Pictures* and friends...

Last blog was about going out to the district and taking pics while going over basic functions of our cameras. It was a fun time, I think i will be up for another with a smaller group next time! We spent two hours talking and walking and clicking..

Here are some of the places we went!

We ran into "Redball" who specializes in Parcore

He did some flips for us, very fun to watch

love the columns of color here!

recycle bins

beam of light

Even though it's cliche, we took pics of our lovely campus columns

I had a great time with the ladies. They were all very photogenic subjects for me to practice on! :) hopefully, we will get to do it again soon!

cameras and friends

I have the fun opportunity to go down to the District tomorrow with a few friends from Karis. We will be talking about our DSLR cameras, and try to bring basic knowledge to the complexity of those mysterious things ;)

It's been really fun the last year to get acquainted with Jeremy's old camera. I took it to Rio on our trip with our church, and got to capture amazing sites and people. It was another pivotal experience in my life, for sure. You can see those pics here or read a little about it here. All that to say, after i got back, I wanted to find out more about my camera and how to use it. My buddy Keith  became my photography sensei, and i have since photographed a few weddings, seen some awesome couples makeout in front of the camera, taken crazy kids pictures and overall have had a good time bending my mind backwards trying to learn. It's been good stuff. So, tomorrow, i get to share what knowledge i have acquired with a couple of ladies just starting out! I also have invited a couple of friends that also have been taking pictures for a longer time than me, it will be good to have the ol' pros offer some artistic insight, they are pretty awesome. holler margo and rachel!

Some basic things we will go over:

ISO, wtf, right? it's 'like' this, but not quite... i have heard people try to explain this like they explain the Trinity.
Aperature
Depth of Field
Shutterspeed
Focus
Exposure


specifically, we will go over how to find these things on your camera, (we will have an array of different models present) and what they 'basically' do.

I suppose their are some other things we will talk about like; composition, how to hold your camera (like a sniper rifle,... basically), how to have your family dress for a picture, good places for creative photos (holla for keith), and of course we will be drinking coffee while doing all this ;)

I am really excited to meet up with some awesome chicas and do one of my favorites hobbies!

where do you want to be?

it's very easy to get carried away with your free time and think of all the possibilities of what fun things you could be doing. Most of the time, i long for the weekend, enjoying the sun, getting away to the cabin, the possibility of moving to an exotic land and living there for years. "life would be so much easier or exciting if..." it's easy to get discontent while sitting at your desk for hours during the day. And, it can be downright hard, especially with that mentality.

I'm starting to see how this is a reflection of my maturity. instead of running from the things that are less pleasant, it is good for me to grow within those circumstances. it's good for me to thrive in the place that i have been rooted. I believe this relates to my relationships, my community involvement, my work ethic, and therefore, my growth as a person. i shouldn't try to escape from the things that don't make me buzz with anticipation. instead, i would like to learn to become content wherever i'm at.

while focusing on what is not 'ideal' or exciting in your life, you can get into a rut and not move, or wish you were somewhere else. that's escapism. you are in a constant wait for things to be made better...i am realizing increasingly it's more important for me to thrive wherever i am at, instead of wishing i was somewhere else. I believe God gives direction and purpose for the times that He puts us in. It's not like He wants us to be discontent. Part of growing up is accepting the difficult stuff and growing through it. I believe it's this very discipline that will make me more ready for whatever God does throw at me in the future. And it won't come sooner by me wishing it.  I love Shelly Moore's lyrics about Exodus, about God being the provider of all the Hebrews needs. She sings:

I am here
wipe away  your tears
I am here
I will provide, i will provide
I am your bread of life 
I will provide, 
I am here
Bread of Heaven for your child
I find that there's enough to meet my needs
But to gather it up isn't easy

The people of the Exodus were freed from bondage to pharoah in egypt. what could be better than freedom, right? however, as soon as they were in the desert, they became increasingly discontent with God's provision and even where He was taking them (aka, falling food from the sky, a rock that gushed water when they got thirsty, a sea splitting down the middle, pillar of fire from the sky, etc) and actually said they were wanting to go back to Egypt. WHAT?! I think that while it was not ideal to be in the desert, it was what God had led them into because it was the interim to getting to the promised land. It is significant to me that time 'in the wilderness' seemed pointless. But, it was meant to bring something greater. It was because they were so distrusting and unfaithful that God let them wander for 40 years until that generation of Hebrews died off.

We can live a significant portion of our lives the same way, being discontent and therefore missing out on the bigger and better picture. Instead, we could be in relationship with Him and others, and we can do that where ever we are. We could do the best work we can, wherever we are, and it's not a waste, it's not useless. It probably won't be easy, and it may lack luster at times, but it will produce character and help prepare for where ever God has next. And, i failed to mention:  its not even about me! it's about reaching out for others to see Jesus and for me to know Him. If this is the case, how could I be satisfied with trying to escape? There is already work cut out for me, where I am at.

may the passage below inspire you.

colossians 3:23-24
'whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

i'm thankful for my family

I know it's not Thanksgiving,  but there's never a time like the present to talk about how thankful you are... and especially for your family. By the way, I have a great one. For Christmas, jeremy and i got to visit in st louis and stay with my folks. I also got to see some beloved friends, Rachel, Audrey, and Julie-dearest. I was very thankful for that time, and was so encouraged by those beautiful ladies... But, back to my family... here are some pics i got to take. I am blessed to say, that they each have had big roles in me learning about Christ and becoming a Christian.  I can say with praise to God, that my parents and my brothers have a strong faith in the Lord, and I have seen them grow in many ways in their faith. wow. it's just awesome to see it!

Ah! so funny, Adam made a fort for 'Quelf' game.

the problem is that we don't make resolutions enough...

Going into the new year, you have a lot of people wanting to greet you with the question, 'have any new year's resolutions?'. My typical response is 'no' because i do not appreciate the idea that one moment of the year will make me anymore resolute* to making changes in my life. I can't find the specific study, ( i just found a bad article that doesn't even reference) but the "statistics" show that of the 70% of Americans that make a resolution to lose weight, only 6% succeed. I think this tells more about certain personalities than it does that making resolutions are bad.  ... it's no secret that the beginning of the year, gyms are filled with people only to slowly empty after about 3 months. I believe this leads to the cynical attitude of even trying to make resolutions for the new year. Hence my thoughts today. 

One of Merriam Webster's many definitions of the word, resolution is something that is resolved <made a resolution to mend my ways>. I believe society as a whole sees there are huge problems with their life, and at the end of a busy year, what better way to say 'good riddance' than to make a means for making their lives better, through a resolution. We see our need for things to be made right or to be better. And after so many attempts of trying to make it right on our own, it is almost demanded that we become cynical and hardened so our failures to make it right, don't kill us( at least to our psyches). It's this very hardening of our hearts and becoming cynical that is our problem. We don't need to stop making resolutions-things ARE WRONG- we need to take the opportunity to ask for help. Since people are fallible to make their resolutions happen, they should ask for help from God. 

This points directly to our need for a Savior. So now, our resolutions become repentance, right?  Because, if our way is failing in making things right, then when we ask for help from the One who can change it, we should then find ourselves saying 'You are right, im wrong... please help me'. 

We need to resolute to ask for help. And, you know, that IS repentance. it's turning away from yourself, because let's just face it, you have made a wreck of yourself this year. And guess what? you will continue to do so in many ways in this new one... so, instead of becoming cynical and getting worse EVERY year for the rest of your life, hiding from YOURSELF the fact that things are wrong...start making more resolutions; it reminds you that you DO need help and things are NOT right... and then repent and ask for help. 

does this ring true for you?

much love in the new year,

leanna