Crazy Love!

Crazy Love

I just finished reading a book called Crazy Love.  You should read it!  It is written by Francis Chan.  I’m still working on digesting all that it has in it.  It is a challenge.

It challenges you to look at the way you live your life as a Christian.  Could you do it better?  Could you do more?  Is there meaning to your life?  Do people know you are a Christian, that you believe in God, that your heart belongs to Him?  How do they know?  What in your life shows this?  He talks about people and tells stories of the radical things people do for Christ or in Christ’s name. 

Like I said, I just finished reading this amazing book and am still digesting it so I’m not quite sure what it means to me yet.  What I do know is that you should read it!!!!

Here are some things that stood out to me:

~Are we asking the creator of the universe to join us on “OUR” journey through this life and follow us where we should go, or are we following HIM?

~Are we fretting and worrying too over figuring out what God’s will and plan is for our life and not listening and obeying the Holy Spirit when it call us to move or do?

~Are we turning what God has done in OTHERS lives into a mold for our own?  Are we allowing God to be creative with us in OUR lives as he is with others in theirs?

~Are we truly in love with God or just His stuff?

These are all very challenging things to me.  All things that really hit home hard.  Things that have me taking a close look at my life, my actions, my thoughts, everything I do and knowing that I could do more and how I should do more.

Read the book! 

Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

Missy's having a baby!!!

Meet my friend, Melissa Lynn!

I have known Melissa for quite awhile now.  Through the years we have grown closer and become great friends.  I actually had the privilege of standing up in her wedding as a bridesmaid for her!  I adore Melissa and am so excited for her and her husband Matthew.  

Melissa and Matthew are expecting a baby girl!!!  Her name will be Kata Lynn!!!

Hope you enjoy the session because I sure know I did!  Thanks so much Melissa for letting me document this stage in your life!  You truly look great!!! (Its not fair ;))

Hope you enjoyed!  Love these pictures!  Can't wait to meet little miss Kata Lynn!


*Don't forget about the Christmas picture mini-session!!!  Lets book a shoot today!!!

Smack!

You know when God wants you to pay attention to something so badly that its like he literally smacks you in the face with it?!  Well, I feel like this is happening to me! 

I’ve wanted to get involved in some sort of Bible study for some time now.  But when, where, about what…I worry about those details.  I want it to be the “right” Bible study.  I want to study something relevant to me.  I want to be in a study with cool, young people my age.  I want to be in a study that won’t take time away from my time with Kevin.  Those are the things I’ve been worried about…let’s talk about out of line priorities, right?!  Well, a few weeks ago at church there was a Bible study going to start for “women” on Friday mornings and it was going to be on 1 Samuel.  I thought about it.  I thought things like, I don’t have anything going on Friday morning, it doesn’t take time away from my time with Kevin, its for “women”…so far it met my requirements.  But then I also thought things like, its for “women” that means there are going to be old ladies there that I will have nothing in common with and there stuff won’t be relevant to my stuff (and vice versa), and things like, 1Samuel?!  What do I care about a time of war and switching from judges, to priest, to a king?  Again, wonderful attitude, right?!  Well much to my weariness, I decided to buy the book and go.

The first week we were suppose to come prepared, meaning that we were suppose to have at least read the entire book of 1Samuel.  Well my usual procrastinating self waited till Thursday to worry about this.  Then I started to freak myself out.  One of my greatest fears in life is looking dumb in front of others (yes, I know its very shallow we will get to that another time).  So I started to freak myself out and worry.  For those who don’t know, I don’t have a great reading comprehension nor do I remember a lot about things that don’t really peak my interest.  People’s names I’m great at, Bible stories not so much.  Well my attitude working against me, I finished reading through 1Samuel and much to my surprise, remembered a lot if it! 

Well to make what could be and sort of already is a long story short this Bible study with older “women” that is on 1Samuel (which by the way is about way more then war and leaders) has been such a blessing for where I am at in life right now.  We are only two weeks in and still discussing the first two chapters but man, God has been talking to me!

As I’ve suddenly mentioned before, Kevin and I are now in the process of trying to have children.  Even though we have only been trying for a couple of months each time I get my monthly “gift” I get so disappointed.  I get a little angry with God.  I, for whatever reason, thought I would be the person that got pregnant right away, no wait, no problem (not that there is a problem, at least that we know about…other then impatient ness) but I apparently was wrong.  If you don’t know, the first two chapters of 1Samuel are about Hannah and her longing for a child.  She was barren and though her husband loved her very much, she still longed for a child.  What hit home to me is that Hannah could have been mad, she could have been bitter at God but instead she gave it up to Him, fully.  She laid it at His feet and walked away.  And God blessed her!  He gave her a child.  Not right away, but in due time.  And you know what, she had made a deal with God.  She promised that if He gave her a child that she would give that child back to Him and that his whole life he would be God’s…and she followed through with it!  Can you imagine?!  You desperately want and pray for a child, God answers that prayer, and then you have to give it up.  Oh man!!!  Talk about a dedicated women!

The reason this hits home so much is because, well were trying to have a child, but also because I have been so impatient and I’m not sure I have fully given this struggle to God, laid it at His feet, and walked away from it.  I still worry about this and that.  This detail, that detail.  If we get pregnant now that would be great because of “this”.   It’s all about me and what works for my life.  But you know what, its not about me and what works for my life.  If you change on detail of Hannah’s story, have it be the wanting so desperately or a child that she makes a deal with God, the timing, the location, whatever it is, if you change one detail, Samuel’s life wouldn’t be Samuel’s life.  I guess the point of me telling you all this is to reiterate to myself what we all really already know, God’s timing and plan is perfect!!! It doesn’t matter how much we want it, how perfect we think the timing is for it, how much we deserve it, or how ready we think we are for it, for whatever reason it isn’t perfect in the timing of the Lord!  And really, does my perfectionist of a self want it if it’s not perfect?! 

So my challenge to myself, and whoever else reads this blog, is to trust in the Lord.  Trust in His timing.  But also to take whatever it is, whatever you are struggling with to the Lord!  Pray about it with Him, cry about it with Him, get angry about it with Him….do whatever you have to do to get it out of your system with the Lord in prayer and then LEAVE IT!  Leave it as His feet!  Don’t worry about it, wonder about it, obsess about it…just leave it!  And trust that God’s plan and timing is better then we could ever imagine or put together ourselves. 

***Side note:  I’m sitting at a table with mostly older women and am LOVING it!  Hearing their thoughts, stories, and insight has truly been a blessing!  I wouldn’t change my table for anything!  (Go figure, right!)

Holiday special!!!!

Hey all!!!  

Just thought I would let you know about the great special I have running for the holidays!

Lets book a shoot today!!!!

P.S.-I can create and print CHRISTMAS POSTCARDS for an additional fee!

Baking+Photography=Kinda Nerdy!

One day last week I was having a little bit of a rough day.  So, as usual I decided to bake.  My husband calls me an, "emotional baker".  (Can you fell my eye roll and flutter?!)  He sure doesn't seem to mind enjoying the fruits of the "emotional baking" :)  Anyways, I decided on a recipe that I had been dying to try and that was sure to ease my bad day and early signs of PMS, Hostess Cupcakes!  DOES IT GET ANY BETTER?!?!  Not for me!  In the midst of it all I had an over ambitious idea, "I'll document all my steps, do a recipe review and write a blog about it!"  So, with my nifty iPhone in hand I pictured away.  After all was said and done I didn't feel like writing about them but I did edit the pictures I took together in photoshop.  I swear its the photographer in me, but I just can't fathom the idea of posting a picture that doesn't have SOME sort of editing done to it!

Here are the pictures from beginning to end

           Baked                         Filled                        Frosted                 Decorated                  Perfection!

Can you say nerdy?!  But it just makes me so happy!  Every time I look at this it makes me happy!!!  And added benefit, they turned out AWESOME!!!!!

I found the recipe on a blog called, "Pass the Sushi".  Here is the link for it Hostess Cupcakes .  They are easy to make, taste delicious and a show stopper for sure!  The recipe just had the hostess swirl on top but I put my own spin on it and added heart and words like, love and smile.  You could really do a million different things on top of them!  How cute would these be for a baby shower if you were to make the white frosting pink or blue and put words like, baby or boy/girl or love?!  So cute!  I do have a tip, put them in the fridge before serving them!  Call me crazy, but try it before you do ;)

Hope you enjoyed!  Go bake now!

*One last big picture!

Something to think about!

So, as I was getting ready to write a new blog about one of the adventures I've had this summer I did what I always do....look at the Facebook and peruse some of my favorite blogs that I like to stalk.  Well as I was doing the usual routine I came across an article that someone had posted and it got me thinking....this is the article:
Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

A few years ago, when I just had four children and when the oldest was still three, I loaded them all up to go on a walk. After the final sippy cup had found a place and we were ready to go, my two-year-old turned to me and said, “Wow! You have your hands full!”

She could have just as well said, “Don’t you know what causes that?” or “Are they all yours?!”

Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.

A Rock-Bottom Job?

The truth is that years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law.

Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing.

If you grew up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood, to think like a free Christian woman about your life, your children. How much have we listened to partial truths and half lies? Do we believe that we want children because there is some biological urge, or the phantom “baby itch”? Are we really in this because of cute little clothes and photo opportunities? Is motherhood a rock-bottom job for those who can’t do more, or those who are satisfied with drudgery? If so, what were we thinking?

It's Not a Hobby

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.

Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.

Our culture is simply afraid of death. Laying down your own life, in any way, is terrifying. Strangely, it is that fear that drives the abortion industry: fear that your dreams will die, that your future will die, that your freedom will die—and trying to escape that death by running into the arms of death.

Run to the Cross

But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.

Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We, of all people, ought to know what follows death. The Christian life is resurrection life, life that cannot be contained by death, the kind of life that is only possible when you have been to the cross and back.

The Bible is clear about the value of children. Jesus loved them, and we are commanded to love them, to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. We are to imitate God and take pleasure in our children.

The Question Is How

The question here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it is how you are representing it. Have you given your life to your children resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like a loan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gave it to us—freely?

It isn’t enough to pretend. You might fool a few people. That person in line at the store might believe you when you plaster on a fake smile, but your children won’t. They know exactly where they stand with you. They know the things that you rate above them. They know everything you resent and hold against them. They know that you faked a cheerful answer to that lady, only to whisper threats or bark at them in the car.

Children know the difference between a mother who is saving face to a stranger and a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile, her love, and her absolute loyalty.

Hands Full of Good Things

When my little girl told me, “Your hands are full!” I was so thankful that she already knew what my answer would be. It was the same one that I always gave: “Yes they are—full of good things!”

Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone.

Rachel Jankovic is a wife, homemaker, and mother. She is the author of "Loving the Little Years" and blogs at Femina. Her husband is Luke, and they have five children: Evangeline (5), Daphne (4), Chloe (2), Titus (2), and Blaire (5 months).

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Recent post from Rachel Jankovic

Funny enough, this article made me think of a song that has been catching my ear lately.  Every time I hear it, it makes me stop.  I love it!  Its by Steven Curtis Chapman and its called "Do Everything".  Here is my favorite part of the song:

you’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you

Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Kevin and I have recently decided that we would begin trying to become parents.  Now, I have always know that at the center of my core I wanted to be a mom.  I know that it comes with a lot of sacrifices and that it won't always be easy.  In fact I've been told that is one of the hardest things a marriage can go through (not exactly inspirational!).  Never the less, I am still VERY excited.  This artcile I think is just a great, refreshing, and new way to look at being a mother, father, parent.  Its something I don't think people take seriously a lot of times.  Having kids isn't something to do just because you're bored.  It should be treated as a privilage in my mind.  Now, I know I can't say much seeing as though I've never been kept up all night with a screaming baby; nor have I been standing in a store with a child throwing a tantrum (hmm...not sure i'm "VERY excited" about that!).  But never the less I think its a privilage!  I just loved how she took the idea of the sacrifices we make for children and comparing them to what Jesus did for us a step further and talking about the reserection and new life that we recieve after making those sacrifices.  

I would say that one of the things Kevin has been most nervous about in terms of becoming parents is the sacrifices we are going to have to make.  We have a really great life together.  We have the freedom to do whatever we want...go out to dinner if we don't feel like cooking, go to the movies, spend our Saturday afternoons doing the grocery shopping together, taking Sunday afternoon naps, even go on a quick weekend trip if we feel like it. He likes this time in our life where its just the two of us and we don't have to worry about anythings else.  (I love it too!!!)  Long story short, he's nervous about the sacrifices that come along with having kids (I am too a little).  But reading this is just so refreshing!  We don't need to be caught up in the sacrifices that were making, instead we should be look forward to the rebirth of a new, and slightly different, life!  And in that we should, "do everything to the glory of the one who made (us)".  

I really love that song because sometimes I struggle with where i'm at in life and if  I'm good enough or doing enough or if anything I do even matters.  But, its just so true and re-assuring to hear that no matter what we do as long as we do it for HIM, were doing what he created us to do and putting a smile on his face!  I love that!  Even the littlest things bring HIM joy!  

Well, those are my thoughts on this HOT summer Wednesday in WI!

WAY past time for a new blog post...Or so i've been told ;)

Alright, alright, alright...time for a blog update!!!  Where to start???

Its been, for the most part, a beautiful summer here in WI.  But there have been a few day of HOT and HUMID weather...NOT FUN!!! Fun fact: the house were renting has no air conditioning :/  So what have we been doing with the beautiful summer?  We have been continuing our weekly walks by the lake.  Its always so beautiful and nice down there!!!  I really love living close to a big body of water!  Kevin and I took a quick vacation to Boston and Vermont.  We saw a lot of family and had a really great time!!!  We also went to Strawberry Fest!  It was all about Strawberries and crafts!!!  Does it get much better?!?!  Alyssa came and visited!!!!  Fourth of July!!!!  Jelly Belly Factory tour!!!  Made a quilt!!!  Joined the iPhone nation!!!  Storm the Bastille!!!  And now we are anticipating the arrival of my MOM!!!!  And in the midst of it all I have been volunteering one day, sometimes two, at the coffee shop at church.

God has been blessing us!  It hasn't been easy, but it is getting easier.  Some day we dash forward...and someday we fly backwards...but in the end, I think we are making progress and moving forward :)!!!

I have pictures of most of our adventures over the last month, but not all.  I PROMISE I will post them!!!  And get better at updating!  So not a huge, long, emotional blog today, more of just and update :)

Thanks for checking in and please continue to do so!!!