That's One Smart Cat

I always had my sneaking suspicions about my cat, until I came home unexpectedly this weekend and found him in the Lazy Boy.... I mean, I knew he was smart, but this?

Jess & Tim

You know one sure way to know if a couple are in love? When they lay eyes on one another, and one giggles while the other begins to cry, uncontrollably :). That's right, when they have so much emotion for eachother that it just comes spilling out.

It was a pleasure to capture that for Jess & Tim. It made the day so much more interesting to see the way they were so completely engulfed in, well, hope.
Hope for what the day would bring. Hope for sharing the rest of their lives together, even, as we would soon learn, hope for the sun to shine again, for a future.

The day was one to remember, as during the reception, Jess had to announce to everyone that a tornado was bearing down on our little town and it was time to head for the church basement. Some walked slowly, some a little more frantic in their pace, but everywhere, emotions bursting. Some were crying, some were excited, and some just wanted to see the show. :)
I was so locked onto the bride that I stayed in the shelter with her and the wedding party just a few minutes too long, until I just couldn't contain myself and went running for the door. A tornado, right here, on her wedding day! I couldn't help it. I had to get just one shot...But, I was too late and only caught the tail end of the storm as it went speeding by. Got really wet and windblown too.
But no matter what my camera captured, the day was classic. See, it's a perfect snapshot of what marriage is really all about, isn't it?
Sunny and easy-breezy one minute, storming like crazy the next.
Basking in the glow of love, God's gift bestowed, and finally huddling under the storm shelter of his protection, like the way a small child flocks to her daddy's legs in troubling moments. Some kind of home base, safe, mentality.
A marriage, in my 12 years, is about weathering the sunny days, and even the tornadic days, together, with His Grace as our shelter...
Sorry, but no camera can really capture that, because it takes a lifetime to see that masterpiece.

Jeff & Kristi

Now and then we get to do the weddings that are more comfortable. Not a lot of attentdants and crowds, just close family and friends. The services are usually shorter, yet more heartfelt, and in the end, the bride and groom are afforded precious time to really enjoy their day.
That's the way it was for Jeff and Kristi.
Jeff, in some part reminded me of my wife's grandfather. Maybe because he was a Shriner too, but mostly becuase the guy couldn't walk into a room and not be welcomed with warm smiles and hearty handshakes.
I know enough about character to know that kind of respect doesn't just grace itself on a person. It's earned, through integrity and kindness, by going out of your way for someone other than yourself.
Kristi is always projecting a warm, friendly smile from across the room. She's level headed and down to earth, yet fun-loving, and by her softness when she's around Jeff, it's easy to spot that she is very much in love. More than anything they compliment eachother, and with that kind of recipe they're just getting started...

Washed Away

I had the great privilege of baptizing my wife and my son today...
Imagine watching the face of someone you love as the water rushes in over them, sealing them off from the world, representing Jesus as he was buried.... Then imagine that beautiful cleansing, the sin washed away, as they once again break the surface and fill their lungs in remembrance of His resurrection, His gift to all mankind.
There simply aren't words to describe how deep and high and wide that joy reaches into my heart, and it's something I'll take with me and be thankful for...all the rest of my life.

Beating the Freeze

I ran out to the new studio site today, and I gotta hand it to these guys out there, working to the bone. It was bitter cold these past few days, and since they've been given the green light to build they are doing absolutely all they can to get the foundation and cement down before the freeze. They are the definition of diligence.

Staked Out

what on earth could this picture possibly signify, you're thinking...

...well, this little stake with the dainty orange ribbon happens to be the proverbial "X" that marks the spot. This little stake is pounded into the ground...into our ground, our land, where our new studio is about to be built.
It's a done deal, nothing left now but to sign the papers and dig in... and the rest of the promise is up to us. God's already delivered His part...
'We are God's workmanship, His masterpiece, His handiwork, literally translated, His Poem, created in Him to do the good works that He's already prepared for us to do.' Ephesians 2:10.
That's my life verse, and it means more to me today than ever before.
Life comes down to knowing and doing, I've found. Knowing God has our best plans at heart, our best interests in mind, it's then up to us to purpose our lives after that promise, isn't it?
To pound that stake down into the ground, to claim it for good works, and to break that ground, that's all just the doing. The rest...well, that's the Masterpiece. :)