Love in Action… Striving for Growth

by SomeGirl on January 19, 2012 · 5 comments

I enjoyed last week’s Love in Action photo post so much that I decided to do one again.

In fact, I might reinstate Fraddling Fridays and do a collage each week (if time/circumstances allow). All in favor…? Opposed?

(Fraddling – Love in Action)

Playing Mancala with my Honey

Letting my oldest one go on an adventure with his grandparents and puppy dog

Caring for another sick little one

Celebrating 13 sweet years of marriage

Putting to use seventh grade Home Ec skills – sewing a ripped Power Ranger costume

Making good things to eat, which created lots of dishes

(big thanks to my sweet husband for cleaning those dishes)

Special treats just for the adults (the boys don’t care for nuts)

Celebrating a sweet gift from my husband… a new phone! Since my old phone was swiped from the grocery store. :(

Hanging out with good friends at church

Spending quality time with “Daddy”

Cheering on his alma mater – Sic ‘em Bears! (Baylor)

A mini road trip listening to Kid’s Place Live

A little fraddle for me as the boys made bacon and eggs for dinner… I could get used to that!

Playing outside on a nice, warm day

Long awaited haircuts

and

A little book reading.

 

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:18

 

Please keep in mind that I’m only sharing times that I was successful at putting love into action.

There are plenty of times that I failed to show love to others, striving for growth is the key here, right?

Let’s press on and put our love into action!

How do you plan on fraddling this weekend? I’d LOVE to hear!

 

Ooh, I just found these fun link ups and decided to join in. :)

life rearranged

Perfect Imperfections

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Change of Plans (thought-provoking Thursday)

by SomeGirl on January 19, 2012 · 19 comments

My husband and I were scheduled to fly out of DFW for NYC today to spend the weekend in the Big Apple celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary.


Then our littlest one came down with the same 5-day virus our oldest one had last week. Poor little guy feels miserable.


(Not even a virus can keep our Power Ranger from suiting up.)

To make matters worse for him, we let his brother continue on with his plans to go camping with his Mimi and Poppy… it was heart breaking to see him cry over not being able to go as his body burned with fever.

Now, my husband and I sit together watching a foreign film on a comfy couch as I wonder if I’m starting to get sick, too.

And I am reminded of a verse…

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. – Proverbs 16:9

I pray that you and I would hold loosely to our plans, and trust fully in The One who knows the plans He has for us.

May that be something we continually think about.




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A Call to Prayer

by SomeGirl on January 17, 2012 · 2 comments

Well, I was getting online to write a photography post for today when I saw a headline that drew me in:

Internet Blackout Day on January 18 (Today).

This was news to me, so I went surfing and found an interesting video…

.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

 

Interesting, hu?

After watching the video I tweeted back and forth with a few people about whether or not they were going to blackout their sites. One of my sweet online friends had a great reply saying that no she was not going to black out her site, instead she was going to “shine the light in the dark.” (I loved that response!)

I debated what to do – blackout or continue with Photography Wednesday. Soon I decided that internet piracy protection acts probably didn’t have much to do with me, and I had written my congressman already to say I opposed the bill. (Write your congressman here or connect with your senator here)

Then a question came to mind – How long before SOPA turns into censorship of other things? Similar to China’s internet censorship…

I have friends who live in Asia who have to be very careful about what they write online, what spiritual things they share.

Having spent 3 months in Russia as a summer missionary just after the fall of communism (the summer of 1992… which makes me QUITE old to some of you now, doesn’t it?!), I’ve seen first hand the spiritual oppression that comes through censorship and laws against proselytizing (to convert or attempt to convert others).

We’re really not too far away from that kind of governmental control… as much as we’d not like to admit it.

So… while I’m not going to black out my site for the day, I do want to draw your attention to the issue at hand and encourage you to spend some time in prayer for our country.

Let’s not take our freedom for granted.

And while we’re at it, let’s make the most of every opportunity given to us to share the gospel!

 

(I’ll be back next Wednesday with some helpful photography tips, I promise.)

 
For some light in the darkness visit my friend’s blog at Mom’s Mustard Seeds. You’ll be glad you did!

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Could You Imagine Life Without God’s Word?

by SomeGirl on January 16, 2012 · 5 comments

When I was in college I used to wake up in the middle of the night with an eery feeling of fear. I blamed it on too many scary movies as a child, but that didn’t make the fear go away. To help, I found a verse in the Bible that comforted me and gave me strength to face my fear:

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? – Psalm 56:3-4

I still occasionally wake up with that fearful feeling, but far less often than I did back then.

But, anytime fear starts to creep into my heart I attack it with that verse… with God’s word. And the fear fades away.

Now as a mom, instead of those fearful thoughts, my mind seems to be preoccupied with how to be a good mother – how to raise boys into men who love God and others, which has me often seeking…

(Continue reading at Be The Domino)

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Love in Action… A Gift.

by SomeGirl on January 11, 2012 · 12 comments

(Fraddling – Love in Action)

a treat for myself while grocery shopping

dodgeball with the boys

a message of love

candlelit dinners

getting creative with gluten, dairy, soy free treats

impromptu art time

hot tea and a little time alone

a creative outlet (instagram)

kiwi for chocolate covered kiwi popsicles…. mmmm

taking care of our bodies with good foods

caring for a sick little one

playing pretend

special gifts and treasures

cooking for my family

looking for beauty in unexpected ways

spending time alone with my sweet husband on our weekly date night

not pictured…

driving to therapy

researching food and health information

putting together missions/outreach opportunities at church

tweeting to raise awareness of human trafficking

teaching photography

knitting

and

staying off line as much as possible to spend time with my guys.

 

How have you been fraddling lately?

Your love in action is a gift someone is longing to receive.

Something to think about.

 



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How to Move from Auto to Aperture Mode (for Beginners)

by SomeGirl on January 10, 2012 · 4 comments

Well, I told you last week that after reading today’s post you would “never shoot in auto again!” What I ought to have said is that you’ll never shoot in auto again (on a bright, sunny day).

As I took 3 tries to get all of the information in one video post, I realized there’s just way too much to share!

Today’s post is written and recorded with those of you who have never ventured out of the comfort zone of the Auto setting on your DSLR. If you are comfortable with Aperture mode or manual, this post/video is not going to benefit you. (But I’ll make sure to share some other tips you will hopefully find helpful in upcoming Photography Wednesdays.)

If you’re comfortable with aperture mode, but not with manual, this recent post is for you: A Very Beginner’s Guide to Manual Mode in Low Light Settings

For my friends who don’t have DSLRs, I’ll try to make next week’s post a fun composition, technique, or point and shoot post just for you!

Now, without further ado… here is today’s video post that will help you move off of Auto and onto Aperture Mode:

To sum the video tutorial up in a few words:

Go outside on a bright sunny day.

Move your dial to AV on a Canon, A on a Nikon.

Set your ISO to 100.

And start playing around with your aperture by turning the dial near your shutter release.

The lower your aperture (also called f-stop – the number with an f in front of it: f4.0), the more blur you’ll have in the background. The higher the aperture the more you’ll have in focus in your picture.

As long as it’s sunny outside you’ll never have to worry about anything other than how blurred or in focus you want your background to be.

And you’ll never shoot in auto again (on a bright sunny day). :)

(Also on the video were a couple of tips on how to avoid camera shake blur, how to choose ISO, and how to read your shutter speed.)

 

Happy shooting!

Find more photography posts and tutorials here.
 
 
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