for a friend fighting stage 4 Lymphoma.

Try it out. I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love like I have.
And your kids will love you!

And for those of you who aren’t really the scrapbooking type (which I’m totally not) check out the Project Life App. It’s a game changer!!

Click here to visit the Project Life website.

And for another idea on displaying photos in your home, click here for a super awesome wall display.

FUNBOOTH. The perfect alternative to traditional family pictures.

I get it. Getting family pictures can be super stressful. Finding the right clothes. Getting everyone ready. Finding a location. Getting there on time. Making sure the kids don’t still have ketchup on their face. Trying to act calm and happy while your kids are being terrors.

I get it. Trust me. I do.

But. Family pictures are SO important. So so important. One of those things you’ll always be glad you have and never regret that you did.

I also realize sometimes the stress is too much. Too overwhelming. And you have a kid that simply will NOT cooperate during family pictures. So you just never get them done. Even though you want to.

Which is why I came up with Funbooth sessions.

They’re fun. They’re FAST. They’re easy. And they work for kids with all different types of personalities.

The point is to be casual. Crazy. Fun. Like a photobooth.

Low stress. No weather elements. Sessions only take about 25 minutes. And you end up with a bunch of photographs with your family, your kids, and their personalities.

I’m doing a Funbooth sale during the month of April. Book a funbooth shoot in April for only $150 (normally $225). That includes the session fee as well as a disc with about 50 images in color AND black and white and a print release to make whatever prints you want.

Here are some samples of a session I did recently.

And here are a few I did with my own little family. We did these on a whim on a Sunday afternoon. We just wore the clothes we already had on. Simple. Easy. These are my favorite sessions to do with my own kids. The pictures I am in were taken by my husband. I know he’ll want proper photo credit. 🙂