{His Peace | Personal}

"You will not find lasting peace in the world around you, in circumstances, or in human relationships. The external world is always in flux - under the curse of death and decay...
"Take time to delve into the riches of My residing Presence." {Jesus Calling, Sarah Young} 

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in on body, and be thankful." {Colossians 3:15}

Each day remember that we are called to let His peace rule in our hearts, nothing else, just His peace. Everything else fades away when we concentrate on His peace and Presence in our life.

{Summer Happenings | Personal}

Oh gosh, life's been crazy! Crazy good. Quick picture update... because I've the days are full until I leave for California.. IN FOUR DAYS! I'm going to be there to second shoot a wedding with Katherine [who I featured   here]  and then we're going to road trip and do fun things for the next seven days. :) So excited for it all, but it's coming up way too fast!
Anyway... here is a little of what my summer has looked like:

Garage saling with friends

{Chilling at the beach with the fam after long days}

{Photoshoots - engagement pictures, seniors, a family, a dancer....}

{teaching swimming lessons}

{drinking coffee, lots of it, eating ice cream}

{running a 5K with a friend [without training, ugh!] }

{learning new music}

{watching lots and lots and lots of baseball. And then some more} which I currently do not have pictures of...whoops!


{writing baseball stories for the paper}

{annnnd..... weeding the garden, milking goats, butchering chickens, visiting camp for the day, fun 4th celebration, playing volleyball, soaking in all the sun that's finally here, giving haircuts, planning trips, cleaning cabins, a lot more}

What about you? What's your summer entailed???

{Teaching the Teacher | Reflections}

I wrote this a while ago, but it's all still very relevant. It's amazing how much teaching other's is teaching me, sometimes I feel like I'm learning more than the kids. It's been a really good experience for me, and is making me more excited about teaching photography. [which, by the way, I'm doing on Saturday. At 8:30am at the Stomping Grounds in Staples. Want to join us? email me!  ]

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It’s interesting how much teaching someone else can teach you.

Twice a week I teach 6 classes of swimming lessons. In 28 hours I teach for 8, and 12 classes. Sometimes it’s a really long haul, and other weeks it goes really fast (although a lot of it depends on the temperature of the pool). I’ve taught kids from the age of 3 to 17, a blind student, a downs syndrome girl and a couple of other special needs kids.

Besides the obvious, like learning to communicate clearly, and adapt to each of the kids learning styles, I’ve been taught so many things.

Finn and Ryhs taught me that I need to keep some order, and that some kids appreciate it. Devin and Kasia taught me not to work people too hard. Sam taught me that every once and a while I need to relax and talk about How to Train Your Dragon and new words, and that life isn’t all about vision.

Jake and Sara (and their mom) taught me how to deal with paranoid and nervous people, and give them strength, but push them forward at the same time. Regann has taught me that some people can be distracted from their stubbornness with a little creativity. Macy and Christopher taught me that some kids need the law laid down, and in a not so gentle way. Alicia (and quite a few of the other kids) taught me patience, and that some things just take time.

But I think, one of the biggest things I’ve learned, is to cut kids some slack. I’m not a very compassionate person, my friends and my little siblings can attest to that. My favorite saying is, “Just suck it up and deal with it.” Or to my two year old little bro, “You’re okay, be a man!”

Although it’s a truth that sometimes needs to be said, there are also a lot of times where someone needs a bit of compassion. Like little Kamryn last night, who didn’t want to put her mouth in for the ring. Yes, I know she can do it, and yes, sometimes she’s a little stubborn, but maybe she’s scared, maybe it’s hard for her. She is only three after all.

And…. It’s something God gives us. So…. It’s something we need to be able to pass on at the right times.

 “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” {Psalm 145:8}

“Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love” {Lamentations 3:32}

It’s been hard to find the line, the line between pushing the kids so they learn and giving them some slack and mercy. But it’s something that I want to learn, because I love these kids. And I’m not using that word lightly. I’m sad when some of them go, even the challenging ones, and I’m happy that some of them stay with me. I’m surprised, but I shouldn’t be, because I really think it’s just the love God has been showing me coming through.

So although four hours in the pool a night gets long and cold, and I’ve actually found myself staring at the clock, praying for God to get me through, He’s used this for a lot of things in my life. And for that I’m very grateful, even if I do smell like chlorine….

{New}

I'm realizing that it's time, as a Christian, to move beyond God's plan for my life, and start thinking about His plan for creation.

I think God uses His plan for our individual lives to draw us to Him, because, let's face it, we're all too selfish to care about the bigger picture; but eventually we need to realize that things are a lot larger than miracles in our own small lives.

We're just part of his bigger plan.

We're only one small piece of a billion {scratch that - a trillion} piece puzzle. An element in a large wall photo, a supporting character in the first chapter of a 500 page novel, a brush stroke in a museum full of paintings. God's dreams span much more than the 80-90-100 years we're going to be a part of this planet.

His plan is a redeeming plan, one that is going to make all things new.He's not going to stop at just making this world sinless, or flawless. He's not just restoring, He's making it new.

New. As in never used. As in never thought of, never invented before.

We can't even comprehend new, because basically, it's never exsisted before. It's completely new.

How's that for a bigger picture?

It's beyond exciting to try and wrap my mind around these thoughts, and it's thrilling to know that it is coming, and that I'm a tiny part of it all.



"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heave from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with the, and they shall be his people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pian, for the former things have passed away."

"Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."

{Mist | Multnomah Falls, Oregon}

"May the Lord bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above, and with the deep waters that lie below;

with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield;

with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills; 

with the best gifts of the earth and it's fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush."

{Deuteronomy 33:13-16}

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I realized today that other than a couple ocean shots, I'd never posted pictures of Oregon from my trip last summer. This one was taken at Multnomah Falls, a beautiful early morning shoot in the misting rain. You just might be seeing more of them soon....

{Summer | Creative Writing}

The sun was just coming over the hill, shining through the window, as she crawled out of bed. She twisted her hair into a bun and slipped into her favorite yellow skirt. Putting flip-flops on her feet, she grabbed her bible and a cup of coffee and in the quiet stillness of the morning sat on the porch.

She curled her legs under her skirt as she sat, drinking in the cool morning air and the fresh smells of growing things. Her arms had slight goosebumps on them, and she hugged herself.  She thought about things, about life, and about her God. After a half hour of quiet time, she went back into the busy house, where the family was loud, getting ready for the day.

Hoisting up the laundry basket full of wet clothes, she lugged it out to the clothes line. The morning sun shone over the roof of the house and in her eyes as she hung the clothes. She shook them out, pinned one side and then the other, and moved to the next piece of laundry. She hung the last piece and left the basket next to the pole.

Later that day she would play Frisbee with her friends, meeting at the park. She kicked off her flip-flops and felt the grass fit between her toes. She pumped her arms, and moved her legs as fast as they would carry her, reaching for the Frisbee someone threw. They played until they couldn’t play any longer. No one cared who won, they just played for the rush. At the end of the night she had grass stains on her knees, dirt on her hands, and spent legs. She’d laughed a ton, smiled a lot and run until her chest hurt.

They sat around on the grass, exhausted and happy, talking as the night got cooler. She grabbed her hoody from the car, pulling it over her head and leaving the hood up. She stood leaning on the open car door, talking a little longer to a friend, soaking in the night.  

Soon she was home, ready to plop into bed in the dark room. Her skin felt smooth against the cool sheets, and her head light against the pillow. The windows were open, there was a cool breeze against her face and she could hear the frogs chirping in the pond as she fell asleep. 

{our secret place}

I'm in our secret place // alone in Your embrace // where all my wrongs have been erased 

You have forgiven...

All the promises and lies // All the times I've compromised // All the times You were denied 

You have forgiven...

{Forgiven, by Skillet} 

{Softball}

I miss softball. I've played some form of baseball/softball since I was about three (it's very much the family sport) but playing competitively was different.

There was something about putting on the uniform that made you assume your “game face”. Something about knowing that you were prepared as much as you could be, and realizing that you were going to have to try your hardest. There was something about knowing your body could actually do these things. Putting on the uniform pumped yourself up mentally, while you warmed up physically.

Softball is a very mental game. When you get up to the plate, and even in the on deck circle, you start to zone in. By the time the pitcher starts to wind-up it’s like you are the only two on the field. Occasionally, mainly because it was so familiar, I could hear my dad’s voice when I stepped up to the plate, but after that there was nothing besides the battle between you and the pitcher.

Yeah, it takes skill to hit the ball, and more to hit it well, but it also takes concentration and mental toughness. I know. You can smash every ball in the cage, but have a batting average of .000. It was a challenge against myself, and a battle in my mind every time I was at the plate.

When you hit the ball you can hear again, even though all your focus is getting to the next base. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of the ball hitting your sweet spot, and you could know without looking that it was a solid hit. Then you’re on base, the play is over and the next batter at the plate. I loved base running; pushing your limits, playing with the catcher’s mind, sprinting hard, stealing bases, sliding, taking out the catcher while scoring, it was all a blast.

I played both catcher and short stop, two awfully different positions. When I caught, I loved having every aspect of the game in your mind as you crouched behind the plate, eyes on each runner, knowing the count, remembering each batter’s weaknesses. I loved being the leader on the field. Catching was a challenge, and the feeling of playing a good game was immensely satisfying.

Short was completely different but as much of a challenge. I loved not having the responsibility of a bag, but having to know the next play, and exactly where you were going with the ball; fielding fast moving ground balls, and whipping them over to first. I loved being part of a play at second, or turning on a pop-up; being the mouth on in the infield, or covering a base on a bunt. I loved the relationship with the second baseman and deep throws from in the hole.  

I remember the feeling of a hard pitch or a screaming line drive in your pocket. The sting of your palm as you closed your glove on the ball and brought your other hand over it. I remember the adrenaline of a play, and the smug feeling of one well done.  

Capping it off were the feelings after a game; exhausted and full of dirt, bruised from sliding, muscles aching [and since I couldn’t separate them from softball, my quads would be killing me], but if you knew you’d done your best and left it all on the field, even the pain was satisfying.

Love Hurts

There's been a lot on my mind lately. Questions that aren't always answered, thoughts floating around, answers coming slowly out of the fog. A 13 year-old friend of a friend that died in a car accident. A dream that made me re-visit the memories of a family friend's newborn baby going to heaven too soon. Feeling God's overwhelming love. Seeing tragedy in the world, in Japan. Hearing my Aunt's story of two babies saved outside the Planned Parenthood this morning. God's love will conquer. Lord, make beauty out of these ashes.

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What is our heart? When we’re happy we say our heart is full. When something bad happens, we say our heart hurts. When we get hurt by someone, we say its broken.

Can we break our heart? Part of me is inclined to think when we use that, we really just have mental issues. If we magically had a switch, that turned off our brain or our thought process, would we still end up with pieces? If we convinced ourselves that nothing was really the matter, would our heart still hurt?

Solomon told us to “Keep our heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Is he really telling us to guard our mind? Our thoughts? Our feelings? 

The same word used for heart here was commonly used for the feelings. The Strong’s Concordance also describes it as the inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding. The inner part, or the midst of things. I’d say he’s talking about our mind here.

But, I think there’s a part of us, our feelings, our inner part, that’s disconnected from our minds. Sometimes my heart does ache, sometimes even when my mind can’t make sense of things, it hurts.

Honestly, I think broken “hearts” are a part of life. This earth isn’t perfect, and bad things happen. If we are attempting to love imperfect people with a perfect un-ending love, we’re bound to end up with pieces.

God want's our hearts, and we can’t be afraid of being broken. Do you think Jesus’ heart was all in one beautiful piece while He was hanging on the cross for Love?

It hurts to love someone. Jesus knows. I’m not sure any of us could hurt more than He did and has, and does. Sometimes that love breaks us, sometimes it hurts us, sometimes it aches. Sometimes we wonder why? Why does it have to be this way? It’s not fair.

But it’s worth it. It’s the only way. The alternative is a whole heart, but an empty one. You can’t fill something that that doesn’t have an opening. Love is the only way our world, our hearts, our minds can be healed. Love is the only way, even if it hurts.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” {Romans 8:38-39}

{Another post originally written for the Red Ink Challenge} 

Brain Coral and Sand Dollars

{I originally wrote this for my Red Ink challenge - our assignment was travel writing, and I had a hard time decided which trip to write about. :) I know I already post about my Bahamas in pictures, but sometimes words are fun too. If you want to see the pictures from our time at Rose Island they're here }
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I went to the Bahamas to visit my friend Susan, who married a Bahamian. Yes, a Minnesotan married a Bahamian. Anyways, because we stayed with his family the whole time, for the first five/six days we didn’t do typical “tourist stuff”. Those days, for me, were the best part of the trip, although that could be because my sister and brother were there too….

We went camping on another island, Rose, for three days. Really roughed it, and it was a blast, long nights, lizards, no toilets and all! 

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We were on a boat, skipping over calm water. The wind whipped my hair and I could taste the salt spray from the bright blue water. The sun shone, and in places the water appeared darker. We didn’t talk much on the short ride out from the island to the reef.

Brett killed the engine and we drifted a short ways while Susan pulled out the rope and threw over the anchor. I helped her feed the rope until it hit bottom. Everyone passed around masks and snorkels, found flippers that fit and talked all the while.

The sun glinted off the edge of the boat as I peered into the reef. Although eager to get in the gorgeous water, I didn’t want to be the first one in out here in the unknown. Hey, there could be sharks... Eventually everyone had gear, and one by one we sat on the side of the boat, sliding into the water backwards.

The cool water closed around me, as did the silence. Suddenly I felt alone. I looked around for the others, and started kicking. The reef was both intriguing and beautiful, and a little bit eerie. I could vaguely hear noises of people kicking their flipper clad feet, and the sound of my own breathing through the snorkel tube.

 I smiled at Ange, the best I could while still holding my teeth around my snorkel, and waved. Both of us popped our heads above the surface and pulled the snorkels out.

“Did you see this?”

“Look at that!”

“Woah, did you see that piece of coral?”

“This fish!”

The coral was gorgeous, and way more intricate than I had imagined. Brain coral, that looked like a maze carved out of rock, and pretty purple sea leaves covered the bottom of the ocean, interspersed with fire coral, that Brett told us we’d better not touch. Brightly colored fish swam in schools all around us.

Amy popped up to the surface and pointed to a large brain coral. “Woah! Did you see that thing down there… someone has been down there carving!” Needless to say, she still hasn’t lived that one down.

Sucking in a big breath I dove down towards the edge of the reef and the deeper water, getting a close up look. I ran out of air and pushed myself up towards the surface, blowing hard to get the water out of the snorkel. Amy and I posed for an underwater picture.

Back under the water Brett waved us over, pointing out a weird fish that looked almost like a sea cucumber swimming upright. Above water he explained it was a relative of a sea horse called a pipe fish.  I think we had a million and two questions for him, “What’s this? What’s that?” and “How does the coral survive? What kind of fish is that?” and the all-important one, “What sharks do you have here?”

Brett had two spears and shooters, but none of us tried. Being used to Minnesota I was a little scared that if I did end up miraculously spearing something it would be something out of season. Apparently everything is fair game in the Bahamas.  We watched him spear a blue jack and a crawfish, both of which we ended up eating for dinner. Pretty soon we started to tire out, and headed back to the boat. I sat soaking up the warm sun, enjoying how your muscles feel after a good swim.

“Derek, what did you find?” Kara says with her camera running.

“A butt! And Dory.”

“Ahh! He touched the butt!”

Mark pulled the crawfish out of a bucket by its long antenna and wiggled it in front of Kara. “Ahhhh!!  Get that away from me! That’s not on Nemo!”

After warming up we moved to a shallow, sandy part of the ocean. Four of us got back in the water to drag behind the boat, and look for sand dollars and conch shells (fyi, it’s really pronounced conk). I grabbed the yellow rope and held on next to Susan. The water rushed by as we gazed at the rippled sand.

Things didn’t go so well, although we found a lot of sand dollars we only found one conch, and it was just the shell. Every time Brett would get the boat moving one of us would see something and drop off, and then we’d have to start all over again. When the boat got moving faster, I would have a hard time keeping my mouth around my snorkel and it would fill up with water. I would come up choking, desperately trying to fix it without letting go. It didn’t work.

Finally, after too many times starting and stopping, starting and stopping, and a bucket full of sand dollars, Brett told us, “NO MORE sand dollars OR sunshine shells. You can eat conch… you can’t eat sand dollars.” (We ended up going hungry that night. Well actually, we ended up eating hot dogs instead.)

Susan was heartbroken over all those sunshine shells she was passing over. “I kept seeing gorgeous ones… and I couldn’t get them!”

Eventually we all ended up shivering and back in the boat, watching Brett wake board. And laughing at Susan’s driving.  We drove back to the island we were camping on for a long, cold, windy night. Haha, but that’s another rad story…..

{Photo Credit: Kara Groebner}

The Lake

              

There’s something about Lake Superior that draws me, much like the ocean. It makes me imagine stories of ships and sailors, of ship wrecks and people living along the lake. It makes me stand and think of the God that created it, and how huge He really is.

Visiting during the warmer weather we watch ships coming and going; some large Great Lakes ships, some smaller ones for the ocean. Some are leaving full of iron ore, low in the water, others are coming in empty, riding high.

This weekend I visited the lake with friends, and at this time things are covered in ice. The ice chunks had blown up against the mountain of ice along the shore, created by the breaking waves all winter. Large blocks floated and rolled with the waves, while the smaller ones piled up on each other. The wind was blowing the breaking ice out of the harbor and through the canal. The walls of the lighthouse on the pier were covered with strange designs of ice and the stairs were lost under the ice.  Sheets of it covered the walls of the canal.

During the night the wind blew the ice slabs out and all that was left was the mountain created by the waves. Far out you could vaguely see them on the horizon, along with a thin film of ice that had formed in places. Instead of big rolling waves, like the day before, the water was choppy.  

Even though it’s much, much smaller than the ocean, you can’t tell when you’re standing at the shore. It makes you feel small, and insignificant, and makes you think wild thoughts.  Nothing controls the lake, except for the shoreline. And occasionally that’s not enough to governor it.

It’s wild, but at the same time soothing. It’s both predictable, with the waves coming in one after another, and unpredictable, like when it storms. It’s always cold, the temperature changes just 3 degrees over the season, and I think that adds the wild feeling. I sit in awe of the wild and awesome side of the God I serve.

Why aren't we?

"There are so many bad things that we see down here, and we ask God why He doesn't change them... I can't help but wonder if He's asking us the same thing..." [To Save A Life]

I, just like everybody else, have wondered why there is so much pain, suffering and hurt here on earth. At one point, I kind of came to the conclusion that we'll never fully understand, that there are some things that we won't be able to comprehend.

Although there are things that we might not understand, in a way, that conclusion made me a little apathetic. Yes, there are some things that we can't change, like my friends dad who has a brain tumor, and that I don't understand, but not understanding shouldn't make me dispirited or unconcerned. It wasn't as if I “could care less, but yet deep down I figured there are some things that wouldn't change.

Last night I watched this movie, [To Save A Life] for the second time, and that quote stood out to me. Really, why aren't we doing? Instead we're just asking, someone else to do something. * Don't the scriptures promise that we can do all things with Christ? [Philippians 4:13]  But yet we, the Christians in America, as a whole, have become completely passive, when we should be the movers! As Shane Claiborne wrote, “Where are the true Christians? We are surrounded by passive believers and unbelieving activists." [The Irresistible Revolution]

Yes, there are some things we can't change, but there are just as many or more, we could change. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort. And sometimes, it doesn't take much. Sometimes little things go a long way.

I think we're asking the wrong question, instead maybe it should be what am I doing to change this world? To change my world? To change my neighbor's world?

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*I'm not saying we shouldn't ask God for things, or we shouldn't pray, that's not the point here.

Both a great movie and a great book, I highly recommend both!

I don't like the fact that my Reflections posts have been missing pictures, as much as I like words, I like photographs more. I've been busy and sick, but I'm making a resolution to shoot more! :)

Your Love

"Your love // Your love // The only thing that matters is // Your love // Your love // is all I have to give // Your love // Is enough //  to light up the darkness // It's Your love // Your love // all I ever needed is Your love."

~ Your Love, Brandon Heath

Little things and a Big God

[A few thoughts from the book I just started reading, 'The Irresistible Revolution', by Shane Claiborne]

"We are surrounded by unbelieving activists and inactive believers. Where are the true Christians?" 

"We live in a world that has lost it's appreciation for the little things... a world that wants things bigger and bigger. We want to supersize our fries, sodas and church buildings. But amid all the supersizing  many of us feel God is doing something new, something small and subtle."

{both from the introduction to the book} 

I think the ironic thing about the above *very* true statement, is although we are supersizing everything else in our life, we have failed to realize how truly "supersized" our God is. We put Him in boxes, make Him smaller than He is... and routinely fail to believe that He is BIG. At the same time, when He tries to reach us through small things - whispers, creation, etc - we fail to realize that it is God because... "He's supposed to be BIG."  What an oxymoron!

Let's wake up and see God in the little things, but at the same time wake up to the fact that we've limited Him to those little things, and that He is bigger than our wildest dreams. Let's take up the banner of our King and become believing activists, know that our God can change the world.

What is Success?

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." {Joshua 1:8}

The other day I was reading this passage; I had already been contemplating the question, 'What is success?' and this started me thinking even more. I mean we can all figure out the world's definition of being successful. If we have a good job [and we're on top of the corporate ladder], we drive a Caddy or a BMW [or a Ferrari], we have lots of investments and a huge house. But what I was wondering is, what is success supposed to look like for the Christian.

Unconsciously, before I starting really thinking about all this, my view of success was finishing what you've begun. And although in some cases that can be true, I can think of some circumstances where that idea held me back from doing what I was supposed to be doing. At one point last spring, I felt the need to quit a job that I had only been working at for less than two months. For a while before I quit, and even after, I struggled with the fact that I didn't finish what I'd started. I came to the conclusion that success doesn't always mean that you have to finish it. So if that's not success, and neither is money, or a job, or a car and house, than what is?

Even the definition of success leaves you hanging:

"a degree of measure of succeeding / A favorable termination of a venture / one who succeeds / obtaining wealth, favor or eminence." [Websters Dictionary]

So basically, success is measured by what *you* think is a favorable termination of a venture. [Or by what our culture thinks]

So is success by God's standards physical things? Is it spiritual gifts? Is it the amount of people that you win for the Lord? Is it the amount of work you do?

Is it being rich? Is it being smart? Is it helping lots of people? Is it just plain doing exactly what the Lord tells you?

The Hebrew meaning of the word is:

To be intelligent, consider, expert, instruct, prosper, deal prudently. give skillful, teach, to have and make to understand[ing], wisdom,  behave self wisely, make wise, guide wittingly.

In the other parts of the bible where this word is used the word is translated wisdom. Maybe success doesn't have a tangible form, and maybe it looks different for each person that is following the will of God for their life.I think it's more like wisdom, behaving wisely, teaching, instructing, to make wise, to make to understand.

"Only may the Lord give you wisdom [success] and understanding." {1 Chronicles 22:12}

"The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel... to receive the instruction of wisdom [success], justice, judgement and equity." {Proverbs 1:3} 

"A man will be commended according to his wisdom [success]." {Proverbs 12:8} 

I guess, though, regardless of what success looks like, the way to get there is laid out in the first verse that we read....

"The book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, that you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe what is written...."

I wish you all much success, in God's terms!

~Kelley

Dream Big

{Image taken for LDPS - Self Portraits, check out the other submissions!}

[I wrote these notes in my journal from my dad's sharing on a Sunday, a few days before my last post on good stories. When I wrote that post I was having a hard time dreaming, and seeing the future. So it was good for me to go back and read this today. I hope it encourages you as well! We serve a HUGE God, and we shouldn't be afraid to dream]

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" [Psalm 37:4]


Dreams shouldn't be limited by your flesh. Fear to dream often shows immaturity, a fear of man or a fear of failure, because in reality the dreams aren't ours, they are God's and it's up to Him if they are finished, or if they are redirected.

Don't be embarrassed to share your dreams; it's not failure if God decides for you not to go there. It might not be His will. But if you don't set your dreams high, nothing will ever happen. What is in your heart? Where do you want to go? If you don't reach for something, you will never go anywhere.

God can stop your dreams, He can re-direct them, or show you that they aren't for you, but He can't do that if you don't have any in the first place. You have to dream big in God. David had to believe that he was going to be king or he would never had spent all that time in the wilderness and it would never have happened.

Success isn't money, it isn't power, it isn't position, but your dreams aren't limited by them. God can overcome those all.

So dust off those dreams, write them down, starting thinking about them, praying about them, pursuing them, and trust God!

Dream BIG,

Kelley

Saturday Sharing: Your Story

So I know this is supposed to be Saturday Sharing.. but I've been a little absent from this blog.. and I decided to share some of my heart today [so it's technically "Saturday Sharing" right?]

Anyway, it's been an interesting month. In both good ways and bad. I wanted to share something that I wrote in my journal last night that God told me. I decided to go out skating late last night after working and we had a good talk.

Every good story has conflict. We learned this in Photoj, they teach it in writing classes, it's what makes the story. No conflict, no plot, no excitement. 

I wanted an adventure, but in reality I didn't want the conflict. I wanted excitement, but I really didn't want the hard stuff. 

Sometimes... I feel like I'm swimming against the current. Like one step forward, two steps back. My Zenfolio account balance tells the story... up $20, down to -6... up again... down again. It's what I feel like the rest of my business is doing.. and sometimes the rest of my life.

When I pictured an adventure, I see in my mind overcoming the world, climbing mountains, warring against LIFE. But when the world looks me in th eye, and when real life comes tearing around the corner I don't get it. I thought it was supposed to be easy climbing the mountain!?!? [ok, maybe it's a lot of tough work.. but not too hard]

Do you really think that in the movies, when the hero is staring down the barrel of a gun, the think... "Oh, it'll be ok.. I'm the hero, everything has to turn out right." ? [ok, yeah, it's just a movie.. but bear with me... these things do happen in real life.] When we watch a movie, or read a story we're fine in the action parts, because hey! they're the hero! 

My point is, as Christians, we are the hero of our story. We have even more security than being the lead role in a movie when the conflict comes, because we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God. [Romans 8:28] And with Jesus we are more than conquerors. [verse 37]

See, we might have a mountain to climb, a river to swim or a gun in our face, but we're not going to die because we're the hero in God's story. 

I wanted a story, and that's what I'm getting. 

My Sole

*This is pretty much my first attempt at creative writing. I've been feeling the urge to push myself in my writing lately, and so I'm going to try to write "just to write" more often. I'm not sure what I feel about this story... but it was fun! You'll probably be seeing some more creative writing coming up...*

                Ahh, what could be better than sitting on a shelf; pristine, new, solid and colorful? Unless it’s sprinting down the sidewalk watching the sunrise.

               

I started on a shelf at MJ’s sports store in the mall. Well, really I started at a factory, but that’s the uninteresting part of my life when I was just as all the others. Not long after arriving there I started my life’s adventure when I was bought by an orthodontist named Dana, just after New Years.

                

Dana was one of those, shall we call them “resolution runners”. You know, the kind that runs right after new years? And, needless to say, I didn’t last long. She’d bought one of the best of my kind, and yet I sat in the closet. A few words are all that are needed to describe the “place of no use”…. Aka the very darkest parts of the closet. Somewhere around June, however I once again saw the light, so to speak, and was transferred to a box.

               

I then found myself on another shelf. This time in the Goodwill. Ahh, now this. This. Is where my real story begins.

                

Katie found me later that day. Quickly exclaiming that I was her favorite brand and that I was in excellent condition (which sadly, was more than true) I was on the way to her car in no time.

                

I can’t even begin to explain the joy of being on a real runner’s feet. Countless times we pounded the pavement in search of joy, energy, and… and… oh I’m not sure what else, sometimes we ran just because. We went everywhere; we ran in the early morning as the sun was rising, we ran when the sun had set, we ran in the heat of the day, when I was nice and sticky with sweat.

                

Katie and I were inseparable. For the time. I was packed in a bag, and went with her to run on the beaches of the Bahamas. I went to France to visit her family. We ran down sidewalks, down long dirt roads, in the city, in the fields.

                

Slowly though, I wasn’t able to offer her the support she needed. My arches started to fall, and my soul was run thin. I was outgrown, and wore out.

                

I find myself on another shelf now, this one in the basement. It might be as dark as the closet was, but this time I’m satisfied. Maybe someday I’ll be pulled out again, and wore for some special reason, but if not I know…

That I served my purpose. I lived my life to the best of my make-up. I gave everything, including my soul to the racer I believed in. And now, I can rest happy, that if that day never comes, I still gave it all.

Fishers of Men

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you Fishers of Men. They immediately left their nets and followed Him." 

[Matthew 4: 18-20]

Jesus called the 12 to be Fishers of Men. He directly told them, "follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." But it wasn't until three years later that Jesus told them....

"He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." [Mark 16:15]

They didn't actually become Fishers of Men until then. Three years later. And these three years weren't like any other years... these were years where they talked, walked, fellowshipped and lived with the Savior. These were some intimate times with their Lord, the ultimate Fisherman. 

I've got some dreams floating in my head. I've got some talents at my fingertips. I see some needs. And I've felt Gods voice saying that He's got something for me.

But lately I've tried to rush Him.... "Well Lord, you called me to be this... AND????" And.. you haven't finished your "three years". You're not prepared for this calling yet. You may not have learned enough patience, you may not know how to love like I do, you may not be strong enough for this, you may not be knowledgeable in this. In short.... you've got some preparation left to do, some time with ME. 

When I think about it this way, and compare myself to the disciples, I feel like I've got a lot more than three years left! Although sometimes it's hard to wait when you know where you are going [in their case.. to preach the gospel to all men], it's also really awesome to know that the Lord of all wants to spend more time with you right now. ["And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus feet and heard His word.... And Jesus answered her and said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken from her." ~ Luke 10: 39-41]

Jesus did use the disciples during this time, it's not like they sat around. For goodness sake, they healed people and feed people and did other things for Christ, but their real calling didn't come until later.

So for right now, I'm taking the steps He's showed me. Learning to trust Him in the little things. And spending time with Him, preparing :-)  [Oh and also getting excited for everything else!]

Something about the Ocean

"Something about the ocean makes me rise up and praise // something about the heavens makes me stand in awe again // something about the sunrise reminds me of Your faithfulness // something about the ocean and I'm lost in love again." 

~ Ocean, Ten Shekel Shirt