The Creator's Handiwork--April 29, 2009

I think that God must have had a woman's heart in mind when he decided to create flowers. If not every woman's heart, then certainly this woman's heart. I just love the feeling of joy that comes over me as I watch how the beauty of fresh flowers can brighten an entire room! I'm especially grateful for these flowers I received as a birthday gift from my great friend Alissa today. I've been having a hard week... and have had a crummy attitude. I woke up to a gloomy, rainy day... nothing was going right and don't even ask about the battle I've had with egg cartons today! Anyway, such a simple and sweet gesture from a friend made such a huge difference in my attitude. I've been feeling overwhelmed with anxiousness and worry about so many different things... but God used the beauty of his creation to remind me of His promises in His Word.

From Matthew 6:

²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the flowers of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

*****

I pray that God will continue to remind me of His promises... so I can stop worrying and focus on serving others and bringing glory to His name!


ps... I just want to take one more second to thank all of the other friends and family who have, in so many ways, made my birthday a blessing! Love you ALL!

Back in the swing of things....

I'm finally back to shooting again. I'm trying to move on with life and get back to normal... whatever normal is. Today I had such a FUN time with this sweet family. Here are a few preview photos from our session. I will post some more as soon as possible! Also, I just want to give a special thanks to my great friend Robin for assisting me during the session today! She was such a BIG help and was lots of fun!

A Life Honored, A Life Remembered...

As many of you may know, my family has been struggling with my granddad's cancer for the past few months. To read more about his story you can see this previous post. On Saturday, after a brave battle, my granddad, Edison Woodrow Branson took his last breath in the arms of my mother and was immediately welcomed into the arms of our SAVIOR, JESUS! For his funeral we had the blessing and challenge of putting together a video of photos to capture his 90 beautiful years. He lived more history than we could even imagine. He received several presidential commendations and awards (including the bronze star) for his service and bravery in WWII. He loved the Lord, loved his family and loved his country. I hope this video expresses that! Feel free to watch if you'd like... but just know that the video is nearly 10 min. long and may take a minute to load. Seems like a long time, but for those of us that knew and loved him, 10 min. is such a brief glimpse of a 90 year life of dignity and grace!

ps... several of these photos were taken by me at his 90th birthday party... and several others were taken by my great friend Lisette at my sister's wedding. I especially want to thank her for giving us some of the last images of my granddad. Things like this really help put into perspective just how special the gift of being a photographer really is.

... also, i don't know why the audio cuts out near the end of the video... sorry...



Edison Woodrow Branson 03.14.1919-04.18.2009 from lauren via on Vimeo.

Hello LOVE!--- My big surprise!

I would first like to apologize for the long lapse in posting. Many of you know that our family has been hit hard over the past few weeks. My grandfather's condition is continuing to worsen and he is in need of your prayers. Then, on top of things, Jimmy's grandmother passed away a little over a week ago. We have been traveling all over to be with our families... on top of taking care of life here in Harrisonburg (our family, our home, our jobs, our ministries). However, we did find one brief, but wonderful moment of escape during our tough few weeks. After spending two weeks at my parents' home helping to care for my grandparents, Jimmy whisked me away on a surprise get-away! We drove all the way to Charlotte, NC, dropped Declan off with Jimmy's sister and her husband... and then hit the road again. I had no idea what we were doing until we began to walk into the Bojangles Arena! Then, I looked up at the screen and this is what I saw....



By this point, I was already thrilled. I love Chris Tomlin and was so excited to be at his concert. But, a bigger surprise was yet to come. I discovered that on this select date, none other than Christy Nockels would be appearing with Chris Tomlin! If any of you know me well, you know that she is my favorite singer and worship leader EVER! I have admired her and been blessed by her voice for years! Her music has comforted me in times of need, helped me rejoice in my Savior and has helped me to bring others to the throne of Christ in musical worship! I was so blessed by this night of worship! What a much needed refreshment for my weary soul!

And Finally.... The biggest surpise of the night!!!!........

Jimmy actually walked me down backstage and took me to meet Christy! She was so gracious... especially as the emotions of my tired heart spilled out! I could not have been more excited and more humbled in the presence of such a true worshipper. God has blessed me so richly. He has shown his great love to me through so many people.... through my wonderful husband and through a complete stranger that I have admired for years. Although it seems that the world around us is so broken... I can rest in knowing that my God is good... and that He Loves ME! He truly cares for me and delights in little things that bring joy, peace and refreshment to HIS children! Glory to HIS name!



Special thanks to Jimmy for his thoughtfulness and for showing Christ's love to me. Also thanks to Emily and Seth for helping make this surprise possible! I LOVE you all!

Featured!!!

Today my work was featured on the blog for I Do Originals. They are an amazing design company that creates every custom detail you could want for your wedding. They also do some great graphic design work. I really appreciate their support! So... if you have a chance, check out their post about Over the Moon Photography!

The Creator's Handiwork

I'm sorry for the long break in posting, but as many of you know my life has been quite busy lately. I have been visiting my family and helping to care for my grandfather who has taken a bit of a turn for the worse lately. Thanks so much to all of you who have sent me emails, messages and comments of encouragement. My family and I greatly appreciate your support and prayers. My grandfather is still hanging in there with strength, grace and dignity! I left my parents' home yesterday as part of a surprise that Jimmy had planned for me... a little escape from real life. I can't wait to tell you all about it... but its so cool I'll have to save it for its own post. Until then, I have decided to start a new series of photos called "the creator's handiwork." I have been feeling challenged to be more aware of and to point more attention to God's working in my life in the big and little things. I tend to get so caught up in the day-to-day that I sometimes take His beauty for granted. It is my prayer that I will never lose sight of the the beauty our creator gifts us in so many areas of life. So, for the first post... I was so blessed by a beautiful sunny day last week... after so many days of rain. The clouds floating in the bright blue sky were especially lovely! So here they are... evidence of the Creator's Handiwork!