Changes ahead...

This song was playing in my mind when I woke up this morning. If you don't know Christ, or even if you do, if you aren't consistently seeking his presence then you will never truly know the purpose of this life. The peace. The joy. "My soul must sing." When you know Jesus intimately, your soul must sing. His joy covers your every pour, every cell, and exudes out from within. Even in the midst of a journey that isn't going so well, you find peace and joy. Lots of joy.

My background is different again. I love having options and changing things up, but I wanted to find something that really represented me. I recently gave my friend Christy a gift at her bachelorette party, she is getting married Friday. The card I gave her had this black and white damask print on the front. As soon as she opened the card she knew it was from me. (I'm adjusting to the revelation of my transparency as well). So I thought this background would be fitting.

I'm in the process of creating a new blog for my photoblog on my own domain which will have a custom background and I'm really struggling with which direction I should go in. My new blog has to tie in with the rest of the vision I have for my marketing plan, it all needs to tie together and I'm just having a tough time committing. I know how I will use my marketing plan, but I don't know yet what I want it to look like. I started with chocolate brown and baby blue and really love all things filigree, baroque, and damask as do many of my clients. This style is classic and timeless and can easily be mixed with the modern and contemporary. I began to toil with the idea of black and white and perhaps a touch of a vibrant yellow like my favorite flower, the sunflower, or even a teal type color. But, black and white is just to harsh for me. At the same time, the center of my blog really needs to be black so my images stand out. So whatever I go with, should also coordinate well with black.

I want something that "says" style, class, high fashion, sophistication, glamour, and drama. Something that is vibrant, yet down-to-earth, approachable, fun, and casual. Something that represents who I am, my personal style, and my style as a photographer. I'm looking for colors and patterns that personify who I am but also appeal to my current and future clients as well. So if anyone has any suggestions, please send em' my way!

Moving on. Mallory woke up this morning and told me about a dream she had about our "old house." She wanted to go swimming but she couldn't because "no one was outside to watch her." I guess I must have said that to the kids a lot. This was the first time any of the kids have mentioned the house and it didn't sting and bring tears to my eyes. I told her it was okay to remember the house, we had a lot of fun there and made a lot of memories. We will always remember the house. She then asked "can we get a new house?" I just laughed and said "of course, but it isn't time yet. God is still working on things for us." My answer seemed to please her and it pleased me to know that it no longer hurts. Still ringing in my ears though, "it isn't time yet."

So I'm reading this book by Charles Swindoll about finding the will of God for our lives. My husband and I are praying about making a change in our lives. I won't yet go into the details because the door hasn't yet been opened. But, should it open, we will be considering this change quite seriously.

The trouble is, there are certain things that are outside the will of God for our lives and these are obvious like murder, sexual immorality, judging others, etc. and the list is long. Then, there are things that are clearly defined as being within his will for us such as tithing, giving to others, trusting God, seeking his Kingdom, etc. and that list too is long. On both sides of the coin we will find things that we know we should do and we shouldn't do without having to ask or pray about it. We know because it is written in his word. However, the scripture will not tell us, don't marry Susan, you should buy that house, or this is the college you should attend. So how do we know if these decisions are within the will of God?

We have to be willing to pray and wait. Pray about our options and consider them with common sense, combined with his guidance, then follow the peace. When we are within the perfect will of God in our lives we will find deep peace. Even if the decision defies what our family wants, even if the decision doesn't look like it's going to be easy to pull off, there will be unshakable peace if God is behind the plan. Often times, the very thing that God wants us to do looks bleak to us because God is looking for people to do things that glorify him. God gets the glory when his people pull of something that could have only been done with God's divine intervention. The outside world has to recognize that God was involved. That has risk and uncertainly written all over it. I'm a planner. I like to know exactly where I'm going, what time I'm going to get there, what I'll do and say when I arrive, how long I'll be, etc. So this seeking God thing and agreeing to go before I even know where I'm going is um, challenging. Still, I'm committed and I'll go. I must believe that God is who he says he is and he will do what he says he will do. Plus, if I'm within his will then there is no better place to be. Regardless as to what life has ahead good, bad, painful, easy, no matter what it is, if I accept that it is all part of Gods plan and trust him then it will all be okay.

I was also then reminded of a couple of scriptures. One I gave yesterday.

Mark 4:24 Then he added, "pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given-and you will receive even more.

And the second is one that has been my favorite scripture since January when I came upon it during my process through The Purpose Driven Life.

Romans 12:2 And do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I like The New Living Translation even better. Romans 12:2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

The closer my walk becomes with Christ, the more secrets he will reveal to me, his will. The decisions he wants me to make will become clearer. The same is true for you too.