18 years old

So my friend Glory's 18th birthday was yesterday & in order to pull off the semi-surprise birthday party that her sister had planned for her, I "kidnapped" her for an hour to take her pictures! This was so spontaneous & such a blast! This sweet loving girl is so precious to my heart & has blessed me in ways she will never know!

Hope you all enjoy these! Let me know which ones are your favorite!

Psalm 31:30

Charm is deceitful & beauty if fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

I am obsessed with this picture but I'm not sure why! You are incredibly beautiful miss Glory!

Accidental flash on this one but turned out to be one of my favorites :]

Laughter is sweet medicine for the heart!

Beautiful!

4-26-10

1 Corinthians 9:24

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win."

"Hey bubby, I need your help!" I told my little brother earlier this afternoon. "Ok!" He responded. He's so cute!

We went outside & I wasn't really sure what I was going to do to get a picture today. Then looking down the road I told Elias [my little brother] "Go stand over there & when I say 'go,' run towards me as fast as you can!" He willingly did so & I captured this awesome moment, which led to this verse that came to mind.

These words are so empowering, it's like Paul is saying, "Just when you almost give up, push harder!" Keep going, never give up!

God is our cheerleader & teammate at the same time. He cheers for us as we go through life, encouraging us & telling us to never give up & to push harder! Then just when we think we can't win, God comes beside us, as our teammate, grabs our hand & says, "I am with you, keep going, you can do it for I am here."

I hope this encourages you all as finals come up, the spring semester comes to a close, & life begins a new chapter that God is with you & he is constantly encouraging you to strive for the best, to keep going, to win the race!

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark." - Charles Spurgeon

4-25-10

Psalm 23:2

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

Ok so just let that sink in. Through this verse God has reminded me of the rest that He gives. Honestly, I didn't really know what I was going to post because I'm so exhausted from the awesome retreat this weekend that I didn't come up with anything. But then I looked at the picture again & remembered this verse & what it meant. God is so good to grant rest! I love how the psalmist says "He makes me lie down in green pastures" meaning that God grants us rest even when we think we don't need it, oh but we do need it, more than we ever admit. Thanking God for the rest that He gives & definitely planning to just go rest in a field or something this week.

God bless you all!

Out of town

Hey guys, just wanted to let y'all know that i will not have another photo-a-day post up until Sunday as I will be gone on a retreat this weekend. Be sure to tell your friends to vote for my picture!!!! Have a wonderfully blessed weekend ♥ Sarah

4-22-10

John 7:38

"He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

Jesus Christ = Full Satisfaction.

It's been an interesting week, God has shown me some wonderful things. This week at Breakaway, Ben Stuart was talking about Jesus being the fount of living water & that we find full satisfaction in Him alone [which is totally awesome in my opinion]. After Breakaway, my friends & I decided that while we were waiting for the traffic to clear, we would go "fountain-hopping" on campus [yet another totally awesome thing!]. Walking up to the fountain, all of Ben's words about Christ being our full satisfaction & THE fount of living water came back into my mind. It was such a calming moment for me to remember that Christ is the only one that will ever be able to satisfy me, & then the realization of all the He has blessed me with came to remembrance as well. What a great God we serve!!!

Hope y'all enjoy this picture!

First Photography Picture

Hello! I thought that I would show y'all the first ever legitimate photography picture that I ever took that eventually got me interested in photography years later! Enjoy & let me know what you think! Btw, those are my sisters Caitlin & Emily at 10 & 2 years old.

Photography Contest

Hello! I entered a photography contest so please click on the link & vote for my picture!!!

Thanks so much!

http://www.lifeblob.com/blob/Forever-Mis

sed/show/19958781#73204441

"The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." - Robert Louis Stevenson

4-19-10

Ezekiel 17:24

"All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree & make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, & I will perform it."

God is soooo powerful & strong! This verse was very convicting to me because recently I've been having a hard time with trusting God in certain areas of my life. & He basically tells me right here, "Um hello!!! Look what I can do with the trees, I've given you this promise & I will perform it!" Basically a blow to the gut in one way yet so comforting in another. How amazing is it that we can trust God with every area of our life?!?! Reminds me of a hymn "Tis so sweet"

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His promise, just to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"

Anyways, that's what's on my mind & heart today! God bless you all!

4-18-10

Psalm 96:12

Let the fields & everything in them celebrate! Then let the trees of the forest shout for joy.

Can you see how this flower is totally praising God? It's shouting God's glory in the most gentlest yet powerful ways imaginable, by just existing. I think God made the pretty flowers as a reminder of why we're here on earth, to praise God & bring glory to Him in every aspect of our lives.

Think about when it rains. The rain beats down on the flowers but we know that it won't kill the flower because the rain is needed to help it grow, & we also know it needs sunshine. It's the same thing when we're walking with the Lord. He sends us storms to endure & we know that it is to grow & shape us so we can glorify Him. He also sends us blessings [aka sunshine] that grow us as well!

Praise God for everything He does for us! & praise Him for the storms, "though sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes with the morning!"

4-16-10

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Ok so you may be wondering, "What does this picture have to do with this verse?" Well just follow my weird train of thought for a second. :]

This picture reminded me of a quote that I read in the book "Captivating" by John & Staci Elderidge [Amazing book! Go read it if you haven't yet]. The quote said, "Then the time came when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

Ok now to connect it all. It's like girls today. The world, under the influence of the enemy, tells girls that they have to look a certain way, or say a certain thing, or do certain things to be beautiful, gorgeous, attractive, & delightful. That we have to work for it. The enemy constantly lies to women & girls whispering things like, "You're not good enough!" or "You're not pretty enough!" or "No one likes you!" & we believe it! It's so sad & disheartening because we believe these lies & put up walls around our beautiful hearts because we think no one will like us, that no one will want to pursue us or chase after us. But God whispers something different with verses like Zephaniah 3:17, He takes delight in us [just the way we are], He quiets us with His love, He rejoices over us with singing!

He breaks through the walls we put up & says, "Open up your heart! Let Me love you! Praise Me with how I made you! Show the world who you are in Me!"

Don't listen to the Enemy's lies because he is DEAD WRONG! God made you beautiful, He delights in you & rejoices over you with singing!

4-15-10

Psalm 46:10
"Cease striving & know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
So in case you didn't notice, i kinda have a thing for skies lately. I'm not sure why I like them so much but I do. I thought this verse went really well with this picture because we [at least I do] try & try to understand everything about God & what He's doing with our lives & we're striving to do the right thing & it all just becomes very tiresome & burdening, & then we read this verse & God puts it plain & simple for us "Cease striving & know that I am God." It was such a huge blow to me, like God was personally telling me, "Stop trying to figure it out because you won't ever be able to figure it out. Rest in the knowledge of the fact that I AM GOD!" His glory is everywhere, I mean really, tomorrow just go outside & look UP! When I take the time do this I think "God You made this! You created this out of thin air! How in the world did you do that?!"
I love that God presents Himself so clearly in nature. He's wonderful. Thank You God!

4-12-10

Job 36:29
"Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thundering of His pavilion?"
What a powerful verse to put us lowly humans in our place. We think we understand & know EVERYTHING, yet we can't even explain the spreading of the clouds. God is so great to humble us with His beautiful creation. The clouds are so beautiful & fun to watch as they float by. Another great thing about creation that God wanted us to enjoy because He delights in us. So peaceful, so calming yet so powerful & mighty at the same time. Praise God for His wonderful creation!

Harris Family Photoshoot

Harris Family Photoshoot

This was so much fun to do! They were all great! Enjoy!

Thanks to Miranda Nichols for letting me borrow her camera.