Thirty Five & Oaks

“We craft photographs that will remind you not only what your life looked like, but what it felt like; Documenting the radiance of your mundane + the heartbeat of your story.”

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Hi hi hi. Fun-extreme-discount-kinda-things are dropping to all my email list subscribers tonight and tomorrow morning. Want in? *Drop your email in the comments*

I'm eating a homemade Amish sweet roll right now... /////// Good wedding food makes all parties involved happy. Ok? Ok. In all seriousness, August hit the ground running. Coming back from camps and trips with so much more to process makes entering into wedding season and office work and client meetings a little daunting. But at the same time, I feel so full. Summertime slowness is over for me in a sense and yet I feel the peace and space that the Lord can supernaturally give us. In a commute. In a morning. In a hammock. In a day off. In a meal. In a walk. In an hour. In a moment. He can.

So... I went surfing in Costa Rica. In our first hour, Renee and I got up maybe twice. We felt like we were dying. She was like, "Was it this hard the last time you went!?" The water was so, so salty so our throats were on fire and we were getting beat up by the waves. As we got closer to high tide, the waves mellowed out and got smoother. We rode waves all the way to shore and had way more control of the boards. This is only my second time surfing and the feeling is unlike anything else I have experienced before. I get in my head at first and don't even try to pop up for the longest time. I let wave after wave go by. I see others going for it. I see opportunities I miss. Insecurities and doubts and lies flood in. It's all I can hear. Yet, at the same time, I feel a gentle pull in the water. I hear my steady breath. The tone shifts. I get out of my head. I act the moment I feel the pull. I try and try and try. I don't just think about when and how and all the details. I don't overanalyze. I just pop up each and every wave. Sure, I fall a ton. But it's more fun this way. I learn. I see fruit. I ride waves. I'm doing it. I am overwhelmed with the fullness of life in this moment. It's exciting. It's calm. It's empowering. There is such chaos and peace that intertwine so intricately, so beautifully.

I see such a deep connection with surfing the waves of Central America and our life on this Earth. Jesus has more for us than just getting in our head, than just dealing with our anxieties, than just sitting on the sidelines, than just watching others thrive, than just worrying about all the details before we act. He has more for us. He has this wave full of works and miracles and opportunities continually drawing us in. Over and over again. At any moment, we can be active participants in spreading the Gospel. At any moment, we can partner in making Jesus' name more known in our circles, more adored, more trusted. At any moment, we can serve the active, real, near-to-us-kind-of-God that we saw in Costa Rica. At any moment, we can steady our gaze on the horizon and... pop up.

"...To love in such a radiant and radical way, that brings glory to Jesus."

There is a tention between this journal and how I feel right now: "I feel a peace. I feel space for growth, but I also feel Your kindness in that space. I feel people placed in my life who can and want to stick with me through my sin, my selfishness, my walls I build up, my hiding, my rambles, my processing. I know that even when I am misunderstood or alone, that You are faithful over and over again." It's 1am. I can't sleep. I am craving peace. Craving a safe place. Craving to be understood. To be known.

"For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:19‭-‬21). Today I am praying for assurance. I want to believe the truths over the lies that flood my head so easily, so loudly. Today I am praying for slowness. I want to be slow to speak, slow to anger, slow to react, slow. Gentle. Present. Today I am praying for a new heart. I want a heart and motives that are worthy of being an ambassador of my King, worthy of mirroring His goodness and love. Today I am praying for a miracle. I am pleading for ones that I love to come to know God. He is all of my hope. He is all of my joy. He is all of my love.

Tomorrow is a new day.