A blank slate. The first page of 2016. Let’s all resolve to choose joy. To choose love. To think the best & do the best for our loved ones even until the point of total self-sacrifice. We want to serve more in 2016. We want to love more freely and pay it forward. We want to give without the expectation of anything in return. We want to help those who have absolutely nothing to offer in return. We want no recognition. We simply want for our daughter to be raised in a home FILLED with love and genuine joy. And those two things- LOVE + JOY- aren’t determined by one’s circumstances, but rather are a choice. A daily choice. Sometimes even an hourly choice. These goals are lofty. To always choose joy & love will be a challenge, and we know that we’ll stumble. We’ll get tired. We’ll be selfish at times. We’re human, of course. But we want to give this our all & be the best examples to Tenley that we possibly can. Will it be difficult to give & give some more when we’re worn out & just want to respond to someone in kind when they’re not the friendliest? Yes. But will it be worth the struggle? Absolutely. A few ways that we hope to choose joy & love in 2016:
- To encourage a new business owner to chase his or her dreams even when those dreams may be in direct “competition” with our business.
- To go out of our way to give genuine compliments to others, especially other creatives and photographers who are honing their craft.
- To love & serve our brides & grooms even more fully while they’re planning their weddings & on their wedding days, and to stay in contact with them well after their wedding days to encourage them in their MARRIAGES.
- To be responsible & proactive in planning our schedule and in taking INTENTIONAL time off from work so that we can be present with our daughter & our family and friends. We’ve definitely learned the hard way that this entrepreneurial lifestyle can take over our free time if we let it & that we have to be the ones to CHOOSE to make time for the people we want to prioritize.
- To be more like Jesus in any way possible. LOFTY goal! He always chose love over everything- jealousy, competition, bitterness, revenge- and being more like his example will certainly help us in setting our best example to Tenley.
- To allow ourselves time to be silly and to laugh and to play without thinking about our student loans or Tenley’s college fund or keeping up with work so rigidly or any of our adult responsibilities. To be more like children. Children do JOY well.
- To dying to our own selfish desires on a daily basis so that we can be open to serving others even if that is something as seemingly small as being a genuine listening ear without simultaneously waiting for our own turn to speak.
- To being open to opportunity that God brings our way even if it wasn’t in our “plan.” God’s plan is best & will ultimately bring us the most joy if we follow it.
2015, you were wonderful! Here’s to a 2016 full of LOVE & JOY!
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Shout out to the amazing Carlyn K Photography for these photos!
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