don't give up

dear almost quitter,

stop for a second and remember why you're doing what you're doing.

remember what made you decide to do this.

remember the feeling you had when you first accomplished that really big goal.

no one promised this would be easy. no one said that taking a giant leap of faith was smooth sailing.
if you're like me, there are times when you wonder if your parachute is malfunctioning.

it's not.

it's going to catch us on the way down.
ok really, HE is going to catch us on the way down.

we're going to make it.
why?

because in a crappy world, we've got to keep our chins up.
because those haters. girl. they are going to hate.
and those doubts and insecurities are going to sneak back into our heads.

but this.
this career. joy. life. choice we made.
we're doing it.

we're really, really doing it.

so on those days that you want to quit. don't. that won't get us anywhere. that's what the world wants. to weigh us down. to make us think this isn't what God created us to do.
but it is.

keep.going.

sincerely,
the girl who wants to quit all the time.
but won't.

engraving grace

if you don't read the she reads truth plans, you need to. in fact. stop reading this and head on over to start a plan right now.

if you're still here, awesome.

the current plan is through hebrews. which, if we're being honest. gets a bit heavy. not like heavy spiritually, but heavy like "i'm reading this but i have no idea what's going on". chapter seven starts getting into priests and then there's melchizedek the priest. a name i have no idea how to pronounce. when i first read it, i sang that hawaiian christmas song from christmas vacation.

you're welcome.

anyways. there's a lot being talked about. specifically...covenants.

"the former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."
hebrews 7:18

i have to think every once in a while about what it would be like to live in the OT days. everything had a law. there were sacrifices to be burned. prayers to be prayed. things you could, and could clearly not do. is anyone else as exhausted as i am thinking about all of this?

but here's the good news.

Jesus.

"but this is the new covenant i will make with the people of Israel after those days," says the Lord, "i will put my instructions deep within them, and i will write them on their hearts. i will be their God, and they will be my people."
jeremiah 31:33

this new covenant is grace.

at the end of todays post, this question was asked:
how is God engraving grace on your heart today?

and to be totally honest. i sat for a minute and didn't have an answer.

my first one was, "um, giving me life?"

i felt silly. and like i was a baby christian again, not fully understanding what God's love and grace meant. that i obviously didn't understand what this new covenant meant.

but that's just not true.

my answer is good. maybe it isn't top of the class good, but it's good for me.
i realized that the grace for me, today. is life. is the breath i get to take. the life He has given me.
my grace from Him today, is His giving.

i became overwhelmed with gratitude thinking about all the giving He does.
i get cranky when i feel like i keep giving to someone and they don't give anything back. you've heard someone say it before, "i just feel like i give, and give, and give".

God gives. and just asks that we place our hope and trust in Him.

God never complains.
because, oh my gosh could you imagine if He did.

"i give and give to megan. a life that's eternal. a husband. the worlds cutest dog. her dream job. and yet there are a lot of days when she doesn't even say thank you."

if there was a cave to crawl in right now. i would.
i'm beyond words when it comes to thankfulness to God and all that He gives me.

i'm thankful that instead of having to follow a bunch of rules, or thinking i have to go to a priest to get to God, i have a direct line right to Him.

my answer may have been the obvious one. and maybe wasn't as mature as other answers. but it's mine. and i'm thankful God doesn't mind my answer.

via

friday: food is served

if you follow me on instagram you know that we moved to orlando last month...and all we've been doing is eating.

but really.
the best part of orlando (besides being neighbors with harry potter and mickey mouse) is the food. and the fact that the food can't really be found anywhere else.
you see i come from a place that is just chain restaurants. except dakines. and i do miss dakines.

now dinner and lunch. and all meals in general are delicious.

so i figured. let's blog about it.
because who doesn't love food. and who doesn't love weekly posts?

here's what you should know going into these posts.

i don't watch what i eat.
i'll always pick the thing covered in cheese.
chocolate ends most of my meals.
and i believe eating until you're stuffed out of your face.

with that being said. i'm pretty excited about these weekly food posts i'll be doing.
some will be dinners that i made, some will be dinners i didn't make. maybe some will have ice cream in them.

i told husband tonight that we're pretty much eating our way through orlando.
and i am a ok with that.

so with that. here's the first friday: food is served.

restaurant: pharmacy

meal: salmon pizza with goat cheese, chives, onions, and tomatoes

drink: some sort of something with lavender (it was a pretty color) and vodka

why i loved it: you walk in through an elevator. hello hipster heaven. it's set up like a speak easy. all the cocktails and food are totally made in house with all local ingredients.  

restaurant: spice

meal: shrimp tempura roll & mexican roll

drink: some sort of blueberry lemonade. in a fancy glass

why i loved it: my date. chelsea is pretty much my soul mate, and i couldn't be happier to live close to her. also. the sushi was really great. 

restaurant: greek flame taverna

meal: gyro platter

why i loved it: i wasn't having the bests of days. but this meal was beyond amazing. i looked like a bum in such a fancy restaurant. but owned it. we also got a hummus platter. and then this amazing chocolate mousse at the end. 

restaurant: the coop

meal: fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, broccoli salad, pimento cheese grits

why i loved it: think old barn yard meets panera. you walk through to get your food like a cafeteria, so it's quick. but so beyond tasty. the tables are exactly what i'd put in my dinning room. it's homey. 

amen thank you Lord. 

if there's any killer restaurants near you. share! #foodiesunited 

happy friday!

i'm breaking all the rules

hello dear friends, and welcome to my new blog.

no need to panic. i still have my photography blog and website (and still thanking Jesus for this amazing job) up and running.

but i miss writing.

a lot.

so i'm breaking all the rules about only having one blog. and i'm having two. i'm breaking all the rules about social media. and confusing people along the way. and for that i'm sorry.
kinda.

but i needed a space for me again. blogging has always been my thing.
until about a year ago when i felt God place a photography business on my heart.
so i decided to delete my personal blog and just have it all in one place. because that's what i thought i should do/that's what i saw other photographers doing.

and it just hasn't jived with me.

i don't write even half as much as i used to, and when i say i miss it. i mean i miss it.
for some reason i don't feel as if people coming to my photography website will necessarily care about what i ate for dinner (cause those posts are coming), or what the hubs and i did on date night, or what cute thing duke did again (those posts are coming too).

so here we are. a new blog.
a fresh space.
for me.
all of social media accounts will stay the same, no name changing. but if you want to follow me on bloglovin that's cool beans.

i'm so glad you're here. if you didn't read my old blog, check out the about me page for more info on yours truly.

i'm excited for this new blog.

the name. love looks like this. it's my tagline, if you will, for my photography site and when i was thinking of a name for this blog, it just fit. because my life, my loves, look like this. it's not perfect, but it's mine.

so here's to a new blog. follow along if you'd like.

happy august friends.