A Rainy Day...

It's raining. Again. I should be going to bed right now because I've been walking around in a daze all day. This is what 18 hours of school does to you. I've been doing a lot of thinking (what else is new?) about the future and what it holds, and here it is: I'm looking at moving to either Birmingham or Kentucky. Two great places. Both hold opportunities of being able to get a teaching job. Pray for that. :) I know I still have a year, and plans can change. My plans most likely will change, because it's me.

I'm still in the process of finding web hosting site to host my photography website. So if any of you readers out there know of any good ones, your help would be greatly appreciated.

I like doing photoshoots. Wait, let me rephrase that: I like being the one to operate the photoshoot. I don't like being photographed, for some reason that is completely unknown to me. I just like being the person behind the camera. A few Sundays ago I got my sister (my built in model) and her friend (who absolutely LOVES doing my photoshoots) together for a little session. It rained all morning, but the sun eventually made its appearance around 1:00. My sister and her friend are two of my most favorite people to photograph, together and separate. When they are together they are so much fun, they just feed off of each other, which results in some really awesome photos. I'm not a fan of posed pictures, though sometimes I have to resort to them. I like my photography to be "in the moment". It's about capturing the essence of that person in a specific moment. So, as promised, I will leave you with a handful of the photos from the shoot.

Spring is around the corner...

I can just feel it. Last week it was GORGEOUS outside, and now this week it is cold, cold, COLD! That's Mississippi weather for you. The semester has started, and it is beginning to get a little crazy. Projects due, events to plan, photos to edit, papers to write, etc. I'm dying to edit the photos from my photoshoot Sunday, but right now my poor computer is in the shop, so the photo editing will have to wait. I'll post a handful here when they are finished.
Speaking of computers, I'm looking at buying a MacBook Pro. I've heard wonderful things about them, and since I'm serious about starting a photography business, I feel that it is neccessary to have one. I took the next step in creating my photography business. I designed and ordered my business cards. They arrived last week. Now it's all a matter of distributing them to places that have wedding and baby registries, as well as friends. I have a meeting Thursday with a friend of mine about shooting her wedding. I hope all goes well! She's told me a little about what the wedding party will be wearing and I'm super excited about the details! It will be a beautiful and fun wedding!
Class is about to begin, but I will post more tomorrow evening!

New Year, New Beginnings

As I take a look back on the year of 2009, I can honestly say that I don't regret anything from the past year. It's amazing to look back on the past year of your life and realize how much you've grown. I don't feel like a grown-up, but I am. It's a funny thing, really. As children we spend so much of our childhood wanting to be "grown-up" that we grow up too fast. We forget to experience and savor all the joys of childhood, yet when we are finally "grown-up" we spend our lives wishing for more simple things rather than the complexities that adulthood brings. But yes, I am a grown-up. I do grown up things like live in an a apartment and pay bills. But how do we really define "grown-up". For me being a grown-up isn't about paying bills or living in an apartment. Being grown-up means having a sense of self and knowing what you stand for. It's about taking risks and chances throughout life, but also knowing when to settle.
This past year, I took chances that I never, in a million years, thought I would ever take. I'll confess this one- I actually let someone know how I felt about him. Let me tell you, that was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life. I had debated back and forth about whether I should do it. But then I thought, "What's the worst that can happen?" So I did it. The outcome wasn't what I intentionally wanted, but because of it, we have become better friends. Was it scary? Sure. Do I regret it? No. Apart from the above mentioned, this year held a lot of "firsts". I got my very own apartment with just enough space for me. It's small, but it's cozy. I went out of the country for the first time, and that was such an amazing experience. My photography business is going well, and though right now I can't put a lot of time into it with being a full-time student, God is unveiling many opportunities where I can use my love of photography.
My wonderfully amazing family expanded even more this year with the arrival of my new twin cousins! It's really amazing what God can do with your life in a year. I have met some really amazing people through being a youth counselor and being an active member of the Wesley foundation on campus. He has blessed me with some pretty amazing friends and I am constantly thanking Him for it. Overall, I have to say that this past year was good to me. I have so much to be thankful for, as we all do. We are alive and we get another year to serve an amazing God who loves us the way we should be loved and the way we should love other people: unconditionally.

Peace and Love,

Laura Kate

It's Christmas Time!

It's 3 days before Christmas, and I'm happy to say that my shopping was done right after Thanksgiving. I've read in various news pieces that with the way the economy is right now, people are buying fewer gifts this year. For some that may be a big deal, but for others it's not. For me, it doesn't really matter. The way my family is, my sister and I were always taught that gifts weren't the main theme of Christmas. Sure when we were kids we had presents under the tree, and because we were younger we were probably more focused on the gifts rather than the actual meaning behind Christmas. As we got older, though, we learned to focus on the meaning of Christmas and time with our family rather than the gifts.

No family is without Christmas traditions. With my mom's side of the family we all get together, usually the afternoon of Christmas day, have lunch, and open gifts. We always have 2 of the younger kids hand out the presents. For a while it was always my sister and me, but now it's the younger ones. Once the presents are all handed out, we open the presents from oldest to youngest. The same goes for my dad's side of the family, though it goes much faster because there are only 3 grandchildren. Growing up, my sister and I always had "sides" of the tree. Each year we would switch sides. Don't ask me how we remembered who had what side each year, I have no idea. On Christmas eve, we would exchange family gifts. My sister and I would give our parents each a gift from each of us, and each year, my sister and I would open up 2 gifts from under the tree. We always knew what the gifts would be. Each year, my parents would give us 2 Hallmark ornaments. We used to get the Barbie ornaments and Madame Alexander doll ornaments,but as we got older, the ornaments we got were more of a reflection of who we are.

If you know me, then you know that I am a family oriented person. As crazy as my family is, and as much as they drive me crazy, I love them and I love to spend time with them. There is a family picture at my grandmother's (my mom's mother) house that was taken in front of Rockefeller Center in New York City. It was taken about 5 years ago. We drove to New York, and let me tell you it was a LONG drive. There were arguments and laughs and every other emotion one can experience while in the car with family on a 14 hour drive. Back to the picture, though. In that picture, my sister and I were the only grandchildren. Since that Christmas 5 years ago, my family has grown. My aunt and uncle adopted a little boy, who is so sweet. My other uncle got married and they have 1 little girl and 2 more little girls who will be here December 29th, if not sooner. It's amazing what God can do in a family in 5 years. Christmas is always a fun time with my mom's side of the family. We are a big family. My grandmother's house always has the pitter patter of feet, and there is never a dull moment.

So now that I've shared my Christmas traditions, I'd like to know what your traditions are. I'm leaving to go Oxford tomorrow and staying until Christmas eve. I hope each of you has a wonderful Christmas. Spend time with you family and take time to ponder on how truly blessed we are to celebrate the coming of Christ.

Much love and peace.
Laura Kate

It's A Beautiful Day

The sun is shining today, making it an absolutely beautiful day compared to the weather here the past 2 and a half weeks. It makes me happy, as does my one class I have today being cancelled. Another thing that makes me happy are birthdays. Mine is tomorrow. I'll be 22. Just typing that number gives me a weird feeling, but in a good way. These past few days, I've been taking a look back on my life. I've been looking at the way past events and experiences have shaped me into the person I am today. It's weird, really. There are many people who, when asked the question "If you could go back and change anything about your life, what would you change?", they would start naming off things. But there are those who, when asked that same question, will look the person in the eye and say "Not one thing." I'd like to believe that I am one of those people. If someone had asked me that question 3 years ago, I would have named off everything I could think of that I would change, but now I realize that past events have made me the woman I am today. I know 22 is not old, though according to the 9th grade girls I teach, I should be getting married by now. :-) I can't help but smile and laugh at that. For so long I've wanted just that, but lately I've been enjoying my life as a single woman. I know the right person will come along eventually, so I'm not really that worried about it as I have been in the past.

But back to why birthdays are something that make me happy. I truly believe that birthdays are wonderful things. My family has always made a big deal about birthdays, which is why I like to make big deals out of them, as well. It is a day to celebrate the life of the birthday person, whom ever it may be. Many people view it as "just another day", but it really is another day that you are alive and can live your life abundantly with the people you love.

I have discovered online sample sales. I'm doomed. Well, not quite. I just bought my first sample sale item. A pair of $45 designer aviators for $10. I'm pretty sure that was totally worth it. Online sample sales serve the same purpose as sample sales in places such as New York City, but can reach a wide variety of people. Many websites are "Members Only", but you can still sign up and have your name put on a waiting list. When a spot opens up, your name is put on the Invite List. It usually doesn't take very long. For most of the websites I signed up with, it only took up to two days to get my name on the list. Many of the websites also offer incentives for members, things like $10 credits for every person you invite who signs up. I'm posting a link to one of the websites I really like. It's called Gomatta Girls. This link is my invitation to those of you who read my blog and those of you who just happen to come upon my blog. Take a look through it, if you like what you see, then buy something if you want to, or just sign up to recieve their daily deals. Invite other people, so that you, too, can get a $10 credit for each person you invite. :-) http://www.gomattagirls.com/invite/77779198

Saturdays In August

There's this little cafe, The Little Building Cafe to be exact, within walking distance from my apartment. I've always passed by it when driving, and my first thoughts are always "I should stop by there sometime." Last Saturday I did just that. I left the Farmer's Market, my camera in hand, and strolled on down to Little Building Cafe. From the first look of the outside, the color of the building draws you in.

See what I mean? It just calls you in saying "Come in. Have a cup of coffee, and sit down for a while." I went in and ordered a cappucino. When they asked me the infamous question "For here or to go?" My automatic response was "For here, of course." They lady working was so friendly. I found a table and sat down. When I'm in new places I like to sit back and take in my surroundings. One of my many favorite things about this cafe was the light fixture (chandelier maybe?) that was at the front.

Unique, right? This cafe had such character, from the light fixtures to the tables. Not to mention the intersting display of art on the walls. I'll have to find a picture of the said art. The art consisted of 2 different chair halves put together to create a whole chair. I'm not sure what the artist calls these wonderful and unique masterpieces, but for the sake of this blog, I'll call it "chair art". The chair art is really ingenious. There were so many things I loved about this cafe. Take the tables for example.

So colorful, modern, with a twist of unique! I want to have one in my small apartment! The side I was sitting on was a long bench that extended down the back wall. Very crafty.  On the back wall were unique decorations such as the clothesline with clothes pins attached.

I really loved the creativity of these decorations. I'm not sure that I would have thought to use clothes pins as part of the decor in my cafe (if I had one). Beautiful work.

So there you have it. I have fallen in love with this cafe and all the charm that it holds. There will be future posts where I will share what's going on in my world of photography.

Worship...

I'm a thinker. It's what I do. I'm always thinking about something. I either over analyze or under analyze and anything in between. In the past few weeks, I've been thinking more in depth when it comes to my faith and what God has shown me (it's quite a bit to be honest, but it's so wonderful to see what He is revealing to me). I feel this closeness that has been absent for a little while, and it's such a wonderful thing to be. I really think this blogging thing is helping me grow because I'm able to see how God is working in my life. The new school year has brought many new things. We have 2 new preachers at the church and they are simply wonderful. I do miss Jason and Stacey being there. (Even though she's my aunt and I get to see her on a pretty regular basis.) I'm in a new apartment by myself (love it!) and we are getting 2 new additions (my uncle and aunt are expecting twins!) to my already wonderful family. God is so wonderful and good. He times things just perfectly. So with all of these things, I am, of course, thinking...as mentioned above.

Over the past couple of days, I've been pondering on what it truly means to worship, and when we worship, are we doing so with our WHOLE heart? Although worship is not ever limited to just singing, and can be in any form and fashion as long as you are glorifying the name of God, the singing part is what I'm going to share tonight.

I'm always thinking about some thing or another, but worship and praise are always on my mind. I was at the Wesley Tuesday night and we sang one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. During the song, I had a friend turn to me and ask me what the line "Here I raise my Ebenezer" meant. I couldn't answer him, and it made us both wonder if anyone else knew what it meant. Another question that arose in the song is the meaning of the word "fetter".

Now, before I elaborate on what either of these actually mean, I want to first make my point. Sometimes I feel as if we sing worship songs just to sing them. We don't actually take the time to take the words in and reflect on their meaning as we are singing them. I'm totally guilty of it, as we all might be at some point in our worship experiences. To me, it is so important to not only truly mean the words we sing, but actually KNOW their meaning, which brings me to the Ebenezer line of Come Thou Fount. Up until last evening, I had no idea what the word meant, though I had thought about what it from time to time. Once I had finished my research that took all of about 10 minutes, much thanks to Google, I found the answer to what I was looking for. Now I'm not going to go into all the detail that this site went into, but I will enlighten my wonderful readers with bits and pieces of what I found. The passage is 1 Samuel and it says this "Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—"the stone of help"—for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!" —1 Samuel 7:12, NLT. The explanation of the Ebenezer stone is that it represents a fresh beginning and it reminded the people of God's help and his everlasting mercy. It reminds them of their faithfulness to God.

Tonight we had our weekly praise band practice. At the end, my friend and I were walking to his car and I mentioned the above to him. He made a good point that the songs that we use in our worship at our church always have meaning. The songs should be engaging. They should be meditated on and thought about. For me, when I'm practicing or when I'm actually leading worship, the songs I sing have to mean something. The words have to be there and I have to focus on them, and if I have no idea of the meaning of specific words, how can I truly worship? I think things like this in songs need to be discussed, as in why this is in there or what it really means in the song. This gives the congregation some insight to why the song was chosen or why it is a worship song.

There's really no huge explanation to the word "fetter", except that it is a physical restraint used to keep prisoners from running away.
"Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee"
The word "fetter" in this context is not necessarily a literal binding, but a spiritual one. Many times we wander away from God, wanting to do things on our own and this line is us saying "Keep me close, because I don't want to wander from You, though I know I will."

I'm signing off for the night. I'm very tired, so much of this entire post might be redundant, and for that I am sorry. Go in peace, worship freely, love each other unconditionally.

LK