"be like GOD in true righteousness and holiness."

[Ephesians 4:21-24]

21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

our old way of life, before we believed in christ is completely in the past. we should put it behind us. aKa -- "BURN YOUR BRIDGES" --

this week i started stressing out a little -- why you ask? -- hmm... the list goes on and on...

[when will i be graduating?] [isnt iArc over yet?] [summer classes?] [summer mission trip?] [when will i start photography school] [where will i live?] [will i get a job?] [i need an internship] [don't even get me started on a resume and portfolio]

"Be still, and know that I am God" psalm 46:10 -- WORDS OF WISDOM -- THANK YOU MOTHER!

what would i do without you?!

--by worrying i have underestimated the power of God and the plan he has for me. so long story short. although this task isnt easy, i am feeling better about the various topics listed above. =]

.Pajamas.

i woke up and did my usual -- i walked out on the balcony to check out the weather for what i consider morning. the morning was rather gloomy however out of all this gloom there was this little red tree that caught my eye--luckily on this "morning" there was not anyone out and about in the parking lot because i was still in my PJs! while ashley looked at me oddly, i grabbed my camera, ofcourse. --for a PJ, half asleep picture it turned out alot better than i had imagined...so i decided to share it with you. enjoy!

.Revolution Mills.

thank you, ashley!

[Revolution Mills]

i just love it!

at the speed of light.

[night photography]

my new found interest...

i couldn't decide.

[black.or.white]

ashley and i went down elm street last night and i couldn't help myself, i immediately went home and grabbed my camera. i couldn't resist, it was gorgeous! "what a nerd", i know. after i got back and started editing them i couldn't decide if i like these pictures better in color or black and white. to me, they seem somewhat intriguing in black and white...but at the same time, the color is so beautiful.

Salvation Army Select

[Studio]

we have been working on a project for the salvation army in studio. as a group of 6 we have been designing the organizational elements that will be in the back of house of the new salvation army select store located on elm street.

at the beginning of this project our group was stressed out and couldn't quite get our ideas to work for the project. it was frustrating and seemed to be never ending process...until one day we went to the existing salvation army store on lee street and talked to ken. he started telling us how much us doing this project meant to him and the salvation army. his passion for the organization and his passion for helping others almost made all 6 of us cry. it was amazing and so encouraging to hear him talk about his experiences helping others and his desire to glorify God in the process. we all walked out of there with a complete different attitude for the project.

Working for the Salvation Army Select has taken us on a unique journey. Using strategies learned in our studio classes we have developed a real world product system and plan of operation for th

e back of house donation and sorting area. Kenneth Brown's passion for helping other inspired us to design products that work as a cohesive system to reduce the time spend working with product and allow volunteers more time to work with people. We hope our designs continue to serve the Salvation Army's needs for many years to come.

So whether you

eat

or drink

or whatever you do,

do it all for the

glory of God.

[1corinthians 10:31]

Engaged...?

my. [NEW] .toy

where do i even begin to describe my fall break. as i mention in a former post, i was so anxious for fall break to come and rescue me. hmmm. little did i know what God had in store for me.

let me start off with current fixation. my camera. i have been restless at the thought of getting a new canon slr camera for quite some time now. my parents wouldnt budge on their decision that there was no way i was getting this camera. however, [with a little thanks to my parents for being persistent and passing that gene onto me.] i convinced my mom to take a small roadtrip to raleigh to visit a few used camera stores. [i had a hunch that this was a very good sign for me and the canon slr i anxiously had been waiting to acquire] what i am getting at here is... my plan worked and my hands have been permanently attached my beloved new canon camera! =) so for those of you that find it humorous, i guess it is true that i am currently engaged to my camera!

[PHILIPPIANS 4:11-12]

11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

i have come to love this verse this week. like paul, we need to learn how to be content and satisfied whether we have plenty or whether we are in need. as i read, the secret simply seems to be to draw from Christ's power for strength. what an obvious concept, right? but, for some reason, it just never seems to cross my mind when i think about what i want and think i need. Gods plan for me is so much greater than the plan i have for myself. i tend to spend too much time desiring things that i, in all reality, cannot control. why should i attempt to question God? sometimes i get frustrated with God and just wish i could figure everything or at least SOMETHING out. i have a fear of the unknown and God definitely has been revealing to me that i need to chill out and stop trying to figure it all out on my own. i simply need to have faith in Him and His plan...

divine.romance

For [YOU] I sing I dance

Rejoice in this divine romance

Lift my heart and my hands

To show my love.

ready to run.

[this]EMOTION.

But our [Hope] endures the worst of conditions

It's more than our optimism

Let the earth quake

Our Hope [is unchanged]

.sunrise.sunlight.sunset.

[SunSet Days]today was a sunset day for me. it was gorgeous outside, too bad i had to be stuck inside taking midterms all day =[ all i honestly wanted to do was sit outside all day and look up at the blue sky. after the stressful week that is exactly what i needed... i cant wait for fall break to come to my rescue...

at the beginning of the week i was dreading all the work i had ahead of me and was ready for the week to be over with before monday was even a thought. stevie gave me the verse james 1:2-4, which was just what i needed at the time. with that in mind, this is what i just dont understand. why do we always think "poor me" when hard things come our way? i know it is human nature, but i feel like we want our lives to be so simple and perfect. [wouldnt that be nice, right?] i mean seriously think about it for a minute. -- would you ever learn anything? would you ever need to strive for something more? God is there for us to need him, if we were perfect we would never need his amazing grace. hmmm...i have been on this topic of God's grace lately and the idea of how powerful his grace truly is. its so much bigger than we perceive it to be...

wall explosion.

[romans 7:15-23]

¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law;²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

woah. thats alot to chew on! i am still working on it...but, after reading it over and over, even in different translation ive come to a stopping point for the night, considering it is 330am and i should have been studying for my two midterms. [owell] i have concluded that these verses are dealing with a christians struggle against sin. we underestimate the power of sin and attempt to fight it with our own strength and thats just what satan wants us to do. hmm.. what a crafty character he is. instead of trying to overcome our sins with our own strength, we should take hold of God's vision for victory over sin. we are vulnerable to sin. we have a conflict within ourselves because we want to do God's commands, but we will never be able to fully accomplish them. i become overwhelmed with this spiritual battle, i think of all the commands i need to be following, and i feel as though i need to become a better person. which ,ofcourse, i should strive for and do strive for, but i know sometimes its satan trying to tear me down and trick me into thinking that i have the strength to fight this battle alone. mm...not even close, my friend -- this is when i need to keep remembering how we are freed from sin by Jesus Christ...

rain...

today i was listening to a natalie grant song, part of the song said "its like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring down. it made me think [james 1:2-4] this verse has been in my head this past week, i have really kept it close to me while ive been trying to figure out what God's reasoning is for the trials he puts us through. it got me thinking, even when things SEEM to be going wrong, they aren't. its God's plan. he wants to teach us something from the trials he has brought to us. it is there for us to fight for, it is there for us to learn from, it is there for us to grow closer to Him. so we may think our world is raining down but no matter what God is shining through, you just have to look for him.

i have been forced to take more pictures lately, through my photography class. although i tend to complain about it, dont let me fool you, i am thoroughly enjoying it. i feel like iam closer to God when i take pictures of his creation. its such an amazing thing and i feel like more people should stop and appreciate it. i find little ways to feel connected with God and nature is the biggest way for me. i can be all alone, but surrounded by God's creation and feel more comfort than being in a room of my closest friends. there something about silence and sunset i cannot quite grasp...