silence

                    This blog will more then likely be very silent for the next few weeks, but upon my return into the social media and blogging world expect posts to be constantly happily popping up in your feed. :)    
So until then keep warm my friends during these plunging neg. temperatures we have been experiencing up here in the northern hemisphere, but from what I hear everyone has been told to chill out. ;)

All I want is Jesus

We live in a generation where materialistic items and earthly desires fill our time and our social media feeds. What if our primary focus was to get more of Jesus? Not technology, more friends or likes, not coffee or other obsessed over food, items, but rather the obsession and desire for Jesus, for having more of Him in our life, for advancing His kingdom and jamming our feed on social media and thought life that this was and is our sole desire. That the lost would be found, the weak made strong, the broken and hurting brought to the cross where they can be 100% fulfilled and now have a greater purpose then getting the new iPhone and the most likes on a selfie! This happens through our actions whether kneeling in prayer and living out what we preach(which external thing should be the out flow of internal) or we are going out into the world and preaching the gospel making disciples as the word of God commands.  Let the desires or your soul cry that All You Want Is Jesus!


One of my favorite songs "Give me Jesus" reminds me that this is to be my focus, my strongest desire.

 

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone,
When I am alone,
When I am alone,
Give me Jesus.

 When I come to die,
When I come to die,
When I come to die,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.
 

                              (Going back to through old insta post from fall, follow me HERE)

my life's mission field

                       I have recently been considering going on a 1-2 month mission trip overseas with some dear friends from school we all agreed to take a month to pray about it. I came to a few different conclusions, but they were all for me I disguised them with Jesus is calling me to serve stamped all over.

  Remember my new years posts? The word I choose for my year was G O, but I never imagined that word being formed into the sentence, Go serve your family at home. I very much so wanted to serve God over in some third world country and while I was praying about it I had this deep down feeling that God wasn't calling me over seas just yet. That hurt and wasn't a pleasant reality to face. 2015 was my year to do something big! haha, God must have fun laughing at our personal ideas.
                    For all I know God may surprise me at the end of the year with the finances and a location and scream SURPRISE and I will stand in awe, but for now God isn't leading that way He is leading me to learn contentment and humility.

Serving my family isn't as glamorous to the Christian view as loving and teaching children in Africa or fighting human trafficking in Asia, but God was and is testing me.
               He leans to whisper in my ear, "You said you wanted to serve me for my kingdom and this is where I am placing you."

                             

 

                                      My family. Whom I have lived with for 20 years.

                Can't I be a light and encouragement even if I live in a different country for a while?

                                           Me: Okay, I will bloom where I am planted God.

                       God: Oh, by the way you think you can do it in the heart of Dixie? I know its not ideal, but I promise to water you a lot so you will grow.

                                      Ahhh.....Count it all joy *many leaps for joy*.

                                                     

Something I have realized y'all (practicing;) ) my life is a mission field. My words, my actions, even the way I spend my time is talking, the where doesn't matter. Everyone needs the gospel, everyone needs encouragement, everyone needs a smile, everyone needs someone to show and be Jesus to them!

                                                                      Why Me?

                                                                   Why not me?!

                                                    In sweet home Alabama? Yep!

                            

                                  Our life is a mission and where ever God places us is the field.

                                  We are to plant, water and sometimes reap the harvest for Him.

                                   It's what we are doing with our time in that field that matters.

                                 God has placed me in the midst of family to water and plant seeds that is the field of my mission God happens to already be preparing the ground with  a new home, in a new state where we won't know anyone, so quality family time will increase, our friendships will strengthen as siblings.

                                                           Where is your mission field?

 

Its an art // part 3

 In the final part of this little mini series this will probably be my favorite because I want to cover composition. *happy dance* This is probably my favorite aspect of photography because everyone has a view, different things catch a persons eye that someone else didn't see or envision.



 Developing your 'creative eye' doesn't need a fancy camera you could even start by using your phone.                     
      Position and angle help make you image what it is.
                        
  The way you frame your subjects or objects is part of you as an artist.

When an image comes up on my feed I can usually guess by the composition and editing style which of my favorite photographers took the image I am not always right partly because I follow photographers with similar style and creative eye, but the point is I know them as an artist because the artist is apart of the art.
  I started developing my eye by just doing something different, some copy catting and a lot of horrible images, but they all were unique and captured with a different angle.




                                                                                                           I am going to give you some examples of my composition.

This picture is slightly crooked from one of the first weddings I did, just a simple shot of the shoes, but gain a perspective for them.

 The shoes are sitting in the chair simply waiting...waiting to be used to be with the beautiful bride as she walks down the aisle to her groom.

Also keep in mind lighting with you composition I choose this chair because of location it was near a lot of natural light.

Something I want to continue to develop is telling a story with my images.

You tell a story and give your image depth by its composition. I did not pose the couple for this shot they sent off a lantern and their gust were watching it by a cliff and the couple stepped back to watch and take in the moment and I wanted to capture them just enjoying the moment, not expressions, but capturing the emotion in the moment so I took it dead on and tried to capture the bigger picture.

You have seen this picture before, but I kinda like this shot, so your seeing it again.

I focused on the sparkler, but didn't go for the dead on shot. I made myself as a guest enjoying their moment. The spark is coincidentally is between the couple..a spark of love?!

Take a the time to compose a sideline shot with an angle to it. If I would of shot this dead on I probably would of dropped myself lower to capture it as a scene rather then a moment.

I know this is pretty basic and everyone has these types of shots in their wedding portfolio, but some pictures for weddings are about details. I wanted to capture the flowers, but also who the flowers belong to without getting them 'in' the shot. A side line shot wouldn't be ideal unless you had a unique angle,but some shots are boring and seem normal, but composition keeps them from flopping.

Keep bride center and taking it dead on keep it simple and fresh.

This was the groom waiting for his bride at a first look. Again dead on and though I wanted to capture him waiting I wanted to be more then just him, but give a broader picture.

 

I call this creeping spy shots. I love moments when you can be a fly on the wall so to speak. Making it seem more of a moment that the couple seems alone and more intimate.  Something about shooting through a tree or making it seem like your hiding behind something and spying adds an angle to a composed shot making it worth whatever awkward position you have to make yourself conform to to get the shot.

 

 

 

         3 Challenges for you.

 

1. Take a completely normal shot and mess with the angles and placement. If its a portrait put your person on the one end of the frame. It adds to your shot.

 

2.Take object and practice placement. place them in different positions and get a shot different then how your normally shoot it. Even if it looks horrible your practicing to think out side the box.

 

3. Compose a shot to tell a story. Add depth with how you place your subject, the where and why of the shot, put other things into the shot that add to the story.

.(a little shot I did for Human trafficking awareness)

A wrecked room with a girl in corner  or in an alley face buried in her hands for example that image has a story, but add depth by placing a ripped fairytale or teddy bear in a strategic place showing the innocence and childhood has past, her world is rocked that it makes your audience view it with brokenness and the desire to reach out and wanting to give her hope. Making your image tug at their heart. 

 
 

 

twenty.... Now what?

                              

 

 

 

Saturday marked the day of my 2 decades in this world!

I totally forgot Friday was my last moments as a teenager until near the end of the day.

 I decided to spend those last teen moments of that evening to go to the once a month swing dancing and I danced myself into the roaring year of the twenty's!

           Yikes! I did feel kinda old suddenly!

Something about when you age doesn't have 'teen' at the end of it makes you feel officially one of the older people. Your no longer a kid, people view you as an adult and its a weird thing, but its true.

                        I spent the whole birthday snowboarding on the slopes and eating up chipotle with two of my awesome brothers.   

I am so blessed and thankful for all the years God has given me. I am ashamed of the times I didn't trust Him and smile at the moments I thought I couldn't go on and let Jesus take the reins because obviously I was going to steer myself over a cliff.

He has been my best friend and companion and has definitely been faithful through all the rough patches when I needed Him.

If you don't know my friend and father I will happily introduce and share Him with you, but I must warn you He will completely change your life around and you will never be happier.

Okay, I am done with my little moment of gushing about my hero! ;)

 

                                                                            

 

  As I was reflecting back on my last few years,I got to thinking if I could tell my teenage self 5 things to do better or over what would it be.              

                  Here are 5 things I would tell myself 5 year younger self!                                                                       

                 1. Spend more time investing in my family and helping around the house.                                        

                            2. Plan a quiet time schedule, memorize scripture and cultivate your relationship with Jesus.                                                              

              3. Be audacious, bold and pursue your dreams don't let a closed door stop you from moving towards your goal.                                                           

                                   4.get fashion help! (this one still applies actually)                                                                 

        5. stop comparing, competing and trying so hard to be anything except you!

 

 

                 If you could go back in time 5 years what would you tell your 5 year younger self?

that day again?

                           

             Ah, Valentines day is upon us once again.

            As a single young lady this 'holiday' has always been a 'blogging' struggle. Why?!

I hate seeing my feed filled with the single Christian young ladies blog posts that usually do the whole, Jesus is my boyfriend vibe!

                                           

        Uh,huh! I find that slightly ridiculous to say!

  Because its something single girls say to try to fill an emptiness they feel around this holiday or a away to comfort single girls around this holiday. Now not all of them post that sort of thing, but a lot of them or the I follow do.

You are the bride of Christ not something as cheesy and cliché as His 'girlfriend' and that He happens to be this 'boyfriend' of yours in times like these. To the ladies who are in a relationship you may gush about your boyfriend on this special day, but I know for a fact that you do it on other days of the year too!

                         Are you gushing about your Savior and His love for you year round?

 This day celebrates a man named Valentine who saw the significance of marriage and risked his life to bring it all about by preforming the ceremony in a time of war when marriage was forbidden.
       In reality businesses used that as their reason to seize an opportunity to sell, cards , flowers, and chocolate making it all hearts and cupids!
                 Now I am not against Valentines day at all! I actually love this holiday.
I think love, marriage, relationships are something so beautiful, sacred that needs to have at the core of it the love of Jesus Christ for He is love and marriage was His idea!




        I want to share my 3 thoughts on love!



1.A selfless love of my Savior. Love is to be selfless and Jesus demonstrated this on the cross and in every way He continues to pour into my life.
His love is unfathomable. Pure, without hypocrisy and sincere.
(John15:9, 13, Eph.5:2, 1Tim 1:5)



2. Love is vulnerable. When your in love and are opening up to someone it makes you vulnerable. Vulnerability should follow trust. A special someone in your life gains your trust and then they soon win your heart and your love. Marriage is giving 100%, not 50-50.
You put the selfless love of Christ at the core of that relationship and it will blossom as you walk through your life with Jesus Christ at the center.
You build your foundation of a relationship on a solid rock, a cornerstone.
Romance is something so beautiful and nothing makes me get butterflies in my stomach then a husband loving his wife as Christ loved the church and his wife respecting and honoring her husband in all she does. It speaks volumes. Candlelight dinners, blood red roses and chocolates.
A soft kiss on the forehead and the "I love you's" may come in a relationship, but when its built on Jesus Christ that is definitely something worth shooting for, for He is faithful.
(John.13:1, Eph. 5:25, Deut.7:9)



3. The greatest of these is love. One of Gods greatest commandments (1Cor.13:13) is to love.
Whether that would be a special someone, family or friends and even strangers we are commanded by our Lord and Savior to love with the same selfless love that Jesus showed. From washing the feet of His disciples to His death on the cross for our sins He loved well.
I want people to see the selfless love of Christ in  my life.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John15:13

I don't view this holiday as 100%  about romance, but taking a day to express to the one or ones closest to your heart your love for them.

This holiday is day that we can take to remind that person how dear we are to them even if they already know it.

                         As Christians we are commanded to love well, 1 Corinthians 13 a popular chapter on love makes the point that everything we do in Christ name if done without love then it amounts to nothing, the love of Jesus given unto us and Jesus within us (when you are born again)  enables us to love others.

 

         I challenge you to do acts of kindness out of love through Christ for someone else, a stranger.

                                     Buy them a coffee, leave them a note at the gas pump or a gas giftcard and also through out your week look for opportunities to love well, to go out of your way to express your love and appreciation for someone else.

 

Family Singing Ministry interview with Chelsy Bontrager

 Hello,  If you remember I did an interview a while back with Hannah and Ruth Wissmann on their families singing ministry and I am honored to introduce you all to Chelsy from the Bontrager family singers!!!

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Hey! I am Chelsy Renee, and I blog over at Its A Beautiful Life.

 

I am a country girl through and through. My friends all call me Chels. I am twentysomething and the oldest of ten children. Half of the year I live on a dairy/hog/grain farm

in the midwest, and the other half of the year I spend in a 45ft coach touring + playing

music all over the US + Canada with my family’s band, the Bontrager Family Singers.

You will almost always find me with a baby in my arms, and if not a baby, it will be either a cup of coffee or my camera. I love life, people, + my family! I love studying marketing +

dreaming up new business ideas. My passion is to live my life completely for Jesus + to change my world for Him.

Please come visit me over at my blog; I’d love to have you stop by!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What are some of your hobbies? Photography, coffee, and babies, primarily. =) Also thrifting, reading, writing, blogging, music, sewing + recreating, and studying fashion design.

What is your role(s) in your families ministry?I work with my father in booking all of our concerts. I manage our inventory, sales, marketing, family blog, + emails. Also included in that is working with our graphic designer, photographers, + webmaster on new projects + updates. Working for our ministry is a part-time job right now, although sometimes the hours are closer to full-time

hours, especially when we’re on tour!

How many instruments do you carry with you on the road?. 2 guitars, 2 banjos, 5 violins, 2 harmonicas, 1 dobro, 1 keyboard, 1 mandolin, + 1 bass guitar. So 15 total...and counting. =)

How do you get to enjoy home cooked meals and a good balanced diet while living out of a bus? Its a challenge! We cook almost all of our breakfasts/lunches on the bus. Breakfast

usually consists of smoothies, scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, or cooked cereals. Lunches are

primarily fresh veggies and some kind of bean dip or dish, or wraps/sandwiches. When

we book our concerts we ask churches ahead of time to make an evening meal for us if

possible. We also specifically ask for lots of fresh fruits/veggies, and minimal sweets +

breads. This has made it MUCH easier to stay healthy!

Do you have friends along your routes that you visit while on the road or are you meeting new people all the time? Yes! This is one of the biggest blessings of touring around is the awesome people we meet + then get to stay connected with! It is a wonderful thing! We are constantly meeting up with old friends or making and then connecting with new ones.

What's the biggest challenge when on the road consistently? It is always a challenge to have a good schedule + be productive. We have worked really hard on this and it is going better. We have to be intentional + not let our “e Its also tough to get quality quiet time on the bus when you’re almost constantly with twelve other people!

What do you enjoy the most about being on the road/doing concerts in different states? The opportunity to encourage other people, and seeing God working in so many incredible ways through the ministry He brings our way! Also it is awesome to meet so many amazing people + get the chance to see so much different country!

Do you have any short stories/adventures that happened while out on the road that you'll never forget? I’m writing a book about it all right now. =) There are many stories! Occasionally I post

some of them on my blog, + my family’s blog.

How many hours do you practice alone and how many with your family? It really depends. I don’t practice a whole lot on my own unless I’m working on arranging new music. We practice quite a bit together, but again it really varies and depends if we’re working on a new album or not. Every concert is technically like practice too.

What's one of your favorite place you've visited?Alaska. Hands down! Montana is a close second.

What's you favorite verses or book in the bible? I don’t know if I can narrow it down. =) I love Philippians, Galations, + 1&2 Peter.

 Do your siblings ever got on your nerves being coped together? Every once in a blue moon. But mostly we honestly love being together!! And we get along great 99% of the time!

Do you think you be as close to your siblings if you didn't travel some of the year? Yes! We have always been super close, even before we traveled. I think its all about how much you work on it + make relationships a priority. But close relationships do come from spending a lot of time together, and that is something we did long before we ever traveled.

How many months out of the year do you travel? We spend half of the year on the road. It comes out to almost exactly six months, give or take a little.

What are your views on dressing modestly?I believe very strongly that our bodies are the temple of Jesus Christ. As a result of that,I believe that is is definitely VERY important that we as women dress modestly, as ambassadors of Jesus.

Do have any advice on girls who are striving to dress modestly, but having a rough dressing for that when it doesn't seem attractive to the world? Be open. Be willing to learn. Even though culture is darker than ever, I believe that it isn’t nearly as difficult to dress modestly as some people believe! If you have a positive attitude + are willing to work on it and think outside of the box, you can very easily build a beautiful, fashionable, + modest wardrobe. Its not that hard, you just have to be willing to think outside of the box + be open.

 

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Thank you so much Chelsy! Everyone go ahead and check out Chelsy's adoreable blog and follow her!