Laptops, Airport Security and an Old Man

I'm starting to feel a little sick to my stomach and I can't figure out why. I've done this many times before and I know how to work the airport. I just need to get through security. There are probably 15 people in line ahead of me taking off their shoes and passing their items of to be scanned.

It's my turn now and I slip off my shoes wondering if that awful foot smell is from my Toms (most likely). I place my laptop in its own bin and the iPad on top of it... I learned my lesson my first time flying: laptops cannot be with your carry-on.

I go through the metal detector and wait patiently at the end of the scanner for my items. An old man clears the metal detector and stands beside me now.

"Whose laptop is this?"

I tell the security guard that it's mine and prepare to be shuttled off to some interrogation room where the lights are too dim and I have to convince them I'm me.

"Laptops cannot have anything on top of them." I can tell he's exasperated with me so I tell him sorry. He places my laptop and ipad in separate bins and sends them through the scanner again. The old man next to me starts to chuckle and says I have nothing to be sorry for. He says they're crazy. I smile at his attempt to ease my nervousness.

Again, "whose laptop is this?"

The old man claims it and in the exact same tone as before, "Laptops cannot have anything placed on top of them." the old man says something under his breath and I laugh. Because there isn't anything he could have done at that point. And then we're both laughing and I'm not so nervous anymore.

And now I'm just excited. Excited to do life and meet people who make me laugh.

Abby's Bridals

I am so excited to post these gorgeous bridals! Abby and Blake were married on May 26th this year (view their wedding HERE) and it was gorgeous. gorgeous.


Abby is so kind and so loving. It's really hard to explain the kind of warmth that you feel when you walk into a room with her. She is the kind of girl who makes you smile. And feel all important. And did I mention she is gorgeous??? simply stunning.

Abby, I'm so glad I know you. :) && a very happy birthday to you!

favorite for sure!!

you are so beautiful!

iNSTAGRAM FAQ: Annetta Bosakova

I sat across the room and studied the girls at the pursuit 31 conference. They were all so kind and loving... and full of life. Full of dreams. His dreams. Annetta shared about her life and how God was leading her and she had me hooked. Who was this inspiring girl? 

Annetta is quite the artist; from photography to painting she is an expert. You wouldn't hear those words cross her lips, but they are true nonetheless. I have been following Annetta on instagram since the conference and oh my. She's amazing. Every day, multiple times a day I check on Annetta's latest creations. They make me want to go to a tea party. So I asked Annetta a few questions in order to understand how she creates such beautiful pictures with her phone. Hope you enjoy :)

instagram (for your instagram app): @annettabosakova 
followgram (for your computer): http://followgram.me/annettabosakova)



What is instagram?Instagram is a like facebook with a community of people, but instead of friending someone you follow their picture feeds. I see Instagram as a way to capture the everyday, the beautiful, but most importably the right now using your cell phone. Once you’ve taken an image you can use filters to add a certain look to your picture. 




What is your favorite filter on instagram?
My favorite filter used to be Amaro for the longest time, but I have fallen in love with Walden for it’s ability to create a dreamy look to images if done right. I usually try to stick to one filter to stay with a constant style. 






Should someone use instagram instead of a professional photographer?No. I believe that everyday moments should be captured in anyway a person chooses, but it shouldn’t be replaced with professional looking pictures you would get from a photographer.

Why do you use instagram?I use instagram to jump start my inspiration. Instagram gave me a platform where I can quickly and easy post pictures and get quick feedback from people that I really don’t know. So both encouraging feedback and also looking at my own images, evaluating how much I like them helps me steer my own style. I use Instagram to challenge myself. As I think about what I will post on instagram it get my creative juices flowing. 



How do you decide what to put in your pictures?I’ve been a photographer for many years now, but never really sat down and figured out what my style is, what I like and what I don’t like. I’ve heard the advise from many amazing photographers to sit down, go through magazines and figure out what you love, but I never actually did it till this year. Once I figured out what my style was it I have no problem figuring out whether something works for me or doesn’t. I’m very much a country girl living in the big city. I LOVE whites, off whites, natural and pastels. I love shabby furniture, backgrounds and doilies. Flowers and food are my inspiration, watercolors are the way I relax. That’s what goes into my pictures. I also found out that adding a doily to a pictures softens the image up and makes it more feminine. The things that I put into my pictures will always change before I use whatever it is that inspires me that day, therefore I’m always evaluating my style and growing.




How do you find the pretty light?I search all over my house for the perfect light. When I find a spot that gives just the right light that I like for my images I reuse it over and over again. Right now I have four places where I take my images. Two of the places get direct sunlight and the other two bounce light which creates the dreamy soft look. I also use a white board to defuse light or to bounce it when I need to. I guess I take my Instagram pictures pretty seriously because I’m an inspirational photographer and when the picture I’m taking for instagram inspires me I can shoot for an hour using my regular camera. 




How should someone compose the picture?When I pose my instagram pictures I see myself as a stylist. I literally evaluate my every image. If it doesn’t strike me as beautiful, then I restyle the whole shot. I use a few key elements in most of my pictures to keep my style consistant and those are my doilies and flowers. I also try to stick to the rule of thirds, but that can be hard since the picture your taking is a square. When I compose my pictures I play around with my compositions, I usually don’t stick with the first shot that I take, I make myself see things as one of my followers would see it.

remembering that sun set

Sometimes we just sit together and reminisce. I love to hear how he remembers our lives together and I love to tell him how I remember growing up with him. Stories from before we were together and what we thought of each other. Stories after.

After writing about our seventh year together, I have been thinking a lot about the mountains. I remember how my hair would dry faster in Colorado. And how the youth group walked around to explore the path laid out before us. I remember waiting for kids to arrive at the sports camp and passing out flyers for VBS.

&& I remember what it was like to walk down the side of that mountain, my hand in his, to watch the sun set. Seeing lights appear from the city below as the darkness spread over the valleys as the last bit of light hovered in the sky. I remember how blessed I felt to have been given such an amazing man. And it makes me smile. Because I am truly blessed to live life with him.

INSPIRED BY THE BEACH {DIY}

Isaac and I moved into our towne house (spelled with an e because we're cool) a few weeks ago and I have been decorating like crazy. in my mind, that is. I just stare at color schemes and can't decide what to do. Or maybe I know what to do, but I'm just too excited to decide. because I can finally PAINT!! and in case you didn't know, there are a few colors to choose from.

I want our living room to be really light and relaxing. I guess I kind of want it to feel like you're vacationing in Cancun. mmmmm miss that place. 

I had a couple of silk flowers lying around and some twine. After painting the board of an old bulletin board, I wrapped the twine around the border and hot glued the flowers onto the board. TA-DA! I am super excited about the result and I'm loving colors. If you end up doing something like this, I would love to see what you come up with!!

7 years ago

I walked into our kitchen and there was a card on the table. Addressed to me. Probably my grandma... after all it was my birthday. Fourteen. I could hardly believe it. I was getting so old! I smiled and eagerly tore open the envelope. And then my stomach did that thing where it flips. Hope you have a great birthday. Isaac. Isaac. I just kept reading it. Over and over again. Hope you have a great birthday. Not just a regular birthday; the card did not say hope you have a regular birthday. It said great. a great birthday.

Hope you have a great birthday. Isaac

I had spent about 5 minutes talking with Isaac during a youth retreat a couple months before. And I could definitely see what my parents meant when they talked about him. He was intelligent and kind and wise. and handsome. really handsome. But what made me think about Isaac was His love for the Lord. He was so different than other guys our age. He looked to the Lord and he love Him with a fiery passion.

edited to add: this image was taken a few years later on a mission trip to Colorado. 

6 weeks later he told me that he wanted me to be his girlfriend. And I knew what I wanted... and what God wanted. Because this was the man God had for me. That was seven years ago today.

Thanks for choosing me, babe. And thanks for loving me the way you do. Jordan

Monday Matters: Angie Wright

It's a rare thing when a teacher can connect with students. And I mean really connect. The kind of class where every student feels like they could really be vulnerable and challenged. Angie is like that. 

She cares about her students and she wants to see them seek the Lord. She wants them to be passionate about what He has called them to do and she wants them to walk in power, love and a sound mind. Because this is the life we have in Him. A full life.

So grab a drink and enjoy a few words from Angie today :)

love it!

GOGEOUS!!!!

Angie, thank you for loving the Lord and for challenging me to seek Him in His Word. You have truly blessed my life and I am so thankful for you!

I love, love, LOVE my job!  Teaching at SBU is a true joy for so many reasons, but one of the main reasons I love it so much is because of students like Jordan.  It is amazing to have students who love and serve the Lord!  Jordan, I love how you use your gifts and talents for His glory!  I loved having you in class and am excited to see His plans for you! :)

Challenges… we all have them… and we can choose to face them confidently in our Savior’s strength and direction or we can choose to grumble about them and try to take them on ourselves.  My choice is the first one… to face them with peace and wisdom that can only come from my Savior {And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7}.  Now let’s be real… this is easier said than done.  But through practicing His presence and allowing him to control our lives, it is definitely possible.

What type of challenges have you faced this year?  We face challenges daily – and yes, some are more major than others.  

My biggest challenge the past year has been centered around working on my PhD.  I worry a lot.  I didn’t realize how much I worry {and how worthless it is} until I led a Bible study with a group of my female students called Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.  I HIGHLY recommend this book/study!  

The craziest thing is that when I started thinking about what I worry about in life {PhD, work, family, etc.}, I realized that most of it never happens or already happened.  So I started asking myself: Why worry about things that might not even happen and why worry/dwell on things that are in the past?!  The answer: I shouldn’t and am going to strive not to from now on {Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6}.  

God has worked in me tremendously this past year.  Through His Word, prayer, Calm My Anxious Heart, and my parents, He is teaching me to be content.  Notice I used the word teaching – it doesn’t come over night.  He is teaching me that contentment is a choice…

Aren’t those great?  I want to choose to see stars not mud. :)

My parents are by far the biggest spiritual mentors in my life.  Their love for God, each other, me, and others is amazing and unlike anything I have ever seen.  A couple of weeks ago, I was really anxious about a few things.  My dad sent me this text {he knew exactly what I needed to be reminded of}…

I am so thankful for my heavenly Father and my earthly parents.  I am excited to see what God has planned for me now.  I am trying to live in the now and to live with an eternal perspective.  I don’t want to live with the mindset “after my PhD”.  If I choose to live in milestones, I will miss what God has for me now.

There are two final things I want to share with you all from Calm My Anxious Heart.  I have these photos saved on my phone and read them constantly.

Isn't that amazing?  

---being content in how He chose to make me---

¹³ For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16 

I also love this “prescription for contentment”…

We can have contentment, but only in Him.  It is not always easy to deny our flesh, but true peace comes from living by the Spirit. I am so thankful for His peace and love.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6 

Thanks again, Jordan for having me on your blog and photographing me!  It was so much fun.  Blessings!