God is in my work

Whenever I talk about BeachBabyKisses and people ask me how it's going or if I'm busy or whatever they may ask, I'm always so inclined to talk about God. It's amazing to think that He's been ALL over this business in so many ways. Just when I get a little prideful because I had a good month of sales, He knocks me back down with a week of no/low sales. And you know what? I'm learning to trust Him. He is in control of BBK more than I'll ever be and I want it that way.

I wrote a journal entry about a month ago I talked about feeling stressed with all my work - I had asked Him to only give me what I could handle, no more. Well, when I reread the entry last week I was feeling discouraged with a low sales month - when I read it, I just laughed with tears in my eyes. He had given me a mini vacation with my girls - while discouraged with work, I was stress-free with my family and not feeling so torn with my TIME. I realized God had answered my prayer. He continually brings work and lately it's been in waves, so I get a few orders all at once, can shoot them together, edit them, print and ship, and then I have a little break before the next wave of orders comes through. His TIME-ing is everything. (Want to know what I always capitalized TIME? See me blog post TIME :))

When I just let Him have the reigns and rest assured that He will take care of not only me, but my business too, I am able to relax a little bit. His love for ME overwhelms my soul and I'm so grateful for the opportunities He's given me through BBK - He is ALWAYS there at the beach when I shoot. I can feel God's presence and feel Him in my bones when the wind blows. It's such an amazing feeling and I love capturing memories for people. It's such a fantastic way to work and I feel really blessed God's lead me this direction.

Do you see God in this picture? I do :)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  
Proverbs 3:5

Finding Freedom

I'm reading Jesus Calling as I'm trying to set up my blog - not a great thing to be multi-tasking. The whole point of the book is to focus solely on God and his presence throughout the day. Spend TIME with him. Today I'm not doing very well with this. Then I picked it up (AWESOME DEVOTIONAL, by the way - written by Sarah Young: Jesus Calling).

Here is today's message (free devotional, ya'll!):

"Find Freedom through seeking to please Me above all else. You can have only one Master. When you let others' expectations drive you, you scatter your energy to the winds. Your own desire to look good can also drain your energy. I am your Master, and I do not drive you to be what you are not. You pretense displeases Me, especially when it is in My "service". Concentrate on staying close to Me at all times. It is impossible to be inauthentic while you are focusing on My Presence."

I'm really clicking with the "I do not drive you to be what you are not" statement... I'm feeling a little lost with regards to my small business - I would like more work, but enjoy having breaks. Since my children are still home with my 24/7 (Clara will go to preschool this fall), I like to spend my time with them and know that is what I should be doing more than anything else. At the same time, we're feeling like we can't DO anything because we don't have extra money. There are upgrades to the house I'd love to make, but I don't see anything happening in the foreseeable future. So, I'd love some more income to be able to "do" some of the things we'd like to do, which means I need to market myself better. I'm not very good at this!!! So blogging is one feeble attempt (but when I don't tell anyone I blog, it's not really helping at all, is it?!)

So frustration sets in and then I remember I'm supposed to be doing quiet time since the girls are napping... pick up my JC book and it screams at me - Be With Me. Simple as that. So, here is where I sign off to be with my Master, my one and only Master, despite what the world *thinks* I should be doing. Peace out!

Seeking My Creator... 2013

My (growing) list of possible words for this year:

Fearless, Calm, Beautiful, Rejoice, Rock, Focus, Light, Journey, Grow, Forward, Within, Obey, Relate, Surrender

I’m close to picking journey, but I’m not sure what that means for me. I’ll tell the story of journey later J 

So I ask the questions “Who do I want to become this year?” and “What does God want from me this year?”

I believe He wants me to:

• Learn more about His story (the Bible)
• Feel confident in talking about him and sharing his love with others (including non-believers)
• Spend time alone with Him daily
•  Memorize scripture so I’m always prepared to face temptations/doubt
• Teach my children about Him and how to love Him
• Support and rely on friends and grow relationships I’ve already established

Journey

So the story goes like this: I’m on the beach shooting “sample” my one words and I used obvious ones at first. Then I wrote balance because it popped into my head. I knew this wasn’t going to be my word, but about 1 minute later a woman and her daughter walked along the beach and she stops and asked me “are these your one words?” And then she told me her word this past year was balance. I was literally taking pictures of her 2012 word as she walked by and I didn’t have any connection to the word myself. How cool is that?! So I shot one or two more words to use in my Etsy listing and was walking toward the access point to leave. I had a very strong urge to write one more word… Journey. I didn’t know where it came from and had not thought at all about the word. While I was feeling like I was ready to leave, I instead walked to the shoreline again to write the word. I felt compelled; the only explanation is that God wanted me to stay on that beach a little longer. I was trying to notice what was going on around me to see if there was an opportunity for something that I'd miss otherwise… a conversation with another stranger, a random smile, someone drowning in the ocean? I couldn’t figure it out, but I wrote journey, took some pictures, felt relief and left. Since then every time someone asks me about my one word, the first one that pops into my head is “Journey”… I just can’t exactly figure out what it has to do with this year. I’ve had a lot if “journeys” the past few years… being pregnant for the first time, having Clara, then being pregnant again and having Daphne, and boy was her first year a rough journey! Before that I was trying to get pregnant and before that it was moving to Wilmington. But there are no incredible journeys planned for me this year, at least not BY me. Since God is my creator and in control of my life, I’m wondering if I’m about to face a journey of some sort this year, whether a difficult one or a wonderful one, I’m not sure. What do you all think? Is my one word journey?? These are the scripture passages I’ve been memorizing lately, trying to narrow down to one for the year.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come.

 2 Corinthians 5:17

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have troubles, but take heart, for I have overcome the world!”  

John 16:33

He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalms 62:2

Based on the verses I've been sitting on, it seems journey might be right fit, but I'm nervous to pick it because it seems my faith will be tested. I trust you, God!

Accidents Happen

Well, yesterday was beautiful… 70 degrees and sunny. Since I had a custom order to shoot, we took the whole family to the beach this morning. I worked for about 30 minutes while hubby played with the girls and then we all played together. Clara is so curious and so into digging in the sand, finding seashells, totally in tune with nature. Daphne all the sudden loves the sand too and was pretty much covered head to toe when I found them after my shoot. They both were willing to get their feet wet, but that water was cold! I’m so grateful to live at the beach. We try not to take it for granted and I think this summer will be amazing. The best perk of my job is that I get to go the beach often… it’s so great and God always meets me there. But, accidents happen. Today when I was editing my shot, I noticed my file size was too small for the enlargement that was ordered. I had taken some pics earlier in the week meant for email and had changed my camera settings so the files were small. Apparently I forgot to change it back and now I have to reshoot at the beach tomorrow… too bad the forecast is still 70 degrees and sunny. I’m not sure Hubby believes my story or that this was an accident. But it was. As Clara would sing, “Accidents happen! That’s what they say. Accidents happen, not today!” Those aren’t the words for anyone who isn’t familiar with the Elmo potty song, but she sang it so cutely after she peed on our living room floor the other night. Back to the beach for me!