I ♥ Me Some Textures!

This week at I ♥ Faces it's all about textures-such a fun week! I could play around for hours with them if I had the time! There are so many different types and ways you can manipulate them to create different effects on a photograph. I was excited about this weeks theme because once again it challenged me. The only way this week would be better is if everyone had to share the textures they used in their photo's! Ahhh, that's wishful thinking!

This is a photo of my cousin and his wife. These two make such great subjects that you just might see them in next weeks challenge too!

Make sure you visit www.iheartfaces.com to check out all the different ways textures can effect a photograph.

I ♥ Faces: We Are Family!

This week at I ♥ Faces it's all about families! I am always trying to get new ideas on ways to pose different sized families so I was very excited about this week. I'm hoping to get a new idea to try! As I went through some of my recent family shots, I kept going back to this one. It's probably because its a picture of some of my favorite people that I haven't seen in a month or so. My sister Katie lives in Washington state where her husband, Theo is in the Air Force. I miss them so much, but I am so thankful for airplanes and cell phones and Facebook. You might be able to guess from their red, green and white clothing that we were taking pictures for their Christmas card. I can't help but smile when I look at Katie's face. I love the way her and Theo are looking at their daughter, while my niece Bronwen is obliviously looking at me!

This is my new favorite pose that works for most families, up to about six or seven people. I have found that for some reason, people smile and have a fun time when you tell them to lay on their bellies! I can always catch a glimpse of people like they really are-without a camera in their face. And I am all about trying to capture folks in their own sweet, happy, genuine smiles of simply being together as a family. Make sure you check out http://www.iheartfaces.com/ this week to celebrate the joys of being apart of a family.

I ♥ Faces: Week 2

Today is officially I ♥ Faces One Year Birthday! So exciting! And It is All About Faces this week. This time it has to be a picture you've taken in December '09 or January '10. I must admit that I don't have many individual shots of faces from the last six weeks. Most of my pictures are of large families or sibling shots from taking pictures for Christmas Cards. Yesterday I went through all of the possible candidates of single faced pictures and couldn't find one that I just loved. I kept thinking I'd have to take a new one, but given the crazy day I had today-I didn't think it would be possible.

After lunch, as I was looking one last time trying to decide on a shot to post, I glanced over at my Sweet Randol who was doing her school work. I thought she looked so cute wearing her bright pink shirt and dark blue jeans. So being the great Homeschool Teacher and Mom that I am, I went and got my camera and had her take a quick break to get this shot. And being the Dimpled, Freckled Face Ham that she is, she was excited about the break!

Make sure you head on over to www.iheartfaces.com/ this week. You really don't want to miss out on all the excitement and fun giveaways..and the all those fabulous faces!

Divine Protection

Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

I woke up, drank my coffee and got ready for the day. I started school with Randol; checked email; took Foster to Speech Therapy; ate lunch with Wesley; put the boys down for a nap; talked to my mom and sister on the phone; played around on Photoshop; made homemade pizza for dinner; cleaned the kitchen and left for Publix to pick up a prescription.


There was nothing unusual, nothing out of the ordinary, just a regular 'ole day.


It was dark outside when I pulled in the parking lot of Publix. I noticed that there were a lot of cars. I decided to take a parking spot farther back than I would have liked, rather than wait for someone to leave so that I could park closer. On the way to the store I had been praying that God would make me a good steward of our money-more that I wouldn't buy things we didn't need in the 20 minutes I'd have to wait for the prescription to be filled. As I parked the car, I noticed my envelope of clipped coupons on the floor. It is an envelope that I rarely remember to use. I went to get out of the car and I got this overwhelming feeling that I needed to flip through those coupons. "That is silly! All I'm buying is milk and apple juice! I don't need any coupons for that!"


I got out of the car, keys in my hand with the car door still open and I felt it again-Marion! Get in the car and look at those coupons! I laughed out loud, thinking maybe I was weaker than I thought and God was trying to help me save some money. I got back in the car, closed the door and flipped through the envelope of coupons. After a minute or two I said out loud-"This is silly Lord, all I'm buying is Foster's prescription and some milk and apple juice to get us through the weekend-there aren't any coupons for those things!"


I opened my car door to get out and suddenly the car alarm went off. Lights were flashing and sirens were going off all around me. Startled, I closed my door, and tried frantically to figure out how to make it all stop. I was driving the new car we bought Wesley the week after Christmas (a whole other blog post about God's provision in that!) so I was not familiar with the alarm system in this car! There was an alarm button on the key ring and I figured that I must have accidentally pushed it. I finally figured out how to make the noise stop, then I sat in the car for a minute or two. Making very careful not to push any buttons on my key ring, I opened the door again.


BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! The alarm went off again and it felt as though something was pushing against the door. Lights flashing, sirens blaring and me scrounging around trying once again to figure out how to turn them off. Suddenly, like a light bulb going off, I realized-this was no accident, God was protecting me from something. I sat there, heart beating, and tried to figure out what to do. Should I just go home? Do I sit in the car for a while? Do I go inside?


I prayed and asked God that if I needed to go home, to please let the alarm go off again and I would take that as my sign not to get out of the car and go in the store. Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the car door.


No alarm. The air was calm and crisp in a way I cannot describe. I got out of the car, locked it and started walking into the store. I looked around the parking lot and didn't see a soul.


Walking briskly towards the door, out of no where, a man appeared. He was built like a body builder, wearing sweat pants with a toboggan pulled over his head. Walking behind him, I could see his huge back muscles through his shirt. He had a strut and kept constantly looking back and forth. Once looking over his left shoulder, he made eye contact with me. I got this shiver go down my spine. All I could think of was that he could snap me like a twig if he wanted to. I knew that man was either the predator God was protecting me from or he was my guardian angel, walking me safely inside the store. Two different extremes, but he was related to the whole incident-somehow.


I went in the store, looked back and I could see his broad shoulders walk down an aisle and then disappear. I sat, waiting for Foster's prescription, thanking God for His divine protection. I prayed asking Him if it was safe to go buy milk and juice. After walking down an aisle, I ran into my mother-in-laws, best friend from high school. She has the sweetest smile and the cheeriest voice. We small-talked and went about our separate ways. Walking away, I thanked God for her. She didn't know what had just happened, but He did. He had placed her in that aisle to remind me to smile-that everything was going to be OK.


Driving home, I thought of my regular 'ole ordinary day. I thought of the short kiss to my husband and children before I'd left to go to the store. What we had thought was going to be a thirty minute goodbye-could have been forever. That night, I kept thinking of all the things I would have missed sharing with my husband and in my children's lives if I left this world that day. Instead of spending my time thanking Him for saving me from someone or something lurking in the dark-I was swimming in "What if's" in my head. I woke up in the middle of the night and I suddenly remembered a verse I had shared with a friend on Facebook the day before-"The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save." Zephaniah 3:17a. I knew-He was not finished with me yet; there is still work for me to do for His kingdom.

The truth of the matter is this-we don't know when our time is up. No one is promised tomorrow or next week or next year. All we have is this minute to make a difference for His Kingdom. So what are you going to do for Him today?

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

Don't Be a Lane Changer!

The road is hard. The sun is hot, beating down overhead. You begin to feel a small trickle of sweat run down your back. You squint your eyes, looking ahead hoping to see what the trail looks like around the bend. You try to stay focused, you try to concentrate. Just a little bit farther, just a little bit farther.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me,

if only I may finish the race and complete the task

the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying

to the gospel of God's grace.

Acts 20:24

Suddenly your eye happens to turn to the runner beside you. Her lane looks smoother, not as bumpy as yours. You begin to wonder why you didn't get to go in that lane. Why are you stuck on this rough, bumpy, hilly road, instead of on that smooth trail? What did she do to deserve that lane that you hadn't done?

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

You try to focus, you try to look ahead, but your eyes begins to wander again from your own lane. You happen to notice the runner next to you has a shoe lace that is untied and is flapping in the wind. He could fall and hurt himself! Why won't he stop and tie his shoe? Does he know the dangers of running full speed with an untied shoe lace? Suddenly you get this Great Samaritan Idea. You can tie his shoe for him! You can fix his problem and make it all better!

You turn into his lane, running along side him , bunched over as you try to grab his shoe lace. He begins to yell, asking what on earth you are doing and telling you to get out of his way. Instead of helping him win the race, now you are hindering him.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and

kept you from obeying the truth?

That kind of persuasion does not come

from the One who calls you.

Galatians 5:7-8

Angry, you go back to your own lane, only now you are the one who is behind, now you are the one who has been left. Everyone else has their eye on the prize. Everyone else is running the race at their own speed, in their own lane, all with the same goal; To win the race.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me

the crown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day

—and not only to me, but also to all who

have longed for his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

Life is hard and it is not fair. There is no doubt about it. At times it may seem easier to look at someone elses race and wish it were your own, rather than accept the path God has laid out for you. I wish I had a house as big as theirs. I wish I had his job. Why can't I have that many children? I wish I could sing like her. Why can't I have her patience? On and on we go, wishing our lives away-wanting to be in someone elses shoes...in someone elses lane. I encourage you, in this new year to run the race He has for YOU, for YOUR life. In the words of my wise Bible study teacher, "My race is not your race-and that's how God intended it!" I promise you that His path is so much better than any other trail you could follow.

... let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

I ♥ Faces Giveaway!

This is SUCH AN EXCITING week over at I ♥ Faces! Given that school starts back today and my three boys are still getting over the RSV virus-I need some excitement in my life right about now! And boy did Angie and Amy at I ♥ Faces come to the rescue! It will be their One Year Anniversary on January 12th and they are kicking off the celebrations by giving away a new Tamron lens!!!! Now what photographer wouldn't be excited about a new lens?!?

This week, your picture must have the I ♥ Faces logo in the pic, somewhere. Sounds like a simple task, but it had my crazy brain looking through many pictures to try and find one that would be a good candidate for this! Here is what I came up with so far. If I can find an extra hour in my day, I'll try and add one more to this post, taking full advantage of being able to enter FIVE entries this week!!!

Make sure you head over to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ and check out all the fabulous entries! You don't want to miss this week!

“I am submitting these photo's into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photo for use in the marketing and promotion of their website.”