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I was tempted…

As I was working on my personal blog to update some links, I noticed that my portrait was 2 years old. I asked my husband to take a photo, so my ‘face’ would be more current on my blog and forums.

Being a semi-portrait-photographer (I am saying this since I take portraits only during my spare time), I have all the tools to alter photos. I was really tempted to edit out all my wrinkles and make myself look pretty (at least as good as possible – lol)…

As I was sitting there looking at my face with all the wrinkles I thought ‘why edit the wrinkles out?’ This is who I am; I will be 50 this fall. There are two other reasons why I didn’t edit out the ‘bad stuff’. One – I want to be real here on my blog and everywhere else. I don’t want to mask myself as someone I am not. I want to be transparent to all my readers…no masking needed.

Second – Peter is reminding all women to not adorn themselves with gold or beautiful clothing. Sure, editing photos is not gold or clothing, but I would still alter my outward appearance. I rather be known with a gentle spirit than being beautiful…

“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” ~ 1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV)

Now you are wondering about the photo? Well, here it is (I just boosted the colors – oh yeah – and I got my hair chopped off – lol)…

Portrait credit: Mark R. Nelson; Photo Color Action: My Four Hens

You will soon see my updated photo on all the forums/blogs (maybe some in B&W). I am also contemplating on updating the face of my blog to go with the updated me. I really want to show off some of my photography and the current blog template is a little limited…We will see…

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: Stay real – don’t mask yourself. God loves you, wrinkles and flaws included.

PS: thanks sweetheart for taking the photo and for loving me the past 28 years 🙂

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More Bookmarks and Giveaway

***Comments closed – winner announced tomorrow – January 7th***

As I had mentioned last night, I made a set of 4 bookmarks. And yes, you can get one of 2 sets. How to enter? I will tell you at the bottom of the post; first the two other bookmarks I made.

The first bookmark has Matthew 5:16 over a lamp I photographed at the Superstition Mountain Museum. The museum displays items from an old movie studio called “Apacheland”; great place for photographers 🙂 …

The second bookmark’s photo is from our Salt River area, located in the Tonto National Forest. We had a lot of rain this past spring, so the river actually had water flowing – ha…I thought that Matthew 11:28 works well with the peaceful photo…

Okay, now to the giveaway. I have two sets that I would like to send out to my readers. All you have to do is leave a comment below. If you share the giveaway with your readers – cool, but you don’t have to in order to win. You don’t even have to blog 🙂 – Please make sure that your email address in the comment section is valid (your email does not show on my blog if you enter it in the appropriate field)…

Okay, I better get my booty to bed — planning on shooting a sunrise tomorrow morning (hope I can get up early enough – lol).

Thank you for stopping by. Be blessed today and always…

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The Good News of Christmas

“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

May His joy and peace be always and forever in you heart…Christmas Blessings…

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12 Pearls of Christmas:
He is Always Enough

Christmas in a Barn
by Mary DeMuth

The Christmas of 2006 we were homeless. We didn’t have keys. Not to a car, not to a home. We’d flown halfway around the world, leaving behind a ministry we toiled over. Much, particularly in our hearts, lay in ruins.

Some friends had a camp, and on that camp stood a barn. In the corner of the barn was a tiny apartment, flanked by this caboose and hundreds of acres of Texas pasture. We’d never been there before, so we followed directions at night, making plenty of wrong turns.

When we found the place, we drove a borrowed car over the cattle guard toward what would be our home for a month. String lights illuminated a small porch, a window and a door in the corner of an aluminum-sided barn. We hefted large pieces of luggage to the apartment.

And when we opened the door, Love welcomed us.

The place, usually completely unfurnished in the winter, was decked out with just the right amount of beds, couches and tables. The pantry was full. We had dishes and garbage cans, and cups and forks and food. But even more, we had a Christmas tree. Friends had hijacked the place, decorating it for Christmas. Cookies preened on the table.

I will never, ever forget that Christmas. We had so little. We felt the painful burden of failure. But we were loved, so terribly and wonderfully loved.

Christmas felt right there, in a barn. We heard the nickering of horses, the meowing of kittens, the clop of hooves against the barn floor. Chickens and goats and cows served as a holy object lesson of the incarnation. Although we were warm and clothed, we understood more keenly the Savior’s homelessness, how He left the splendor of heaven for the sodden earth. We experienced barnyard life alongside him, without much to call our own except our Heavenly Father and our sweet family.

He was enough, that Christmas. And He will always will be.

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Mary DeMuth writes fiction and nonfiction. Her latest book, A Slow Burn released in October and she has a memoir entitled Thin Places coming out in February of 2010. You can meet her: Mary DeMuth.com, The Writing Spa, on Facebook and Twitter!
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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year’s Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year’s Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

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