H Family Photo, Fox River, Elgin, IL

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt...
        ~Dave Barnes 'God Gave Me You'


What I've Learned: Blessings Reverberate.
Happy September, dear Reader!  Last week, while praying for guidance and God's wisdom as I prepare to shoot my first wedding in October, I felt Him nudging me to contact a few friends via Facebook and offer them free family portraits in exchange for the chance to practice shooting with my new gear.  I was super excited when all three agreed. 

Casual Couple's Shot

 This past Sunday, Brother (my official photography assistant) and I went to a service at the Joy River Baptist Church, in Elgin.  Joy River is 'home church' for VH, a dear high school friend that I haven't seen in over 15 years.  She invited us to the service and we arranged to shoot photos with her, her husband and their three adorable children after that.  After some wonderful fellowship and a great message given by Rev. Cynthia Hill, we walked outside and down to the newly re-landscaped banks of the Fox River in downtown Elgin. 

Love is a fine thing.

Brother, who was very professional and helpful, assisted in getting everyone posed and smiling broadly.  Then I got into the 'photo zone' and just enjoyed using my gear to capture the H family's natural joy.  What a pleasure!  Afterwards, I thanked my friend, promised to drop by her bible study later in the week and went home to see what kind of shots I'd gotten.  After working the editing magic, I was very pleased with the resulting 25 photos.  Here are my very favorites from that batch for your enjoyment, Reader.

Soon to be tickled...

 What a blessing this opportunity turned out to be!  Not only did I get to take (and give) great photos, but also got the chance to reconnect with my friend and build a wonderful new friendship--as Christian women.  I went to VH's bible study earlier this evening and found that God has provided an ideal opportunity for me to study His word with like-minded fellow believers.  The blessings of that simple request for a photo op continue to reverberate through the new lives I'm encountering and certainly, my own. Can't wait to see where they will lead next!

In Love

         
There’s more here than what we're seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me...
          ~Dave Barnes 'God Gave Me You'

Say you are well, or all is well with you,
And God shall hear your words and make them true.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Today's Joy: A Quiet Evening at Home.
As my appointment book fills up with holiday-related engagements over the coming weeks, a quiet evening at home suddenly seems precious. So, Reader, here I am on the couch, enjoying the glow of the Christmas tree with a pleasantly full tummy. You'd never know it's bitterly cold outside my window. Tucked in safe & warm, I'm blissfully content and feeling very blessed.

When I think of all the things others are facing on this December night that (God willing) I will never have to, I'm deeply grateful for the life I've been given and the people I share it with. Am looking forward to praying tonight for those in need, those in pain and those who aren't as fortunate this holiday season. May God ease their burdens and dwell in their hearts during this blessed season.

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back. ~ Arthur Rubinstein

Quotes courtesy of the Quote Garden.

Statuary, Grapevine Botanical Garden, Grapevine, TX.

Today's Joy: Finding Out What Other Hearts Need.

Co-led our weekly church community group meeting with SH tonight, Reader. Our usual leader is on vacation this week. Though I was nervous, it turned out to be a smashing success. The readings went smoothly and each woman opened her heart and shared personal concerns with the group.

It was like a breakthrough, really. And as the group grows and evolves, I can see our needs changing too. Am also beginning to get a picture in my head of ways we can be flexible in the group while still meeting all of these needs, whether they be spiritual or fellowship-related. I will pray for guidance on what will be the right path for this group. Thank you, God, for providing me this place where I can come and share with other new believers.

Penny in my Palm.

Today's Joy: Benefitting from Benefits.

Well, Reader, tonight I write to you from a comfy armchair where I'm surrounded by myriad insurance brochures scattered about. As I'm now a full-time employee, my employer has graciously extended a variety of affordable healthcare options. Vision and Dental and PPO's, Oh My! The best part? Even the "pricier" plan with all the trimmings can be had for less than $100 a month. What a blessing!

Tomorrow I will fax in my enrollment paperwork and come Sept. 1st, I will have health insurance for the first time in....well, quite a while. Today, my two favorite phrases in the English language are: $0 co-pay and would you like to see my insurance card? I'll probably flash mine just for fun. That's right, who's got insurance now??

Can't wait to see the eye doctor and the dentist and my general practitioner. Oooo, my new insurance will cover a chiropractor too. Up to 20 visits per year! That'll work wonders for my alignment.

God Bless benefits! When you don't have them, they can seem like Willie Wonka's golden ticket. Makes me mindful of all the folks out there who will likely never be able to afford them.

Dear Lord, please work on the hearts of the lawmakers and those who run the insurance companies. Help them find a solution for our nation's healthcare crisis--one that will allow people access to this much-needed care without bankrupting families or the system. Please Lord, work in the hearts and minds of those who have the power to make a difference. Help them to lead with compassion and intelligent planning. And help us, the masses of everyday folk in this country, to recognize good ideas and strong policies and throw our support behind them. We know, Lord, that all things are possible through you, and that you have blessed us with more resources than we will ever need. Help us to utilize those resources wisely in caring for each other. Remind us that the quality of life experienced by the least of us is as revealing about our society as a list of its achievements. We seek your guidance and council. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Sundown, Bahr Rd., Burlington, IL, July 27th, 2010.

Today's Joy: A Big Day.

It's been a really big day, Reader. Though, I suppose it's the culmination of several seeds God planted weeks ago. Over the past 2 months I've been listening to Dave Ramsey & other sources discuss the benefits of tithing. I know how good giving to others can feel in my own life, so I can easily see how regular tithing would bring much fulfillment. But with my wonderful new job only being part-time and the bills far outweighing any extra income, I figured giving back 10% of my income was a ways off yet.

Still, I felt God nudging me. When the opportunity presented itself for me to have a charitable donation deducted from my paycheck, I immediately signed up. I chose to give to Compassion International. True, it was only a small sum each week, but it was that much more than CI had the week before. Plus I enjoy looking at my pay stub each week and seeing the donation total grow.

Fast forward to last week, when I signed up for my 401K. I read all about the plans my employer offers and took the little risk assessment included. Discovered that with a good 30 years or more to retirement and a certain comfort level with risk, I'm a good candidate for the moderate to aggressive technology-based funds. Now I'm set up with a balanced portfolio that includes stock in Microsoft, Apple, Google and Suncor Energy, among others. (How cool is that?) While figuring out how much income to contribute, it became apparent that in 30 years, 10% would yield almost $10K more than an 8% contribution in principal alone. A no-brainer, right?

I took a good look at how much 10% of my income was and thought again about tithing. That little nudging sensation was back again. So, I prayed about it that night and asked God to tell me if this is what He really wanted me to do, even with such a limited budget. Then I thought about my charitable donation and how I didn't even notice that extra bit of money being gone each week. I broke the 10% down into weekly amounts and divided it between my payroll deduction, my weekly church offering and a favorite radio station I've been thinking about supporting for quite some time. It would be really tight, but I could do it. So, I called HR and upped my donation. Then I made a commitment to God that I would do my 10% and trust in him to make sure I had enough to live on. I immediately felt SO good!

All of that brings us back around to today. I was at work this morning when my supervisor called to say that she wants to make my position full-time with more diverse responsibilities, which would mean full benefits as well as more hours. After only 6 weeks with the company! I immediately accepted and thanked her. When I got off the phone, I was almost in tears as I thanked God. The additional income will be more than enough to cover my 401K contribution as well as the amount I will tithe. It's so amazing how God works! He simply asked me to have faith in Him and as soon as I did, everything changed. Yup, definitely a big day. I feel so blessed!

Driving home along my favorite country back roads tonight, there was this spectacular sunset over misty cornfields, so I stopped and took a few shots. Hard to describe how full my heart felt. Can't wait to see what God will do next.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

Today's Joy: Taking It Back to Prayer.
It was not a good day, Reader. It started out stinky and got progressively worse. Due to a miscommunication, I found myself sitting alone outside work at 6 am when I didn't need to be there until 7. Certainly inconvenient, but, as my visiting friend was flying out this morning, it seemed doubly so. We could have spent that precious hour having breakfast together. As it was, I left before she woke up and didn't get to say goodbye.

Then, in the afternoon, I went for a follow-up to one of last week's job interviews, got completely lost, drove around for over an hour looking for the new interview location and almost ran out of gas. I finally had to call my perspective contact and, over garbled cell phone reception, ask to reschedule. I felt utterly defeated. Sometime overnight, it seems, I had lost all of my time management and directional skills. Add to that an abnormally intense & painful rush of monthly hormones, which caused me to entertain very un-Christianlike thoughts about the drivers in front of me, and all I wanted to do was come home, eat chocolate and put on my jammies.

The only thing that kept me from being in tears was returning to prayer and handing it all over to God. Don't get me wrong, every moment felt like a struggle today. But without that simple, basic act of asking for help, asking for solace, praying for patience and the self-control not to honk my horn at pretty much everyone on Route 176, I would have felt even worse!

“Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.”
-- Samuel Johnson, English Author

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire


Quotes courtesy of The Quote Garden.

Today's Joy: #2
Hmm. Turns out I have two joys for today, Reader. While job hunting online yesterday, I emailed my resume on a lark and received an interview request less than an hour later.

Truth be told, I've stopped getting excited about going on interviews. The last several haven't panned out and winding up disappointed does a number on my daily positivity. So, I figured from now on, I'll go with low expectations, do my best and then let it go--God will take care of it. Nowadays, hiring contacts don't even acknowledge receipt of your resume anyway. So, a quick response was a pleasant surprise. Still, I wasn't going to get worked up over it.

But from the time I woke up this morning, I've felt God with me all day. I even came across these two bible passages while getting dressed:

Be confident in this one thing that God who has begun a good work in you will complete it!
~ Philippians 1:6

For it is God working in you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purposes.
~ Philippians 2:13

Okay. So maybe there's something more going on here. I went to the interview and it went beautifully. I really liked the look of the company and the opportunity. I connected well with my interviewer. She gave me a timed accuracy exercise and I was the only applicant to finish it! I left there knowing I'd put my best foot forward--a wonderful sensation. After all, who can stand against you when He stands with you?

Today's Joy: Fortuitous Meetings.
I took a risk today, Reader. I applied to a juried art/craft show slotted for later this summer. Juried means that a committee of the show organizers reviews all the artists who'd like to participate and decides which ones will be invited to exhibit their work. Juried shows are usually a more organized and more lucrative venue for artists than the average festival. There's also the opportunity to win prizes for your work.

Well, I prayed about it and ruminated on it and when I felt God urging me to give it a shot, I decided it was time to throw my hat in the ring. I put together my application with samples of my work (am still so proud of my little darlings) and today I hand-delivered it to the submission address. I got there later than I planned--a few unexpected errands popped up--and the mail slot was too small for my envelope, so I rang the bell and a woman came to the door. Turns out, she's the submissions contact and a lovely woman. So, I introduced myself and we chatted a bit. She seemed really excited to peek at my application so I thanked her and ski-dattled. Hopefully I made a good impression.

Looking back on it now, the timing was very fortuitous. I know in my heart that God wanted me there at that time for a reason, and this meeting was somehow significant. It had that 'stardust feel' to it. You know what I mean--that feeling of foreshadowing you get when you meet someone new or visit some place for the first time and you just know it will be significant in the future. Like déjà vu, only it hasn't happened yet. Or like God offering you a sneak peek. A holy spirit preview, if you will.

I've gotten that feeling several times in my life, each time leading to something wonderful. So, I'm hopeful. When was the last time you had a 'stardust feeling', Reader? Did you shake it off or embrace it? What was the outcome?

Today's Joy: Adding a Little Meditative Prayer to the Day.
Have you noticed, Reader, how a rough or unbalanced day improves dramatically when you take a few moments to close your eyes, breathe deeply and relinquish control? When I stop and take the time to invite God into my heart to do his work through me, it's amazing how peace seems to envelope me and I suddenly feel calmer, more focused and more open to the good I can do. Sure beats worrying about all the stuff I don't have control over!