What I've Seen Lately Through the Lens

Just a few of the pictures I have been taking lately.  As you can see I have fallen in love with action photography.   


I would love to photograph your kid do whatever they love to do.   Or if you need a family photo for this year's Christmas card I would love to help you out. 

Ordinary Obedience

A few weeks ago I witnessed a beautiful thing in the life of our church.  Several of our families stood before our congregation to be honored as foster parents.  I am privileged to know many of them and their stories are unique.  They do have one very important thing in common.   That thing is obedience to the Lord.  He called them from where they were, and asked them to stand up for the fatherless.  They obeyed.

I am currently reading a book called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  The author spent 7 months removing excess in specific areas of her life.  I spent a couple weeks in the jungle of Brazil a couple years ago and since then I have desired and sometimes achieved a simpler life.  From that perspective, this book spoke to me.  The author often mentioned her friends who helped her on this 7 month journey:

"The power of the church has always been in its many, many parts.  In a culture of hero worship and conspicuous rainmakers, this concept struggles to emerge, but the story of God's people comprises a billion little moments when an average believer pressed on, carried through, stepped up.  In the quantity of ordinary obedience, the kingdom truly advances."

Reading these words I immediately thought of these families.  Ordinary obedience.  The church is beautiful when we practice ordinary obedience.

Why I Run

If  you are a runner and blogger, at some time you have probably written a post entitled "Why I run".    Until recently I never really felt compelled to answer that question. 

A friend who is a far more talented and dedicated athlete than me recently experienced an excruciating injury.  She has probably wondered why this happened and what her future athletic career will be like.  She loves God and so I have no doubt that she will be looking out for the lessons He has to teach her in these days.

Listening to her tell her story caused me to think a lot about my own running history.   I began running in February 2004, in a beginning running program sponsored by our local running club.   That 7K run led to my first marathon in October 2004.  There have been a handful of marathons,  a few triathlons, and a handful of 5ks with my kids since then.  In all that time, the only injury I have endured was a brief spell of shin splints that made the down hill runs in San Francisco a really "fun" adventure.   I know that the intensity of my training probably could have used a little kick from time to time, but I wondered why in all that time I have been injury free.  Every time I think about this I am left with the same conclusion:  God wants me to run.   Not just running, but running with a purpose.

So the answer is: I run because I can.  I can get out of bed early in the morning, lace up my sneakers and take to the road.  Along the way I can tell people about children who are in danger.  Children who are hurting.  Children who need our help.

The next time I line up at the Start line will be on June 9th at the Chicago Half-Marathon.  Before I get there I would really love to meet my goal of raising $750 for As Our Own.  I would appreciate your support to help build a future for those girls.

Spring has Sprung

The beautiful weather as made it very hard to stay inside.   It makes everyone smile!  It also means that I am back to my two favorite outdoor activities. 

One is running.   Only a few months until I run the Chicago 13.1.  As the miles increase on longer runs I will be thinking about the As Our Own girls and what I can do to help them have a bright future.  

The second is taking pictures.  I have been blessed to have the privilege of  photographing some amazing families.  It is a joy to spend time with them.  I would love to spend time with your family and take a few pictures!!  

How about capturing those beautiful Easter outfits?  Do you know a young person going to prom this year?  How about some special photos of their big night?  Do you know a budding athlete?  I also dabble in sports photography. 

 My goal is to raise $750 for As Our Own.  I am almost half way there!!  Would you like to help and have some great pictures?  I can't wait to hear from you.

7 Billion, Really?

Apparently some folks at the United Nations have figured out that around Oct. 31st, the world population will reach 7 billion.  I imagine there were some crazy fun statistical formulas they used to figure that out.  I'm all for some good mathematics, the math geek that I am, but I have this feeling they are are wrong. 

I think we probably reached that point quite a while ago.  With all their sophisticated methods and theories I think they might have missed a few.  Maybe 147 million or so?   That's an estimate of the number of orphans in the world.  Yes some of them probably were counted, but there are an awful lot of them that were not.  Living in garbage dumps, on the streets, and some other horrible places that children should not go much less live in.

God knows exactly how many people there are and exactly how many of them are orphans, living hungry, afraid and alone.

May I Take Your Picture, Please?

I really love taking pictures.  I love catching funny expressions and seeing personalities come through. I am not a professional.  Just a girl with a really fun camera.  I would love to take our picture too!   

 I am doing a fund raiser for As Our Own, a terrific organization that helps young girls whose welfare is in dangerous jeopardy. 

Here is how it works:

1. I like to take pictures outdoors, so we will meet some place pretty. 
2. Your family puts on their best smiles or goofiest looks.  Whatever you choose. 
3. I will take your picture.  Probably hundreds, because that's the way I work.  It will take about an hour.
4. I'll edit the really goofy ones out.
5. You will recieve a CD with all the images and all the rights to do whatever you want with them.

All this for a minimum donation of $25 to As Our Own.   You can make your tax-deductible donation at my I Will Run fundraising website.

I would love to hear from you.  Leave me a comment and I will be in touch soon.

Isn't Christmas just around the corner?  Need a good photo for those Christmas cards?

Those kids grow so fast!!! Don't you think Grandma and Grandpa would love some new pictures of their little darlings?

It's All In Your Head!

Anyone who has ever stepped up to the starting line of a race will tell you that it is sometimes as much a test of your mental strength as your physical strength.  When I ran my first marathon in San Francisco, (I know, probably not the best choice for a first marathon when you live in IL)  I got to the 20 mile mark and realized I had absolutely no I idea how much race I had left.  26.2 - 20 = 6.2.   Well it isn't quite that simple when you have been out there for a while and you are unfamiliar with the town and really trusting the race officials knew what they were doing and will get you to the finish line.  I had no real feeling for what 6 miles would look like. 

I did things a little different the next time around.   I was trainging by myself this time so all my long runs were pretty close to my house.  I picked out a 6 mile route and ran it many times.  I got to know every inch of that route.  All the mailboxes, trees, and corn fields on that route were keenly etched in my memory.  It worked well for me.  At the 20 mile mark at the Green Bay Marathon the following spring I was in a much better place.  I was still really tired and wondering when the next water stop was coming up, but I knew exactly what was still left to go.  As the miles dwindled, I imagined being on my 6 mile loop at home and I could overlay the industrial wasteland that lies at the end of that race with the fields and houses in my neighborhood.  My head was in the gaame.

Haley and I have been running together for a couple months.   It is fun to have that alone time together and she usually has alot to tell me.  We run the same route almost every time and she has no problem making the 3 mile distance.  I knew she was physically ready for her first 5K race.  I also knew she would be tempted to keep pace with the crowd so we talked about running our own race.   The excitement of the race was powerful though and our first mile was fast.  A pace I knew she couldn't sustain to the finish.  I coaxed her back to our pace, but by 1.75 miles she was struggling a bit.  I knew she was strong enough to do it, she just needed to get her mental game going. 

So that's when I started painting pictures for her.   Laying out all the landmarks of our route as we passed by them.  I could see the expression on her face change and she was able to figure out where she was and how close we were getting to the end.  The finish line was inside the baseball stadium and as we turned the corner and she saw the gates open into the field, she knew exactly where she was.  We often end our runs with a sprint to the finish.  End strong, you know!  So she looked at me, I told her to go and she made the final sprint to the finish line.  Just like she might run across the playground with her friends at recess.  Not like she had just run 3 miles.