Photography!

 

Those that know me know that photography is one of my passions. I am a very creative person. I love all kinds of creativity, especially writing, design, and photography. But even interior design I also really like. I am just a creative person by nature, and I love to use colours. I see some designers who keep it neutral and don't use many colours, but I like to use vibrant colours.

Well I on one of my email accounts have my signature for photography. I volunteer at an animal shelter; see a previous blog post for more about my shelter work. However, I responded to the volunteer coordinator and he saw I do photography. I was asked if I could help out to take pictures of pets with Santa. So in November, I will be doing 4 sessions (4 days).

I am excited about that because for so long I wanted to help with photography and am finally getting the chance to do it. I tried reaching out to them numerous times and never had any feedback so I stopped trying to knock on the door. But I am excited to do this.

I also when I went with 4 ladies from the church to a restaurant I like to celebrate my birthday. One of them decided to carpool with us so I showed her my portfolio and she said I was really good. She asked for my links and I sent to her. She sent it to a couple of people, and one of the main people at my church, and when we went there last week for an event, she asked if I would take the photos. I agreed I would.

Your True Identity

 

I just finished Identity 2.0 this past week, and it's something I still need to work on. I have taken the class 2 times now. I will take it again to peel more layers of lies that I have been believing.

My true identity has been hard for me to accept because of the lies I believed for so long. However, I am committed to do what it takes to let my true identity.

Our identity isn't all the labels we pick up on this earth. You may be a mom but that is not your true identity. I know it's hard to separate. I struggle with this too but we need to look at God's word for our true Identity.

I want to soak up as much as I can, such as books, courses, and podcasts, to help shift and realize my true Identity. 

I usually tie in the Identity course and the RLA 2 course in a blog, but today I'm doing it separately. So, for the last class, here are my two takeaways that stood out.

• What God thinks of you should be what you think of yourself
This one is the truth, but it's hard because I think the voice of lies is much louder. It's hard because of our sinful nature; it is hard to just dismiss it, but I know that this is what God is asking of me. To claim and speak truth into my life and believe in what God says about me. When you think of it. If God created you, why wouldn't you want to consider what he says? I know because of sin, this can be tricky, though.

Birthday Reflections

I tend to use birthdays for reflection. Kinda like New Year's, I do it twice, on my birthday and during New Year's. I like to reflect on the year. 

This year we had an unexpected move. It was kinda a whim, but thinking about our prayer call this morning (oct 13), we were reminded that we don't get what we want, we get what we need.

This year, the move was super hard. I liked my surroundings, so many birds, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, coyotes, possums, etc. I had an abundance of wildlife. Since moving, I have not felt as good. I don't see as much wildlife here, and it makes me sad. 

I do feel, though, that the move was necessary, but it has still been a bit hard to pull myself out of the hole. But what I am getting at with all this is we don't get what we want, we get what we need. With the move we were able to pay off debts, buy our current house, plus buy a new car. Its not brand spanking new but pretty close. I see this as a need, not a want.

With God, he doesn't always give us what we want, but what we need. And right now in this part of life this is what we need. I don't know what will happen in this chapter. I don't know what God has in store for us but this is where we are in life. Looking back, I reflect on the move a lot because it's what made up 2025 the most.

I was also diagnosed with PCOS at the end of 2024, and for those that don't know, it's very common in women, and I am seeing more and more women who have it. So what is it? It is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and there is different kinds. I have insulin resistance, which makes it hard to lose weight, and I have gained so much weight. I am trying to be mindful of what I eat and how much, but still I struggle to lose even a pound. I have faith God knows what's going on, and he will help me treat it. I need to listen to him and use him as my compass.

I feel natural would work better for me as I feel the difference with the supplements I take, but I've been on medication, and it's doing nothing for me. I still have so many symptoms and am trying natural options to help it. Will see how that will go. I have this for life now. But if I could manage it and get to a better or functional method, that's my goal.

This year has thrown me so many curveballs. I am really hoping this coming year will be a better year for me. Even years tend to be better than odd years. So here is hoping.

This past year of 43 I did have growth but not as much as I had in the previous year. Still, I have my eyes on growing and deepening my understanding of who God is. In my heart and soul, I want to experience him. It's not just about knowing a bunch of facts. I want to have experiences with him that shift and propel my life.

RLA & Identity week 5

 

RLA Week 5.
This week the topic was resilience, and boy, it's something I am learning that I want to be, but something I have found out is that be careful what you ask for. Cause with God, if you ask to be more resilient, he is going to give more hardships for you to overcome and develop that skill. 

Which one of the points was said and shared during class? 
• Resilience is essential, and we need to develop

This was not a main takeaway, but it was imperative to share. I think resilience is something that every human needs to learn and develop because we all face many kinds of trials. If you are human, you need to learn this, and even animals learn to be resilient. I have observed and witnessed countless dogs and cats that learned to be resilient despite all odds.

The other point that stuck with me was this one.

• Being resilient when hard things happen, you can adapt and use that as a stepping stone to something greater.

Again animals have shown me true resilience, but humans too. You could play victim or you could use what happened to launch you to something greater. I don't know about you but I  want to be someone that uses it a stepping stone to something greater. Even if the obstacle is challenging. I know I need it to develop and grow resiliency.  

 
Identity Week 5
I only have one more week of Identity, and then I will be done with the course. I can't believe how fast this has passed. The end will be next week, and then I will be done with Identity 2.0. However, I still feel there are so many layers I need to address and reveal. There are so many lies I know I believed in and will take time to dismantle. 

This round, besides doing the questions we need to do with our accountability partner, I have just been focusing on affirmations. I know I can do them on my own too but doing them with a live class gives me a sense of accountability. I've been declaring who I am and the enemy is not liking that.

This week, the main takeaway that I had was 
• The only way to stand in your true identity is to begin

We keep wondering oh maybe in a week I can stand in my Identity, at the end of the course, etc. But the only way we can really stand in our true identity is to start. Start claiming and declaring what God says about you. Step into your identity, begin. This really was a reminder to stop procrastinating and to just start.

The other takeaway that kinda sank in more but in a way was more of a reminder was
• You were created for impact. You were created to bring heaven to earth. (kingdom principles)

This one was more of a reminder. God says for us to bring heaven to earth. Or as the prayer says on earth like heaven. So we are to bring heaven to earth.

Activate- Anointed 2025

 

I just finished my company's conference. I was so sad that I wouldn't be able to make it this year, but I was able to because it was all digital. After moving, and for particular reasons, I would not be able to fly to where it was being held. But because it was digital, I didn't have to miss it.

I love my company and the people in it. I sometimes grow in isolation, and this may be why I am not growing leaps and bounds as other people have. Side note and totally unrelated to the theme of this post. I have a tough time making friends and also relationships in general. I have always been someone who needs to observe someone before I can befriend them. So it takes me much longer than the average person.

This year, the conference is always called Activate, but the theme changes. The year I joined Kingdom Alliance, the conference was revival, last year it was dominion, and this year it was anointed. For the first time done digitally a certain way it was a great job. I wanted more but I will go back and listen to the recordings to absorb more.

I really want God to move and work through me and I know a big part is about sharing about this fantastic company. Because of KA, I am a published author, I am back to reviving my blog and using my voice more. Which leads me to what I heard numerous times during the conference and I feel God was speaking to me about what kept repeating was its time to use my voice.

I have always preferred the written form of communication. I still like to get things in written so I can reflect back. I have a hard time retaining things when its just by hearing. I remember more when it's written down, or if I have it written somewhere, I can always go back to read it. This is me, how I learn and retain things.

I feel like God is really nudging me, maybe even poking a little to stop staying silent. While written is my fave form of communication, he wants to use my vocal voice more, too. So to stop hiding in the shadows and get out there. There is also a nudge to stop procrastinating and get started on a project that has been on my mind and that I've been wanting to do since last year. So it's been over a year and I still have not gotten started. It's time to start.

Conditions will never be perfect. I don't need to be perfect to start, but I do need to start to get to perfect (although perfection will never be on this planet). So two things I got from the conference that were not necessarily what they presented, but one, it's time to use my voice, and two, it's time to start on my project.