Any Occasion Photography

Saturday, December 6, 2014

DIY - Up-cycled/Recycled Outdoor Christmas Tree Topiary

One of the great things about Christmas is finding that perfect, fresh-cut tree to put in your home. Invariably, every year we have to cut a few branches off of the lowest part of the tree in order to fit it in the tree stand, and this year as I looked at these discarded branches, I had an "ah-ha" moment.

I didn't want to put them to waste and I had a wire tomato cage lying around...

The result is a DIY, up-cycled, recycled Christmas topiary! The process was entirely too simple. I used zip-ties to attach the branches to the tomato cage (which is up-side down) and aside from making the ribbon from some leftover burlap (awesome tutorial here), that is all I did.

Merry Christmas!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

DIY - Easter Centerpiece

Easter is around the corner and here in Southern Oregon, the spring flowers are in full bloom! With all the daffodils and tulips displaying their finest colors, I felt inspired to create an Easter centerpiece.

Take a narrow clear vase and put it inside of a taller and wider cylindrical candle holder/vase. I then bought some of the small chocolate Easter egg candies and poured them in-between the two vases. (I would totally recommend putting the candy in BEFORE you put water in your smaller vase, otherwise you have some water-logged chocolate and a difficult time getting the candy out!)

Last, but not least, add and arrangement of fresh-cut spring flowers!

A word of warning, the earlier you put out your arrangement, the more likely you'll be buying some more chocolate eggs before Easter!!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Riding out the Storm

Sometimes, I feel like following God is like walking into a 100 mph headwind with driving rain and dense fog.

Sometimes I can't see where I am going.

Sometimes I feel like I am losing my grip.

Yet He is always right there, a lighthouse on the shore, a beacon of hope and a firm foundation fit to outlast any storm.

Matthew 8:24-27

Sunday, March 9, 2014

You Have Been Called by God

An actor plays a role in a movie, the critics proclaim that they were "born to play the role." I'm sure you've heard that comment a time or two.

The statement begs a question;

are you playing the "role" that you were born to play?

It sounds like a task of monumental proportions doesn't it?

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he says something that is so simple, yet so profound. It's undoubtedly one of the most thought-provoking verses that I have read in the Bible lately. The book of Ephesians is a letter to a group of believers who had been following Jesus Christ for eight years, but among them, many wandered back to their sinful ways.

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

-Ephesians 4:1

How 'bout them apples?

(FYI - it's a line from Good Will Hunting. Definitely a role that Matt Damon was born to play.)

Cheesy movie lines aside, this verse floors me. CALLED BY GOD. How often are we guilty of deciding for ourselves what it is that we think we should be doing with our lives? It starts so young. In elementary school, teachers ask their students what they want to be when they grow up. From there, life begins to center around that topic. Kids start preparing to get into college when they are in junior high for crying out loud! They go to college under the assumption that by going they will answer the long asked question of what they are going to be when they grow up.

Show of hands. How many adults still have no idea what they are going to be when they grow up?!

If you had asked me in elementary school what I wanted to be, I would have said a teacher. (Which, but they way, I have been told several times, may not be my strong suit.) By the time I was in high school, it was a photographer for a magazine, I even have a degree in photojournalism. However, I am not a photojournalist. Instead, I got a plain-old normal job straight out of college to pay the bills, married my college sweetheart, had two kids and now I am a stay-at-home mom with a photography business on the side.

Somewhere in the course of life, I decided that I didn't want to live the nomadic lifestyle which was surely going to accompany the life of a photojournalist, I wanted to settle down and have a family. Though I look back at my previous working life and realize how God used that experience to get me where I am now, those eight years felt like the very essence of going through the motions so to speak.

Through the epiphany that became Any Occasion Photography, I have held onto the notion that the role I was born to play was that of a photographer. Now I'm going to be really honest, my business is not hugely successful by worldly standards. I don't make a lot of money, I don't sell a lot of products and I'm OK with that.

After reading Ephesians 4:1, I've come to the conclusion that one of two things are to be credited for my lack of success in this endeavor. 1) Plain and simple, it's not God's calling for my life, or 2) I need to trust in God's timing and eventually, His calling through my photography will be fulfilled.

The point is that we are not in charge of what we do in this life. Stop ignoring God's calls, texts, voicemails, e-mails, tweets or his posts on your Facebook wall. I believe that the answer to discovering God's calling for your life is simple and scary. This I know for sure,

Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

- Deuteronomy 31:6

He just wants you to do amazing things, because he already knows that you can, he already knows what they are and he's not going to stop bothering you until you respond to him.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Stumbling

Those of us who have toddlers know that it's sometimes hard to keep them on their feet. They are so independent, want to do EVERYTHING on their own, and most of us like to give them those independent moments, make them feel like they are BIG.

When it comes to walking, this can be a bit of a challenge. You wait and wait for them to start walking, eagerly anticipate capturing it on your camera and it happens, everyone claps and cheers - and then they stop walking. They run. Everywhere. Then they fall, again and again.

How many times have you been holding your little one's hand, walking side by side when their legs suddenly go out from beneath them? There they are, dangling from your steady hand until they plant their feet on the ground once more.

I've caught myself telling my almost 2-year-old, "It's a good thing mommy has your hand!" on more than a few occasions.

This is a relatively mundane topic, but while reading in the Psalms today, I stumbled (pun intended) onto this passage:

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Psalm 37:23-24 (NLT)

Ponder that for a little while. How wonderful is it that we serve a God who is ALWAYS holding our hand? We are all sinners. We will stumble time and again, but He will never leave our side, and most definitely, He will not let us fall.

You are not defined by your mistakes. When you do make a mistake, look up at the hand that is holding you and you will certainly find your way back onto your feet again.

"It's a good thing I have your hand," He will say.

Friday, February 14, 2014

God Loves You

Regardless of what Valentine's Day holds for you, remember this: God loves you.

Unconditionally. Forever.

Remember this today and everyday because, God is Love. 1 John 4:8

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

Save 10% on purchases of $20 or more at anyoccasionphoto.etsy.com. Use coupon code HOLIDAY10 at checkout. See 1st comment for a link to my Etsy shop. (Expires 12/31/13; excludes custom orders.)

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Christmas Countdown!

Word.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

God-Sized Dreams

There is something stirring inside of me. I don't know what it is, or how I am going to do it, or when it's going to happen. But yet, I feel it, an aching to do something bigger than me - something God-sized.

You see, I am plagued with a gotta-do-something-bigger-than-what-I-am-already-doing disease. Sometimes, it feels as if the things that I am doing in the name of the Lord aren't big enough. As if these small(ish) things are somehow insignificant. Here's the thing, to God, anything done in his name is big enough.

So, if you start a charity or simply raise your children to love God, no task is too big or too small. At the end of the day, it's OK to set your sights on a God-sized dream, because "...with God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

Sunday, June 9, 2013

The Last Page

Please tell me that I am not the only one who has picked up a new book, read the first few pages, then in a move of nagging desperation, flipped to the last page to read the ending.

I have to admit that I have done this a time or two. This act of impatience begs the question: Why is it so important to know the end of something before it has even begun? Not to mention that most of the time, the last page rarely gives anything away. You have to read the pages in between the beginning and the end.

What a concept, right? It's right up there with opening Christmas presents before Christmas, re-wrapping them, and putting them back. Yes, I know people who do this. Let me re-phrase, I know adults who do this.

Recently, God has been whispering this to me - the message goes something like this;

If, as Christians, we already know what happens "at the end of the book" (so to speak), then why do we live our lives worrying? Why do we live our lives fretting over how our stories are going to end when we already know that salvation is ours because of Jesus Christ?

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

This is a pretty simple truth that speaks volumes and it's not found in the beginning of the bible or the end, but more or less, smack dab in the middle.

Make this pact with me. Let's not burden ourselves with how things are going to end. Live in each moment as it arrives, taking as much as we can from it, and leaving nothing behind. Don't waste opportunities, and most of all, let's live our lives for God's glory, because Jesus died so that we could live.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Let's be an example to those who do not know God, or to those who are new to their faith, that He will take care of us.

If by chance you haven't read the bible, I'd recommend it. It's a best-seller and it has a good ending. ;)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

...and the greatest of these is Love.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." (1 Corinthians 13:4) To some, this may sound a bit cliche.

Surely, most of you have attended at least one wedding that included this passage from scripture. Because of its popularity in wedding vows, I think many people find the scripture to be cliche and do not think much of it beyond vows.

This chapter in the bible is often referred to as the love chapter, because its entire purpose is to define genuine, Jesus-like, love.

Let me backtrack. Recently, my husband and I went out on a date night, leaving our sons at my parent's house. When we returned to pick them up, my mom told me that my older son had stuck a pea up his nose, and had apparently left his "listening-ears" at home.

To be honest, the whole thing angered and embarrassed me. The anger that I was feeling was directed toward my son, and even the next morning, I had a really hard time letting go of it. I kept racking my brain as to why he would behave so badly. Had he had a bad day? Was coming down with something? Was it because he hadn't taken a nap that day?

Then it occurred to me, he had done this the last time we left him there for a date night - nearly six months earlier. This is the point when I started to do exactly what the bible calls me not to do; I began to keep a record of wrongs, which just made me more angry.

As I took a shower that morning, this verse whispered into my thoughts:

"

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails."

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

I have no doubt that this is a God-thing, as the lesson for preschoolers this week at my church is about genuine love, and we are using the love chapter to demonstrate this.

What a powerful message this has been for me today. Not only should I work harder at not angering easily and keeping a record of wrongs, I also need to be a consistent example of genuine, Jesus-like love for my children.

So, the next time you hear all or some of these verses at a wedding, don't roll your eyes. These simple truths extend far beyond wedding vows - they are truly worth thinking about.

"There are three things that will endure - faith, hope and love - and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. - Jeremiah 17:7-8

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Leap of Faith

My toes gripped desperately to the edge of the diving board, my heart pounded in my chest and my nerves were a jumble in the back of my throat.

Dive in, really?

Head first?

Bravely, yet full of fear, I took the plunge - literally.

Fear is the enemy's best tool. It's the one that will keep us on the sideline and/or diving board indefinitely. God however, calls on us to trust him. He calls on us to take that preverbal leap of faith, no matter how crippling the fear is.

So the next time you find yourself overcome with fear - whether that means taking a new job, meeting new friends, or simply attempting to dive off of the diving board - keep this in mind;

God sprouts your wings once you take the leap.

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart... - Proverbs 3:5

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Spring is here!

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8

Monday, February 18, 2013

Cutest Pet Contest...

The Medford Mail Tribune, my local paper, is conducting a cutest pet contest. Jericho should win!! Vote below:

Friday, February 1, 2013

Project 365 - Week 4

Who knew this would be such hard work! With my husband out of town last week, photography wasn't my top priority. Therefore, there are only four images this week.

I haven't thought of my excuse for this week yet...

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Project 365 - Week 3

Better late than never...

Friday, January 18, 2013

Love never fails

Monday, January 14, 2013

Project 365 - Week 2

Week two found me thinking outside of the box and I think I like what I came up with!

Newborn Session

Nearly a month ago, my best friend had a baby - and boy is he adorable! Though my experience with photographing newborns is limited to my two boys, I really wanted to give my friends a special gift, so I volunteered to do a newborn session for them and, luckily for me, they agreed!

In all honesty, I never thought I would never fall in love with the idea of photographing people other than my own family, but something about this little guy made me re-think a few things. After this session, I feel confident in saying that I would love to do more of this - plus families and kids.

Here are some of my favorite images from our session: