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Yellow

Oh my goodness there was so much yellow at this weekend’s wedding I LOVED it. Of course, I can’t show any of it to you yet because the beautiful bride is still on her honeymoon with her sweetie! So instead I will show you this high-key yellow that includes a wee-little traveler!

Something that makes or made you smile

Sunday I went to John’s church while he was enjoying some much needed “man time” with his fraternity brothers at UNC (Tarheels Forever!). Father Brad was talking about how coming into a church should feel like coming home… we should feel welcome. He said that we put out our welcome signs in front of the church but then ignore the newcomers by never saying hello. I loved his admonition to look out for the newbies around us because you never know when a brief hello and a hand-shake to someone sitting next to you could help them feel like an honored guest and then lead them to a relationship with God in Christ.

Ancient or Antique

Random old milk jugs in the middle of an abandoned barn, why yes, I will take your picture! Virginia is famous for abandoned barns, and you never know what you’ll find there! Loved the antique, broken down feel of this scene.

Splash

The splash of water has fascinated me for a long time – specifically, how the camera can catch the water mid-splash. If you have ever gone on a photo safari with me before, you will find out that I stop to take pictures of all kinds of water.

In the Sun

It’s that time of year again when we start to see these little crawlers just hanging out in the sun, waiting to turn into butterflies. Ok, maybe not, but they are hanging out on the leaves in the {wait for it} sunshine.

***To see and share the rest of Okey and Leslie’s photos, “like” Jenny Rain Photography on Facebook***

This weekend, Okey and Leslie were are models for the Fix Mix 2.

They generously donated their time and gorgeous Nigerian outfits to allow each of us from After the Fix to practice shooting in studio.

Leslie whispered to me before the shoot, “This is such a dream of ours! Thank you!” and their humility and generosity were so inspiring!

More than simply gorgeous models and incredibly generous people…

…Okey and Leslie are living lives of tremendous impact here and abroad, and I want to share with y’all some of what they are doing.

Leslie Oluchi Nwoke is the co-founder of The Ruby Project a 501(c)3 youth organization that promotes the overall health and success of teen girls (ages 13-18) everywhere through retreats, the performing arts, an interactive online community, and other efforts. The Ruby Project reaches out especially to teen girls in crisis (i.e. abuse, rape, violence, loss of a loved one) and those trying to overcome a personal challenge (ie. poor self-esteem/body-image, bullying, a parent’s addiction) but welcomes all girls into its program.

She is also Miss Nigeria in America 2005 and was recently interviewed and as such has helped with the rehabilitation of trafficking victims as well as being a voice for the voiceless.

Become a fan of The Ruby Project here.

Okey Nwoke and Leslie founded Making Noise Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization that aims to use the arts, media, drama, and blogs to raise awareness of social injustice issues in the continent of Africa. Okey was forever changed on a mission trip to east Africa where he came face-to-face with injustice in the forms of trafficking and child labor – and knew he had to be a voice for his generation. He is also a FIERCE step-dancer y’all… go watch!

Become a fan of Making Noise here.

In July of this year, Okey and Leslie are participating in a very important mission.

They will be going to Ethiopia to work with Engage in Lives at a center named Agar that rescues trafficking victims and helps rebuild their worth, value, and teaches them life skills to ensure that they are not re-trafficked.

Would you prayerfully consider helping my friends continue to make an impact on the world either in Ethiopia, through “liking” and following the Ruby Project, or through “liking” and following Making Noise, Inc.?

A little plus a little equals a lot as Leslie and Okey have shown… and when we come together as the body of Christ people’s lives get changed. Now THAT’s something to dance about!

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Jim Elliott, October 28, 1949.

This last week of my life has been very reflective.

Yet not as much reflective of “self” as of attempting to wrap my mind around what God has in store for this next season of my career.

Last week I made an exciting announcement and this time next week, I will have just completed my first day at the new job and I am thrilled… reflective… attempting to be preparative in my heart.

Am I ready for this challenge Lord?

Are You already there waiting for me?

How can I best prepare to meet You there Lord?

All of these questions require that I get my mind off of myself and onto God.

This weight-loss journey I have been on for the last three months has been a wild ride that has impacted every single area of my life… yet I never thought that a simple journey to lose weight could have been intricately connected to God doing something major occupationally in my life.

See, I have this bunch of suits from years past.

Suits are the required dress code for my new job. Not a single one of these suits fit three months ago, but since I wasn’t wearing them in my current job, I was not too concerned.

The day before my interview I grabbed a suit out of the very back of my closet – and because I had worked and prayed so hard to lose weight – it fit perfectly.

I didn’t have to purchase a thing.

I didn’t have to stress out about what I was going to wear.

Everything I needed was already waiting for me.

To me, it is MIND-BLOWING to think that God knew this months ago, and so took the time to prepare even my body for the clothing I would need. My pastor says “His guidance of us is staggering!” and I concur. God truly does clothe the lilies of the field…

I’m at 118.5.

Exactly 1.5 pounds away from my goal of 117 where I will be able to fit into the remainder of my suits. A goal that three months ago had nothing to do with needing to fit into a wardrobe for my new job.

God can be trusted. That is what I am learning. I can trust God. With everything. He is trustworthy, and good, and mighty, and he cares about the tiniest details of my life.

Wow.

I can set down my agenda, my plans, my fears and my failures before His throne… and He will redeem them. I can give Him my life, and He will show me how to direct my feet. I can die in service to others – in His name – and find life, REAL life.

Because God is good. And God can be trusted… my life is safe in His hands.

He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10.39

Simple

Sometimes in my life I need simple. Simple repeating patterns that lull me into peace. Simple days to relax. Simple instructions for photographic outings. Simple relationships. Yet even in the simple are often complex patterns to be found.

Grain

Thousands of grains coming together to form the bottom of the ocean. Collecting at the water’s edge to form beaches all over the world. It makes me wonder what we could do as the body of Christ if we worked together like grains of sand…

Transportation

Gotta love a butterflies built-in transportation. Butterflies always make me think of new beginnings… like Easter – a new beginning because of what Christ did for us.

Stitch

She stitches… she creates… she innovates. Using color, her imagination, and simple wool. Using what she has, she designs something beautiful.

Bubble(s)

Kids. Street fair. Bubble machine. Magic! As a photographer, I love doing portraiture and weddings, and posey posey stuff, but sometimes it is good to get out of the norm and just take pictures of people being themselves and having fun!

… find out where.

What are you waiting for?

This beautifully pink Spring weekend John and I had the amazing opportunity to celebrate a Passover Sedar with my discipleship leader Lynn and her husband Joel.

For me, it was such a fitting end to a crazy couple of weeks. A time where I could sit down, rest and recline, enjoy time with John celebrating a very Good Friday.

During the celebration of the Passover, we learned about the Dayenu…

The Dayenu song that is sung during a Passover Seder is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts He gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah and Shabbat, and had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough.

It literally means “It would have been enough for us” or “It would have been sufficient for us” and is sung in stanzas representing the work that God did for the Israelites to release them from captivity and bondage and deliver them into a good land.

For me, this has much relevance in my life, and if I were to write my own Dayenu song, it would probably sound like this.

If God had simply chosen to dwell here on earth for a while, it would have been enough for us. Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ

If God had delivered us from a life separated from Him, it would have been enough for us. Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ

If God had provided us provided us direction, and comfort, and relief through His word, it would have been enough for us. Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ

But in my life… God has not stopped there.

He has chosen to allow me this amazing journey I have been on for the last 3 months that has me at 120 pounds as of this week (whoop!) A weight loss journey that has resulted in me discovering so much more about Him, about myself, and life in general. Oh and p.s. I fit into “The Jeans” this week! Look! Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ

He has allowed me shelter, clothing, food, and has provided for my needs. He has given me restored relationships with my family and blessed me with a husband and the most incredible in-laws that I could ever hope for. Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ

He has given me a path for my feet and a purpose for my heart. He has blessed my husband and I with provisions beyond what we are asking for – all in a very difficult economic season. Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ

He has given me passions, a creative heart, and the desire to serve Him and others through this creativity. Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ

Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ Lord Jesus, Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ !

Oh but it gets better… Remember last week I said that I had a “Big Day” ahead and asked for your prayers? I couldn’t talk much about it out of respect to the two organizations that I was interacting with, but today I can.

On Thursday of last week, I was offered a job with International Justice Mission, an organization that God has graciously allowed me to peek into from my time in Rwanda, back to the US, and to interact with on a variety of levels. Never in my wildest dreams could I see that He might be setting me up to serve there in an occupational capacity… but that is what He has done!

In record time (less than 7 days) IJM started and completed the recruiting process with me and offered me a job and I ecstatically accepted. Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ Lord Jesus Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ !

So what that means for my current job is that McLean Bible Church is currently hiring for my position (Executive Assistant to the Senior Pastor and Director of Operations)!! 

I am diligently praying for an awesome replacement. If you – or someone you know – might be suited for this position, please let me know as it is my heart’s desire to really leave well and leave them in great shape for the next season. I will tell you – in this position – you will work for two incredibly talented and godly men and serving in this capacity has been a daily joy for me. So if you know someone, please send them our way.

This week has been full of Holy Week Dayenu moments… and then God, in His awesomeness has chosen to bless me exceedingly, abundantly above all that I could have asked or imagined for.

Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ Lord Jesus Dayenu דַּיֵּנוּ !

New

Is there anything better than the dawning of a new day, a new season, or a new opportunity?

Just a quick fyi… for the next few weeks, I’ll be doing dual-posts on Sunday because some of my absolute favorite people are on the radar for photo link ups and I can’t fit it all in during my week. So on Sundays, Ashley at Scavenger Hunt Sunday (SHS) and Alicia, Kristi, and Rebecca for Leap into Spring will be my feature!

So for this Sunday, instead of the usual SHS post with a variety of pictures, I’m going to give you a themed display… all taken during my I met 5am jaunt down to the Tidal Basin a few weeks ago. Leap into spring for this week has the theme of Sunshine and Light – something that we saw lots of at the Tidal basin.

Life

The sunrise peeking out from behind the trees captivated my attention. I couldn’t get close enough to it…Because this was the shoot, and the precise location that I discovered how light changes a photograph, I lingered here for awhile to see how the light danced around the different objects it was illuminating.

Fragrant

Beautiful but not necessarily fragrant. It is interesting to me how light impacts color and visa versa. If you are shooting bright colors – they reflect the light, whereas darker colors absorb the light. I haven’t yet totally figured out how this all works, but suffice to say – it impacts the way my camera sees light.

Pink

Something that happens here in DC when the Cherry Blossoms arrive? The Tidal Basin turns pink! For my wedding-loving, anything-girly-donning pink heart, Spring in DC makes my photographer’s heart swoon!

Obvious

Take leading lines, variant colors, contrasting shapes, and a door in the middle of nowhere and it is an obvious shot for photographers. All four of us shooting that day stopped on the way back from the Cherry Blossoms to snap the subtle play of the ray of light across the green door under the bridge.

Tomorrow is a pretty big day in my world.

So by the time you are reading this (Tuesday), it will be tomorrow, and the big day will be upon me.

I’ve talked a lot about how the foundations of all I’ve “been knowing” are getting a pretty good shaking… well, that continues today, err, tomorrow, err Tuesday, and I can’t go into a lot of detail yet, but Lord willing, I’ll know more soon and then I can share.

What I can share with you is that I lost another 2.5 pounds and I am at 123 – whoop whoop!

I can also share that sometimes our weight loss journeys (or other types of journeys) that we enter on for “our plan” or “our dream” may have deeper resonating streams of purpose that we cannot even begin to see until we land in the place that God has designed for us.

Clear as mud? Sorry about that. I’ll go into more detail later, I just can’t today, err tomorrow, errr, you know what I mean.

So here is the dealio.

I could really use your prayers today (Tuesday) because it is a really big day. And the biggest thing that I’m beginning to see is that it is not really about me – like really NOT.About.Me- but dang sometimes it feels like me because I’m the one going through it, you know?

But it’s not about me. Not even close. And it’s not about how tomorrow is a big day “for me.” It’s about signing up for a journey where I have relinquished control to a better driver than me, and submitted to a Will that is far wiser than my own, no matter what happens. It is about letting God open my eyes to what I have not yet fully seen because I have chosen to live with blinders rather than binoculars.

***

“This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

Is 58.6-9 MSG

Clouds

Vietnam Veterans memorial. Not a cloud that felt “capturable” in the sky with the exposure and settings I wanted to use, but the reflection on the monument was brilliant. I love how the camera sees in all of its glorious creativity.

Sun Flare

Love the lines in this photo during our adventure down to the cherry blossoms. The lines from the flare, the lines of the bridge, the lines of the tree and then their reflections and shadows on the bridge. A photographer’s leading-line dreamscape!

Seven

This is a little after 7am at the Tidal Basin three weeks ago. It is also the moment that my brain clicked into lock-step on the concept of light for photographers. I know this was the moment because I remember how when the light came around the bend and across the buildings on the other side, it bathed the Jefferson Memorial in a golden hue and completely changed its tonality. I remember because when the light struck the cherry blossoms, they sprung into life. I didn’t need to change any settings on my camera to compensate for lack of light – I just needed to take the picture and capture the moment.

As a photographer, light makes or breaks a shoot – and I had been struggling to “find the light” in a myriad of different scenes asking questions like “where is the light coming from?” “Is the light adequate here?” “How can the light provide the necessary pop for the shot that without it, the shot will be dull and lifeless?” The concept of light simply had been evading me for months… but this… this was THE moment that I started to “see the light” differently… and it has wrecked every.single.photo since this one for me. And I love that.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8.12

High Angle

Sometimes you have to view life circumstances from a higher angle to get better perspective on them. In my life right now, there are a lot of things being “shaken and stirred” if you will – and while this is exciting to see how God might be moving and working – it can also be terrifying. When I look at my circumstances through the lens of my own human frailty, I am undone. But when I can get a higher, better angle on things, God’s angle, it is often easier to see that He might be bringing a brand new day from the rain.

Low Angle

What I love most about this session is that I was not extremely low during this portrait. It’s actually the height and slight keystoning and tallness of the leading lines in the buildings that gives the illusion of a low angle. I didn’t even see this effect when I was taking the picture, which makes it all the more cool during post processing!

Part two of the most fun weekend ever! Click here for part one.

The opportunity to learn and bond with other local photographers, for me, has been priceless.

Worth the cost of any class, or gear, or training.

I believe there is a misnomer in the photography industry that we somehow are not supposed to network and encourage each other – which is why there is so much of a competitive spirit. I’m glad that the crew of us are showing Northern Virginia that things can be different in our photography industry. Things can be better. We can be better… because together we can accomplish so much more than we can alone.

What are you doing to change the industry, organization, or relationship that you are in for the better?