Our photo shoot

yesterday was sooooo much fun! The photographer's name is Kevin Madsen and his business name is Nighthawk Photo. He is based out of Council, Idaho but travels to do custom shoots also. As part of my "payment and incentive plan" for working with him on portfolios and art exhibits he gave us a free onsite shoot. He came yesterday and we took him to a couple of area parks for outdoor photos. I already knew he did beautiful work but the photos he took of us............... Wow! The kids went from "mom do we have to" to having fun and suggesting poses. Besides the formal portraits (including........gasp...... some of me that I actually like) he took several candids that are going to be awesome. He took his memory card to Walmart and burned everything .....257 pics!............ to Cd (took 4 of them) for me. I can print whatever and however many I want. I will be picking them up today and can't wait

devotional shared from my faithbooking site

READ: 1 John 4:7-12
Be imitators of God . . . and walk in love. —Ephesians 5:1-2


In the middle of carting 70 pieces of luggage, an electronic piano, and other equipment through airports and on and off a tour bus, it’s easy to wonder, “Why are we doing this?”

Taking 28 teenagers on an 11-day ministry trip to a land across the ocean is not easy. But at the end of the trip our bus driver, who had carted us all over England and Scotland, grabbed the bus microphone and in tears thanked the kids for how wonderful they had been. Then after we got home, he e-mailed us to say how much he appreciated the thank you cards the kids had written to him—many of which contained the gospel.

Although the students ministered to hundreds through song during the trip, perhaps it was the bus driver who most benefited from their Christlikeness. In Ephesians we are told to be imitators of God and to walk in love (Eph. 5:1-2). Others see God in us when we show love to one another (1 John 4:12). The bus driver saw Jesus in the students and told them that they might just convert him to faith in Christ. Maybe it was for this man that we took that trip.

Why do you do what you do? Whose life are you affecting? Sometimes it’s not our target audience that we impact most. Sometimes it’s the bus drivers of the world. — Dave Branon

Lord, may I be a shining light
For all the world to see
Your goodness and Your love displayed
As You reach out through me. —Sper


Witnessing is not just something a Christian says, but what he is.

Wow! God at work!

Jeremy attended his first karate lesson (something he has been wanting for 2 years) tonight thanks to an anonymous donor and a wonderful school counselor at our school. The donation paid for his start up fee and 4 months of twice per week lessons and the owner of the school donated uniforms!

Now let me tell you more about how awesome it is when God gets to work :-)

Joshua came with me to the lesson. At one point the main sensai turned Jeremy over to another sensai and asked me to come back into his office. He asked if it was ok to tell him a little about our situation and then offered Joshua a family rate to join his brother. I thanked him but said I could not commit to that each month. Before we left both sensais asked me to come back into the office and the second one said he would like to scholarship Joshua to attend also if I would allow him too.

I was sad I had forgotten my camera but even more so when they called Joshua back into the office to tell him the news and have him pick out a uniform. This is soooo cool for my boys on so many levels and I am very thankful for this gift to them

Wishing everyone an Easter full of blessings

He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said would happen. Come, see where His body was lying. ~ Matthew 28:6, NLT

I almost forgot the website

If you want to see some of Kevin's work, from portraits and glamor shots to nature shots, visit his online gallery at http://nighthawkphotoonline.com/gallery/index.php

exciting news

I have a new..... job?.....partnership?.........adventure? Not sure what to call it yet but I am excited. A customer I did some scrapbooks for a few years back put me with in touch with an amazingly gifted photographer who was looking for an objective eye to help him choose shots for portfolios for various target audiences (family portraits, graduation portraits. glamor shots, etc.) as well as help him choose shots for upcoming art shows/exhibitions. I will get paid on commission when he makes sales based on what I have put together for him. He is based out of Idaho but travels to Washington and Oregon for custom shoots on request AND I have put him in touch with the Art Center in hopes he will do a showing of his work here. As part of my "package" he is going to be coming here soon to do portraits of the children and I. I have always wanted to do an outdoor family photo shoot and I am sooo excited! When he comes he will also be wanting to shoot some of our local nature/points of interest so feel free to send me suggestions on places to take him. I will share our portraits when we get them done (maybe even an 8th grade graduation shoot if I can talk Amanda into it) and maybe some of you will want to book a custom photo shoot :-)

a thought for today: incomplete

shared from one of my faithbooking sites

READ: Philippians 1:3-11
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. —Philippians 1:6

When I was a little girl, my parents bought their first house. One afternoon, the family hopped into the car and drove to see where we soon would be living.

I couldn’t believe it. The house had no windows or doors, and there was a strange odor. The basement was clearly visible through big gaps in the floor and we had to climb a ladder to get down there.

That night when I asked my mother why they wanted to live in a house like that, she explained that the builder wasn’t finished with it yet. “Just wait and see,” she said. “I think you’ll like it when it’s done.”

Soon we began to see changes. The house got windows, then doors. The “funny smell” of new lumber faded. The holes in the floor were covered and a staircase was added. Walls were painted. Mom put up curtains at the windows and pictures on the walls. The incomplete house had been transformed. It had taken some time but finally it was finished.

As Christians, we need “finishing” too. Although the groundwork is laid at our conversion, the growing process continues throughout our life. As we obediently follow Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), one day we too will be complete. — Cindy Hess Kasper

God sees in us a masterpiece
That one day will be done;
His Spirit works throughout our lives
To make us like His Son. —Sper


Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet!