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. 

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

My Secret Obsession

I covet it.

I hide it; in my pocket, a coffee can, under my mattress, in the toilet bowl tank. I hide it because I want it to be mine, all mine.

I relish in the stillness of it.

I think, breathe, relax and if I am being perfectly honest, most times I fall asleep.

It's almost better than - dare I say - coffee? (A close second nonetheless)

What could be possibly be so fantastic you ask?

Quiet.

(Those of you with young children are vigorously nodding your heads in agreement.)

Quiet times, when all I hear are my own thoughts, the gentle humming of the air conditioner, the clock ticking and the occasional creaking of an aging house.

Often times, I feel called to sit in this quietness. Maybe it's after a long day, or sometimes just because there doesn't seem to be much "me" time anymore.

I am drawn to this quiet time. So much so that as I immersed myself in it tonight, the words for this post poured into my head and I had to pry myself off of the couch to get my thoughts down before I forgot them fell asleep.

It doesn't always last long, but I will take what I can get!

I may be level headed, but...

I despise hanging shelves. Floating shelves to be exact. I may have a level head, so to speak, but I cannot - I repeat CANNOT - hang shelves level to save my life!

They do make this nifty little tool called a level, but I am pretty sure mine is broken and I have several cock-eyed shelves to prove it.

They aren't so crooked
you take a photo a just the right angle!

My life is often like my crooked shelves. At times, it can be a bit off level, and I try to improve on those things everyday. In terms of the shelves, I tried putting a taller item on the "low" end of the shelf in a desperate attempt to make it look like it's the same height as the other side.

It didn't work. But, I don't care, I am not putting more holes in my wall and I don't want to throw another drill across the room!

Ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration...


When it comes to the things in my life that aren't quite level however, I won't give up.  God has given me a heart to improve myself, so I will continue to put holes into the walls of the things of my life that need improvement until they seem level to me.

---

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" - Proverbs 3:5

Time keeps on slippin'...

There is something about having the windows in your house open, a fresh breeze blowing past your curtains, welcoming the sounds of birds and the sweet smells of Spring.

I'm not one of those people who could live, in let's say Southern California, with virtually one season that never seems to vary much. I once was talking to a friend who was living in San Diego at the time, and she was yearning to move back to Oregon, back to a place that experiences seasons. (Ah what a concept, four seasons each year, one fading right into another.)

The other night, when I managed to strain a back muscle while trying to roll over in bed - did I mention that I am very pregnant -  I found myself sitting on the couch at 4 a.m. listening to the hypnotic tick-tock of the wall clock. That sound always reminds me of being a little girl at my grandma's house listening to the tick-tock of the travel alarm clock in my room as I fell asleep. I loved the sound of it then, just as much as I do now.

My mind wandered while in that hypnotic-like state and I started thinking about how life just keeps on moving, whether we join it or not. Each second ticks by, followed by minutes, hours, days, months....you get the idea, and sometimes we aren't ready to move along with those changes. But changes aren't unlike the changing of seasons - winter into spring, spring into summer, etc. - they are necessary and healthy.

I guess the point of my lost-in-thought-in-the-wee-hours-of-the-morning post today is to say that we should try not to take time for granted.

Take time to relax, take time to be busy doing the things you love, take time to cuddle. Take time to stop and just listen, to the chirping of birds or maybe the gentle tick-tock of a clock.

When saying a little says it all

Is everyone a storyteller?  Larry Smith, editor of the online web publication Smith Magazine, thought so and in an attempt to encourage aspiring writers - and anyone for that matter - he issued a challenge for his readers to share their stories in six words.

Six. Not a paragraph, a page, an article or a full-length novel. Just six words.

What started out as a one-month contest in 2006, spawned into an out-pouring of honest, and often inspiring, six-word stories that continues to this day. I have to say, if you can't relate to at least one of them, you are not human. (Check out the website, the link is above. They even make t-shirts!)

I happened to learn about these "Six-word Memoirs" while flipping through the pages of the February issue of O Magazine. There, covering six-pages (kinda ironic don't ya think?) are stories from their readers, of which I was slightly disappointed that none of them mentioned faith or God. Regardless, they were humorous, telling and inspiring none the less. The one that popped off the page for me came from a 22-year-old. It said, "Life gives lemons, but no juicer." Very true.

To say that coming up with only six words is a challenge for me is the understatement of the century, as I tend to want to be witty, clever, insightful, poetic and thought-provoking with everything that I write, and I always have been.

This isn't to say that I think highly of myself, or have any far-fetched and lofty words to describe my story, and those words would probably never come close to filling the pages of a book. However, I think in every storyteller, there tends to be a desire to express more than what is necessary.

So, six words it is. Without further a-do, and after much brow-furrowing, hand exercises and knuckle-popping, here it goes:

"God made me with a purpose."

Phew. That was much easier than anticipated. (P.S. - He made you with a purpose too!)

Now, as I embark on this "new chapter" of my life, the question of my purpose begs me to answer it, and I will - eventually.

For now, I will be pacified knowing that even if I don't know my exact purpose at this exact moment, it does exist, and God has given me this opportunity to to take time to define it. That is good enough for me.

What are your six words?  I really want to see what you come up with! Please post them in the comments below...

A new chapter....

Welcome! My name is Leslie and this is my first, futile attempt at blogging! (wish me luck)  The timing for the start of this blog was divinely timed to say the least. I just quit my job of 8 years to begin a new, much more fulfilling, career as a stay-at-home-mom of a 3-year-old and a baby who is on the way.

I want this blog to be a shared experience with all of you, both in terms of the normal, sometimes mundane things we all go through everyday, but also with regard to capturing those moments with the photos we take along the way.

"Sometimes you never will know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory." - unknown

I plan on writing about those things that I find interesting, the humorous adventures I experience with my family and of course, about photography.
As I embark on this new chapter in my life, I am filled with inspiration and also fear. However, I know that everything happens for a reason and that this transition is full of purpose for me to discover along the way.

A little about my story: 

I am married to an amazing man, who also happens to be my best friend. We're going on 5 years of marriage (or what he affectionately refers to as "legalized slavery") and he has been the partner of my dreams, even if he can't seem to throw away trash in the kitchen garbage can.

Together, my husband and I have two children; a 3-year-old who arguably has the best personality that I have ever witnessed in a toddler and a baby on the way. We are so incredibly blessed with our son and I am sure those blessings will multiple even more with our new addition. Boy or girl? Call us old-fashioned, but we prefer to wait for the big moment to know. (No oober pre-baby planning for me!)

In mid-2011, I was inspired to start a business utilizing my love of photography -- I have a degree in photojournalism -- and any other creative skills I could muster up. Thus enters my Etsy shop, Any Occasion Photography, anyoccasionphoto.etsy.com. I started out making blank greeting cards featuring my photos, but have since decided to branch out and offer prints and photo gifts as well.

My desire to own a business began eons ago, and I find even the most mundane details about the process exciting!  (lame, I know) With an Etsy shop established, I moved onto the ever-evolving land of Facebook, facebook.com/AnyOccasionPhotography, and now, this blog!

I sincerely hope that this space will be a place where you can kick back with a cup of coffee, tea, 6-pump sugar free soy latte (to each his own) and enjoy life's moments together.

Leslie

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..."  - Ephesians 3:20