Babies, Babies, Everywhere!

"There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

   a time to be born and a time to die,

    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

    a time to tear down and a time to build,

    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

    a time for war and a time for peace."

--Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I love this beautiful passage of Scripture for a number of reasons, each finding a place in different seasons of my life. But this is definitely the season for life and new birth! There are so many people that are getting ready to bring new life into the world, (along with myself!) and I love celebrating with everyone! I have so many sweet friends that have been growing alongside me and some that are just starting their journey through pregnancy, whether for the first, second, or third time! With all the excitement going on, I realized that there was a specific need for documenting this special season of newness of life! So I am now offering a Mommy & Me session package! There is nothing sweeter than a new baby! This package includes a maternity session and a newborn session, with a DVD of the images from your session. I'm so excited for this season in my own life, and love that I can share this excitement with so many others! (I also offer a 1st year package that you find more about here.) Here's to celebrating new seasons and a life-giving God that loves us enough to give us hope for a blessed future! 

Old Photos + Happy Memories

Obviously I have a love for photography. But I have an even greater love for good memories! There is just something about pictures that bring back the fuzzy feelings and warm thoughts of the past that makes my job SO important. And I love that. I love looking back through old pictures and remembering a special season in our lives and how blessed this journey has been. It makes me sad when people tell me, "We have never had our picture taken together," or "We just don't keep photos around." There is so much JOY to be had in documenting every season of life, and even more to be had cherishing it as a sweet memory.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on photos and cherishing all seasons of life! Do you make photos of your life (professional or non) a priority? 

*Here's a photo that just makes me smile from our engagement pictures in 2011. CRAZY that we have already been married for two years, and even crazier that I am so much more in love now -- which I didn't think was possible then. :) 

Photo Cred: Lissa Anglin

LPM Siesta Scripture Memory Team + Verse 15

So not surprisingly I am a few days late for this, but it's all good. Here's the verse I'm writing on my heart these next two weeks, I hope you'll join me!

"...and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

There are so many things that I love about this beautiful passage of Scripture. First, simply the prayer that our love for one another would abound and increase is something so simple yet so incredibly revolutionary. To have a love that abounds as Christ does for our brothers and sisters in Christ requires a serious heart check, which is why this is SO important for the body of Christ. This means we pray for, encourage, and stand with EVERYONE belonging to Christ. Have someone in your life that also follows Christ but seems to just get under your skin? That one person whose spirit is not always so encouraging and helpful but maybe more critical? LOVE them. Leave all the bitterness, envy, pride, and selfishness of our sinful nature buried with Christ. If our love for one another does not abound then unity is threatened and so is the health of the body. We are on the SAME team with the SAME goal of furthering the Kingdom.

The second piece of this passage that God laid on my heart was the section about having our love abound for one another SO THAT (and here it is...) we may be blameless before our Father. Us?! Blameless?! Ha, I don't know about you but I know that my sinful heart is the farthest thing from blameless. All those things I mentioned and more about leaving them buried with Christ are what hinders us from being blameless. The beautiful thing here is that by passionately loving one another we leave no room for being to blame when it comes to loving our brothers and sisters. There is no way that after a few weeks or maybe even months or YEARS of passionately praying for people we don't always see eye to eye with that there will be no love for them. We must first love one another so we can blamelessly love those OUTSIDE of the body, which is what Christ always intended.

Lastly, I find the piece of this Scripture about the coming of the Lord Jesus with all HIS SAINTS particularly beautiful. In this life long battle of fighting the enemy and dying to ourselves for the sake of the Gospel, we are not alone. The countless before us that loved God and his people and gave their lives for the furthering of the kingdom are still fighting with us. We have the saints that surround Christ praying over us, interceding at the hand of the father. Those mentioned in Scripture like Moses, David, and Paul...along with so many others, AND those whose names are written in the book of life from the last 2000+ years that have had an authentic relationship with Christ, from all over the world. With these, also are those who have DIED merely for saying the powerful name of Jesus. Those who faced persecution without denouncing the love they had for their Lord. These are the people we will stand WITH, as one body, as one bride, at the return of Christ. What a beautiful picture of abounding love and victory!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this passage, or any other that God may be writing on your heart! Praying that you lead with love this week and are richly blessed by the love of the Father!

--R.