Family Photo Shoot with the Vidals

I'm FINALLY getting around to posting some shots from a photo session with the Vidal family about two months ago! I had a lot of fun hanging out with the Vidals and their cute little boys, and I am so thankful they asked me to take their family pictures. This was my first real shoot since moving out to the Iowa City area and it was great to be behind a real camera and not just my iPhone. So thanks, Vidals! Y'all were great!

Santos Family Adoption: Join the Cause

Hi friends! I just want to take a quick moment to share an amazing opportunity with you! Two very dear friends of mine, Jordan and Brandi Santos (and their sweet daughter Halle), are working on adopting a sibling set from Ethiopia. To help their cause, they started a Kickstarter project to help raise $10,000 and they are well on their way!

Please take a moment to consider if you can give, even a small amount, toward this worthy cause. No amount is too small and will go toward transforming the lives of at least two young people. The full amount of $10,000 must be pledged by Friday, August 8, for the Santos family to receive it. Can you help?

Thanks for taking a moment to read this message and please check out their project here. If you have any questions for me, please post it in the comments and I will respond as soon as possible. If you can't give, please consider sharing this message with others who may be able to give. Thank you! :)

Guest Blogging at Lindsi Rian Photography

I'm excited to announce that I'm now a guest blogger over at Lindsi Rian Photography! I'll be writing posts for publication every first and third Tuesday of the month, focusing on wedding planning.

I would love if you followed along, and as always, gave input! Since I'll be sharing tips and tricks about wedding planning, I know you bride readers will have some to share.

You can also check out some of my past wedding planning posts here on the blog!

Read by Topic:

Find all my guest posts for Lindsi below. I'll continue to add links as posts become available.

>> Meet Elise, our new guest blogger! | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> The DIY Bride | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> First Things First | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> Booking Your Vendors | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> Wedding Attire & The Honeymoon | Tips and Tricks Tuesday 
>> Odds & Ends | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> We're Going DIY | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> Getting the Down-Low to Your Guests | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> DIY: Decorative Paper Fan Circles | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> #PhotoOp | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
>> Little Personal Touches | Tips and Tricks Tuesday
 

What I Learned During a Week in the Mountains

Last week I got to go to Estes Park, Colorado, with a group of really awesome senior and junior high students for Student Life camp.

I'm usually really honest on this blog, so I'll be honest, I went on the trip for totally selfish reasons. I absolutely wanted to spend a week in the mountains, back in my favorite state and place to live. So I jumped on the chance to go as a leader. About a week before the trip I found out my job as a leader was a little more involved than just going and making sure the kids had fun.

I had to co-lead a small group (called a family group) Bible lesson and discussion each day, which I did not feel prepared for at all. Plus, the week before camp was super busy with a two-day trip to Chicago (with the seniors) and work and packing. So I didn't have any time to prepare and was starting to stress out. I started thinking that this wasn't what I had signed up for and I wasn't prepared to lead any body. But it was a little too late to do anything about it, so I just hoped that between my co-leader and I, we'd work it out.

Right away I felt like God broke me of my selfish motives and refocused me on what I should've been focused on from the beginning: the students. I felt so bad that I had wanted to go for myself and wished that I'd had the right motivation from the get-go. But I decided right away that those misplaced motives weren't going to keep me from doing my job to the best of my ability.

But then, I got a nasty outbreak of hives and some other skin problems I've been dealing with for years and all of a sudden, that was all I could think about. If you've ever had a skin condition, you know that all you want to do is hide from the world until it's better because you feel like all people see are the red bumps and not you. So I was pretty upset that it was happening and I tried to hide it for a day but I knew eventually people would start noticing, so I mentioned it to some of my fellow leaders. Thank goodness I did because my friend Bri offered to give me some different forms of Benadryl she had and it really helped. Plus talking about it helped me not internalize it, which forced me to realize that it was yet another thing distracting me from why I was really there.

It's funny how many things can keep your attention away from where it should be, and how sometimes you don't even realize it. But I'm so thankful that God helped show me where I needed to be focused, and it was so awesome just to be able to be there with the students. I don't even know if I did much good, but being able to befriend the students and share from my life experiences was so special. And to see how God moved in their hearts to draw them to him was really incredible. They were open to hearing from him, acknowledging him, and letting him work in their lives, and it showed. I probably haven't happy-cried that much in my entire life.

There are lots of moments that I will remember forever, like watching students put their faith in Jesus or when all the guys decided to serve breakfast to the girls, but I know there were some things that changed in me too. And even though it was a week for the students, God was teaching the leaders as well.

So many times I don't talk about what I believe because I know Christians have a reputation and it's not a good one. When people look at me, I don't want them to think of me like that. I don't want them to think I hate people, that I'm judgmental or condescending, because I'm not and I have no room to be. All I want to do is show people love, because honestly, that's what Jesus is, love. He's not shaking his finger saying, "Look at all you've done wrong!" or saying, "I am holier than you!" He's just love. It's the people who have messed that up, who have made Christians seem hateful or like a list of rules is going to get you into heaven, and I don't want to be a person like that.

If anything, I hope my generation and those to follow can change that stigma. It will probably take a long, long time, and some hot-headed person will probably come along and damage it, but that's what I'm working on. And yes, I'll make mistakes, we all do, we're not perfect, but I'm going to do my best with God's help, to love like he does. I'm not going to force my beliefs on anyone, but if anyone wants to talk about it, I'm always open and willing. I won't know all the answers, I can promise you that, but everything in life is a learning process, just like last week at camp. :)

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:36-40