May Photo A Day, Day 6: Broken

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "broken." These beads used to be necklaces. I've been keeping them around as if I were going to repair them, but for my purposes today, it's a good thing I haven't done it. ;)

May Photo A Day, Day 5: Paper

Today's Photo A Day prompt was "paper." I photographed my Bible turned to the scripture reading from this morning's worship service. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul addresses one of the central paradoxes of the Christian faith. Because of the grace of Jesus, we are justified--atoned, made one with God. We don't have to be "good enough." We are loved in spite of ourselves. We don't have to do anything. And yet, if we don't do anything, we have missed the point. We are already justified, but the process of sanctification is ongoing, and it takes work. Trying to be like Jesus--acting like a "citizen of heaven" is not easy. I am thankful that Christ freed me from the requirement of perfection. But that thankfulness is the very reason I want to strive for perfection. As Rob Bell put it in Velvet Elvis, "There is this person who we already are in God's eyes. And we are learning to live like it is true."

Lord Jesus, please help us to live up to what we have already attained. Amen.

May Photo A Day, Day 4: In My Cup

Since Chantelle (aka Fat Mum Slim) is in Australia, I'm guessing it was a coincidence that she used "in my cup" as the Photo A Day prompt for Derby Day, but it was perfect! As a native Kentuckian, I love watching the derby, and the first Saturday in May just isn't complete without the traditional derby drink: a mint julep!

May Photo A Day, Day 3: This is really good!

The Photo A Day prompt for today was "This is really good!" I was going to go for the obvious photo of my dinner (which was delicious, I must admit), but I found something even better than food: the book I'm currently reading.

It's called Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate (by Justin Lee.) I learned about Justin and his book via one of my favorite blogs (Rachel Held Evans), and it has been a great read. It's mostly about Justin's own life as a gay Christian. He was raised in a very stable Christian home and was serious about his faith from a young age. He realized he was gay in high school and went through some pretty heartbreaking stuff in order to try to "fix" this "problem." It's hard to read about all the ways other Christians rejected him, leading him to feel (for a time) that he couldn't be both gay and  Christian. I think his story is important for the church to hear--not because it's unique, but because it isn't. The church needs to understand that there are people who are redeemed by the gospel and seeking to serve Christ with their lives, who also happen to find themselves attracted to members of their own sex. We are called to love them in the same way we are called to love everyone else. Because God loves them the same way He loves the rest of us. I earnestly hope for a future in which gay (and lesbian, bisexual, transgendered...) believers are not treated any differently than the rest of us sinners. I want to do my part to make this hope a reality.

A couple other books I've read that have helped me understand LGBT issues as they relate to Christian faith:

Calling the Rainbow Nation Home by E Sundby

Transgendered: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith by Justin Edward Tanis

May Photo A Day, Day 2: Morning Ritual

Today's photo a day prompt was "morning ritual." I had a different idea for this one at first, but my attempts to use my camera with my right hand while applying mascara with my left hand didn't work out so well. So I ended up with a simpler part of my morning routine: my toothbrush.

May Photo A Day, Day 1: I bought this.

That's right! I'm doing Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day again for May. I've been missing it ever since I finished October, but I keep waiting for a month when I don't have too much going on. Finally, I realized that month isn't coming, so I'm doing it anyway! So here's the deal. I promise that I will take a picture based on the prompt every day, but I may or may not blog about it every day. Big deal.

Today's prompt was "I bought this." I didn't actually buy anything today, so I went with my most recent purchase, these shoes I bought at Marshalls over the weekend. I used Instagram only because it's pouring the rain and I wanted to use natural light without risking getting my precious camera wet.

Want to join me on this fun photography project? Go here to find out how. It's easy! I'm headed over to the Photo A Day facebook page to share and be inspired by others' shots. Perhaps I'll see you there. :)

Spring Catch-Up

Long time no blog! It's been a while since my last update, but it's not because I haven't been taking pictures. In fact, lots of exciting stuff happened at the end of March, and it feels like I'm just now catching up. My dear friend Jenny (who I hadn't seen in nearly three years!) came to visit from Northern Virginia, and less than a week later, my brother and his girlfriend came from Kentucky! It was fabulous. It means a lot that my loved ones traveled so far to visit with us, and I did not want to disappoint, so we packed lots of events into their stays. I love being a tourist in my own home! Plus, it was Holy Week, so it was special to celebrate Easter with family. Here are some highlights:

And don't worry! My Etsy shop has reaped the benefits of these visits, too. There are four new photos in my shop, all taken while I was visiting with Jenny or Alex and Annie. First, St. Louis Cathedral. I've taken a million pictures of this gorgeous building, but this is the first one I really like.

I also really like this shot of Le Fleur de Paris. I'm pretty proud of my editing on this one, too. There was a weird corner of light in the lower right corner, but I used a "clone" tool to make it look like the rest of the sidewalk. Can you tell?

Jenny and I went on a really fun swamp tour, and I captured this photo of the beautiful cypress trees.

And, finally, check out this library! It's the reference library in one of the most amazing antique stores in New Orleans. For me, this is the stuff dreams are made of. If only I had enough books to need a ladder to get to them all!

Thanks for looking. I have some excitement coming up next month, too, so stay tuned for more. :)