I'm Moving Soon!

...Come with me! :)

Stop to smile :)

Febuary felt like Autumn today (though it's back to snowing as I write this :)

I took my girls out for a photo shoot this afternoon, and they did so great. Here are some pics from our session, and I'll put more on flickr soon.

Sam says it best

This is by far the best quote on legalism that I have ever heard. It's a little lengthy, but take a minute to read it aloud and I trust it will encourage you. :)

"There are people, professing Christian people, who are determined to bring you under their religious thumb. They are bent on making you a slave of their conscience. They have built a tidy religious box, without biblical justification, and strive to stuff you inside and make you conform to it's dimensions. They are legalists, and their tools are guilt, fear, intimidation, and self-righteousness. They proclaim God's unconditional love for you, but insist on certain conditions before including you among the accepted, among the approved elite, among God's favored few.

"I'm not talking about people who insist you obey certain laws or moral rules in order to be saved. Such people aren't legalists. They are lost! They are easily identified and rebuffed. I'm talking about Christian legalists whose goal is to enforce conformity among other Christians in accordance with their personal preferences. These are life-style legalists. They threaten to rob you of joy and to squeeze the intimacy out of your relationship with Jesus. They may even lead you to doubt your salvation. They heap condemnation and contempt on your head so that your life is controlled and energized by fear rather than freedom and joy and delight in God.

"I suspect that some of you are...the victims of legalism. You live in fear of doing something that another Christian considers unholy, even though the Bible is silent on the subject. You are terrified of incurring their disapproval, disdain, and ultimate rejection. Worse still, you fear God's rejection for violating religious traditions or cultural norms that have no basis in Scripture but are prized by the legalist. You have been duped into believing that the slightest misstep or mistake will bring down God's disapproval and disgust.

"When you are around other Christians, whether in the church or at a home group or just hanging out, do you feel free? Does your spirit feel relaxed or oppressed? Do you sense their acceptance or condemnation? Do you feel judged, inadequate, inferior, guilty, immature, all because of your perceived failure to conform to what someone else regards as "holy"? Jesus wants to set you free from such bondage! As Paul said, "You were called to freedom!"
-Sam Storms

you can do anything! :)

my computer has been telling me it feels very full lately, so i've been trying to move some old pictures onto disks. while working on that, i found some fantastic vids from a chinese acrobat show a group of us went to in Beijing, summer of 2007!

after watching this, just think...whatever it is in your life you feel like you can't do, you can! :)

Why Kids are often the Best of People...

"Dear Kristen,

I love you to God and back!

Love, Abby" :)

winter wonderland

Just a few shots from my photo shoots yesterday. Doesn't snow make winter amazing?!

More photos are on my flickr site, and please let me know if you're interested in a personal session! Don't be intimidated by the cold! Children are precious all times of year. ;)

Putting Away the Calendar

What's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?... Check the clock? Pull the covers over your head and want to go back to sleep? Start thinking of your agenda for the day?

If you're like me, maybe it's all of the above. Yet often it's my list of to-do's that finally motivates me to get out of bed. ;)

Today I was thinking a lot about how planning obsessed I can be...And what for?? Really, stop and think about it. Why in the world do we worry and whine about if this or that will work out in our lives?

I definitely feel in a time of transition, more than I would prefer or consider to be comfortable. I have a lot of prayers about my future being offered up to God, and I'm trying to do my part to be diligent in pursing what opportunities this big bad world might have for me. But with that said, I want to get back to living for the day. It's what Jesus would want too...

And there are so many blessings that each day holds. To get in the spirit of my renewed mindset, here are some of the best things about today: Doing a Photo Shoot for some friends in the snow, Taking a walk with my dog and my neighbor's little boy, Having some nice talks and meals with Mom on our day off, and Chatting with a long distance friend on the phone. Good thing tomorrow is a new day full of new memories!!!

Chains be Broken. Lives be Healed. Eyes be Opened. Christ is Revealed.

"I have decided, I have resolved to wait upon the Lord. My Rock and Redeemer, Shield and Reward. I wait upon You Lord. As surely as the sun will rise, You will come to us. As certain as the dawn appears, You'll come..." ~Hillsong