Author Archives: 365 days of marriage

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About 365 days of marriage

I started this blog in April of 2011. At the time, Bret and I were wedding photographers and it was a way to share how marriage is more about the day to day and so much more than the wedding day itself. For about 5 years, I blogged about the joys and sorrows of the Christian walk, marriage, work, family and friends. I’ve blogged every day since a few weeks after I started. In May of 2015, we photographed our last wedding. Now, I have become passionate about simplicity, particularly in marriage, Christianity, business, travel and life. For a number of reasons, we have become minimalists. I’ve found that having simplicity makes life so much deeper, refreshing and joyful. I hope that this blog will help others see the benefits of living simply.

Day 1117 – Jennilyn’s Musings on One of My Best Friends

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Bret is unable to do his musings today, so I’m going to do a little musing myself. 🙂

I was trying to figure out what to write today and I thought I would look through some old photos…see what happened that day….I found this picture of my dear friend Kristi…from eight years ago!

So, Kristi…you have been one of the best friends I have ever had. Eight years have brought us through many ups and downs, relationships, weddings (to my readers, we got married within 2 months of each other), joys and sorrows. I will never forget all that you did for our wedding…even smacking me (or wanting to) when I was so excited you couldn’t do my hair and makeup….I just kept jumping up and down….in my chair. You have told me how things are when I needed to hear it and kept silent when I needed to learn it on my own. You push me more than most, especially with running, but do it in such a loving way. (“Just one more turn! Just one more mile!”) I love you and look forward to another 8 years of friendship!

Day 1116 – I Believe in Miracles…Even If It’s Just a GPS

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Today, I drove a friend to Easton, PA…which is about 3 hours from here….about ten minutes from the destination, the GPS was like, um, eh, I’m done working for you today. Powered down and we’re like, oh crap! Thankfully my friend had suggested printing off directions so we were good to finish the journey. I wasn’t driving at the time, but would be driving back…on the ride up I was texting one of my friends to see if she could chat with me as I drove back. She texted a few times to make sure everything was ok on the way up…and after the GPS went kaput, I said, well, if you can pray that the GPS works again, that’d be great! Not a minute or two after I sent the text, the little green light came back on the GPS powered up. It stayed on long enough to charge back up and even though it flickered a few times during the drive back, it worked the whole way home.

So, the moral of today’s story is…it’s ok to pray for small things….

And here’s our GPS…it’s been through a lot….2 and a half cross country trips…a ton of weddings and lots of fun trips….

Day 1114 – Sometimes “Thanks” Just Isn’t Enough….But I’m Going To Try

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Today at church, something awesome happened.

After the service, we’ll typically stay a little while to talk to different people. Sometimes about photography jobs…sometimes about life in general…it’s a great time to catch up with friends.

Today, I was chatting with my sister about a photo shoot next Sunday. At which point Bret walks up with an envelope in his hand. I gave a raised eyebrow, but he said we’ll open it in the car. The anticipation was killing me! I’m not one for waiting when there is something like that! I’m one of those people who opens my mail in the hall or in front of the mailbox…in the middle of the road.

This was the front of the envelope…

We opened it up and found this note…

Inside was a generous gift. We have no idea who gave us this….Bret said some lady he didn’t know handed it to him and she said she was told to give it to him….we have no way of knowing who it was….Well, I would assume it was one of the 300-400 people who regularly attend our church….but it doesn’t matter. I’m sure the person who gave this to us doesn’t want to be known. But, I figured, if there is any way that I can say thank you to that person, it would be through my blog.

Dear Generous Giver,

You have blessed Bret and I more than you know. We were brought to tears (ok, just me) because of your gift. So far it has helped us fulfill immediate obligations and allowed us to have sweet fellowship with each other before Bret has another stint with his temp job. We are very grateful. We are very humbled. Thank you for seeing a need and filling it. I have always thought I wouldn’t be on the receiving end the “pray for food and hear a knock on the door with groceries on the other side” stories. But now I can say that I am. Thank you for giving us another thing to put up on our thankfulness board. I can’t wait to share how God can care for us through others. Thank you for living out this verse:
“They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19

Thank you,
Two very grateful and humbled people