bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.

These are a few of my favorite things.

I was thinking about one of my favorite things today, photography, capturing life in one image in a moment in time. Its not just about taking a photo or the right light, but capturing life as I see it. I'm a visual person tried and true. Partly this why I am pants with voicemail.

When Zach was a substitute teacher in San Francisco Unified School District (not an easy task) I would sometimes ask him, "what did you see today?" By this I didn't mean a tree or a truck (but he could say that and it would be fine). What I wanted to know was what did you see, what captured your heart, what life image was imprinted into your heart and mind? What made you think? What made you question?

I love this question and I love photography, because they encourage us to pay attention to the life and lives around us, so rich with untold stories and significant meaning.

~ What did you see today?
Please comment and share, I'd love to hear.

knock on our door.

Taken in the Mission District of San Francisco

This is a repost. I've decided to put this back up, but know that it is simply me living in tension. I'm not professing, declaring or asserting anything other than the fact that I'm learning how to live generously with wisdom. Note doing this is costly at times, but this is a price Zach and I are willing to pay.

As many of you know Zach and I relocated to North Carolina a year ago. Have you ever tried to tell a realtor that you DON'T want to live in the nicest area, and actually prefer to live in the areas that most people avoid. Well, God led us to this house, not her. Ask me about it another day. That said, we actually thought we ended up in a "nicer" area per the reports of the previous owners. However, since the economic downfall there has been nothing but break-in after break-in, random people knocking on doors telling crazy stories, and real people telling quite possibly real stories. Here is where I've been jaded since moving out East. I'm on the threshold letting fear absorb my desire for generosity.

I don't think I blogged about the questions that these experiences have raised in me these past few months, that is, being victims of a break-in once, then a second attempt, being approached by a woman seemingly in need, helping her out, then her coming to our door at midnight, and then a new visitor tonight (last week). A young white male comes to our door at 1am needing a ride to Raleigh for what sounds like good reason. What in the world, do we have a sign that says..."Come and knock on my door" (Name that TV show theme song).

Where do I begin?

1.) I've been jaded by technology. As a member of our community list-serv I hear too much about what is going on in our neighborhood, including someone shining a light in a gal's window at 2am in the morning. Yes, she's our age (younger), lives alone, and yes, this was only 3 blocks away. So, as you can tell, I'm a little on edge.

2.) But the life we have chosen is costly (at times). And in this tension I'm reminded of this word, this ideal, this hope, this purpose that I live for, SHALOM (on earth as it is in heaven). That all would be made right, that all would be whole again (to put it in the most simplest terms). You've perhaps read my previous post(s) on Jeremiah 29 and seeking the shalom of the city or Isaiah 58. How am I seeking the shalom when I tell Zach to shut the door and send the young man on his way? Zach was ready to take him to Raleigh (despite being pulled out of his REM sleep). Bogus story or not, I'm talking about deeper tensions, not the practicalities of this particular situation.

3.) Alas, here I am. Bummed. Did I ask Zach to turn a man away who needed help. What about all those other men who knock on doors solely to case a house or get quick money. But really, who knocks on a door at 1am? Perhaps someone who really needed help, that's who.

Back to my statement, do we have a sign that says, "come and knock on my door"? I'd surely hope so - be it visual or spiritual! Our house is a place of peace, we long to be people of peace opening our doors to those in need, not just entertaining, but offering hospitality. If you were at our wedding, you heard the scripture.

This was one of 2 wedding scriptures we intentionally had spoken at our wedding and into our marriage. This is the home I long to create. I refuse to be muffled by fear, but must at the same times be wise I understand this. Pray for us. Pray we would be people of love, hope, patience, prayer, hospitality, blessing, comfort, peace, humility, and PEACE in this neighborhood.

~seeking shalom.

pacific.

Dear Pacific Ocean,

I miss you.

(I don' think I took this one, but I touched it up)

~ jill.

todd & maria.

F.U.N. I had the privilege of shooting Todd and Maria this week. It was my first time properly shooting a couple, well second. I have so much to learn, but enjoyed every minute of my time with them. As you can see they're beautiful people and the site was truly a Gift. Here is just a glimpse or our time. ~ delighted.

exile.

We don't know where we're going, but we know where we are. Above is a photo from our trip across country. I think this is somewhere between New Mexico and Texas.

Below is a snipit of a scripture I've been thinking about a lot lately. More reflections to come on it later.

We're building, we're planting, and some day reproducing...we're seeking the shalom of the city.

~Name that scripture!

fallen seeds.

My sweet friend Erika bought us the bird feeder I had my eyes on for months at Cost Plus World Market (known only as World Market here). Am I crazy or did we used to call it Cost Plus in California? Please enlighten me.

All that said, we finally bought some bird seed, thanks Ma. Our trick was to out smart the squirrels, and currently they're out smarting me! Twice now they have gnawed at the twine and torn down the hanging feeder. I wish I was aware enough to make some clever spiritual analogy to this predicament, but alas, it is what it is. I did manage to get some snaps of the lovely feeder before it landed on the ground. ~feeding the birds.

words.

I've been thinking a lot this summer about what comes of out of my mouth. I'm known in my OT program for having no filter. I have this way of just saying or asking whatever comes to mind, seldom with malicious intent, rather mere curiosity. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, there are those times when I can say a piercing word to those I love. Recently I saw what it looks like to hold your tongue, to think before you speak. It was unique and inspiring. Don't get me wrong, she had a mind and she had opinions, but she chose wisely when and how to share them. I'm not saying I don't believe in "free speech", but what is "free" speech? Freedom to say what we want? Yes, to some that is exactly it, and of course this is a thought upheld by our founding fathers. But my husband challenged me in church today with his sermon. To sum it up in just a few sentences (without giving his sermon full credit)...

He drew us into the near end of Ephesians (the end of 4 to 5:2, not fair right, as there is so much to Ephesians). Here Paul comes in with a BANG about how we should live, but it is preceded by Paul reminding us who God is, the radical work Jesus had done culturally and spiritually, and God's deep and profound love for us. And because of this, we respond to God, and Paul gives us some helpful hints as to what that response can look like.

One of those suggestions, if you can call it that was to 'not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building of others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen' (v.29). There were other suggestions, but this one stuck out to me. He challenged us, what if we only spoke words that built one another up? What if we just tried for a day? Could we do it? What would our relationships look like? What would our heart look like?

But the point is this, we don't just do these things to do them or to "be right", we do them our of our response to God's love toward us - out of God's initiation with us - out of an intimate knowledge of our Lord. The beginning of the story is with God's love, the rest is in our response to that love. This is where the freedom comes in. We are truly freed when we can love one another, give to one another, speak to one another, forgive one another without needing anything in return - attention, forgiveness, kudos, gifts, etc... How freeing to know that God can take care of all of that, our anger, our sadness, our pain, our needs.

So, I don't just want to speak a language that only builds up, I want to have a heart that is filled with the love of God so much that it over flows sweet words out of my mouth, words that bless not curse. ~ building up

free abandon.

I want to live this free! ~ seeking liberation

mebane mischief.

I couldn't resist the organic beauty of county life in Mebane, NC. The rustic display of the years of life lived in this home secretly capture the life story of this family who has faced their fair share of complexity. If you look beyond the fresh young faces here, you'll see the history of this Mebane family. 

~ glimpses into the past hidden in the present.