Although I am making some transitions in my business and spending more time on this blog as well as the photography classes I offer, I will still be offering very limited photography sessions throughout the year.
To see more information on types of session I offer and samples of images, you can click the links below.
FUNBOOTH SESSIONS
I offer sports photography upon request.
I no longer do weddings.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions or you want to book a session.
[email protected]
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
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.
“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.
A few month’s ago we celebrated my brother’s 40th birthday. I never in a million years thought we would celebrate that day. I didn’t think he’d be alive.
My brother is an alcoholic and an addict. He has a long history of drug and, more specifically, alcohol abuse. And just for the record, I have his permission to talk about this stuff.
He spent a few different periods of his life living on the streets of Salt Lake City. He was homeless. He was making choices that lead to this situation. We, his family, couldn’t force him to choose otherwise. And because of those choices, he was not allowed to live with any of us. It was awful. For everyone involved. I won’t go into details right now because that’s not really the point for writing this.
He spent some of the time sleeping at the Road Home. Some of the time he slept on people’s couches. “Friends”, I guess. Sometimes he was at the VOA (Volunteers of America). Other times he slept in fields, the mountains, the side of the road. Wherever he passed out sometimes.
And during many of those periods, he panhandled for money. At grocery stores, on the streets, at trax, in parking lots.
So when he asked for money on the streets, he was the stereotypical person who begged for money, then turned right around and used that money to buy drugs and alcohol. He WAS the person people don’t want to give money to because they assume you’ll use it to drink or get high.
But. He also used that money to eat. And buy socks. And a coat. And a backpack to hold his few meager belongings. And other seemingly small things. But those things are what kept him alive. Other people kept my brother alive when we couldn’t. We didn’t even know if keeping him alive was the right goal. Sounds awful to even say that, but it’s the truth. Anyone who has dealt with addiction on a personal level knows exactly what I’m talking about. It’s one of the most hopeless situations a person and family can be in.
I thought a lot about that. And started feeling pretty bad because I knew I was guilty of that very thing. Sometimes acting like those people asking for money weren’t even there. Walking right past them without looking at them. Hurrying past them and ignoring they’d even said anything to me. It was awkward for me sometimes. To deal with those people. To not give them money because I assumed I knew what they’d use it for. And I didn’t want to contribute to their “problem”. (Truth is, they’ll find the money somewhere, whether you give it to them or not–addicts are very resourceful when they have to be)
And then it struck me. It’s NOT about whether I give them money or not. Give them money, don’t give them money. I’m not saying one is right and one is wrong. But I could (and should) ALWAYS treat them like a human being. A person with a soul whose worth is as great as mine. Instead of asking myself, “should I give them money?” I ask myself “how should I treat this person?”
My brother was hit by a car after stumbling into the road while drunk. He was life-flighted (not his first time on a life-flight) and in the ICU for 3 weeks, the hospital for 5 weeks. (You can read the blog we kept while he was in the hospital right here). He has now been sober for roughly 2 years. After nearly 20 years of hard core alcohol and drug abuse, he is sober (for various reasons, including a traumatic brain injury). And people who gave him money, and treated him like a soul of worth, and took care of him at the VOA and Salvation Army, and sheltered him at the Road Home helped keep him alive.
His life is not all sunshine and roses even now that he’s sober. 20 years of uncontrollable alcohol abuse doesn’t just disappear. And he can still be a complete pain in the ass. But he’s alive. And our family wasn’t the only ones who helped keep him alive (though we fought tooth and nail to do that for him).
And I am grateful for that. Because he’s my brother. And he’s my parents son. And he has a good heart. And he’s taught me more about human compassion and being non-judgmental, and seeing the value and worth in every human soul, than any other person on this earth.
So now when I see someone asking for money on the side of the road, or at a stoplight, or the freeway offramp, or by temple square downtown I always try to remember that is someone’s brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandma, niece, nephew, son, or daughter. Someone cares about that person. Someone’s world is shattered because of the choices that person made. Someone, somewhere, loves that person and wishes with all their heart that person wasn’t out begging for money. And God loves that person JUST AS MUCH as he loves me.
“I am confident because I believe that I am a child of God. I am humble because I believe that everyone else is too.” Glennon Doyle Melton
And so I try to say hello to them. And I make eye contact. And I tell them I hope they have a good day. And sometimes I give them money. And sometimes I don’t. But I always try to make them feel like I care they exist in this world. I SEE them. And I HEAR them.
I am grateful for the people who did that for my brother. Grateful for people who reached out to him. Who showed him compassion. Who didn’t judge him. And for the people who gave him money. I’m grateful for them too.
It’s not about giving or not giving money. It’s about seeing every human being the way God sees them. And treating them accordingly.
{Side note. I am FULLY aware that some panhandlers do it as a “business”. And some panhandlers are rude and entitled and not very kind people. There is a WIDE variety of reasons people are asking for money on the street. I hope we can all be sensitive to those many and varied reasons. And not lump them all into one pool of people. And be grateful we’re not the ones asking for the money. And I want to emphasize I’m not professing whether or not people should give money. More than anything, I wrote this post for my kids. To help show them the need for human compassion and love. I am in NO WAY trying to start a debate on giving money to panhandlers. Just so we’re clear on that before people light me up in the comment section}
