Moments of Contentment

Happy Monday! 

Can you believe that it's already June?! This year is really flying by! I'm excited for warmer temperatures. This week is just supposed to bring a ton of rain so far. So I went on a little walk earlier today while the sun was still shining. I've taken a hiatus from blogging and from photography as things have gotten busier with school, but I love these moments when I can just shoot for me. I started thinking about acceptance today. I know I have these goals and these things for which I am striving, but contentment is such an important thing to have. I can't live my life thinking that I would be happy if I could take excellent photos or if I was 50 lbs. lighter. I need to be content with where I am now and accept myself as I am now before I can approach change in a healthy way. What I had been doing thus far just turned me into my own harshest critic. I got down on myself each time I felt as though I was failing. If I learn contentment with where I am, I think it will help me to better appreciate even the smallest successes.

What about you? Are you struggling with contentment? Do you find yourself so focused on where you think you should be that you fail to celebrate where you are? Let's try something different, Missionettes. Are you with me?

Happy Birthday to Me

Good morning, Missionettes!

Yesterday, I turned 27 years old. I can't even believe it. I had a great birthday weekend in Raleigh, courtesy of my amazing hubby. He made it possible for one of my sisters to hang with us for the weekend. We played putt-putt, went go-karting, and took lots of pictures. Tons.  :) You can check out some of those images here.

Now that I'm on the other side of 27, I am thinking about this mission with more urgency. When I began this blog, I had an idea of who I wanted to be by the time I turn 30 years old. I'm finding that these priorities are already changing. One of my top priorities moving forward will be to focus on this blog. At this point, I'm unsure how my 30 before 30 list will look at the end, but I am feeling a sense of renewed determination to ensure that things are different than they have been. I've got to complete about 10 items per year in order to get this thing done on time. How are your lists doing? How much time do you have left? How are you making sure that things get done?

Fighting Well

Good Morning, Missionettes!

I hope you're staying warm! Here in Virginia, it's been snowy/icy for the past week and there's more winter on the way! 

I wanted to kick today off with more of a personal post. So it's fitting that I started with this photo I took of my husband. I wanted to talk about a time that we failed. Actually, it just happened this week. It was just a normal night in and I started a fight. Without getting into too much detail, I brought up a situation from two weeks ago where I felt like he overreacted. We got into a pretty heated discussion, while we were each trying to justify our actions and point out why the other person was wrong. At one point when things were particularly heated, I just looked at my husband and said, "I don't even recognize you anymore." We have been married for almost 3 years and I had never seen him that angry.

I realized that I had created this tension between us because I threw something in his face that I felt he did wrong...two weeks ago! Why do I do that? I held onto the situation like ammunition to be stored up for later. You know that little section of 1 Corinthians 13:5?

Your version might say, ..."it keeps no record of wrongs". Yeah, definitely failed on that one. It was right in the middle of our fight that I stopped to think for a second. This wasn't how I wanted my marriage to be. I apologized to restore the peace. I didn't realize that I had offended him so badly. I wanted our marriage to be a safe place. I know I've made my fair share of mistakes and I failed an opportunity to show the grace that I have been shown. I am so thankful for a man who leads me in the Word and is happy to walk on this journey of sanctification with me. Although I hate that I started this argument and offended my husband, I am glad that God used that moment to remind me what this marriage is all about.

Soli Deo Gloria. To God alone be the glory...

This marriage isn't about us -- who was right and rubbing each other's faces in wrongdoing. The love we share with one another is intended to point each of us back to Christ. This should not be the case only in times of peace and happiness, but even in our arguments. Living together as sinful beings, arguments are unavoidable. But even in our disagreements, we should be fighting well. So let that be the goal for us today and everyday. Are you loving others in the way that you live and in the way that you speak? What about when you've been wronged?

Closing the Book on 2014

It just smacks you in the face, doesn't it? 

I couldn't believe that it was time for me to start a new planner this week! I started this blog back in September of this year. I'm so thankful for those of you who have been reading along and encouraging me on this blog. Those of you who have been reading from the beginning have seen my initial vision -- my list of things to do/learn before I am 30. However, I've been feeling lately that I've already failed. I mentioned before that I feel like I've strayed from the mission. I haven't really crossed anything off of my list and I'll be 27 this coming year [man, that makes me feel old]. At this rate, I need to do/learn 10 things every year to catch up!

Then, I realized that my perspective was the reason that I felt like I've already failed. I tend to emphasize my failures and quit before I realize that each day is a new day to make progress. So, this year, I'm forsaking bad habits and picking up new ones! It's time to put procrastination and laziness aside. I want to see results! I know that it's common this time of year for people to make big, sweeping declarations and forsake them by February, but I am making declarations anyway. ;)

The theme of 2015 for me will be Consistency. I'm tired of failing in the follow-through. For my long-time readers, you've seen me go back and forth about my weight and talk about learning all of these new things, but I'm done with that. I've got to make each and every day count. This year, my main focuses will be on getting healthy, practicing photography, and blogging consistently. Pray for me, y'all. :)

What about you? Are there any habits that you need to leave in 2014? What about resolutions for the new year? I know it's cliche, but I love new beginnings :)

Merry Christmas, Missionettes!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to stop in to wish you a Merry Christmas!

My husband and I were scheduled to work this week, which made it impossible to travel to visit our extended families on Christmas day. Fortunately, we were able to squeeze in a trip earlier this month. Now that I've caught up with editing sessions on my photography blog, I can update you with my own early Christmas shots with my family. This is going to be a long post but it's full of pictures so hopefully that will make up for it! Let's get started :)

These are my parents. The photo to the right is a little bit more typical of their relationship. ;p

           

 

These are my sisters Lillian (on the left) and Grace (on the right)

           

My sister Robyn gifted me with some beautiful scarves (in case you haven't heard, I heart them). Scarf game serious. She also gave my husband some button down shirts. 

 

 

Then, my husband surprised me with a new lens. Ain'thesweet?

              

Later that day, we watched a movie and these two fell asleep. 

Yes, these two adorable nappers are my sister Robyn and her boyfriend Brandon. 

While we were up north, we also got a chance to go into the city to visit with my husband's family. I was happy I got a chance to take Lillian and Grace along to explore the city. I love these humans.

                 

We did get a chance to visit Brandon's grandparents but Grandma Marcus was a bit camera shy. Below Brandon is pictured with his father. See the resemblance?

We took a few with his father, his paternal grandparents Poppy and Grandma Russell :)

From their house, we wandered around the city and got a chance to see the tree :)

How did you spend your Christmas?

Gooood Morning, Missionettes!

Can you believe 2014 is almost over?!?! 

I wanted to stop in this week to talk about a few changes to the blog. You'll notice a separate link has been added at the top of the blog. After some thought, I've decided to create a separate spot for my photography. So, if you're looking for a recent session, you can just click the photography link at the top of the page. Although working on photography was a big item on my 30 before 30 list, I can't help but feel like I'm straying a bit from the mission on this blog. I have a 365-day challenge coming up in 2015 and I don't want to flood the blog with those posts. That said, I would still love for you to follow along and give me feedback (and constructive criticism) on the photos you will begin to see there. As always, if you are interested in booking me for a session, you can email me at myonamission@gmail.com. I am working for donations now and do not have a set price list while I am developing my skill and style in photography.

I am also working on a more focused list of goals for 2015. I need to cross some things off of this list of mine. Speaking of the list, I have had quite a few of you tell me that you have been encouraged to either start a blog of your own or write down your own 30 before 30 list. That is such an encouragement to me! Definitely write it down and share your list of things with me. Let's be in this thing together!

We've come to the time of year where we're all looking at the future. I have all of the same goals from my 30 Before 30 list, but I have a few that I'd like to focus on for 2015. Development in photography is one of them, of course. You all have also seen my struggle when it comes to weight loss. I slack off easily and fail at the follow-through. I know everyone will be packing out the gym with their weight loss resolutions and I plan to be in that number. I want to still be hitting up the gym after the crowds thin out in February though. ;)

I also want to settle into a schedule for posting on this blog. Because I have the photo challenge coming up, I will be devoting a little more of my time there, but I think having set days to post will help take the pressure off of posting daily on this blog. It's always had to start over because so much time has passed. Looking toward the new year, my theme will be Consistency. If I can be consistent in the few things that I mentioned, I will absolutely see progress in the areas on which I'm focusing. New Year, New Me. It's coming. :) What are your New Year's goals/resolutions?

Pam and Dani [Friends on a Rainy Day]

Meet Pam and Dani. I worked with these two ladies for a couple of years and they balance each other out perfectly. Even their scarves complement each other!

Pam is a missionary to India, a lover of bright colors, and a smiler. Always and forever.

In fact, I asked the two of them to mean-mug for a shot. Here's what happened:

See that lip quivering? Yeah that's what most of us would call a sad face. Today we learned that Pam doesn't do mad. She does happy and sad. 

Poor Pam.

 Then, there's Danielle.

Smiling may not be as natural for her [which is crazy because she obviously has a beautiful one], but don't let her deceive you into thinking she is heartless. You can tell that Dani's got a big heart from her willingness to go out of her way for her friends or from her recent adoption of her little one. One of the things I love about her is that she is a doer. Recently, she set her mind to running a 5k. She motivated Pam to do it with her and they got it done. Who says smiling is mandatory anyway?

These two were so much fun to photograph. 

There were random conversations, funny faces, and there may or may not have been some skipping. Pam even scoped out a sketchy building that made this shot possible:

That one was definitely my favorite shot. So after doing my first best friends shoot, I definitely think this is something that everyone should do. Just because.