this is the last video blog from video blogging week!
i'm taking you to ikea, in-n-out, and finally home.
want to see my cranky side, want to see my messy car, want to see my kids annoy me!
it's all packed into this video.
and wednesday (today) while your watching this we'll be loading a plane in l.a., and on our way to the other side of the u.s. to washington d.c.!
so pray for me! pray for sanity!! pray that i don't lose it!!! cause it'll be me, 3 kids, and a husband in wheelchair, all on our way to the coolest (possibly the craziest) school field trip ever!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
It's vlogging, duh!
today in video blogville you'll get to spend the day with us in balboa, followed by beach play with with sarah markley, and wrapped up with dinner in san clemente with good friends steve & melanie (cromwell) crutchfield.
enjoy!
enjoy!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sailing takes me away to wear i'm going, du du dudu du
WARNING! take dramamine before viewing this video!
and again go pop some popcorn.
wait for the video to load.
sit and enjoy!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
video blogging week airs now!
okay so here you go! video blogging week airing not the next week (as mentioned in this video) but the next next week... "many are the plans of a man's heart, but the Lord determines his steps." so my plans changed, all i can do is roll with it! hahahaha...ROLL WITH IT! get it? michael is in a wheel chair...it's so much funnier in my head than it is here on blog post.
so here's what you do-
start uploading the video (it will take a while).
go pop yourself some popcorn.
pull up a cozy chair.
and then enjoy this clip (okay mini-movie) from the monday and tuesday of video blogging week.
so here's what you do-
start uploading the video (it will take a while).
go pop yourself some popcorn.
pull up a cozy chair.
and then enjoy this clip (okay mini-movie) from the monday and tuesday of video blogging week.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
afflictions eclipsed by glory
when i fall in love with a new song it is common for me to marinade myself in it for a week, listening to it again and again, absorbing every part of it. i soak up the instruments, and how they crescendo and decrescendo. i rise and fall with them. i drink in the tone in the artists voice; the tenderness, power, longing, struggle, desire, passion, and message behind each word they sing. as i think over the lyrics i wonder at the writers own story, what beautiful mercy or grace lead them to write such powerful lyrics? and what did that moment of inspiration look like? that moment when the lyrics hit the writer's heart, the moment the pen hit the paper, and the pick strummed the strings on the guitar.
When i fall in love with a song, i become a part of the song. i am grateful that music so beautifully formulates the words and emotions i can not. i am grateful for the many songs that have spoken, healed, rescued, and spoken Truth to me.
last week i was marinading on the song He Love Us.
somewhere around 2:00 a.m. monday a.m. i left the emergency room, and drove the 45 min. home for a little rest. i got in my car and allowed myself to release the emotions i was bravely trying to hold back, but after just a few moments of release the lyrics of He loves Us sweetly covered my thoughts, not allowing me to become overwhelmed with all that had transpired that evening, but drawing me towards resting in the Truth of God's love for me, for michael, and for our family.
As God sang this song over me on the way home I was reminded that earlier that week i had asked Him, "what do the lyrics 'i am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory' mean?'"
and it occurred to me that through the events of the evening God was revealing to me the answer. here we were again in the middle of afflictions, but i was not consumed by the weight of them. i knew (and KNOW) that God is going to use this for His glory. He always does.
And i know that God is going to use this to draw us deeper into relationship with Him, deeper into His love. He is going to lavish His love on us. He always does.
these "afflictions are eclipsed by glory."
Hmmmmm.
And yes, we have been through many "afflictions" in our 13 yrs of marriage; a premature baby, followed by hemorrhaging and hospitalization, the loss of a son, debt, depression, hysterectomy, and other medical issues (to name just a few). BUT as i look back God has ALWAYS been glorified through each affliction, He has ALWAYS drawn us deeper into relationship with Him, deeper into the fullness of His love. And I am grateful for the ways He Loves Us.
Oswald Chambers says, "when we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but Our Lord has right to expect that those who name His Name should have an understanding confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones....There are stages in life when there are no storms, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him."
May we all live in His love, and may our confidence be in Him.
When i fall in love with a song, i become a part of the song. i am grateful that music so beautifully formulates the words and emotions i can not. i am grateful for the many songs that have spoken, healed, rescued, and spoken Truth to me.
last week i was marinading on the song He Love Us.
somewhere around 2:00 a.m. monday a.m. i left the emergency room, and drove the 45 min. home for a little rest. i got in my car and allowed myself to release the emotions i was bravely trying to hold back, but after just a few moments of release the lyrics of He loves Us sweetly covered my thoughts, not allowing me to become overwhelmed with all that had transpired that evening, but drawing me towards resting in the Truth of God's love for me, for michael, and for our family.
As God sang this song over me on the way home I was reminded that earlier that week i had asked Him, "what do the lyrics 'i am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory' mean?'"
and it occurred to me that through the events of the evening God was revealing to me the answer. here we were again in the middle of afflictions, but i was not consumed by the weight of them. i knew (and KNOW) that God is going to use this for His glory. He always does.
And i know that God is going to use this to draw us deeper into relationship with Him, deeper into His love. He is going to lavish His love on us. He always does.
these "afflictions are eclipsed by glory."
Hmmmmm.
And yes, we have been through many "afflictions" in our 13 yrs of marriage; a premature baby, followed by hemorrhaging and hospitalization, the loss of a son, debt, depression, hysterectomy, and other medical issues (to name just a few). BUT as i look back God has ALWAYS been glorified through each affliction, He has ALWAYS drawn us deeper into relationship with Him, deeper into the fullness of His love. And I am grateful for the ways He Loves Us.
Oswald Chambers says, "when we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but Our Lord has right to expect that those who name His Name should have an understanding confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones....There are stages in life when there are no storms, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him."
May we all live in His love, and may our confidence be in Him.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Jesus, Miracles, and Weddings.
Sunday evening we were honored to be guest and photographer at a wedding. The wedding of a godly, delightful, humble young man that we have prayed for and watched grow up. His bride was beautiful, full of the same Jesus he loves.
The wedding was beautiful. Jesus was present. He was in them, on them, spilling out of them. We wanted to participate in the worship that was happening. As a guest at the wedding I was wrapped up in the Beauty and Mystery that enveloped this sweet couple.
As photographer Michael shared that, " It's been such a long time since I've seen a bride with a smile like that, a smile that expresses such joy and excitement for the day and for her future husband. I do a lot of weddings, and unfortunately it is rare to see two people that have this joy. As the photographer so often I have to encourage expressions from the couple, but with this couple it was just there."
After the bride grabbed hold of her new husband for their first married kiss (LOVED THIS!), I made my way up to the reception hall, began visiting, salivating for the cake- made of DONUTS, and anxiously waiting for the rumored choreographed dance by the groomsmen.
However, moments later the mother of the groom and wedding coordinator (both wonderful church family and friends) found and motioned for me, "Michael has fallen, he's hurt, we've called an ambulance."
In an attempt to capture the perfect wedding party photo, Michael had climbed up onto a 6 foot
high rock monument. He described the top of the monument as having a 2ft x 4ft platform, "plenty of space" to position himself. But as Michael's dad wittingly said later, "Michael is the photographer that goes the extra step for you." Michael went the extra step and fell landing on his right hip, and right elbow.
When I found Michael he was sitting, frazzled, and lovingly surrounded by family and the bridal party. By God's strength alone, I put on my strong wife face, and determined to be steady for my husband. It is hard to intimately communicate with your spouse when you are surrounded by people so eager to care for and help. "What do you need?" i asked. "I just need you here," he responded.
At that moment I needed to fix something, anything for Michael. He was broken (physically and emotionally), The camera and lens were broken (a loss we haven't even begun to mourn), and our biggest disappointment was that it seemed to us that the beautiful wedding day had been fractured too. I put my photographer's wife hat on, a replacement photographer was found, and the bridal party was moving forward in the celebration.
We determined that an ambulance wasn't necessary, and made the 45 min. trip to the Emergency room where we discovered that Michael has a fractured right elbow, and a fractured right hip.
On the way to the hospital, finally alone just the two of us, Michael was able to give birth to the emotions he had been laboring to hold back.
"What happened after you fell?" I asked. Michael cried (in 16yrs together this is the 3rd time he has cried), "I don't know, I don't know (more tears). They were all around me, the bridal party, everyone, laying hands on me (more tears)...praying. I don't remember what they said, I remember hearing Rick (the pastor) and Casey (the groom). Denise, Casey was so selfless (more tears)...I have never seen such selflessness."
As I drove guilt started to set in. The guilt that we had left them without their wedding photographer, the guilt that this innocent fall had ruined their beautiful plans, the guilt that we had interrupted the worship of the wedding day. And as we drove the Holy Spirit spoke to me, "Denise, what a beautiful thing that the first act of worship Casey did after his wedding ceremony was to worship Me by healing. Denise, this was written into the day. This too was the offering of worship I wanted today."
Hmmm.
Today as I am writing, I am reminded that Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding (read John 2:1-11). And there at the wedding Jesus "revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him."
Who are we to determine how, where, and when God should be worshiped and glorified. He is God after all.
What a blessing that God chose my husband as part of the offering of worship. What a blessing that God chose to be glorified in this way on this beautiful wedding day.
As for Michael- after spending the evening as the best dressed couple in E.R., Michael was admitted to the hospital Mon. a.m. at 3:00. We waited for the orthopedic surgeon to determine whether or not Michael would need surgery. Thankfully surgery is not necessary. However healing will take much longer. He came home Tues. afternoon with a cast on his right arm, and in a wheel chair. As of now we believe that he will be in a wheel chair for 3-4 weeks, and once the cast is removed from his arm he will be moved to crutches, and will begin rehabilitation and bearing weight on his right leg.
Michael had another wedding scheduled for this coming Sat. We are thankful that God has provided another fantastic wedding photographer to replace him.
Thankfully Michael's upcoming weddings are scheduled for 7-8 weeks from now. Please pray for quick recovery.
Please pray also for God to continue to be glorified, and for all of us to be drawn deeper into His love better than life!
The wedding was beautiful. Jesus was present. He was in them, on them, spilling out of them. We wanted to participate in the worship that was happening. As a guest at the wedding I was wrapped up in the Beauty and Mystery that enveloped this sweet couple.
As photographer Michael shared that, " It's been such a long time since I've seen a bride with a smile like that, a smile that expresses such joy and excitement for the day and for her future husband. I do a lot of weddings, and unfortunately it is rare to see two people that have this joy. As the photographer so often I have to encourage expressions from the couple, but with this couple it was just there."
After the bride grabbed hold of her new husband for their first married kiss (LOVED THIS!), I made my way up to the reception hall, began visiting, salivating for the cake- made of DONUTS, and anxiously waiting for the rumored choreographed dance by the groomsmen.
However, moments later the mother of the groom and wedding coordinator (both wonderful church family and friends) found and motioned for me, "Michael has fallen, he's hurt, we've called an ambulance."
In an attempt to capture the perfect wedding party photo, Michael had climbed up onto a 6 foot
high rock monument. He described the top of the monument as having a 2ft x 4ft platform, "plenty of space" to position himself. But as Michael's dad wittingly said later, "Michael is the photographer that goes the extra step for you." Michael went the extra step and fell landing on his right hip, and right elbow.
When I found Michael he was sitting, frazzled, and lovingly surrounded by family and the bridal party. By God's strength alone, I put on my strong wife face, and determined to be steady for my husband. It is hard to intimately communicate with your spouse when you are surrounded by people so eager to care for and help. "What do you need?" i asked. "I just need you here," he responded.
At that moment I needed to fix something, anything for Michael. He was broken (physically and emotionally), The camera and lens were broken (a loss we haven't even begun to mourn), and our biggest disappointment was that it seemed to us that the beautiful wedding day had been fractured too. I put my photographer's wife hat on, a replacement photographer was found, and the bridal party was moving forward in the celebration.
We determined that an ambulance wasn't necessary, and made the 45 min. trip to the Emergency room where we discovered that Michael has a fractured right elbow, and a fractured right hip.
On the way to the hospital, finally alone just the two of us, Michael was able to give birth to the emotions he had been laboring to hold back.
"What happened after you fell?" I asked. Michael cried (in 16yrs together this is the 3rd time he has cried), "I don't know, I don't know (more tears). They were all around me, the bridal party, everyone, laying hands on me (more tears)...praying. I don't remember what they said, I remember hearing Rick (the pastor) and Casey (the groom). Denise, Casey was so selfless (more tears)...I have never seen such selflessness."
As I drove guilt started to set in. The guilt that we had left them without their wedding photographer, the guilt that this innocent fall had ruined their beautiful plans, the guilt that we had interrupted the worship of the wedding day. And as we drove the Holy Spirit spoke to me, "Denise, what a beautiful thing that the first act of worship Casey did after his wedding ceremony was to worship Me by healing. Denise, this was written into the day. This too was the offering of worship I wanted today."
Hmmm.
Today as I am writing, I am reminded that Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding (read John 2:1-11). And there at the wedding Jesus "revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him."
Who are we to determine how, where, and when God should be worshiped and glorified. He is God after all.
What a blessing that God chose my husband as part of the offering of worship. What a blessing that God chose to be glorified in this way on this beautiful wedding day.
As for Michael- after spending the evening as the best dressed couple in E.R., Michael was admitted to the hospital Mon. a.m. at 3:00. We waited for the orthopedic surgeon to determine whether or not Michael would need surgery. Thankfully surgery is not necessary. However healing will take much longer. He came home Tues. afternoon with a cast on his right arm, and in a wheel chair. As of now we believe that he will be in a wheel chair for 3-4 weeks, and once the cast is removed from his arm he will be moved to crutches, and will begin rehabilitation and bearing weight on his right leg.
Michael had another wedding scheduled for this coming Sat. We are thankful that God has provided another fantastic wedding photographer to replace him.
Thankfully Michael's upcoming weddings are scheduled for 7-8 weeks from now. Please pray for quick recovery.
Please pray also for God to continue to be glorified, and for all of us to be drawn deeper into His love better than life!
Monday, August 10, 2009
postponed
video blogging week has been postponed.
my husband fell. fractured his right elbow, and his right hip.
there is so much to share, but right now i am too tired.
but before i go, God is very very good, i am overwhelmed by How He Loves Us.
my husband fell. fractured his right elbow, and his right hip.
there is so much to share, but right now i am too tired.
but before i go, God is very very good, i am overwhelmed by How He Loves Us.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
video blogging week, part 2 coming next week!
i am in newport beach this week.
i will be home friday.
fun is in store for you as next week is video blogging week!
i am recording this week, and videos will air next week after they have gone to editing ( meaning my husband michael has to edit and load them, i have no idea how to do any of that).
i look forward to sharing the fun with you!!
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