Monday, January 23, 2012

Nikon Love

On my eighteenth birthday I got the biggest surprise of my life when I opened my Nikon d3100...  


I couldn't believe it - years of waiting and hoping and wanting a dSLR had ended and I couldn't wait to start photographing everything in sight!  

Since then, I've been learning so much... And I still have so much to learn.  I'm loving every second of the process!  

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past few weeks:


Photo credit to my Marmee...
I just loved how this one turned out!

At Barberville:
Bokeh :)

Pretty jars and bokeh

The picture that became my new header :)
 At a dear friend's house:

The day was perfect, so I did an impromptu photo shoot with MaKenna... :)






Blessings,




Thursday, January 19, 2012

Our God Is In Control, Growing Pains, and A New Look

Notice anything different?  Yup, I've changed my blog design!  This was my first time creating all the elements for my blog and I enjoyed it so much!

What do you think?  Do you like the new design?  Personally, I like the clean, crisp look that this design brought.

I also, created a Facebook page and added a link to my Pinterest account.

...

Since my 18th birthday, I've been going through some "growing pains." No, I'm not getting taller... I'm destined for shortness :)
Rather, these are growing pains of character.  These kinds of growing pains build depth and maturity - something I wasn't really prepared for, but am thankful for, anyway.

Just like physical growing pains, this hurts for a reason.  Simply put, these growing pains are growing me in spiritual, emotional, and relational ways.  It's bringing many changes, and changes are never easy, however necessary they may be.

I still don't know for sure why we go through seasons of trial and pain in our lives... Perhaps just to keep us humble and make us more like Christ.  But I know one thing... Our God is in Control.  And that is all that really matters.  Because when He has control of our lives, we know that everything will turn out right in His time.  What a blessing to know the One who holds the whole world in His hands... and, yet, still has an intricate and distinct plan for each of our lives!

And you know what??

It is through these times of "growing pains" that God reveals more of Himself to us.  He sustains us, and keeps us... and we learn it more in trials.  Because it is when we realize that we are frail, insecure, and unable, that we realize that He is ALL this and MORE!

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called Our God is in Control.

Yes, it was, indeed, the inspiration for this post...  Why do you ask? :)

Anyway... this song came on my Pandora (seriously, God's gift to music lovers! :) ) the other day and I immediately fell in love with it.  Sometimes, the right song, at the right time is just what you need.  And that's what this was to me.

I'd like to share the lyrics with you, in the hope that it may help you, too.

This is not how it should beThis is not how it could beThis is how it isOur God is in control
This is not how it will beWhen we finally will seeWe’ll see with our own eyesHe was always in control
And we’ll singHoly Holy Holy is in our GodAnd we will finally really understand what it meansSo we’ll singHoly Holy Holy is in our GodWhile we’re waiting for that day
This is not where we planned to beWhen we started this journeyThis is where we areAnd Our God is in control
Though this first taste is bitterThere will be sweetness foreverWhen we finally taste and seeThat Our God is in control
And we’ll singHoly Holy Holy is in our GodAnd we will finally really understand what it meansSo we’ll singHoly Holy Holy is in our GodWhile we’re waiting for that dayWe’re waiting for that dayWe’ll keep on waiting for that day
And we will knowOur God is in controlHoly Holy HolyHoly Holy HolyOur God is in controlHoly Holy HolyOur God is in controlHoly Holy Holy

Blessings,

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