Hurry!

I wish I was better about stopping to smell the roses.

Most of my life is spent rushing around. It's the way I like it. I didn't notice that most people do not set such a pace until one evening a few years ago. My mom had company over and we were both working in the kitchen to prepare dessert when I noticed we were running around...literally. It was if an egg timer was quickly ticking away and if we didn't deliver dessert before it sounded, the kitchen would explode.

I remember making a comment at the time, and both my mom and I shared a laugh, yet we continued on in our busy way.

So some of it is learned. Yet I am convinced that a lot of it is just how I am wired.

I can remember walking the walls oh High School, and my fellow classmates would ask me in passing, "Where is the fire?"

I also walk fast...very fast...by nature. It pains me to be stuck in a slow-moving crowd, and I would rather walk backwards or carry very heavy objects to slow myself down rather than just slow my pace. One of Kristi's biggest pet peeves us when I walk ahead of her, but my natural pace carries me along and before I know it, I'm several feet ahead of her. I have to concentrate and try really hard to walk slow.

All this to say, I have a hard time relaxing, and it's not a wonder why. I like to keep things moving, and even while I am doing one thing, my mind is already anticipating the next step. I get bored very quickly, so switch between projects often. Even my alone time is planned. I am not regimented by nature, but I like to anticipate, so if I can plan on grabbing a coffee later in the afternoon, or taking time for a bubble bath to start a new book, or take a bike ride in the evening (all loner yet enjoyable and somewhat relaxing actitivties), I am as happy as a puppy. But if my schedule is thrown off by something not quite as exciting, I become irritated. If it is something better, I welcome the spontaneous interruption.

So tonight was very unscheduled in my world. Usually I decipher open nights in terms of what, on my agenda, will or will not get done. This doesn't mean I may not get side-tracked or completely change my mind, but like I said, I like to anticipate. And truly, there is always a sense of urgency with each planned activity.

My mom and I grabbed dinner in EP, then I drug her into PetSmart to buy personalized name tags for my cats. When we got home, the evening had cooled to a nice sunny breeze, so I sat outside and assembled my cats' new collars.

As I did so, I couldn't help but realize that time was not a stresser for me tonight... and that is rare. My family used to call me a motor mouth because when younger, I would talk really really fast, trying my hardest to saying everything I wanted to say before someone interrupted or stopped listening. That's how I often feel about time. Like it's going to run out before I can get it all done, hence the sense of urgency.

Anyway, I noted how enjoyable it was to sit outside and enjoy the evening, not letting a to-do list or extraneous responsibilities kill the moment. I thought of how it is all just a mind game. Because when I am on vacation or in a place where I know that time is all I have, I find I can enjoy easier. But everyday life doesn't allow such luxury. It beckons with a schedule, a list of projects, and endless distractions.

My lesson learned for tonight is to take time to smell the roses... and not literally of course, because that would put a cramp in my walking style. Yet even if a brisk walk is exactly what I need, I should learn to fit it in without such a stressful anticipation of the next step in life. I love the feeling of getting lost in relaxation... not to the expense of throwing responsibility to the wind, but to the benefit of pure enjoyment of the moment at hand.

Love you all!

T

Learning to Accept

**The following are some thoughts I have regarding a current situation in my life. Without getting into the “what,” I wanted to share the “how God is working” part.**

The crying always catches me off guard.

Maybe it’s because deep down, I don’t feel like it is something that I should cry about. So when the tears do come, they stream down my face abashedly uninvited.

Yet it makes me sad, and the recipe for tears is sadness.

There are so many other worst-case scenarios. No one is dying. No one is moving away. No one is choosing an alternative lifestyle.

It’s just that a decision is being made—one that unintentionally but ultimately causes hurt. I can put it into perspective. I can exercise my use of rationale. I can believe from the bottom of my heart that this is truly what they feel God wants them to do. But all those things don’t take away the hurt and the sadness. It just doesn’t.

Through it all, it has shown me that God works in ways that are personal to each individual, and the way He works for one person is not necessarily the way He works for another. I can’t always understand why Person A can drop their life and move away to a foreign country to do missions. I can’t always understand why Person B chooses to stay in his boring job and use that as a mission field. I can’t always understand why Person C feels comfortable where she is, and why Person D moves on to another place. The point is, I am not Person A, B, C, or D. I’m Taryn. Jesus speaks to me personally through our relationship together, and no one else is in on that. My job is to follow Him as He leads me.

The way He leads me may never make sense to another, and it may be a beautiful thing to someone else. The point is, I can’t spend my whole life doubting others and their choices or claiming it is faulty because I don’t understand. Sometimes, my job is not to understand, because it’s not my decision to understand. At the end of the day, we all make decisions for better or for worse, and it is up to each of us as an individual in our own personal relationships to Christ as we make those decisions. Some people have an amazing source of wisdom in family and friends, and some people do not, but one thing we all have is the source of Truth—the Word—and God as our guide.

I can write and know all this in my heart. But I still miss them, and I always will.

God works in mysterious ways, and in the end, Truth & Love WILL reign. May we all show Love in the best way we know how while we live on Earth.

**As I have progressed on this journey, I have found certain treasures to be helpful to me along the way. One was found in one of my favorite devotional books called “Jesus Calling.” I will share its words:

“When things don’t go as you would like, accept the situation immediately. If you indulge in feelings of regret, they can easily spill over the line into resentment. Remember that I am sovereign over your circumstances, and humble yourself under My mighty hand. Rejoice in what I am doing in your life, even though it is beyond your understanding.

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Me you have everything you need, both for this life and for the life yet to come. Don’t let the impact of the world shatter your thinking or draw you away from focusing on Me. The ultimate challenge is to keep fixing your eyes on Me, no matter what is going on around you. When I am central in your thinking, you are able to view circumstances from My perspective.”

I have found that keeping Christ at the center of my thinking drastically changes my attitude and perspective. God is teaching me over and over that the only way to attain true peace and joy in my own life is to take my “self” out of the way. Self wants what self wants, and self gets easily confused and swayed by emotion and circumstance. But God guides, and when I let him take control, all else falls into place.

One promise I love about our God is that He has the “grand scheme plan” figured out… and with that, our best interest at heart. The situations we find ourselves in can’t and won’t always make sense. After all, we serve a God so much bigger than ourselves… who are we to think we can understand Him and His ways? It’s a foolish thought. So with that in my mind, I look ahead to the future where I know God has so many wonderful things in store, all orchestrated by events, actions, and circumstances that surround me now.

May God be glorified in and through it all!

Love you all,

T

How it All Began

Tonight I was reflecting. Kristi and I were driving home from an engagement shoot, and right before we got into the car, she announced, "Tonight during the shoot I made a decision to change 2 things in our business."

She was half-sarcastic, half-no-nonsense. I knew she wouldn't make an executive decision without my input, but at the same time, I usually agree with her decisions. That's why we work so well together. :)

Anyway, her dramatic pronouncement caused me to think about our business and how much it has changed over the past several years.

It all began one evening about 6 years ago. We were sitting at a restaurant, what was then called Brick Oven, and we were eating dinner together. At that point in our lives, we were both in college and having fun attaining our degrees. Work was part-time and secondhand in our lives, and neither of us knew what our futures would hold.

Over the past few months before that point, my mom, with her entrepreneurial spirit, had been planting the seed in my mind... "Taryn, why don't you start a graphic design business? You could do it on the side, and design all sorts of things for people..."

I remember looking at Kristi from across the table and telling her, "So I think I'm going to start a business."

"What kind of business?" Kristi asked.

"A graphic design business," I told her. "You know... design Christmas cards, invitations, logos... stuff like that."

Kristi's face turned serious and she leaned across the table. "Taryn," she told me, "You can't start this business without me." She said it as if to do so would put an end to the world... as if, since I had not originally included her in the business plan, I must be crazy.

I smiled. Always a fan of teamwork and having a sidekick to turn to, I told her, "We can do it together."

And so began the our journey of starting our business together, which was then geared towards graphic design.

One Saturday, we sat in her basement with a pad of paper and pen in hand, trying our best to agree upon a business name.

After about 30 minutes of throwing out ideas, I started to get silly.

"Purple Rainbow," I said. "Poptart Design. Because there are 2 poptarts in every package... and there are two of us."

After compiling a list of several creative words, we finally came up with our first business name: Two Peas in a Palette.

Within days of sending out our very first advertising mailer, the response was wonderful. Among other small projects, we were honored to take part in helping Apostolic Christian Restmor come up with a new logo design for their Frank Lloyd Wright-esque building that was being built at the time.

The next year or so brought about a very lucrative "Christmas" season for us in which we designed a lot of Christmas cards. Other small projects gave us a great side-business during our college careers.

After college, we both went our separate ways for a year, growing professionally in other careers while sustaining the small side-business. Sprinkled into the graphic design projects was the occasional family photo or senior. During the Fall of that first year out of college, we shot our very first wedding. Kristi's cousin was getting married, so she agreed to let us take her wedding pictures.

Around that same time, business began to pick up, and we were faced with a decision. My mom, ever the catalyst, pumped enough courage into me to quit my current full-time job (which was a steady paycheck but not creatively challenging or a promising future career) and take the dive into our business full-time.

I worked that Fall and Winter full-time with our business out of the basement of my parents' home, while Kristi kept her full-time job and would join me after work or on weekends to keep everything rolling.

That Spring, we shot 2-3 more weddings and as our year started to book up with more weddings and photo sessions, Kristi also made the decision to quit her job full-time and join in the fun.

From there, we made a lot of important changes. We rebranded ourself, changing our business name to Imagine Artists and launched a brand new website. We also decided to focus more on photography and grow in that field professionally.

After our first year in business out of the basement, we had an amazing opportunity that following Fall to rent out a space in downtown Morton. We established our very own storefront and housed some of my mom's cute trinkets and treasures in the front to draw people in for both of our benefit.

Shortly thereafter, Lulu's came to town and my mom moved out and across the street, giving us the opportunity to make full use of our space and continue to grow. We were in our bright yellow office for a year before the building on the corner of Main St. and Jefferson St. caught our eye.

I can remember peeking in the windows with Kristi. When we had been in the basement, we had dreamed of a storefront, but now that we had a space, we dreamed of more room + the ability to have a studio.

"It would be PERFECT," we said, stalking the interior of the place from behind the glass window as cars drove by behind us. "We need to check it out."

We called the phone number on the sign and got a tour pronto. And we were right... it WAS perfect. It was split up exactly as we needed it to be, and it was also a beautiful building with tons of character in the best location possible.

We said yes.

Our photography business currently resides in this building, and our most recent change has been to focus entirely in photography as a studio. We are definitely still in love with natural lighting photography and exploring all of the wonderful options the great outdoors bring us... and even the window-side locations on rainy days. Additionally, we LOVE having our (small) studio in which we can shoot babies and children.

As photographers, we also both still share our passion of graphic design and use those talents as they apply to photography. We take a lot of time making our albums, coffee table books, collages, invitations, etc. to be as unique and custom-made as possible, making each a creation all its own. No two designs are ever the same, and we capitalize on being able to use the images we capture in our design work.

Getting to sit in downtown Morton on the busiest intersection and greet customers as they set foot in our OUR business... it brings me such joy. Sometimes, I know people look at us funny and think we are way too young to be business owners. In fact, just the other day, two older men walked in and had to clarify that we were, indeed, the right ones to speak with for decision-making :) but I look at that and count it yet another blessing among many others.

All along the way, God has had His hand in this in such an evident way that we would be blind not to see His working. First of all, anything we have ever needed has been supplied in a heartbeat. I just read in one of my devotionals about how "delay is not denial," and while that was comforting to me in others areas of my life, where business is concerned, God has not delayed a thing! His awesome provision has been amazing on this journey.

Furthermore, he has taught us both such big life lessons in just 3-4 short years. Over time, Kristi and I have learned how to be best friends AND business partners. I would be dishonest to say that it isn't a challenge. Just like anything else in life worth working hard for and trusting in God with... it has its ups and down, its peaks and valleys, and its pluses and minuses. But I can truly say that in it and through it all, God has taught us one of the biggest lessons we will learn in life, and that is how to love unconditionally and in spite of someone else's mistakes. We wouldn't be where we are today without God's Love in both of our hearts, and our willingness to give and take.

I can assure you that there are few people as different as Kristi and I. We are so different. Yet we always say... it is the differences that meet in the middle and make us a dynamic team of two. We have found a way to mesh her strengths and my strengths to grow our business, and to work out the weaknesses of us both and compensate with our different personalities.

God is good! When I went to Africa a year ago, the little orphans would chant that phrase every morning: God is good! It is true, and as long as I wake up every morning and say that... on the sunny days, and on the gray days... I can remember that is IN Him and THROUGH Him that IA is what it is.

Love you all!

T

Easter

I figured out what my problem is. It's not that I wouldn't love to update you all fairly often. It's just that a) I have a terrible, terrible memory and b) due to my terrible memory in which, if I don't make a point to remember my life and every clever thing that occurs, I have nothing to write about.

Well, unless I'm in an inspirational mood... which doesn't just happen at a moment's notice.

I've decided that this is why God made me a photographer. Without pictures, I wouldn't be able to keep track of anything that happens.

So, I shall default to my usual cop-out: my life in pictures. Here is our Easter celebration w/the fam:

Tonya made these adorable cupcakes for the kids.
After several years of family get-togethers with multiple children, we got smart and figured out that it's best to have TWO desserts: one for the adults, one for the kids.

The adult dessert. :) Beautiful, and again, made by Tonya.

At age 25, YES, I am still getting an Easter basket. I'm not complaining!

The hectic kid's area-- dinner time.

The less-crazy adult table.

Easter egg hunt for the toddlers

Post-Easter egg hunt for the older kids

All the ladies

Reaching for an egg

More unveiling...

What are cousins for?

Beau- such a silly boy

Until next time...

Love you all!

T

Crazy Mode

I have been MIA... and for that I apologize. Life is busy!

The first topic I will address is the weather. I had hoped that April would bring sunnier skies and warmer weather. Instead, it is bringing what the age-old adage tells us... "April showers." I can only pray that it will bring May flowers!

Secondly, I am beyond excited that Leaves 'n Beans will be going in just down the street from our studio. I love love loved the mocha ice cap drinks that I used to get at Sweet Treats 'n Coffee Too, but since their closure a couple of months ago, I hav been living off of more infrequent Starbucks and the occasional Eli's drink. Or, the instant coffee I make at home. All do the job, but I am thrilled to introduce a fun little downtown place that will offer salads, soups, sandwiches, desserts, and of course, coffee. :)

Third. I anticipate my life will only get busier from here on out, but I will try to update more often.

4. I am currently a bit attached to The Nanny, which is a 90's sitcom starring Fran Drescher. I am not sure why, but I find this show full of a lot of comic hilarity. As I have expressed in the past, I don't even really like TV all that much but in a moment of weakness about a week ago, I curled up on the couch late at night and watched "Nick @ Nite." A back-to-back episode of The Nanny was on, including the pilot show, so I was intrigued and started watching it from season 1.

Fifth. Easter is this weekend! I always love celebrating this holiday... and am looking forward to being with the family. The family units have been in and out of Florida over the past few weeks, so it's been awhile since the whole fam has been together.

Furthermore, my lovely friend Heather is home from CO this weekend. I am also looking forward to helping throw a baby shower for my cousin and her sweet little girl, Rosie. Also on the calendar is an order session, and engagement session, prison ministry on Sunday morning, and doing a part in the Easter saga for the Sunday School. Oh yes, I also have to make breakfast pizzas for Saturday and an egg casserole for Sunday.

If this stresses you out, don't worry. I was recently talking to Kristi... it was on a day when we were running from one thing to the other.

"I hate this," she told me. "I don't like feeling rushed. I feel very out of control. It's not good."

I am the opposite. i LOVE to rush from one thing to the other. I mean, maybe "love" is the wrong term. It's just that I feel at my best when I'm up and running... I start to procrastinate and waste time when I have too much of it on my hands :) I am the most productive while in crazy mode.

Well... off to the next thing. See-- point in case: I got around to writing a blog post on one of the BUSIEST nights I've had in awhile... it's just the way I roll.

Meanwhile, it's time for a snack soon! So I best run...

T

Craft Time

I have never considered myself a crafty person. At all.
Creative-- yes. But crafty? Unfortunately, I did not get the "sewing" gene from my mom. Anything that is hands-on and tactile presents itself a challenge to me. I can visually "see" things and I can put colors & styles together, but when it comes to "making," I struggle.

More than once, I am wearing a funky shirt or toting around a crazy bag and people will stop me and say, "Nice purse-- did you make that?"

No a chance.

Like I said, I can pick it out. I just can't make it.

Anyway, all that to say... I recently came across something I CAN make! And if I can handle it, chances are that most of you can, too. :)

A few weeks ago, Kristi and I needed a way to make the tree branches in our IA windows look more "Spring-y." We looked online for some easy ways to make flowers. Long story short, we achieved our goal with minimal heartache.

This inspired both of us to continue on the flower-making for our own personal use. You spend $15-$20 on a flower pin for your shirt or hair at a store, so why not make your own for much cheaper? This is the other thing: I'm usually not one to think that way. I'm the girl who usually says, "I'd much rather buy what I like and be done with it rather than going to all the trouble to make anything."

However! After seeing that flower-making isn't too terribly hard, I did a little bit of research and found a flower I really like. You can make each petal out of a different fabric, which appealed to me as I like to mix & match and be colorful.

A week ago today, I found myself in JoAnn's Fabric (Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays). I have been in there with my mom before, but I'll admit-- I was a little overwhelmed and lost. The goal was to purchase some fabric. I must have circled the store about 5 times before I finally found some fabric that appealed to me. I picked it up, but still felt confused. How much to get? And what if I didn't like it? What if I wanted more options??

After collecting a few more fabrics, I was about to give up. This wasn't panning out as I had hoped. It was then that I spotted them: fabric quarters. They were EXACTLY what I was looking for: several colors, styles, and patterns of fabric folded up onto a cardboard square. There were bountiful options, and the best part is that they were inexpensive, so rather than buying a half yard of only a few fabrics, I could purchase a bunch of fabrics for cheaper! After my discovery, I had a heyday picking out all my favorite colors and patterns.

SO, after coming home with my fabric and reading the instructions carefully, I picked up my needle & thread and made my very own flower. Not without pictures, of course.

In case you want visuals so that you can try this on your own, here it is...

Supplies
Needle & Thread

Fabric-- a variety of scraps

Scissors

Circular object

Fabric marker

Buttons, beads, gems, and embellishments

Hot glue gun

Hair clips/pins

{Step 1}

Choose 5 fabrics you want to use. (Or choose 2-3 if you want to keep every other petal the same).

{Step 2}

Using your circular object (I used a large lens cap), trace a circle on each piece of fabric and cut them out. *If your fabric isn't already flat, iron it to get out all the wrinkles.

{Step 3}

You should now have 5 circles of fabric. Choose one. Fold it in half, and then in half again.

{Step 4}

Thread your needle. With it, sew a gather stitch (stitch in and out, leaving a nice gab b/t stitches) along the circular (rounded) portion of your folded fabric.

{Step 5}

Gently pull your thread so your first petal forms. Fold your second piece of fabric twice, and continue a gather stitch along that fabric's rounded edge, attaching it to the first petal.

{Step 6}

Continue this process until you have all petals attach. Gently pull the thread so all petals are formed and tight. Finish it off by connecting your last petal with your first.

{Step 7}

You should now have a flower that looks like this:

{Step 8}

Time to embellish. With a hot glue gun, glue a button in the center and add any other buttons/sparkles/beads as you wish.

{Step 9}

Glue a hair clip or pin to the back.

{Step 10}

Voila! This is your finished product.

I like to wear mine in my hair. You can glue a hair clip AND pin on the back if you wish to use it for both hair & clothes.

Love you all!

T

Green is on the Way!

Another Friday afternoon update.

I have been feeling a bit un-clever lately. With the exception of yesterday afternoon. I was just coming off my afternoon-coffee "high" and purchased a "Pep Upper" smoothie,

"With half the amount of caffeine, please."

A smoothie named "Pep Upper" is bound to have a dose of that.

Well. Caffeine is caffeine, and I had already had my fair share. After slurping down half of it, Kristi and I were sitting in the parking lot waiting for our senior to arrive for our photo session. Suddenly, everything turned hilarious, including myself. I laughed at everything I said. Kristi wasn't impressed.

Anyway, I don't make a habit of that. I really didn't think about it until it happened. I usually try to limit myself. (i.e. 1 soda a day. 1 coffee a day. etc.) And generally, I do a pretty good job. Except for days like yesterday.

So, for a week there, I was starting to get used to what Spring could feel like. One evening, I even took a bike ride. I love bike rides. Of course, I had to swallow my fear of wiping out again (it was about this time last year that I had my near-fatal crash). That doesn't stop me from wearing headphones, but I do still sport my pink & purple helmet (the one I purchased at Walmart after the incident-- in the kids' aisle). And yes, I strap my helmet OVER the headphones. Not the safest option, but it just makes me that much more aware visually, not to mention that if I DID fall, at least my head would be padded.

Hunger is creeping in... supper time is near. So I will close with a picture that I took at a recent family event. This was one of those too-good-to-be-true days in March where the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and everyone wore t-shirts outside. The grass even looked greener.



Enjoy your weekend!

Love you all- T

Friday's 5

I want to update, but it's Friday afternoon at 5:30 and my brain is mostly fried from the week. So the goal is optimal viewer satisfaction with minimal provider effort. Solution: post pictures.

Here's to a Friday's Five... I love taking pictures of my family, and I love capturing the fun moments that somehow seem a lot more packed with action when caught on camera than in real life. But hey... that's the joy of locking a split second away in time forever. The candid emotions make you feel like you're a part of it. Here is the selection... if you feel so moved, you may comment on your favorite!

(These are extracted from the photos of a recent family birthday celebration).

Pass It On

The day we left Florida, we connected with the guy who owned the house we stayed in.

"Give any of your leftover groceries to Ted," he told us. "He'll love them."

Ted was our next door neighbor. He was in charge of turning our Cable TV on and off, and he always had a 3-4 cars in his driveway at a time. He was usually outside working on something.

As we were all packing up, I grabbed the plastic sack of leftover groceries and crossed the yard.

"Hi Ted," I greeted. "Here is some food we had left-- you can have it," I told him.

"Thank you!" He was grateful.

Standing in the driveway with him was a friend.

"You girls were here visiting?" he asked.

"Yes, headed back home shortly, though," I told him.

"Oh, well you have a nice trip," he told me, "and God bless you."

"Thanks!"

As I turned to walk away, he called to me, "Wait..."

I turned.

"I have a gift for you, before you leave," he said, reaching into his back pocket. He took out a small pamphlet and handed it to me. I flipped it over and read the title: Do You Know for Certain that you have Eternal Life?

I smiled. "Well, I already know the Lord," I told him, "But I will be sure to pass this along to someone else."



"You do that!" he told me.

I was headed to the airport, so I was sure I would meet someone.

We ended up with plenty of time. After an amazing chicken parmigiana bagel sandwich, a Starbucks, and a game of Euchre, it was time to board the plane. Nothing monumental happened. We were flying Southwest, so there was no assigned seating. Unfortunately, we were one of the last groups to board, and seating is frist-come-first-serve, which meant we headed toward the back.

As a group of 4 young girls, we had to split up 2 and 2. In the back was a group of 5 men in their 40s-50s who were just flying him from a golfing trip in Florida. It was clear that they were extremely intoxicated.

They had to spread out, as well, and one of the guys ended up sitting right by me. I knew he wasn't completely aware of everything he was disclosing, but I did learn a lot about him-- we talked about his kids, his job, his life. We talked for at least 30-40 minutes. At one point, he looked over at Leah, who was sitting beside me by the window, and frowned.

"What are you reading over there?" he asked.

"I'm doing a bible study," she answered.

"Ah."

"We're Christians," I told him. "Do you go to church anywhere?"

"I'm Catholic," was his answer.

Seeing this as my opportunity to learn more about his beliefs, I asked, "What do Catholics believe?" merely out of curiosity.

With that one question, his entire demeanor changed, even within the state he was in.

"No, no, no," he told me nervously. "I'm not going there," he said.

"I was just asking the question," I told him.

He proceeded to tell me a story that didn't make a lot of sense at the time, but looking back, I know he was trying to express that the only encounters with Christians that sticks out to him are situations that seemed hypocritical. He quickly welcomed a subject change, however.

A little later, we were talking about cops.

"You would be a good cop," he told me, pointing.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because," he said, "You were drilling me earlier."

"Drilling you?"

"Yeah. About religion."

I don't consider asking one question as "drilling," yet it was clear he was uncomfortable with the topic.

"I'll tell you what-- I have a gift for you," I told him.

"A gift?"

"But I can't give it to you know, because I can't get to my purse. I'll give it to you later."

He fell asleep for the last half of the flight and I really didn't talk to him again until we deplaned.

Everyone made their way to the baggage claim, and I spotted him in his group. I wanted to say good-bye and see if there was still a good opportunity to share with him. I walked over and thanked him for sitting by me, and I was met with a hug.

"And here," I said, holding out the pamphlet. "Someone just gave this to me, and I told them I knew the Lord so would pass it along."

"Thank you," he said, and smiled.

---

So often, I think we measure our spirituality or witnessing efforts in terms of results. If we didn't walk the person through John 3:16 or sign them up for baptism, we feel like our efforts were meager. If we don't "make someone a Christian" on the spot, then we failed.

That's all wrong. The power to save a life lies not in our hands. God saves-- we are just the messengers. And a messenger doesn't necessarily have to verbalize everything. A messenger can deliver a louder message by saying nothing at all, at times, than by talking.

I recently received a letter from one of the prisoners that I write, and on the outside of the envelope, she wrote the quote: The greatest sermon you will ever preach is the one you have lived!

What do people see from my life?

We may not all be there when a person decides to accept Christ in their life-- each person has their own unique testimony made up of many circumstances and people that brought them to the breaking point. That's OK. If being the "messenger" who delivered a pamphlet on salvation to a 45-year-old on an airplane gets him one step closer to interest in Christianity, then I am excited to see how God uses it. It may not come to fruition tomorrow, next year, or even within the next decade... but maybe it helped plant a seed or water the one that was there.

God has a way of working in and through people to carry out His purpose... and although some things seem so small and futile to us, nothing escapes His attention and master plan.

While in FL

Today was the first day back from my week-long vacation in Florida. While it was lovely, and by lovely, I mean: sunny skies, sand & water, eating out, and fun with girls... by the end of the week, I was ready to return. I love a good trip, but am usually itching to return to real life at some point. It doesn't take away from the fun I had, it's just a good sign that I love the life I lead away from my vacations so much that it's not a terrible thing in which to return. :)

Every vacation teaches me new lessons. Here were my FL finds:

It's All Relative

I couldn't stop using this phrase the whole week. While I feel it can be widely overused, it is so true in so many cases. "It's relative" can apply to a lot of things. For instance, morning coffee. My morning coffee consists of an instant Starbucks packet + a dash of cinnamon mixed with instant hot water, poured into a ceramic cup. Leah's morning coffee is a Diet Coke. Both give us the caffeinated start we so desire... so whether you drink SB or DC, it's all relative, right?

Now of course, my coffee choice changes if a drive-thru Starbucks is within range...

SPF

I love the sun. At times, I underestimate it's power. On Day 1 of the Florida beach, I lathered up with a generous amount of SPF, which in hindsight, was probably not strong enough for the first day, only once. No reapplications. No second thoughts.

Until we returned home that evening and saw the aftermath... then I used SPF 50 and 70 on certain areas the rest of the week. And the day before I came home, I was peeling everywhere.

There is a consequence for every area of your life you don't protect...

I Still Love Birds

It's true. I'm not sure what it is about birds, but I do love the ones that live on the beach. One day, I even fed them part of my PB&J. My first experience on the beach was in Siesta Key when I was 5 years old. There is a picture of me jumping up into the air and feeding the birds bread. I am including it below to see that in 20 years, not much has changed...

Sunsets are a Big Deal

In Florida, if you are on the beach during a sunset, it is like any big Hollywood Premier. Cameras are out, people are watching, and when the sun goes down... everyone claps.

"Pelicans : Water" are like "Taryn : Dessert"

You all thought that I loved dessert and would do anything for it. You may have even thought I was the only one this crazy about getting good food. Think again. I have some competition: pelicans. I had the opportunity to watch pelicans go after their meal, and it was quite the show. All at once, from their spot in the sky, they eye their prey and then nose dive at high speeds, splashing into the water to catch what they see. Similar to how I spot a peanut butter pie dessert on the menu, flag down the waitress, and order it immediately.

Ice Cream Tastes Better on the Beach

I have eaten ice cream in February in Central IL, and I have eaten ice cream in February on Siesta Key Beach. The beach wins.

Friends are Fun

Friends are fun while eating, dancing, driving, and walking. Friends are fun in Illinois, friends are fun in Arizona, friends are fun in Florida. Friends are fun anywhere you go, but especially when you're on vacation.

Love you all!

T