“When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” John 6:16-20 This morning I was reading this passage and so many different gems began jumping off the page at me, just begging me to share them with others. If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have witnessed my mini freak-out session this morning. I promised that I would write a blog post about it for you guys, so here it is!
So a little background to this story for you: this whole scene happened after Jesus fed the five loaves and fishes to the ten thousands (John 6:1-15); the people were so thankful for what he did and they suddenly realized without a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah. It says that Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, so He snuck away before they could (6:15). That’s where this passage comes in. Later that night (because it was probably awhile before the disciples themselves could escape), Jesus’ friends were taking the boat back to Capernaum and Jesus still hadn’t showed up. Okay, this is where all of the gems begin coming in! First gem: It says that the sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing, and then after a few miles they ran into Jesus (not literally). This indicates that the wind was coming from Jesus, and to me that can only mean that the wind was strong because it was the Holy Spirit (fun fact: the Greek word for wind is also the same word used for Spirit). I can only imagine how strong that wind was when they actually reached Jesus. Also, let’s not forget that Jesus was walking on water. That’s kinda cool. Second gem: Jesus’ friends properly freaked out when they saw Him walking on water and He had to calm them down by telling them who He was - “It is I, do not be afraid” (6:20). But the gem I found in this is that Jesus was the center of the storm, He was in the midst of it. Even though it was probably terrifying for His friends, He was right there with Him, something to remember when we’re going through hard times. Third gem: The passage ends with John telling us that as soon as they took Jesus into the boat that “immediately” they were where they were going. To me that sounds like teleportation which is p-r-e-t-t-y cool if that was the case! But also, it means that when we take Jesus in then we will immediately be where we need to be - because He’s where we always need to be! Dude, I’m so excited about this right now. So cool. I hope this was as refreshing and exciting for you guys as it was for me, if you guys want to hear more of my thoughts on God and His word please let me know! Happy almost weekend!
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Thank you so much Joanna for wanting me to take your Senior photos! I hope you enjoy your time in California and keeping following God wherever He leads you! Congratulations! 3 days and counting. Thank you so much Brandon and Shannon for asking me to take your Senior photos! You're my favorite twins to work with! Congratulations guys! I know you're both going to be successful in whatever you do and I can't wait to see all of the things you do!
4 days and counting! Thank you so much for asking me to take your grad photos, Rachel, I had so much fun!
As a creative, I want to succeed in my work. As a photographer, I want to produce quality images that my clients will love. As an entrepreneur, I want to stay in the game until I retire. I cannot do all of these things by myself without running myself (and my business) into the ground. Without the support and encouragement of those around me, it would be near impossible to keep going. Community is so important to me. One thing I’ve learned over the past year is this: by surrounding yourself with other creatives, you can only win. You have so many opportunities to learn from each other, whether it be from mistakes or accomplishments, you can always learn something. And learning is the key to success. So, if you want a successful business then surround yourselves with the other creatives around you. Community over Competition is a beautiful thing. Elena and I met a few years ago when we worked at summer camp together. At the time, I didn’t know very much about her, but a couple of years later she messaged me saying that she thought she was ready to start charging people for sessions. She wanted my opinions on her work and thoughts on its worth. When she sent me to her website, I couldn’t understand why she was even debating the matter - she was already at pro level! Since then, she’s only grown in her skills and the quality of her work and I really enjoy seeing all that she posts. This week the two of us actually got to get together for a cup of coffee and a mini portrait session after four years. It was so refreshing to be able to sit down with another creative and talk about life, business, and everything in between. This is why I want to encourage you to find another creative to connect with. It is so so good for you, in every way. If you’re not sure where to start looking, check out The Rising Tide Society. This is the heart of their brand. We found an adorable coffee shop in St. Joseph, MI for our get together: The Broad Street Cafe. So cute! If you want to see Elena's work, visit www.elenacornwell.com! // If you're a creative in the area, and you want to connect, then contact me here!
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About MeLifestyle photographer. Hopeless romantic. I love how God loves weddings as much as I do. :) Archives
December 2016
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