Goodbye, Comfort Zone!

Most of my family & friends already know this, but about 6 months ago my sister, Louise, & I decided to go into business for ourselves. I fell in love with photography around age 11, probably because of my Dad's mom. She always had a nice camera laying around, the 35mm with all the fancy buttons...I thought she was a pro! 

Every single time we visited her in Indiana, I would head straight for the photo albums. She had, and has, a passion to capture everyone and everything that she loves on film, and she passed that love on to me.

In fact, she bought my very first camera around that time, for Christmas: the 110. Remember those? I thought I was big stuff! I still have pictures I took with my little 110. Thank you, Grandma. (she also bought me my first purse & first nice pair of dressy shoes - Chad says you created a monster & thanks a lot!)

Now, Louise is braver than I am and jumped right in last December, buying the professional camera and all the trimmings she would need to get started. But I am my father's daughter,so I researched & worried for 6 months before I finally took the plunge last month and bought my own set up.

We named our photography business Forever Photography because, even though nothing material last forever, pictures are probably next best thing for preserving a memory. We designed the website, www.foreverphotog.com, printed up business cards, added a Facebook page, here, and started praying. Seriously.

Louise called Grandma and asked her to pray. Grandma went one step further & added our new little business to her prayer chain. Three days later, we had 3 jobs!

Don't you love Him?! I love how HE loves moving even in the little things, the buried desires of our heart.

So, it began. It's been soooo hard for me to step out of my comfort zone in some areas. Dealing with strangers face to face, setting a price and sticking with it, editing to please the customer, not me (still working on that one!).

But I love it! I'm so glad we did this. I didn't want to wait another 10 or 20 years and look back to thing, Why didn't I at least try?! I already have a few of those regrets and I'm trying hard to not add to the list.

In honor of jumping out of my comfort zone, I just signed up for something totally cool and new for me:  World Wide Photo Walk - thanks to my cousin, Linn.

Please, keep us in your prayers. I feel so honored when someone chooses us to shoot their portrait, birthday, or wedding. In fact, I have to stop myself from talking them out of it! I want to tell them, but this other lady is SO good!

Which is why we're cheap ;)

Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? Tell me about it!

Blessings in Disguise

One of the main reasons I quit blogging is that it is so hard to filter every word I write, think about who in my family or circle of friends might read it (& possibly recognize themselves!). It was too much, so I stopped. Then joined Facebook. LOL! Talk about no filter! Plus, people you haven't seen in 20 years can now judge every single thing you do & say publicly!

But I am so full again with things going on in my life and relationship with God and writing stuff down has always been therapeutic for me. Facebook can't handle what I want to say, so hear I am. And this next stuff is what led me to start back up when I did (some of it is repeat from Facebook, so bear with me):

Last week I was driving & praying about some very hard situations in several different friends' lives, asking God to bless them. Most of them are financial, as it always seems to go, so my prayer is usually, GIVE THEM MONEY. Better jobs. Overtime. Money trees ;)

But some of them are dealing with things that money can't fix. Unhappy marriages, single parenting, terrible bosses/neighbors/family...you name it. Everyone I know has some difficult situation they are asking God to intervene in.

As I prayed, my ears picked up on the same word, "blessings", over & over on the radio, so I paused & turned it up. When you are desperate to hear from God, you start looking at billboards differently, searching for some deeper, hidden meaning...and songs become direct words from God...or so you hope ;)

This is the song I heard. It's also in my playlist, to the right, so you can click & hear it as I did. Before you do, let me tell you a little about the woman that wrote it.

Laura Story is the woman who wrote the song Chris Tomlin made famous, Indescribable (I added it to the playlist as well, for those who live on another planet & haven't heard it!).
A year & a half into her marriage her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. You can hear her testimony in her own words here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ljV_RA0CM

She wrote this song, though, after years of ups & downs, prayers & tears, frustration with unanswered prayers, wondering if God was even listening, didn't He care...sound familiar?! Guess that's why it spoke to me so loudly. I added my thoughts in bold & parenthesis in the margin.

Blessings

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things (An easy life is a lesser blessing?)

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near (Ohhh. I see.)
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise (Because the goal is to know you more..and how better to get to know you...)

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near (it's like she can read minds!)
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough (Ouch!)
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long we'd have faith to believe (again, ouch.)

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
It's not our home (My one of my favorite promises...we're pilgrims & aliens!)

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy (this is where I usually cry)
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

See what I'm talking about? She gets it. What a great understand of how this thing, this relationship & getting to know God, works! The harder my trial, the more I learn to lean on Him. The more I get to know Him in ways I wouldn't even consider, had I not stayed up nights praying & listening for His voice. WOW. I don't like it, but I get it.

So, I'm trying to look at things a little differently now. Trials are opportunities to see God move, dark times are opportunities for the SON to shine brighter.

I may need you to remind me of this next week, next month, next pitfall.

A whole handful of birthdays

Today is the day!

Ben has been counting down to his 5th birthday since, well, last August. So, today has been Ben Day. The Day of Ben. Wait, isn't that the name of the year, too?

I won't bore you with "5 years ago today I was...". My favorite way to share memories, of course...photos!

My gorgeous boy

His new "smile" face...not loving it!

Eying the presents

Aunt Louise was tickling him out of the serious mood he was in

Brothers & cousins

Miss Betty Crocker's cookie brownie is to DIE for. Almost. A lot. Seriously!

He asked me this morning how old he was, so I asked him, "How old do you think you are?" He thought about it a minute then threw up a hand with all 5 fingers raised.

"That's right! You're the big 5 years old today!"

He pondered that a sec then asked,

"But when will I big 6 like Mitah!?"

And so it will go for the next 364 days.

I told you so!

Borrowed from Facebook:

Sometimes God says yes. Sometimes God says no. Sometimes God says I told you so.

Which leads to something I've always suspected:

Most of my troubles are self made.

Socialism...share the love

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said,

"OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.
All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that. Remember, there is a test coming up: the next presidential election in 2012!

I'm baaack!

A friend recently informed me that it has been almost a year and a half since my last post - wow! The fact she even looked that up made me feel guilty somehow - thanks Annette!

The truth is, things are finally starting to settle down a little. Ben, my baby, turns 5 tomorrow and in one week he starts Kindergarten. For the first time in almost 12 years, I will be child free during the day. I'm giddy with excitement, let me tell you! I wasn't ready for this day with Katie...nor Ethan...and definitely like my little Micah. But Ben is ready. I'm ready. We're doing this!

A quick update for my 2nd 1st post:

As mentioned, my baby turns 5 tomorrow, August 1st. 5 years ago I was stressing out over who in the world would babysit my other 3 when the time came for me to have my baby. We were stationed in D.C., I hadn't yet moved on base & met my soon to be BFF Jacklyn, one of the few people EVER that I'd be able to trust with my kids. But God provided, someone from my church stepped up and, though not ideal, it all worked out. And Baby Ben came into the world kicking & screaming :)

Then, in 2 weeks, my firstborn will celebrate her 12th birthday.

WoW.

Those birthdays just keep on coming, making me older & older. I'll post more on her later but need to know is that she starts middle school next week, something I am refusing to stress over. She's covered in prayer, she has strong morals...she'll be fine.

Ethan is 10 and going through a really rough period right now. My little sweet boy has developed a smart mouth and we're dealing with it. Pray for him. I think he needs a good friend, among other things.

Little Micah Fisher is still Mr. Sweetie except he has now transferred all his love to my new sister in law, Juli. And her bridesmaid. And the female DJ at her wedding. I'm nursing a serious broken heart over that one!

We're all good, despite job & financial stress. We're happy, incredibly blessed in the health & love department, and really...isn't that what matters most?

Oh, and I started a photography business with my sister, Louise! It's a life long dream and God seriously led me to this point and I am SO excited! A little overwhelmed, but excited!

Forever Photography is on Facebook and we have a website! www.foreverphotog.com - all the other cool names were taken ;) (Just kidding, business partner...I really do like the name!)

Since I know I have really only 3 die hard fans, I've tagged you three to receive emails every time i update. You were the only three that nagged me to restart the blog :D
Let me know if that gets inconvenient.

I also made it mobile phone capable. So you can view it on your smart phone in an easier to read mode than a regular sized webpage. If you have a not so smart phone, you're outta luck ;)

Anyway, I love you girls - Jacklyn, Annette, & Angie - and this is for you! (Let me know when you are sick of the minute details of my boring life!)

God's voice

A couple of days ago, Katie, my 10 year old, asked me what God's voice sounds like in my head. I tried to explain that I don't necessary hear a "voice". I hear thoughts that I know are not my own. I hear Him through my pastor, in conversation with a fellow believer, in the words of a radio preacher, in the lyrics of a song. When God wants to speak to you, He will. The more you tune your ear to Him, the harder you listen, the sooner you realize that He's been speaking all along, you just weren't paying attention!

I've prayed for my husband for years now, that God would speak to him, draw him, "woo" him even. I wanted Chad to have a definitive experience with God, to know beyond a doubt just how much God loves him. I think we all need that knowledge in us. That faith that can't be shaken that no matter what you do, how much you fail, God is always there waiting to forgive and still love you. Just like you love your children, regardless of their faults, He loves you that much...and then some!

Monday night I came home from church to find my husband "listening for the voice of God." He casually told me that God had been talking to him for days, getting up in his business, and he had he decided to seek Him, hear His voice, and see what God wanted from him.

Talk about surprised!

He told me he was tired of running from God, tired of living his own life, tired of being unhappy...he was ready to serve God, go God's way. He said he rededicated his life to God, all alone, sitting at home!

He still didn't feel at total peace. He said he didn't feel "done". I know the devil likes to mess with our minds, tell us that since we didn't feel anything, it wasn't real. But this is all by FAITH, baby! Whether you feel it or not, when God draws you and you respond, it's done!

I knew he just needed to let God touch him, he needed to totally surrender. The next night, last night, he went to church with me, voluntarily, and made a public confession of faith during the altar service. God finished the work, cleaned him up and out, and when Chad got up from the altar, he was a "new creature!"

So, yeah, I've got a brand new husband!!!

I encourage you to listen for God's voice today. Talk to him like your best friend, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Then, listen.

Oh, and by the way, during that conversation with my 10 year, she told me that she hears God in the voice of Obi Wan Kanobi. So, there you go. How do you hear God's voice?