My Rocker Husband

I’m a jealous person by nature. I’m very possessive of many things in my life, one of those things being my husband and my time with him. Tonight, my jealousy and possessiveness really came through when I found out that I would be home by myself most of the night. I was looking forward to a night of cuddling on the couch and watching the Olympics with Tyler, and when I found out I wouldn’t get my way, I stomped my foot and stuck out my lower lip. Yup, I was a big baby.

Tyler is in a rock band named Meridian, and practice takes up a lot of his time. They’ve been refining their new sound lately with at least two practices a week, and this week it is going to be three. Once I finally stopped being selfish, I started to think about how supportive Tyler has been of me and my time to pursue photography. How could I NOT support him, when he’s done nothing but be my biggest fan?

Sometimes I don’t understand what I’ve done to deserve such a fantastic husband, and one who’s a drummer at that (God really spoiled me when he put Tyler in my life, because I always had a thing for drummers). Honestly, I couldn’t be more proud of him. So proud that I really want to brag on him a bit. All of this practice for the band is not just to get together with three of his closest friends, although that is a perk.

It’s because Meridian was one of the few bands to be chosen to play at Godstock in Fairfield, Illinois, next month. This could be huge for the band because of the exposure they will get. Some big names in Christian music have jammed out on the stage of Godstock, including one of our favorites, Skillet. The schedule isn’t posted yet, but head over to the Godstock web site and you’ll see this picture that I took of the band (left to right: Dane, Daniel, Tyler and BJ):

Meridian

Haven’t heard Meridian yet? The music on their MySpace page is a bit dated, but they will soon be heading to the studio to record five tracks. Some of those songs will be featured on my web site once they’re done. I can’t wait to share my husband and Meridian with you all!

And if you can’t wait that long, come see them at Godstock on September 6. I’ll be the one wearing my “I’m sleeping with the drummer” t-shirt. We can cheer them on together!

 

That Announcement is Coming Soon…

I know it was like two weeks ago when I said I had an announcement, and I promise it’s coming soon. Things are taking a little longer than I thought they would, but I AM making progress, so that is good. And believe me, it’s BIG news. At least in my mind it is. I can’t wait to share!

I’m so glad it’s the weekend. It’s too bad it’s going to be busy. After traveling last weekend to visit family up north, I came home pretty exhausted. This week feels like I’ve been running non-stop and my body is craving sleep. I should be in bed right now, but I have to post a blog. It’s just my style.

Last weekend in addition to taking my cousin’s picture, I also got the opportunity to go to my niece’s baptism/dedication. She’s getting big so fast, well for her anyway…she’s a tiny girl! Here are some pretty cute pictures of the little sweetheart:

Here she is with her daddy, Adam, who is a Methodist minister:

The district superintendent came to baptize her:

This is mommy, Kyla, holding Elizabeth. I love how this picture turned out. I shot at a really small aperture so everything except Elizabeth’s face is blurred:

This next picture makes my heart SO happy. This is Grandma Helen holding Elizabeth. I love the look on her face; it just seems like such a peaceful moment.

And finally, Tyler and I were outside waiting for everyone to go to lunch when I decided to play off the reflection in his glasses. Love it!

In other news, I finally started running again yesterday. It had been a month since I’d done any running at all (before we left for Hawaii) because I had cut my foot on a rock in the ocean in Hawaii and then I had my wisdom teeth removed. One month off really makes you feel out of shape! I’ve done 4 miles each of the past 2 days, so we’ll see how long it takes to build up my endurance again.

 

Watch Over Me

The past few days I’ve felt awully lonely. While I know I had Tyler and other people watching over me the entire time, the weekend is such a haze to me. And the past couple days as I’ve battled the pain from dry socket, everybody’s been going on with their life as usual while I’ve been sidelined to watch TV, surf the Internet and sleep. It hit me last night and this morning just how alone I’ve felt. I’ve been longing for true human interaction, without realizing that my God was there for me all along. Through this all, I’ve completely forgotten His promise to love me and watch over me.

On my way to work this morning, I heard the song “Watch Over Me” by Aaron Shust. I’ve heard this song several times on my XM radio, but this morning, the words really spoke to me. I’m posting the lyrics here today just in case someone else could use the reminder that God is always faithful to His promises.

I was lonely
You came waltzing over to me
And Your eyes they saw right through me
And You heard each one of my cries for help
And You came to rescue me
I was broken
Every prayer that I had spoken
Reached Your ears and all my tears weren’t cried in vain
You carried all my pain
And put me back together again
You watch over me in the darkest valleys
You watch over me when the night seems long
You help me to see the way before me
You watch over me; You watch over me
Always faithful
To be leading, at this moment
Interceding for Your children
Though I’ve wandered astray from Your infinite ways
You’ve never left me alone -[to chorus]
Take this frozen heart; awaken me
Never once have You forsaken me
Even though I walk through this shadow of death
You will guide and defend me
You’ll guard and protect me
Even though I walk through this shadow of death
You will lead me home

 

Cassidy Hodges and Meridian @ The Clay Pot

Last night, Cassidy Hodges and Meridian performed at The Clay Pot in Boonville. It was a great show with a lot of originals as well as some covers thrown in.

Here’s Cassidy singing one of her songs. I’m a big fan of her music, but last night her vocals were dead-on.

Next, Meridian took the stage:

Daniel on bass and vocals; Dane on accoustic rhythm guitar and vocals; BJ on lead guitar, mandolin (emphasis on “man”) and vocals; and my Tyler on drums.

It was such a fun night. Both bands brought something unique and interesting to the show. Unfortunately, it’s Cassidy’s only show of the summer. But Meridian can be seen later this summer at Godstock and Raise the Praise. Check out their MySpace page for the details.

 

Heavenly Hoedown

Tonight, Sojourn celebrated our new building and coming together as a family with a Heavenly Hoedown! We had a great turnout, but the most important part is that we had a TON of fun! We started the evening off with some food…a tater wagon, chili, hot dogs, and some delicious desserts.

Next, we began our tournaments. Dan was the winner of the pool tourney.

 

 The last foosball game between Matt and Mike was a nail-biter…

But Mike came out victorious!

Kody interviews Matt, who blames his loss on Mike’s distracting shiny head…

And the winner of the rock, paper, scissors contest was Bailey!

And finally, Gabby was the winner of the “Huh” game. At the beginning of the party, everyone received a sticker. If you said “huh,” the person who caught you took your sticker. Gabby’s final count was 29!

We also did some line dancing as well as karaoke. We rocked the house!

Isn’t he just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?

You’ll be sorry you missed BJ and Matt’s rendition of “Man of Constant Sorrow.”

Thanks to everyone who made this night a success. It was definitely a fun night for all!

(All images shot with a Canon 40d/50 mm 1.4 lens, no Photoshopping)

 

Winter Jam

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend a really great concert. Winter Jam, featuring several Christian artists, came to Evansville’s Roberts Stadium. Since I have sort of taken on the youth program at my church, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get our kids out to hear some really great music with a solid message and at a price they could afford. Tickets were only $10 at the door but no one would be turned away if they didn’t have the ability to pay.We were under a winter storm warning with the threat of ice and snow for the evening, so the crowd was not too big. Tyler got to the stadium to wait in line at 5 p.m. so we could be one of the first in and get the best seats. I joined him after work and after I grabbed a quick meal for us from Mickey D’s. To say it was frigid would be an understatement, but Tyler was such a trooper even though he’d been waiting in line much longer than I had. Luckily, the sleet stopped not long after 5, so at least we weren’t soaked AND cold.

They finally let us in at 6 p.m. and I paid my money so I could go in and save all of our seats. Tyler waited at the door to give the kids their money (they had paid ahead since we weren’t sure how the ticket/seat situation would be handled). They were only letting a small number of people on the floor, and I nearly had to fight off several people for the seats I was saving…I had my purse, coat, scarf, camera case, program and several other things strewn across 12 seats. Some people were not happy, to say the least, but our kiddos had some of the best seats in the house! We were only about 15 rows back, so not bad at all.

 

First up was PureNRG. They were three young kids who did more gymnastics than singing. It will be interesting to see if they change their style or just stop performing once they get older. After that was Group1Crew. This trio was a hip hop group, and the female singer was AMAZING! I’ve heard them on XM 32, but they were so much better in person.

Then they had a youth leader reception, so while Tyler and I were at that, Mandisa sang. From what I was told, she was amazing. I was pretty upset that we had to miss it. But at the reception, we got to be up close to the lead singer of Skillet and also Barlow Girl. I think Tyler was a bit starstruck to be that close since Skillet is one of his favorite bands.

NewSong, who I wasn’t too impressed with, played a few songs. They were more praise and worship, which isn’t too energizing for a concert in my opinion. But to each their own.

Skillet’s show was absolutely amazing. They had some amazing pyrotechnics that shot really high in the air and even caught a towel on fire on stage. We could feel the heat at our seats, so I can only imagine how hot it was on stage. Most of all, I was impressed with the band’s stage presence. The lead singer was so energetic. And I loved that his wife sang, played keyboard and guitar, and they also had a new female drummer to replace Tyler’s favorite dummer, Lori. I definitely became a huge fan after this show. I got their CD from Tyler to listen to on Friday and I couldn’t get enough of it!

Steven Curtis Chapman ended the show. He was really great, too, and I can see why my mother in law is a big fan of his. The entire band, which now includes his two sons on guitar and drums, was really solid.

If Winter Jam comes to your area, it’s definitely worth your $10. If you want to read about the concert in more depth, read about it at the Courier & Press.

 

Becoming a Photographer: Inspiration

As I get closer to taking classes, I have been consumed with thinking about what kind of a photographer I want to be. I have perused blog after blog and web site after web site. There are soooo many that inspire me!

1) bobbi+mike. My favorite. Hands down. Seeing Bobbi’s work is what inspired me to take this step toward becoming a photographer in the first place. She and Mike’s work is vibrant, fun, edgy and unique. AND she’s a fellow Sycamore!!

2) Jessica Claire. I covet one of her Shootsac bags. However, I’ve resolved not to get one until I’m a true photographer (and until I have a camera…I wouldn’t have any use for it until then, and they’re too pretty to just be left sitting around). But I truly love her work. It’s always so crisp and looks like it came straight from a magazine. And, she definitely knows how to capture those details. I love that she’s so driven, too. She sets goals (one of which was design a new product, and voila, we have the Shootsac!) and works hard to achieve those goals.

3) I just stumbled upon Jasmine Star. All I can say is, Wow. Her work truly takes my breath away. She not only has a true sense of capturing a moment with photos, but also with words. She always includes a little story with each couple she photographs. I feel as if I’m right there with her subjects, feeling what they are feeling. And, she’s a Christian and publicly professes her faith on her blog and Web site. Love that!

4) Anne Ruthmann. I truly love that she strives to make her business green. She also likes to help others make their businesses better. She does both by blogging about her efforts, tips and experiences. One of the ways she decided to help other photographers is by offering to include them as a second shooter at one of her many weddings (she was booked for 2008 before 2007 was even over!). I emailed her about it, and I hope that I’m advanced enough to accompany her sometime in May or later. I can’t tell you how excited I am about the possibility of doing that. Her work is definitely something I strive to emulate!!

5) Me Ra Koh. She used to be a writer (like me) but found healing through photography. After seeing Me Ra’s photography of her kids, friends started asking her to take photos for them. It took off from there and now she’s one of the very best in the business. Best of all? She gets to watch her kiddos grow up since she’s at home with them instead of in an office all day. I would love, love, love to be able to do that one day.

Each of these five women encompasses a little part of what I want to be as a photographer. They have talent, business know-how, giving hearts and great personalities. Just thought I’d share these five photographers who get my creative juices flowing each day when I check in on their photography blogs.

 

unChristian

We made a trip to Family Christian yesterday in between church and lunch because I wanted to get a book that just came out. It’s called “unChristian” and it’s by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons of the Barna Group. The Barna Group is a marketing and research group that performs studies about how to improve ministries. The book is a study about why my generation — the 16- to 29-year olds — no longer relate to or want anything to do with Christianity. While the study was performed over a three-year period, it is not heavy-laden with confusing figures and statistics. Instead, it’s an insightful view about what we Christians are doing wrong.

I was highly encouraged by this book when I first read about it online. I couldn’t wait for it to come out. And then when I received the flyer from Family Christian and saw that it was out, I had to get my copy. The book highlights the exact problems that my church, Journey, is trying to solve. We know that those out of college are the least likely to attend church even though this is a time when they may need it most. They’re at a transition in their lives and need people who can support them.

I’m reading it mostly to find out what I can do in my life to be more Christ-like and not to point out what others should be doing. It starts with me. I’ve seen the change that God has played in my life over the past year and I now know what it’s like to be excited about being a Christian, to be passionate about living my life to its fullest, with hope and love and faith. I want others to know me and want to know what’s different about me.

But a common reaction when I tell them about why I am the way I am is one of disgust and putting up walls. They don’t want anything to do with Christianity; we’re all a bunch of hypocrites, liars, fakes, backstabbers and snobs to them. Heck, even I think that about us Christians sometimes. Yes, we’re human. We are all that way every once in a while. But I want them to see that even though we falter, we have hope through Christ.

I want people to see Christianity in a different light. I hope to be the change I want to see in the world. I’m confident that this book will shed some light on areas I need to change in my life so I can show others who Christ really is, not who we (I) make Him out to be.