Radical Living. Real Results. Recommended Reading =)

   With the recent popularity of books like Francis Chan's Crazy Love and David Platt's Radical (the first I've read and absolutely recommend; the second is sitting in my room, on my summer reading list), it seems that many American evangelicals are beginning to realize that they are missing an important part of their faith. Though we call on Christ's name for our salvation, our lives don't seem all that different because of Him--where does the call to "deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow me" come in? (Luke 9:23) Even when we have the strength through the Spirit to overcome sin and selfishness and deny ourselves, what does that look like in our modern, materialistic world?

    Katie Davis has found one answer; she does not claim to have the answer for everyone, and she would never, ever claim to be speaking for God. However, her story is one of the most moving and inspiring testimonies of God's power in and through one life that I have read in years. Consider just these brief excerpts from her book:

        "Sometimes I wanted to spend hours upon hours talking with my best friends about boys and fashion and school and life. I wanted to go to the gym; I wanted my hair to look nice; I wanted to be allowed to wear jeans. I wanted to be a normal teenager living in America, sometimes.
         But I wanted other things more. All the time. I wanted to be spiritually and emotionally filled every day of my life. I wanted to be loved and cuddled by a hundred children and never go a day without laughing. I wanted to wake up to a rooster's crow and open my eyes to see lush green trees that seemed to pulse with life against a piercing blue sky and the rusty red soil of Uganda. I wanted to be challenged endlessly; I wanted to be learning and growing every minute. I wanted to be taught by those I teach, and I wanted to share God's love with people who otherwise might not know it. I wanted to work so hard that I ended every day filthy and too tired to move. I wanted to feel needed, important, and used by the Lord. I wanted to make some kind of difference, no matter how small, and I wanted to follow the calling God had placed on my heart. I wanted to give my life away, to serve the Lord with each breath, each second. At the end of the day, no matter how hard, I wanted to be right here in Uganda." (Kisses from Katie, p. 24)

         "In the days of Jesus, He expected everything of His disciples. Do I believe He requires the same today? I do. And I want to live like I believe it. I do not claim to have the answers. I do not claim to be "doing it right." I do claim to believe that the words of Jesus are absolutely true and apply to me, right now today. I want to give everything, no matter the cost. No matter the cost. Because I believe that nothing is a sacrifice in light of eternity with Christ." (Kisses from Katie, p. 232)

    Acting on what she says she believes, Katie moved to Uganda after high school, and is a mom to thirteen little girls there. She gave up every semblance of a normal teenage life in pursuit of the one she truly loved, her Lord and Savior. There is so much more to her story, though, and you should read about it! Seriously (I know, I say that a lot...), if you make time for one book this summer, make it Kisses from Katie. It's not a hard read, but it's an incredible story. Where Crazy Love absolutely challenged and inspired me on a theological level, this book touched me on a personal level, and I'm not going to forget it any time soon. I can make a difference. One person really can. Because Katie did.

P.S. If you're interested in learning more about Katie or her ministry (before you buy the book, of course), her website is amazima.org. Amazima means "truth" in Luganda, the secondary language spoken in Katie's area of Uganda =) Check it out!

Timely Procrastination... (Yes, It's Possible!)

    So now you're all curious--how in the world can procrastination be timely? My evil schemes have worked! Well, these pictures are from spring break, but the lovely young women who model in them are graduating on Saturday...so my procrastination in posting them is resulting in a perfectly timed blog post...which I did not intend at all! 

    As I look back at these pictures, I am so excited to share them with you all! At the time, this shoot frustrated me--we were rushed, trying to juggle locations, conflicting times, and different outfits, and I didn't think it turned out all that well. However, reviewing the pictures, I am actually proud to call several of them mine. My style and technique is definitely still in progress, but I am learning--I could not have shot these photos a year ago! Anyway, with that in mind, enjoy these photos of my sister Jenny and her friend Ruthann!

This is one of my favorites--I purposely over-exposed it to see what would happen, and it turned out great =)

Ruthann has a great smile =) It just lights up her face...she needs to model for someone more often... 

I love having models and friends who are willing to lie on the ground for me--and, believe it or not, the feet in the air are what make this picture so good =) 

The gravel driveway we were shooting on was a great natural reflector, bouncing sunlight onto Jenny's face so it shows up beautifully in the photos... (for the photographers who care...)

This is one of my absolute favorites from the day...the light worked beautifully for me! It's just our neighbor's gravel driveway, and it was mid-morning, but you can't tell!

A little breeze picked up, just enough to give a little movement to the pictures...so perfect! Ruthann, you've got the model look down! And that light, wow! Please, can I have that again? =)

And of course, we needed some pictures of the two of them--they've been friends as long as they can remember =)

 

This is the one Jenny chose for her graduation announcements--though it wasn't my favorite from the whole shoot, I was glad Jenny liked it! That's why I give my clients the whole selection of the good images from their shoot; they may very well like a different picture than I did best--and that's okay! We can all have our own favorites =) 

These were my only senior sessions this spring, but I have plenty more photos to share! Oh, and if you hadn't caught this yet.....you need to go watch the new Les Miserables trailer!!!!! It just came out today and it looks (and sounds, despite the fact that it's Ann Hathaway), INCREDIBLE! =D I'm just a little excited, in case you can't tell =) Finishing the book is on my summer reading list...maybe you should consider adding it to yours, so you're ready for the movie in December, too =) 

On Their Way...

I really want to share those photos I mentioned, but I came across (and rediscovered) a few things on the internet today that I had to share...too good to pass up when I'm too lazy/sick to edit pictures =)

First, the most important, and probably the coolest--I just donated money, it's so cool. Some friends posted this article on Facebook, so I was able to read it. You should, too.

I'm serious.

No, really. Go back, click the link, and read the article. Or go to the group's website:
    SavetheStorks.com
If that name doesn't intrigue you...you have problems. Let's just leave it at that.

Thanks. Having grown up as part of the pro-life movement, participating in annual "Walk for Life" events, and hearing my mom talk about pregnancy centers on a daily basis, something like this is both new and exciting...and shows how young people like me can truly make a difference.

Okay, enough serious talk...thanks for indulging me. If you've read this blog for any length of time (or know me at all), you know I'm really a sappy romantic at heart. Also, it's summer and school's out, so I've had time to really enjoy the posts on one of my favorite local photographer's blogs, chronicling the story leading up to her recent engagement...

They met in Oklahoma...hence the ginormous field of gorgeousness =) But seriously...if you have time on your hands and any ounce of romance in your heart...take an hour or two and read Kristen and Caleb's story...you'll melt =)

If you're still with me after that (I suppose I should have posted this first...hard to get past a love story, I know)...I must offer you another time-waster. But this one--this one will make you laugh. Granted, I know the writers of this blog. Even without that advantage, though, I think any of you might enjoy the tale of Russell the Special-Needs Dino...go check out this new blog...it's worth it, too! =) 

And finally, to counter the sappiness and further the ridiculousness, for any who share my enjoyment of Julian Smith...one of my recent favorites... ;)

                                

P.S. If that weirded you out too much, go look up Donut Pirate...it's not strange, just hilarious. I promise. 

That's all the randomness for today...thanks for indulging me. I realize you didn't have much of a choice, since it's the internet...but still. If you're reading now...you put up with it =) I'll be back with photos soon...

Let the Good Times Roll!

I'm so excited for this summer! Last week I was in Florida for the RUF Summer Conference (if you haven't heard of RUF, it stands for Reformed University Fellowship, and it's the ministry of the PCA on college campuses...and basically it's a group of awesome people getting together to worship!). When we get together from all over the nation in Panama City Beach, it's even more awesome--not only did we have amazing teaching, tons of time to spend with each other, but we got to spend hours at the beach every day! 

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Nope, got your hopes up, but I have to explain the title of this post and advertise one of my new favorite artists first: the title's from a song I love that gets stuck in my head allllllllll the time, by Ben Rector. He was part of a recent concert at Liberty, and though I'd never really heard of him before then, I was blown away by his talent! He's incredible! And his music is awesome. You all should go look him up and listen to his music!!!! Ben. Rector. Don't forget.

Okay, noooooooow here are some pictures =)

Some of my lovely friends:

We had many adventures in and out of the water...some ended better than others:

Volleyball was quite popular...some of our group had to be forced to play, but they ended up on the court when they were needed =) 

One evening we went out for dinner to a restaurant right on the Gulf, with live music and dancing...it was great =)

 The rest of my summer, I'll be in Pennsylvania, working at a military retreat center called White Sulphur Springs. I won't be earning a ton of money (by any stretch of the imagination), but I'm sooooo excited to be going to what is possibly my favorite place in the world and to have the chance to be involved in their ministry. God does amazing things there, and He always brings together people who are passionately following Him--I am so thrilled to be spending my summer there! I won't have internet most of the time while I'm there, but on my days off I may occasionally be able to get online and update the blog =) We'll see how that goes...I better not make any promises...

Before I leave for the summer, I have photos from another concert (the best I've ever been to, though you can't hear it from the photos), some portraits, and other fun photos from a few events with my family--I owe the blog a lot of updating!!! Certain friends who shall not be named have not liked the absences...I haven't either, and I'm thinking about where I want to go from here. I might just need to give myself a schedule {maybe starting with a weekly post and working from there...) We'll see.... Either way, hope you enjoyed these pictures!