Want a change of perspective?

One that isn't about you, that you have a small house, an old car or that you don't have the newest iphone.

Imagine having everything and then having hurricane Katrina hit your lovely city. You lose it all. You are now living under a bridge.

I was talking to a man who runs a place where homeless people with mental disorders can have a place to stay, and he said that people who live under the bridge are given very few things to live off of, I don't remember most of the things he listed, but one was a cardboard box to use as a pillow or to protect them from rain. There were so many people under that bridge, sleeping on the concrete, laying on nothing but a piece of cardboard.

After seeing that, I stopped complaining about the cot I was sleeping in for the week. I stopped complaining about the loud air conditioner in our room, and I stopped complaining about our showers being in tents outside. (don't ask, it's hard to explain.)

Everyone always talks about how we take the things we have for granted, I don't know about you, but I tend to kind of ignore the people that say stuff like "your lucky to have a roof over your head" or "don't complain about your food, there are starving kids out there." I guess we will never understand how good we have it until we see with our own eyes the people just like you and I who had it all... then lost it all.

I was talking to this homeless man I saw on a bench at the riverwalk, he was quite drunk and about half of what he said made no sense at all.  He knew so much scripture. We talked to him for about an hour and one of the things he said to me that stood out was "I'm blessed. I woke up this morning. I'm blessed."

Thank God for the things you have. for life. for this beautiful world He has created for us. Don't take it for granted.

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
exodus 14:14

be still.

for the next few days my blog will be flooded with stories and things I learned from this week.

consider yourself warned.

I need you so much closer.

I feel you so much closer.

Day two hundred and ninety six.

I am leaving for my mission trip to New Orleans tomorrow. I just got back from the park with Lauren (my 3 year old sister), she is not happy that I am leaving. I made her pinky promise that she would still love me even when I go away. I'm going to miss that kid.

I hope you all have a good week.

don't forget about me?

no one can.

"I just need to know that you're not going to wake up one day and feel...different"

"I can't give you that, no one can."

People change and promises are broken. life moves on.

*self-reminder."

This is me, and I’m interested in you enough to show you my flaws with the hope that you may embrace me for all that I am, but more importantly, all that I am not

most people won't.

and then i wake up.

"you know I dream sometimes about flying. it starts out like I'm running really really fast, I'm like superhuman. then the terrain starts to get really rocky and steep. I'm running so fast that my feet aren't even touching the ground, I'm floating. and it's like this amazing, amazing realness. I'm free. I'm safe. Then I realize... I'm completely alone.

and then I wake up.

-Summer Finn, (500) days of Summer.

I think every person can relate to this movie in some way. I know I can.

Day two hundred and ninety three.

So, I think I actually like this... but I don't know. My hand looks weird in the first one. But I have some good news!!


My 50mm 1.8 lens came today! My remote should be coming soon.

Aslo, I have been tagged like a billion times since I last did a tag, so I guess I will write some things.

1. I named my cameras today. Their names are Lafayette, Rupert, and Frederick.

2. I am completely in love with Adam Levine. he is so attractive.

3. I am starting to feel like my blog is pointless, no one reads or cares.

4. I am leaving for New Orleans on sunday!! I am so excited.

5. I have never read a single Harry Potter book or seen any of the movies. *gasp*

6. I think it is so attractive when guys wear v-necks. I just love it.

7. I have a really horrible laugh. It is dumb and annoying. kjhadskjf.

8. One day I will be living in Italy. I don't know what job I will have or if I will be married, I just want to be out of here.

9. Recently I have been saying the words peculiar, plethora, and nonchalant a lot. I love those words.

10. I could probably eat at chickfila every day of my life and by perfectly happy.

feeling pretty invisible.

worthless.

save me.

how I long to feel You here with me.

Day two hundred and ninety two.

Normally I have so much to say for these photos. not today. I have been so uninspired.

On the plus side, I ordered my remote and my new lens yesterday so hopefully they will come before I leave. :)

raw.

Erin Rena's challenge:

i challenge you to set up your tripod. step in front of your camera. no acting, no pretending. no fear. just think, feel, and capture it. see what expression shows up on your camera.

I honestly don't know the result of this challenge. Insecurity maybe? I don't know.

Sharp focus is overrated. as you can see I was getting irritated with my face so I chose soft focus for this. In my opinion is adds more to the shot.

"just hold onto your faith"

So last night I was atg bible study, this bible study has only a few people my age and normally us younger people are sepparated so that we have smaller discussion groups. Well last night there weren't many people there so we were all together and this older woman was telling us her story. She has the most heartbreaking story. She has been through things that I can't even imagine. The whole time she was telling us this, she was smiling, telling us how though the tears and the heartache that somehow, she just held on. Over and over she said "don't underestimate the power of faith. just hold onto faith and it will get you through anything."

I was just so inspired by that. just hold on. hold onto Him with everything you have. you will get through.

He will never ever leave you.

I say that over and over, but that hit me hard recently. I always knew He was there, but unlike any human being out there, no matter what. It doesn't matter what you do, what you are going through, who you are, or what you look like. He doesn't care. He absolutely adores you, and He is by your side every second of every day.

He will never leave you.

Sorry for being redundant, but I feel like I can't stress this enough. I will never fully understand His love, but I will never stop trying.

Things that make me happy.

-good music.
-good hair days.
-wearing your favorite outfit.
-using big words.
-finding good bible verses.
-curly hair.
-cherry coke.
-feeling pretty.
-last-minute plans.
- successful photoshoots.
-being inspired.
-inspiring someone else.
-chocolate.
-smiling.
-making someone smile.
-when someone says "you made my day"
-kittens
-riding horses.
-beautiful scenery.
-the moon, stars, clouds, sunsets.
-sleepovers.
-cameras.
-when God shows Himself to me in everyday life.
-giving/serving others.
-pouring out your thoughts and feelings to someone you trust.
-long talks with your best friend.
-laughing till you cry.
-inside jokes.
-Erin and Lauren time.
-flickr.
-walking barefoot in soft grass.
-kind people.
-going places with your friends.
-the way things look after it rains.
-making new friends.
-kind people.
-dreaming.
-writing.
-good books.
-creating something beautiful.
-not wearing makeup and being able to rub your eyes.
-watching movies.
-cute things.
-genuinely happy people.
-loud music.
-traveling.
-seeing new things.
-recieving thoughtful comments, messages, or letters.
-people with unique style.
-new clothes.
-afternoon naps.
-cookies.
-v-necks.
-the smell of coffee
-knowing loves me and will never leave me nor forsake me. ever.

I appologize, that was really long. I challenge YOU, whoever is reading this to take a minute to make a list of things that make you happy. The few minutes that it took to write this list, I was really happy just thinking of the things I love. So I think you should too, write a list, type it out. Tag me in it, send me a message so I can read it! I appreciate you. :)

We are broken.

We are. Every single one of us. Swallow your pride and admit it, you are broken. Being broken means something different to each of us, for some it could be being forgotten, alone, confused, stressed, or probably all of the above.

Being broken is the most bittersweet thing in life I can think of, being broken is never ideal. No one that I know says "yes, I would love to be beat and broken today." It's just not something we want. Those days when we are beat and broken are the worst, tear-filled, stressful, heartbreaking days of our lives. Think back to the last time you were completely broken, you had no idea how you were going to get through. It could be last year, last month, yesterday, or right this very moment. Think about that constant horrible pain for just a second, now think about the day you stopped feeling that pain (maybe you still are, hopefully this will give you hope.), what did you take away from that? For me, those days of pain taught me more than anything in the world, they made me stronger, and most importantly, they made me so much closer to my Heavenly Father.

If you are broken, the worst thing you can do is tell yourself "suck it up, people go through worse every day" or "stop being ridiculous, this isn't too big a deal.".

Surrender. Cry, cry your eyes out. Yell, let it all out. Pour everything out on a page, a photo, a canvas, a song. Anything. Read your bible, open those beautiful pages. Somehow whenever I am broken, if I just surrender myself and open those pages I always find something encouaging, something I need. Pray, pour your heart out to God. He won't judge you, His heart will break for you. He will never ever leave you. He adores you.

Think about the lives you can change, the experiences you've had, the things you've gained from these days of being broken. It may not seem like it at the time, but if you open up, admit that you are broken and cry out to Him, He will fix you.

Rejoice in being broken. Oh how He loves you. He will never leave you.

*Self reminder.*

My blog is turning into a mini-bible study. It won't always be like this, but sometimes there are things that need to be said, even if there are very few people reading.

Day two hundred and ninety~The call.

It started out as a feeling

Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye



Yay for skipping days on my 365. I learned that if you google "overlay textures" a world of opportunity is opened. I had something I was going to write here and I cannot think of it for the life of me. oh well.

Day two hundred and eighty nine.

So basically, this was a lame attempt at making up for the horrible photos I have posted in the past few days. I am not sure if I like it or not.


I did a really messy job editing this because quite honestly, I got bored. And as usual, ignore my awkward handwriting. blah blah blah.

That is all I have to say.

If you actually follow/read my blog, you are one cool person. Because honestly, I am so boring I don't know if I would even follow myself.

Overcome the world.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
-John 16:33


Am I the only one who is amazed by this? I get so caught up in my struggles and annoyances that I rarely stop and think that He has overcome the world. The battle has already been won and He is on our side. To me that is just the most encouraging thing in the world. I just have to read that verse every once and a while, it gives me hope.

These struggles are temporary. Everything here is so temporary. Live your life with purpose.

*Self reminder.*

A blog.

I made this blog years ago and never used it, I figured it would be a good idea to start posting. I appologize if I rarely make sense, and if I rant on and on about nothing. I tend to do that without realizing. So I guess here I will talk about my random thoughts, my photo adventures, my favorite artists and the things that inspire me most. I'm excited. :)


P.S. I am horrible with HTML and stuff, so my blog will be very simple and boring.