It is no secret that I simply adore fall, autumn… the season following summertime. 
It is also no secret that one of the reasons I love it so much is because the season has an intentional bent on gratefulness and giving thanks. 

“But thanks be to God… who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Corinthians 15:57]

Personally, I have started a tradition for myself several years ago, of writing out a list of 100 things I am thankful for. 
However large that number may sound, it truly isn’t that difficult. Think of how many “little” things we have to be grateful for?
Going out of the country three times this year has cause me to be grateful daily for toilet paper, flushing toilets, hot water, clean water, etc. 

You may have heard the question:
“If all you had today was what you thanked God for yesterday… how full would your life be?”

[Insert hearat-rending conviction]

For myself, it isn’t a challenge to make “list” of things as much as it is to be intentional about verbalizing my thanks to Jesus in every moment of life. Part of me thinks that you can go overboard, thanking God for every little thing: “Jesus, thank you for gas that my car is running on, thank you for water to drink…”

But then, who says it’s wrong to go overboard?
I mean the Gospel itself is rather… “overboard”!

After all, isn’t the very air I breathe or the fact that I *am* breathing a gift and mercy of God?
Isn’t Jesus everything? Isn’t He *the* reason for living?

So my new challenge for myself is verbally thanking Jesus, daily for things. 
Little things. Big things. Beautiful things. Hard things. All. Everything. Constantly. 

“The thanksgiving we offer here is really just a dress rehearsal, a practice, for what we will spend all eternity doing in heaven!” [Nancy Leigh DeMoss]

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. 
May your hearts be filled with 10,000 reasons to love Jesus everyday. 

-KM 

1. Jesus.
2. Grace.
3. Mercy.
4. Joy unspeakable.
5. God’s Word. 
6. Fresh flowers. 
7. Old books. 
8. Organic meats. 
9. Gluten free foods. 
10. Homemade Granola. 
11. Bible Study Fellowship.
12. Simple beauty. 
13. Talks with my brothers. 
14. Smiles. 
15. Hugs that wrap you all around. 
16. Quotable movies. 
17. Hand written letters. 
18. The US Post office. 
19. Moleskin journals. 
20. Sharpies. 
21. Hot tea. 
22. Ricola Cough drops. 
23. Kleenex. 
24. Toilet Paper. 
25. Hot water. 
26. Running water. 
27. Drinking water. 
28. Flushing toilets. 
29. A beautiful home. 
30. A vacuum.
31. Our piano. 
32. Listening to littlest brother composing on said piano. 
33. Chick-fil-a. 
34. Hobby Lobby.
35. Wireless internet. 
36. Exercise. 
37. New style. 
38. Everlasting promises. 
39. Christmas carols. 
40. Hymns. 
41. Keith and Kristyn Getty.
42. Millbrook.
43. College Park Church. 
44. Backup harddrives. 
45. A working cell phone. 
46. Beautiful soundtracks. 
47. The wonderful midwest. 
48. Favorite parks. 
49. Favorite pens. 
50. Prayer with friends. 
51. Email and skype. 
52. Lord Rillian.
53. Facebook [keeping up with international friends, especially]. 
54. Adventures in Bogota, Colombia
55. Adventures in an Orphanage in Colombia.
56. Adventures in England. 
57. Adventures with Gram.
58. Adventures in Ecuador [which has yet to be blogged]. 
59. Being an International Wedding Photographer after the England wedding.
60. Rainy days. 
70. Sunshine.
71. Macbook pro. 
72. Surprises and traditions
73. Teal. Red. Yellow. 
74. Girl night. 
75. Long talks. 
76. Clearance shopping. 
77. Hope and a future in Jesus. 
78. Post it notes [try living without them, it doesn't work. at least for me]. 
79. A working sewing machine. 
80. Random projects. 
81. Long walks. 
82. Creamy light. 
83. Falling asleep with the moonlight coming in my window. 
84. A star-filled sky. 
85. Healing in worship. 
86. The Gospel that changes lives. 
87. The power of the Cross. 
88. Truth to battle lies. 
89. Family. 
90. Dates with littlest brother. 
91. Dates with Cowboy brother.
92. Anticipating perfect glory in Heaven with Jesus. 
93. Knowing this world isn’t my home. 
94. Lemonade. 
95. Tights. Skirts. Boots. Sweaters. Scarves. Mhmmm. 
96. Healing in grace which enables you to let Jesus love through you. 
97. A comfortable bed and soft pillows. 
98. Photographs. 
99. My camera and equipment. 
100. Fresh country air. 

 

In case you haven’t noticed…
I’ve been quiet. 

Blogging has been sparatic.
Photography jobs few and farinbetween.
Health is a continued challenge. 
Life’s been hard. 
I’ve been waiting. 

Waiting is hard. Sometimes I just want to say that. Not spiritualizing it or making it sound all peachy keen… it is hard. 
But hard things are what produce the most beautiful most rewarding things. It is a Kingdom Principle.

Out of sorrow comes joy.
From ashes beauty will rise.
Out of pain comes healing.
From death there will be life. 

The Kingdom… so opposite of my own ideas and thinking, and yet the only way to truly live. 
There are things I learn while waiting that I don’t get any other time in my life. It is hard, but worth it. Promise. 

Back in the Spring, right around the time I was leaving for Colombia [still can hardly believe I've been there and back again, let alone to Ecuador and England. Someone pinch me?] I prayed a “dumb prayer”. There will be a blog post on “dumb prayers” in the future, but for now, the basic definition is a “prayer you don’t expect God to answer”. This fall, God has been answering “that” prayer… the one I didn’t expect Him to answer and actually, quite frankly, had totally forgotten about. But how wonderful that Jesus never forgets. How comforting to know that His timing is perfect and that prayers are never wasted. 
 
My character is being developed, I am seeing who I really am, how much I need to let go but really how perfect Jesus is. 
It is the most mind blowing thing ever that it is HIS righteousness alone that has power and forgiveness. 
So I’ve been waiting, trusting, learning and basically taking it one day at a time.

That is often when: “Once upon a time” things happen. Usually they come out of nowhere…

Like, Once upon a time, this last Tuesday, I received an email asking if I would be interested in creating an image for the cover of a book that is to be republished. Yes, I was kind of wondering if that was even a question. *grin* The deadline? One week. So that night I went out on a self-portrait session [first time for that] to practice and get some images to start with. Twilight has always been my favorite times of all the 24 hours in a day. Tuesday night, twilight was perfect, though freezing cold. It was fun and a challenge to capture “myself” and to think through things backwards. 

Then the excitement of talking with the publisher about her ideas, what she wants more specifically, viewing her work so far… it has brought me so much joy. 

God knows what His children need. He plans the best ideas, the best surprises, the best opportunities… so in the midst of waiting, God sometimes brings along “Once upon a time” stories. 
They aren’t the romances. In fact, the best “Once Upon a Time’s” are the real life stories unfolding daily as God works. Oh the joy of the journey… the hope and wonder of following Jesus. 

So I am still kinda quiet. 
I am still very much waiting. 
Waiting for God to give the “answer”. 

Until then, what? 
The answer: yes, keep waiting…

-KM

 ”Next to faith this is the highest art – to be content with the calling in which God has placed you.” – Martin Luther

“They that wait on the Lord… shall renew their strength.” [Isaiah 40]

“Wait on the Lord, be strong, take courage… all you who hope in the Lord.” [Psalm 27]

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” [Ps 33]

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” [Isaiah 30:18]

“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job,
and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” [James 5:11]

“Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land…” [Psalm 37]

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint.” [Romans 5:3-5]

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” [Psalm 62]

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience with joy.” [Colossians 1:11]

Trusting…
like the grass of the field. 

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, Kristi? O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, Jesus, what am I going to have to eat? or, What am I going to have to drink? or, What am I going to have to wear?

…your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.”

[Matthew 6, Amplified/Personalized]

 

Things have been pretty sloooww on the photography shooting front since returning from my world-wide adventures. 
Usually fall time is full of Senior pictures and a bunch of family shoots. Instead it has been really sporadic and quiet this year.  

As I have mentioned previously, I completely love Senior sessions. I enjoy asking questions, getting to know an individual and capturing their personalities. Alison was no exception.

Alison and I have been emailing about her Senior shoot since sometimelastspring. She is good friends with one of my 2012 Brides and saw their engagement pictures and the rest is history.  
At that time she was getting into photography herself and so was very into and excited about her Senior pictures.

Alison loves Jesus, she is completely lovely and beautiful. She loves to smile and laugh. She plays the Banjo, enjoys reading, loves her family, just started sponsoring a little girl through Compassion, is studying photography, has the cutest outfits [and shoes] ever, and even brought a costume and “set” inspired by her favorite book: “Little Women”. How happy does that make a photographer? Very happy. Promise. As I spent time with Alison, we quickly found we had a lot in common and enjoyed conversing the entire afternoon. I love my job. Truly. 

We met at one of my favorite places to shoot. And the weather was completely gorgeous. Warm golden sunlight. Beautiful colors. A delightful breeze. Yes, it was wonderful. 

So enjoy some lovely Senior.ness. I am off to go vote, see my chiropractor and run all sorts of random errands. 

“Faith means loving Jesus so much, that you are willing to do whatever, whenever! You are simply open handed… ‘willing’ to trust and obey. Without question, simply love.”

-KM

Some Saturday mornings you wake up at 5am. 
What else but an adventure would bring you to do so… *grin*

This morning, I accompanied my Cowboy brother to a Wild Mustang and Burro Adoption in Southern Indiana. 
Purpose? To adopted a wild Burro. Yes, just a normal Saturday occurrence…. you never know what will happen next living out in the country. 

I am not a huge morning person. I try. I wish. I want. But it still has yet to become reality consistently.

This morning I bundled up, realizing winter is around the corner as I could see my breath in the air and was shivering even with three layers on.. we arrived at the Hoosier Horse Park and yes, I fell in love. Burros are seriously the cutest little creatures. Timothy had us get there early since it is a first-come-first-serve basis. It was so much fun to look at them, talk over ideas, which ones we liked, what colors, etc. My favorite part is Timothy explaining and telling me information. Timothy’s dream is to ride across country on horseback. Yes, truly. He has already road to the Ohio River and back in over a week and a half. Horses, even wonderful Mustangs, can only carry so much weight… so cute-as-a-button-burros are wonderful for carrying the back and gear. 

He knows so much about four legged friends. Seriously. Also, he had his grin on the whole morning, which I love. Double win. 

After we looked for a while, we had almost an hour to wait till it actually “opened”. There was a gorgeous sunset. Random conversations with other horse people [some of which knew what they were doing, like the lady who drove all the way from Pensylvania and there were others in which Timothy graciously said: "They are gonna be in for a shock... they think taming a wild horse is no big deal... well, wait till the horse tries to kill them." *ahem*]. and then a beautiful rainbow in the dark, still sunless sky. First time seeing a rainbow in the morning… 

Then he bought her. He almost bought two. But knew he would only have time to invest in a relationship with one. 
She is a two year old “Blue Burro”… as cute as can be. I am already thinking photoshoot ideas, once she is gentled… 

So yes, we began talking names…  I suggested Belle. 
Timothy liked it. So her name is Blue Belle. 

She is darling. So darling. 

Ah, life in the country.
Always an adventure. 

Time for a nap,
KM

“No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.” [Romans 10:11]

 

 

One week in England. 
Already it seems like forever ago. 

A precious gift of a week, but truly, it isn’t *nearly* long enough to even get a glimpse of our Mother-country. Anytime a wedding is involved, you can be sure that things are a constant-happy-whirlwind. I went to England with a heart already thankful for the mere opportunity to set foot on its beautiful shores and to capture the events leading up to and the most wonderful wedding of Hannah and Jon. It’s a good thing I brought my laptop. My memory cards were constantly full. Aren’t you surprised! *grin*

The flights were long. Truly long. I can now say that one of my top dreams is to fly first class overseas sometime [yes, I know... I can dream, right?]. In the back half of the plane, I was all cozied up, telling my cramping knees… “This is worth it, we are going to England.” Lord Rillian did quite well, he doesn’t mind being squished in the least. It was super fun and so nice to travel with my great-aunt Debbie (who is an expert at overseas travel) and my great-gram (who used to be a travel agent). Traveling solo as much as I do, I forget how pleasant it is to have someone else thinking of all the details and checking up on you. Gram is so funny, and throughout our entire trip, she never ceased to make me laugh with her random comments or her spunk and excitement… yes, at 90-years-old.

Favorite story of the trip:: I met up with Aunt Debbie and Gram O’Hare airport, we were checking in our bags and waiting for a wheelchair for Gram to make things move faster. Upon the arrival of said wheelchair, Gram exclaimed: “Oh, darlings, I don’t need that thing! I am perfectly fine.” We attempted reasoning with her. After a few minutes she looked at me carrying a carry on bag and my camera bag. Her eyes twinkled as she said: “Kristi has all those bags to carry, let her ride in it!” Oh my face probably said so many things at that moment. I laughed. nothankyougramiloveyou… I do NOT need to ride in a wheelchair. We finally convinced her to sit down and away we went to security with an escort from the airline pushing Gram. As usual, the line for security was SUPER long. We weren’t in a rush, we had plenty of time. But, wait! We had a “handicap” person with us… so forgive us all you people who sat in line for who-knows-how long as we walked passed them all and got through security in less that five minutes. On the other side, Gram, realizing the miracle that just occurred, got the biggest mischievous grin, grabbed my arm and exclaimed: “I think I need this wheelchair now!” *laughs*

Yes, so traveling with my great-gram saves BUNCHES of time and brings plenty of laughter. 
I told her I would take her with me traveling anytime. We have agreed upon visiting Scotland and Rome next summer. *mischievous grin*

Of course there were plenty of favorite moments throughout the trip::

• Reading “The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe” in the window seat of an English hotel. 
• Exploring Oxford and eating fish and chips with Gram at the Eagle and Child. 
• Riding in a Mini-Cooper with the top down, driving on the “wrong side of the road” through the countryside. 
• Experiencing life [washing dishes. meals. etc.] in the most lovely English Flat. 
• Falling in love with the flower shops at the train station and yes, buying Gerber Daisy. 
• Walking around London realizing I could spend years there and never see everything. 
• Blue skies and sunshine for like three days straight in “rainy England”. 
• Beautiful evening at a Castle with my most wonderful cousins. 
• Not only being photographer on the wedding day, but also hairdresser for the bride and a bridesmaid. 
• Crying as I photographed one of the most precious and profound wedding ceremonies I’ve ever been to. 
• Riding in a classy taxi-cab in downtown London. 

Just to name a few. The most precious thing was experiencing all those things with my family! Second cousins. Great Uncle, Great Aunts, Great-Grandma… seriously!? We could have never planned that to happen if we tried… and every moment was so special to be with them all creating memories together. Yes, I still smile with a heart of thankfulness for the memories Jesus gave me. 

My camera was completely overwhelmed with the photographic possibilites. Endless in England. So endless. And yet there was only so much time to be able to capture the beauty, depth and richness of the Mother-country. So here are like a dozen or so [ok, more than that. *grin*] views of the adventure. I cannot wait to go back to England and run through the countryside with the rain and feel the wispy breeze through my hair as I explore castles, see sheep grazing in the pasture and come home to a good cup of tea. Ah yes… its gonna be good. 

So until then, England I love and miss thee. ♥

Meanwhile, it is November! I can hardly believe it. But I’m excited… because in the midst of questions, longings, waiting and desires… gratitude overrides any worry or fear. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” [Phil 4:6-7]

Happy first day of thanksgiving-month, everyone.

-KM 

Last view of the shores of America. 

First cup of English tea. 

In the back of the Mini-Cooper… taking in the English Countryside. 

“Peter, what time does our train arrive…” [Chronicles of Narnia, anyone?]

I was pretty sure I was dreaming. For real. 

Best decision I ever made was to bring my English Boots… I wore them practically everyday. 

Someday, America needs a flower shop in our Airports like this. Seriously!

Ah, the loveliness of an English garden outside a flat. 

I hope someday I can grow Lavender outside my front porch so I can pick it and use it all the time. 

AHHHHHHHHH! Be still my heart… yes, a real live Castle. 

And still… there is nothing like a beautiful sunset in America. 

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.
I should think so – in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures.
Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner.” [J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit]