Ana-Marie & William

Everything about this wedding was absolutely beautiful to no faults. I was not just honored to be part of this fabulous union but I was most honored to be graced by two genuinely kind hearted souls who have come together as a whole in the union of love under God and loved family & friends. They've come a far way along the road but most importantly, this day was long awaited. The little details about the wedding itself was made together with alot of time invested and most importantly with so much love. The bride's ideas blossomed and her personality just shined through every eccentric detail that captured her hearts and minds creations. It showed me alot more about her personality and how beautiful she really is both inside and out. And to have been able to celebrate and be a part of this day was more than a blessing that I could ever deserve. Check out the photos below, although it does not even do justice to the beautiful weather and people that filled this place. 

Enjoy,

To Ana & Will!  

Growing up

This weekend I had a great epiphany about my life. The current situations I catch myself in and the way my actions have been affecting my friends and those around me. I've come to step back and re-analyze how my actions and words have been replicating that of my own father. Growing up being raised by my dad allowed me to see the effects of one selfish act or word. That one act and word can leave an impressionable scar in the hearts of those he loves. And now I'm seeing myself placed in the same perspective and realize that I, too, don't even realize that my actions have consequences and that I'm more mistaken for than I'd like to be. What stirs up in my head is not exactly expressed in the way I'd like it to be when I actually do show what I'm thinking or how i am

Feeling. I'm also realizing that I need to start shaping up now for the better and to start figuring myself out. I've acquired a good amount of self actualization material to understand my own personality and needs, wants and desires and future plans. Now, the work of figuring things out has come and I'm embarking on a new journey of self discovery. It's exciting at the same time as kind of annoying. I've become so comfortable where I'm at but I know deep within that this place of stagnancy only prohibits me from moving forward and growing as the woman I'm blooming to be for my future husband, kids and self. I know I'll never have everything figured out all the time and I have to learn how to stop putting that much pressure and guilt on myself for not having everything figured out by now but to learn that everyone has a different timeline and that us as humans are all on the same plane. We're all people who develop and grow. Some who learn faster than others and some who take their time to learn. But in the end we all arrive at the same destination. Entering into heavens doors and walking in the shadow of Jesus. Mimicking his actions and shadowing his words. What would Jesus do? 

Story of my life.

One day...

Life, or something like it.

When faith and reality meet

Coming back home from my mini-getaway to Vegas I'm already met with life face to face. When death comes faster day by day, it's when you start re-evaluating life for what it really is. I'm quite saddened by the fact that life doesn't go on forever and that it's but a blink of an eye. And that's when hope in the life after becomes more of a reality than a hopeless faith. To know that being alive in this world is a gift and a blessing from God but at the same time, to hope for the life that comes after is when faith becomes a strong point in ones life. To hope. To have faith. To know Love. I'm sad she only has a few hours to spare. Yet until the end it is a personal decision to make. To either believe or to continue trying to hold on thinking that this life is it. I think that story where one man lives life faithfully yet another comes at the end and collects the same amount of blessings than that other man. It's the same thing once faith is applied. And I think that's such a beautiful thing. That God accepts and redeems the once lost. And chooses to receive us as we receive him. My faith has been strengthened for the day and I could not be more than grateful...  

Flipping through the chapters

Today I turned another year older. 

Another year wiser. 

Another year to fulfill my life's mission, to make Jesus known and to know Him more. 

Every day of every year I partake in a journey. It's a journey that has twists and turns, and is never a straight way through. Life has a way of teaching me its valuable lessons on the daily, but it also has a way of being gentle and good to me. 

This past year I've learned how to deal with heartbreak, how to heal and how to go through the pain to reach healing. I've also learned what it means to be a friend and to allow friends into my life and inner circle. I've learned how to burst out of my own bubble of a world and to step into the lives of those around me. I've learned how to appropriately express myself with the form of words and to gain a voice. My own voice to the world, that I too am a person and have a voice to be heard. I've learned how to stop being a people pleaser and live in the harmony of my own. Not for the sake of others but for myself. I've learned to say no. And I've learned also to take on only as much as I think I can handle. I've learned that just as I am so very weak that much more I am very strong and that there is no way to have one without the other. I've learned that to give is also to withhold. And that sometimes the best things to be said is to say nothing at all. But most importantly, I've learned that the most valuable thing is the knowledge of knowing my own worth and that I, too, deserve the love of a gentle soul to reach within mine and be pursued and loved. 

That is the next chapter of my life-- 28.