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REMEMBER:
You were not created to be strong.
You are not supposed to carry heavy burdens.

God is God and you are His.

Cast your cares and the cares of others at the feet of Jesus.
Let Him worry about the outcome.

He will be your strength and He will sustain you.

In hard times make sure to eat something and rest.
Take time to be still.
Pop in your ear-buds, lean back, close your eyes and breathe.

Count your blessings instead of the tasks on your to-do list.
Never count your worries.
As the worries and what-ifs come to mind just let them float up to God in prayer.
Don’t hold on to the concerns of this life.

When you feel certain you are all out of the strength and the patience required to keep going,
Allow yourself to mentally rest in Him.
Let yourself be weak, that others might see the strength of the one who sustains you.
Accept the grace around you and just be loved.

Just. Be. Loved.

STOP!

…but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Psalms 27:14

I know family and friends who are struggling right now. Are you?
Perhaps you’ve received bad news about your health or the health of someone you love.
Maybe a new life stage has you feeling beaten and overwhelmed.
Probably you feel like you lack the courage, motivation, or strength to take one more step forward.
Even just a small step.
You’re not alone.

I’m praying for you today.
That out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.
 That Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.
And that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ for you.
 That you would know this love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Be loved. Be filled.
(Ephesians 3:16-19)

This has been a 5 Minute Friday post. 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back to The Gypsy Mama and invite others to join in. 3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

Nah-nah-nah-nah.
Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah.
Nah-nah-nah-nah.
Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah.

29 days, friends. 29 days.
And as each day passes I can’t help but sing the Nah-nahs of The Final Countdown.
It’s seriously rediculous the way this song gets stuck in my head.
Every. Single. Day.

Except in the moments when I still forget I’m pregnant.
Yeah, I’m not sure how that’s possible either.
But somehow, every now and then, I forget.
Until the baby moves.
Or I have to go to the bathroom.
Or a stranger smiles at me with way too much familiarity.

This pregnancy has just gone so fast.
It doesn’t seem like I should be here already.
I feel like I should have months, not days, left to prepare.

Preparations are going well though.
We have a car seat and the crib is ready,
So we can get the baby home and have somewhere to put him when we do.
We’ve had a baby shower.
We have clothes.
And blankets.
And gift cards.
Which is good, because I keep thinking I’m forgetting something.

It’s been awhile, friends.
Almost 6 years since we had a baby in the house.
Back then, after 3 in a row, I felt like an expert.
Now I feel like a 1st time mom again.

I can’t remember how life will change.
Final countdown or not,
I’m pretty sure I won’t feel ready within the next 29 days.

So I’ll just keep glowing and singing in delightful ignorance,
Surrendering the familiar
As God makes all things new.
Once again.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Revelation 21:5

 What about you? What is God making new in your life?

Last week I bought a “real” camera. It’s an older, used camera, but it’s a good camera. I’ve really been enjoying playing with it. Shortly after posting some of my photos on Facebook a slew of friends and family all started asking the same question.

Are you going to become a professional photographer?

I am honored to be ask this question, what a compliment! My answer though is no.

Why not?

I think  I can best answer that with two verses that have been weighing heavily on my heart lately.

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.
1 Corinthians 10:22

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens…
Ecclesiastes 3:1

And this is where I stand. I love photography. I love taking photos of children and families. I love editing photos. Photography is a great hobby. But I am surrendered to the fact that I am not in a season where it would be beneficial or constructive for me to start taking photos professionally.

I am in a season of motherhood.

12 months ago I thought this season was coming to a sort of a close. As I registered Clark for preschool last year I thought about what I would do with my free time in the afternoons. I made plans for other things.
And then there was an adoption.
And then there was a pregnancy.
And so I find myself a full-time stay-at-home-mom again. And I know that the most beneficial and constructive things I can do are all the mommy things I’ve been doing for the last 10 years.

And on days like today, when my daughter’s teacher says he needs to talk to Nate and I about the  curriculum of the soon coming “human development” course, and I realize how old my daughter is getting and how little time I have left with her, I realize how excited I am to be able to be in this season a little longer.

It wasn’t what I had planned. Some days it’s still a bit overwhelming to think about it. But it’s a good place to be. I am surrendered to it and at times I’m even really excited about it. Even though that means I’m putting other interests on hold a bit longer.

What does that mean?

What it really boils down to is time. I only have a finite amount of time each day and the bulk of that time needs to be spent at home taking care of my family. But there is still time available to take photos and edit photos and talk a lot about photography. Occasionally there will even be time to take photos of other people’s children and families. But it won’t be on a professional level. Because it might be that my plans will have to change last minute. It might be that it takes longer to edit and get proofs out than it should.

My plan

My plan is to take a lot of photos, starting mostly with my family, and then slowly branching out. I plan to learn a lot more about photography and editing. I plan to share photos and what I’m learning on my photography Facebook page. I plan to start a photography website where I can share more tips and information as I’m learning- but probably not anytime soon. I plan to keep photography a simple, unscheduled, wonderful hobby.

I hope you’ll join me.

Have you said “No” to anything lately? What do you think about the season of life you’re in?