My prayer for 2010....

Wow....what a year. 2009 has been the best year so far. All kinds of wonderful things happened. All kinds of growing and rethinking also happened. My highlight of 2009, though? Marrying the very best man on the face of the earth. I know. I'm a little biased, but that's ok. You'd all think he was the best if you knew him too. :0)

So....as I have been mulling over my prayer for 2010 the last few weeks God has given me two pieces of wisdom to think about as I write this:

1) In HIS hands, little becomes much; and
2) To thine own self be true....

Something else I heard this week: "To get what you've never had, you MUST do what you've never done." ~ Pastor Steve Furtick, Elevation Church. Ohhhh....I love that!

So, without further delay....my prayer for 2010:

Father,

THANK YOU....for all that You've done, for all that You're doing, for all that You will do. Thank You for 2009....for all the blessings, the heartache, the laughter and the tears. With each and every experience I've grown in You. I've learned that You are here no matter what. I've learned that You listen to my prayer....You may not always answer, but You do always hear me. I've learned that Your plans are good and true and always the best. I've learned that You want whats best for me...even if I don't know what that is or think that it's not. I've grown in my heart, my soul and in my thoughts.

I've held on to the things that are precious to me. I've let go of the things that continue to hurt me. I've seen Your face in my tears and heard Your voice in my laughter. I pray, Father, that You continue to guide my steps, that I continue to seek You first and that even when I fall I remember that You are there beside me.

I'm thankful for my husband....the gift that YOU gave to me. I'm so very grateful for his heart, his wonderful wisdom and his desire to follow You with every step. I pray that you continue to bless us, lead us and be there as we work through life together. In the happy times I wish to praise You for our marriage. In the not so happy times I praise You even more for the lessons we are learning and the closeness that only trials can bring. I pray that we continue to put each other only second to You.

Thank You for our girls. Thank You for giving each of them to us to treasure, lead, love, laugh with and show them how to lead healthy, productive lives. I pray hard, Father, that You watch over each of them as they grow into the person You have created them to be. Keep your strong, loving arms around them....protecting them from hurt, harm and heartache as they leave our home to spend time with boys and their friends. **Sigh**

I pray that 2010 brings prosperity in our lives. In Your hands, little becomes much. I pray that we remember to thank You daily for Your provision. As we continue to be prudent with the provision You provide, I pray that Your will be done and that the blessings You give to us be passed on to others in need. I pray that others see Your light shine through us.....however that happens, whatever needs done, USE us to share Your love with the unloved. We are ready, willing and able to be Your hands and feet. Here we are, Lord, send us.

Thank You for reminding me time and time again that my story is no longer my shame. I pray that You continue to remind me that the only opinion of me that matters is YOURS. In 2010 and beyond I will be true to myself. Others may come and go, but You are always there...never leaving me nor forsaking me. Letting go of all the hurt from my past has freed me to finally see the purpose of it all. Thank You for being exactly who You say You are...my one true Father.

And finally, thank You in advance for knowing the mistakes I will make in 2010 and loving me right through them. 2010 is going to be the BEST YEAR EVER.....and if it's not? May You show us the lessons You want us to learn.

In Jesus' precious name I pray,
Amen and AMEN.

The best man ever....

Today is the anniversary of the day the very best man I've ever known was brought into the world. At 5:45 a.m. on Friday, December 2, 1966, Mark Anthony Ramsey was born.

He is the second greatest man, in my opinion, to ever walk this earth (Jesus being first, of course).

I'M JUST SAYIN'....

The love of my life. The answer to my craziest prayer. The owner of my heart forever. The best friend I've ever had. The only person to make me laugh so hard I've nearly peed a little. He is a true, real man.

I'M JUST SAYIN'....

I'm pretty sure you haven't met him, but those who have...well...they are better for knowing him. Better for meeting him, better for shaking his hand. Better for talking to him, better for hearing his voice. Honest. Ask anyone who knows him.

He is exactly who God made him to be....not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but PERFECT for me.

I'M JUST SAYIN'....

So....HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my husband. I thank God for you every single day....sometimes over and over again. You make me laugh, you've made me cry. You make me happy and you are truly my better half. I pray that God will allow me to celebrate your birthday with you for another 43++ years.

I love ya, babe.

Softer....

I'm getting softer.

I know. It's hard to believe, but I am. Just trust me on this.

Mark & I lead a small group. NOT something that I am very comfortable with, but I signed us up anyway. I did it knowing that he would be fully on board. Didn't even ask him first....really just "told" him that we are not only going to be in a small group but lead it in our home.

Yeah.....You don't know me.

THAT is sooooo not me. I have a 15 foot rule. No one gets near me unless I ask first. It's just part of who I am have been....until now.

Last night we completed week six of eight of Rick Warren's "Life's Healing Choices" in a tag team with our Sunday services at church. The study is not really what I expected but it's obviously what I needed.

Obviously {eye roll}....

So the "softer me" part: It FINALLY dawned on me this morning ('cuz I'm painfully slow at times) that our small group is, well....awesome. Not because it's at our house or because we got to pick the night and time or because of the yummy treats (they are a plus, though, let me tell ya), but awesome because of the people who attend. Awesome because God shows up every week right on time. He's never late....almost as if He walks in with each and every person as they walk in the front door ready to sit, eat yummies, talk about life and LISTEN. He's a "special" (and required) member of every small group, but it humbles me to realize that He wants to be a part of ours too.

If no one else gets anything out of our group it will be a resounding success. Why would I make such a bold statement, you ask? Because I got something out of it. I know it's not all about me. I believe with all my heart, though, that God put our group together for many reasons....and one was to soften me up a bit.

And, boy, did I need some softening....

He gave me this statement this morning...and I heard Him very loud and clear.

LIFE TOGETHER IS HARD, BUT IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN LIFE ALONE.

Amen and Amen.

To my small group partners:

Thank you. For showing up. For coming back. For sharing your lives with us. For being who you are. For letting God work on your hearts and understanding how God is working on mine too. You have no idea how each of you has helped God soften me up. Just know that He has and with your help.

Life together is hard, but it's so much better than life alone.

Circle....

You have to watch this....you just do. Christ-Life Solutions is a ministry that literally saved me. I know, I know....GOD did that....but He used Christ-Life to do it. It's a ministry where you work through your childhood being an adult ally to yourself. Sounds hokey but it really isn't. It's working through the years of your childhood, working out the lies that you believe and replacing those old, incorrect paradigms with new, correct, God-directed ones. It was an exhausting year and a half of working through some issues, but in the end it was the best time I've ever spent on me. I still have junk....who doesn't, but my junk is far less than it was. Just trust me on that.

Christ-Life Solutions sends out devotional emails and this is the one I got today. SPOKE. RIGHT. TO. ME. God is teaching me a lesson on what I let in and how I let it affect me. Been one of those weekends where He was right there guiding my words and my actions. I made mistakes, yes, but I also followed His lead and am so much better for it.

Watch this video....What are you downloading into your circle?

GOD IS SO GOOD....ALLLL THE TIME! :0}

Stoppin' long enough to take a breath....

WOW. What a month. God sure has opened doors and I am hanging on for dear life as He takes me on this journey. Here is a recap of my last month....in pictures of course. :0)

First, Car had a soccer tournament (plus another 800+ games since then...just kidding. It just feels like 800). Turns out she's becoming quite a soccer player. So fun to watch and she's really a natural.

Then I took my girls to a beautiful rose garden at the art center to get some "school pictures" ('cuz....remember....I'm cheap and If I'm gonna buy a picture it can't be the same old posed shot. I know. I'm weird like that). It was fun....and I really don't care what you think....my girls could be SUPER MODELS. I'm totally just sayin'.

Alli ~ Age 17....

Sarah ~ Age 15....

Taylor ~ Age 11....



Carli ~ Age 9....

Mark's baby sister Makaela ~ Age 9



BTW ~ We have a lot of fun on shoots. Catching someone laughing or being themselves is my number one goal.

After school pics of my own kiddos, I took senior pictures for an amazing, creative, funny, sweet and talented girl named Jennifer. I sooooo totally love her red hair....

Then came Steven. My first "guy" senior. For whatever reason I get the girls and not many guys. BUT....Steven was the first and now they are knocking down my door. Ok....not literally, but I do have a few more scheduled! :0)

After Steven came Drew...another guy and a REFERRAL to boot! WHOO HOO for "cheerleader" customers! Working on how to reward customers who give referrals....that's not the fun part of this biz, but it's something I've got to figure out. Drew is a senior offensive lineman. Big kid who's mom said he was grumpy the day I came over. Their land is gorgeous and Drew turned out to be a great kid and a genuinely nice guy. THANKS FOR THE REFERRAL DEB!!! You da best, baby!

WHEW.

I'm exhausted just putting all that together! In the midst of all of this work, I ran my "regular" life too (you know....on top of my supergirl life)....wife, mom, full time job, running a business, soccer games, soccer practices, homework, sleep (not enough btw), hosting a small group of 12 and on and on. I am NOT complaining. I will miss my camera this winter since I don't have/want a studio and things slow down a lot so the work now is very much appreciated. I have in the next three weeks 4 more seniors and 3 families booked. And as long as the weather holds up, I'll keep booking them.

Thank you, God, for your constant provision and leading the way. Your path clearing is exhausting, but the results of hanging on to You for dear life are well worth it.

Mullen family video

Check this out. Pastor Jeff created this with the photos from the shoot Saturday. It's awesome. Wish I had time to do this with all my photo shoots!!! (Be sure to turn down the volume at the bottom of my post so you can hear the music in the video).

Enjoy!

If only....

...I had been this stinkin' cute when I was a high school senior!! :0) Meet Cassie. Gorgeous girl with a huge college softball career ahead of her. What a cool kid. Just getting started editing the photos and could not wait to share my favs so far. I have to say that little kids and high school seniors are my favorite to shoot these days. So much potential for their futures. Just a look in their eyes and you can see all that God intended for them...if you look really close. More to come of this beautiful girl!!

The two things I know....

There are only two things I know for absolutely certain....

1) God is good ALL the time; and

2) When something is right, its RIGHT.

Below are photos from one of two shoots I did Saturday. Meet my pastor and his family.

They, well, they are just RIGHT.





More to come of the other shoot I did and my favs from The Winker too! :0)

The Winker....

O.M.G. I got to take photos of T.H.E. cutest boys around on Saturday. The youngest, at the ripe ole' age of four, just won my heart with his unsolicited winking. **sigh**

To all the pretty girls at his preschool....WATCH OUT!!! This little guy is a heartbreaker with a capital H! :0)

More favs to come!

It occurred to me....

In a rather low-key way, it occurred to me that God really does know what He's doing.

I know. That sounds so silly, but really. He DOES.

In reflecting back over the last three years I can name many things I've asked God for over and over again. ad nauseam. Financial stability, job security, a good man, the girls to grow up happy and successful, direction on my business and on and on.

I've beat my head against the wall feeling like He wasn't there. Like He wasn't listening. Like He didn't care.

It's in the reflection of the last three years that I truly see His work. I see how when I lost a great job, HE provided. I see how when my account was below zero, HE provided. I see how when a bad relationship tore my self-esteem to shreds, HE spoke to me in love. I see how when my girls had choices to make and faced hurtful things, HE spoke to them in love. I see how when I was ready to quit trying to start a business, HE pushed me on.

He knew what He was doing.

It's frustrating more often than not to have to wait and see where God is sending me. I have a feeling you are like me.....I'll go through ANYTHING if I just know the outcome. And that's not possible....only God knows.

I've learned so much and some days struggle to fully grasp how far I've come. A sinner saved by grace. I wish everyday I could think as clearly as I am today, but I know that the fog that falls over my eyes is only temporary. I can lift that fog if I just keep reflecting while moving forward towards God's next goal for me.

I pray that you, too, can look back and see how God has worked in your life. He's there. You just gotta look.

Day 10....

I have been married for 10 days. 10 wonderful, glorious days.

We didn't go on a honeymoon (unless you call taking the girls to Adventureland because we had free tickets only good for the day after the wedding a honeymoon). We didn't live together before we were married either.

So the last 10 days have been spent packing and preparing for the big move. I know....most people would NOT consider all that "glorious", but I'm we're not most people.

My husband is the greatest man I know.

And I'm not just saying that because I'm goo goo eyed, over the moon in love with him. Which I totally am, by the way.

He's the greatest man I know because through all the craziness of packing, moving, his being in limbo for nearly a week and finally getting in, unpacking, arranging, sorting and making sure his daughter has what she needs and is comfortable, he SMILED, LAUGHED and proved to me that marrying him was the VERY best decision of my entire life.

So, Marky. THANK YOU for the past 8 1/2 months. THANK YOU for for being the man that God created you to be. THANK YOU for loving me when I'm ridiculously crazed and my brain is on overload. THANK YOU for being my husband. I pray over you every night while you sleep and THANK GOD for the gift of YOU.

Here's to the next 50 years, baby....

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Preview....

Sigh....