A change in perspective……

The last few weeks have been a very emotional time for our family.  A close family friend passed away suddenly and it really turned our life upside down.  My mind raced trying to comprehend how this could happen and then floods of memories (or flashbacks as my daughter calls them) continued to run through my mind.

The memories that kept coming back were the ones of everyday things.  Over the Christmas season I was taking pictures of our family and it made me stop and think.  Whenever there is a family event or a trip I always make sure I grab my camera and take it along.  But if something ever happened to one of us, those are not the memories that will play through my mind.  It will be the every day occurrences that I will remember and miss the most. 

Ever since I joined the Instagram community (livingskiescrochet) I am definitely taking more pictures of the everyday but I want to take more.  I need to take more.  I want to journal my every day and I want to capture the memories that I will want to hold on to forever before it is too late.

Now when I look through the lens of my camera I see things very differently, it’s like I have a different set of eyes when I look at the world around me.

I have always written in a journal, my first journal was an Annie Diary.  I love to write my thoughts and feeling and hurts and joys.  Now I want to start a photo journal of the miraculous things I see and experience each day. 

My camera now travels with me, I have made it a cute camera strap cozy and I am on an adventure to see the unique in each day.

I hope that you will join me on my new journey, as I create a photo journal of my every day memories.  I don’t want to miss a second!

What is your heart saying?

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

This scripture was written thousands of years ago, and it is the same as today. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. When the Bible refers to heart, it means the inner self, who you are deep down. So let’s say you did a good act toward someone else, on the outside it appears very noble, but on the inside you were thinking that if you do this good deed you may get something for yourself in return. Well, God looks at the heart and he knows the truth. Check out: 1 Chronicles 28:9, Proverbs 27:19

Have you ever heard of the phrase you are what you eat? Well, it applies to more than just what you eat.

Garbage in, garbage out. What that means is that whatever you take in visually, audibly, physically will become a part of your heart, the person you are that you are displaying for all to see.

Matthew 12:34-37 “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Your words and your actions reveal your hearts attitude- are you acting or are you for real?

When I was involved in the Modeling industry I was taught that before I left the house each day to look in the mirror and see if I am representing myself appropriately as a model. As a Christian we need to look at ourselves before God and make sure that our hearts are pure before Him.

Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Beautiful to Behold

I wanted to share a really awesome experience that I had lately. But first I will start with the background. Every year I attend the Women’s Journey of Faith that is held in Saskatoon. It is a great weekend. This past year was Shannon Ethridge, it was fantastic! In November of this year it is the 10th anniversary and they are having Liz Curtis Higgs back. She was here several years ago. I was unable to attend that one because I had a sick child but someone who attended brought me back a book from Liz. It is called “Rise and Shine” a devotional book.

Since she is returning this year I thought I would read her book and get to know her better through her book. Now every morning I am reading one of her short devotionals.

One morning in particular I read a devotion called “Beautiful to Behold” it was a great! She says, “It is God’s gift of salvation that makes us truly beautiful, inside and out. Nothing transforms a woman’s appearance more than being covered from head-to-toe in the grace of God’s Son…… Such beauty is a gift from God. Unlike lipstick and blush, which seldom last longer than a few hours, spiritual beauty is timeless. It literally pours out of your pours and alters your appearance in a most appealing way. People think you’ve had a face-lift, when in fact you’ve had a faith-lift!”

I was certainly glad that I took the time out of my crazy morning schedule - of getting the girls off to school on the bus and my husband’s lunch ready so he can get out the door - to read this reminder of what true beauty is.

I then left for my day which was to be interviewed by a few girls in a psychology class at a local high school. Much to my surprise and pleasure the girls told me their topics for their papers. Two were writing about “celebrities’ and media’s impact on today’s teens” and the other was writing on “What is beauty?” Wow, did I have a lot to share. My previous experience in the modelling industry helped them discover a bunch of the behind-the-scenes info and the beauty question was right up my alley with Liz’s gentle reminder that morning. That poor girl didn’t know what hit her I don’t think. She interviewed a lot of people getting their opinions on her topic and even had pictures from People magazine most beautiful people issue that I had to rate and give my opinion on. I answered almost every question differently than anyone else she interviewed. This is sad. What are we teaching today’s youth?

I also gave them a copy of my book as a reference. Because of the public school system you are not openly allowed to talk about your faith unless it is from a personal perspective. But through my book I talk openly and candidly about my life and faith. I have asked for copies of each of the girls reports; I can’t wait to read them!