Milk and Honey
“Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.” (Deuteronomy 6:3, NIV) This week I pulled off something I have been dreaming up and thinking about for months. I put together a styled wedding shoot with a very specific vision, a vision I’ve been cultivating since January. I got together the right vendors and the venue and the best collaborators I could find that I knew would want to work in harmony and not in competition....
Read MoreThe Thief of Joy
“When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. ” (2 Corinthians 10:12b) Teddy Roosevelt once said that “Comparison is the thief of joy.” As much as I find that to be entirely true, Teddy Roosevelt also never had Instagram. Nor did he work in a world where social media out-ranked nearly every other kind of human interaction in terms of showcasing one’s work. I am heading to Arizona this week for a photography conference. I made the decision in February that I was going and I was going to get motivated, get...
Read MoreSeek Out Life
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Reading through the Old Testament can get exhausting pretty quickly because it can feel like a lot of death. It’s not easy to read through passages about plague and the striking down of thousands of unfaithful people. It’s uncomfortable to read through the details of proper butchering of animals and not get bogged down in the feeling of loss and grief. But our response must always be to seek out the life that is given, the people who are...
Read MoreKeep It Holy
“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) Right now, I am not good at keeping a Sabbath in my life. Between kids and jobs and trying to sleep long enough to not look like a zombie and trying to be good at all those thing, taking a break is rough. Not to mention, when I take a break for a night from editing photos or answering emails to spend time with my family, I more often than not, find myself thinking about all the things I “should” be doing. And then when I work until all hours of the night I think about all the things I’m missing out on in the...
Read MoreMaking it Stick
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19) Last week 13 of our highschoolers and three leaders braved the Tennessee heat for an absolutely life-transforming week at CHIC. It was unreal. At each and every morning keynote talk, focus seminar or evening mainstage, the speakers were remarkable. The bands were full of energy and talent and a...
Read MoreWhen the Healed Are Broken
“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) The church has been praised and held up for millennia as a place where the broken are healed. And praise God it is true. The church, fueled by the Holy Spirit, has been a place where people come and receive grace, forgiveness and healing of not only the spirit but the body and the mind. It is a place where prayers changes people, where hopes are met and where the Creator of the universe makes His dwelling among us. It is a good place. But there is something on the flip side of this that has been on my heart for some time now. Yes, the church is a place...
Read MoreNo Need to Be an Adult About It
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1-2) A few weeks ago I wrote a blog spot about a particularly hard day I had parenting. You can read it here but the short version is pretty simple. I was so tired of my toddler calling out “mom, mom,...
Read MoreSmall and Significant
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet …” (Psalm 8:3-6) I run into people I know or who know my family pretty much everywhere...
Read MoreFeigning Failure
“Cast all your cares upon him for he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) I don’t think much of my life I have felt very successful. I mean in the way most people determine success. There have always been people telling me that, “Oh you’re just fine” (which by the way, in Minnesotan “fine” means probably the worst ever). But I haven’t ever felt particularly great at anything. I also wouldn’t have necessarily classified myself as a failure either. That was, until, I became a grown up, and even more when I got married, and even more when I...
Read MoreBlame for the Darkness
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) Think about the darkest place you’ve ever been. Not emotionally or spiritually but physically dark. Think of what it was like to strain your eyes in hopes of making sense of where things in front of you are. The inability to use our sense of sight brings about a lot of emotions, namely fear and confusion as well as a false perception of what could be directly in front of you. That’s what darkness does best, it makes you believe you are the only one in the dark. It exacerbates the fear...
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