Chip's modeling career

...or my assignment from Photo Freak? I give you Chip Cooper. He's kinda cute.

I love how here he magically looks like a kitten. He's not.

No, I did not use the strap on my camera as a distraction ;)

Thank you Jess, for always encouraging me to look at the world through my lens.

Not me Monday

From time to time, this is a fun blog to do. Call it what you want...not me or I would never...but basically it is your confession of the unexpected. Or what everyone else does but never says they do. (that's probably more likely to be the truth)

Soooooo.....
I would never play "hooky" from work and go to Disneyland on a Monday. I would not delay reports that I should get done in order to ride on Pirates of the Caribbean or the teacups or the Matterhorn or....and I most certainly would not have ANY fun doing it. Nor would I get excited that I also was doing something on my "list". Nope, not at all.

I would never take pictures while driving. NEVER. Not even when I see something that amuses me or I find too cool/beautiful/awesome to not take a picture of it. Not me.


I would never use the restroom with the door open, thereby allowing the cat to come in and do weird things...nor would I have my phone with me to capture it...

As for planning a vacation around the time my favorite band's tour...TWICE...nope. I don't do that. Nor do I take mini vacations to go see them open for another band, perhaps like Train...this Friday...no way. Not me!

No, the dates in Dec. have nothing to do with NEEDTOBREATHE...

When asked if I could loan my blender to my bible study leader, I most certainly would never text back "Sure. Making margaritas? ;)". Nor would she expect that to be my response.

I would never stay up way later than I should three nights in a row so I could finish reading a good book. That is definitely not me, nor has it been me since I could read, pretty much.

I also would not let a cat who I am allergic to come near me, let alone cuddle with me. Nope.

Share your "not me" confessions! I'd love to hear them...because of course they are just fictional stories...right? ;)

new eyes.

Last night I went to a concert with a friend to see a band whose music I had only heard a little bit of, but knew I'd enjoy their show based on the following music video:

Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts (click here)

I missed their entire show when they opened for NEEDTOBREATHE because I was running around members of the band. So when Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers announced their show in SLO, I knew I had to go. I more than enjoyed their show...they are HILARIOUS! Poor guys, though, it was a poor turnout...especially compared to the show with NEED in May.

All this to say, I am finding a trend. Much like my last post, God is using lyrics from songs that are not actually written with Him in mind to speak to my heart. Stephen Kellogg sang the following song beautifully with his acoustic guitar, and as he did, I felt God tell me that He wanted me to know that this song was for me. From Him. Enjoy.

"See Yourself"

Girl, you know, you got my sympathy
You destroy yourself so easily
Words that start like mandolin refrains
Ending up like bagpipe hurricanes

But it's alright, it's gonna hurt sometimes
Everybody bleeds, even when the sun shines

You got to see yourself like I do
See yourself from my point of view
No one else can get through
Until you see yourself like somebody that loves you

You can bang your head against the wall, yeah
You can build a wall around your head
No one ever needs to know you're scared
The darkness sometimes lets the light shine in

But it's alright, it's gonna hurt sometimes
Everybody bleeds, even when the sun shines

You got to see yourself like I do
See yourself from my point of view
No one else can get through
Until you see yourself like somebody that loves you

And even if your heart gets broken and it will
Imagine if you never spoke and how that would feel
And every time you're tempted to retreat
Remember, you are loved by no one more than me
And you can use my eyes if you need them to see

Girl, you know, you're so hard on yourself
Remember, you can lean on someone else

But it's alright, it's gonna hurt sometimes
Everybody bleeds, even when the sun shines

You got to see yourself like I do
See yourself from my point of view
But no one else can get through
Until you see yourself like somebody that loves you

a u t u m n.

Lately I have been having the revelation that besides Jesus, my two main passions are people and music. If you know me at all, these three things are what season my life and bring me joy. So lately, I have been discovering new music and one of the artists is Ben Rector. He wrote a song called Autumn, and while it's about falling in love, there are some lyrics in there that really capture something bigger.

"So I watched the leaves fall

All of the way to the ground
And I knew that that was what love was
To die so that it could be found"

"Winter's chill won't leave until
I let it lay me down
And you can't see the spring
Til you're like the leaves
Here on the autumn ground"

Autumn has always been my favorite season. I feel like I write about its coming every year. So, when I saw this song on the list of many Ben Rector songs I wanted to buy, it jumped out at me. And though it is a song about a boy falling in love with a girl, its lyrics touched my heart in a deep way.

Jesus' love can be described with that line, "And I knew that that was what love was, To die so that it could be found". He is love. It says so in 1 John 4:8-10 "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Autumn, to me, acts as a reminder of that. Death so that life and love may come freely. That last part I quoted above in the song illustrates that picture so well.

So while I am excited for the colder weather, the pumpkin everything, the scarves, the changing colors...I know that in this season, as I continue to lay down my life, giving it to God, I will emerge on the other side with new life! So good!

sweater. l o v e

So, I follow this amazing photography blog because by day he takes pictures and by night, he moonlights as a drummer in the awesome band Sleeperstar...and on August 24th, he posted a blog about a couple who is engaged. About halfway down, the woman is wearing a blue dress and boots strikingly similar to ones I own...except she paired them with an amazing yellow sweater!

Poor Stephanie, I pretty much dragged her along until I found a similar sweater because I LOVED the combo! Here is the result:

These colors make me all excited for fall!!! Weeeeeee!