Day 1662 – You Are Rich, Right Now – Do You Realize It?

Posted on January 28, 2014 by 365 days of marriage

I recently started reading How To Be Rich by Andy Stanley. Wowie it’s so good! I’m only on the second chapter and it has already changed how I think about things.

He says we are so much richer than we realize. (The following is a paraphrase! I got the book out of the library, so it doesn’t have my typical underlined text for easy review!) Living in America, the luxuries we don’t even think about….one person working only 5 days to feed himself for 7 days….or one person working for more than one mouth to feed. Even making around $30,000, you’re richer than a lot of people in this world.

Tonight, I came across a video that really drove this point home. It’s since been taken down, but the gist is people got REALLY excited to get bibles.

Some of us have a bible or two lying around….for each person in the house. I have at least 3-4+ that I can think of off of the top of my head. My family is really into books, especially my dad (a trait he passed down to me)….to look at his library you’d think he’d been a pastor for years. He even has the bible in Greek and Latin. I have no idea how many bibles we actually have in the house….but, if I had to guess, I’d say at least 30 of various translations….not to mention several computer programs that have most translations.

I watched this video and was truly humbled. They were diving for bibles like I do when I go Black Friday shopping and go after the DVDs. Do I knock people over to get to my bible? Do I truly realize how awesome it is to have my own copy of God’s word to the world? Do I cry because I have access to this gift ANY time? ……do you?

Day 1596 – The Secret To Our Joyful Marriage

Posted on November 23, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

Over the last few weeks several of my conversations with friends have centered around having long distance relationships and how beneficial they are.

I started dating Bret about two weeks before he was deployed to Iraq. I remember people would ask if I was worried…and I mean, of course I was, but my attitude was “he’s coming back to me or he’s not.” No amount of good thoughts would bring him back, I had to trust that he was safe in God’s hands and not my own. That attitude came from experiencing a previous long distance relationship as well as several loses of very young friends. I could see how God prepared me for the even larger struggle of Bret being deployed.

After Iraq, Bret was still in the service for a few more months in California and then went on to live with his family in California. The first 2 years of our relationship/knowing each other, we spent about 11 days in the same physical location the first year and maybe 2-3 months the second year. He didn’t move here until about 4 months before the wedding. While you can look at that and say, man, that sucks! We see it as a huge blessing on our lives. It forced us to grow in our communication with each other. Something that has been invaluable during hard times.

Now, having a string of conversations about long distance/limited time together relationships over the past few weeks, it has made me thankful anew for that time in our lives. Namely because it has equipped me to encourage my friends during hard times.

So what’s the secret to our joyful marriage?

It’s all in our attitude about our situations. To see that God is at the center of our marriage and all things that He brings on our path. You can choose to be angry at the small bank account or lonely when your spouse works long hours or sad that life has changed so much. Or you can be thankful that you have a roof over your head and even though you aren’t eating out as often as you’d like, you’re getting your daily bread…you can be thankful that your spouse has a job and is helping to pay the bills…you can be thankful that you aren’t stagnant and God is choosing to grow you through change.

What’s the secret to YOUR joyful marriage?

Secret Part B of our joyful marriage is being kids at heart. 🙂

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Day 1593 – Book Review – The Duck Commander Devotional

Posted on November 20, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

In my overflowing stack of books from the library, I have the Duck Commander Devotional.

I’ve been reading it for about a week in my devotions and I am LOVING it! It’s really great advice and it’s neat seeing a little into each member of the family’s lives. I read through the bios at the beginning and they actually have entries by the kids! I also learned that several members of the family have biblical schooling.

It’s really awesome to see how God has blessed them and has given them a platform to share Him to the public!

So go check it out! It’s only $16.99 retail to buy!

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Day 1591 – How I Go On During The Hard Times

Posted on November 18, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

I absolutely love owning a business. I love the control that I have over it. I love that I make the calls.

That being said, it’s not an easy job. There are so many stresses. If I’m not out there getting new leads, meeting (and booking) new clients, I’m not getting money in the bank. I’m going to be honest, there have been some very hard months since I went full-time. I have been extremely humbled during the last two years! I joke with people that if they want to grow in their trust in God…open a business. I think I’m going to start also saying, if you want to grow in humility…open a business as your only income.

I’m pretty sure I’ve shared before how I felt like I had to start over all over again when I went full-time. I never realized how prideful and stagnant I had become. I thought, “I’ve shot XX amount of weddings, I know what I’m doing.” Thankfully, Bret reminded me that this is a terrible attitude to have. To run a successful business, you HAVE to have an attitude of “I don’t know it all, I will NEVER know it all, I will ALWAYS be learning.”

I also finally settled on a brand for us….and it’s a fluid thing, brand…especially for us….but, here’s where we’re at right now….

Passionately, unveiling, cherishing and attempting to capture God’s glory in every client by being emotionally connected.

People have said some awesome things about how we work…how well we fit in with the family/wedding party….how we can be in the background, but a part of the party. But there’s one way that I feel like we could do a better job….and that’s telling people WHY and HOW we are that way.

It is Christ giving us the strength to do so, the passion and talent come from Him.

We pray before each and every wedding….not only that we would do a good job and that our work would bless each couple….but that they would have an awesome marriage.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve wanted to quit. Just throw in the towel and do something else….especially when the bank account is getting scary low….or I see a way I need to grow and I’m just stuck…or when I know I have to get that new piece of gear, but again, the money just isn’t there.

But that’s when I’m graciously reminded that God created me for this. When I was starting to write my book on being a Christian business owner (which is currently on the shelf, ha ha, pun somewhat intended), I noticed SO many patterns in my life that pointed to me running a photography business.

He also graciously reminds me of those that our work has touched…..I reread all of my testimonies on bad days (so big thank you to everyone has written a testimony!) I also remember the power that is in a photograph. It is truly humbling to know that I have taken the last formal picture of people…whether at a family portrait session or a wedding.

I am not a perfect photographer/business owner/wife/friend/blogger….but I am learning that I am a perfect vessel for God to work through.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10

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Random info – this picture was taken near the lake where Dirty Dancing was filmed. I took it with a little point and shoot and it’s still one of my favorites.

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Day 1590 – How Fog Reminded Me Of God’s Control

Posted on November 17, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

As I drove to church today, the fog was incredibly thick, I could only see about 4 car lengths in front of me. It got me thinking about how God sometimes keeps us in a fog.

I noticed that I could always see the stop lights in time as well as the brake lights of the cars in front of me. I was always informed of the immediate danger.

The drive to church is a very lovely one. There are sweeping farms, glorious foliage and animals galore. Sometimes, all of this is very distracting. The fog kept me focused on just the road ahead of me.

It struck me how God sometimes gives us a time of fog to protect us from what’s going on around us. While it could have been a very claustrophobic thing, I found it very comforting.

If you’re in a fog, maybe God is protecting you from a distraction…

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

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365daysofmarriage

Simplicity in Marriage, Christianity, Travel, Business, Life

Category Archives: Christianity

Day 1662 – You Are Rich, Right Now – Do You Realize It?

Day 1596 – The Secret To Our Joyful Marriage

Day 1593 – Book Review – The Duck Commander Devotional

Day 1591 – How I Go On During The Hard Times

Day 1590 – How Fog Reminded Me Of God’s Control