Does everyone have a box or five of Kleenex handy? Because our beautiful "love story," created by the fantastic Frank Guy of Francis West Studios, has just arrived! And maybe it's just because we're the stars of the story, but...we think it's pretty fantastic.
Frank generally works in the Charleston area, but he made the trip to Hilton Head to film our wedding last month. Press play on the video posted below, and we think you'll agree that he perfectly captured those intangible sorts of treasures—like love, joy, excitement, and hope—that we prayed would be present during our ceremony.
If you're watching on your phone, click here: http://vimeo.com/72599959
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Monday, August 19, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
In with the new
I have a new name, a new husband, and a hundred new ideas. So obviously, it's time for a new blog home.
First things first: God is good! Look at this handsome man! He's my husband. What?
Last time I blogged consistently, I was living in the South of France and working as an au pair. I ate chocolate croissants, had an espresso break at 4 o'clock every day, captured artisanal markets with my camera, and visited places such as Paris, Switzerland, and Venice. That was cool and exciting. This whole marriage thing? It's in another league.
Then, I would see a sunset and swallow all the things I had to say about it. Now, I see a sunset—or Mayan ruins in Mexico, or an episode of The Bachelorette—and I have someone to share it with. I have someone to share life with. I could not be more thankful.
First things first: God is good! Look at this handsome man! He's my husband. What?
Then, I would see a sunset and swallow all the things I had to say about it. Now, I see a sunset—or Mayan ruins in Mexico, or an episode of The Bachelorette—and I have someone to share it with. I have someone to share life with. I could not be more thankful.
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| Chichen Itza, our first of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World to see together. |
Monday, July 16, 2012
"So...what's next?"
Things couldn’t be more different than they were just 5 short months ago.
Miss Texas week has come and gone, the job search has rebooted, I turned 22, my Keurig is humming, new desserts have been baking, and voila! I’m officially ready to say that the blog is BACK. I hope you have a cup of coffee curled between your hands, because I plan on picking up right where we left off a few months ago - with a few Miss Texas pictures, a nice deep talk and a yummy recipe thrown in at the end for good measure.
Miss Texas meant taking a break from blogging. And the kitchen.
Mmm. Conversation, coffee, and carbs. My three favorite things, back in one space again. It just feels right!
Although I put my blog on hiatus, I never stopped writing - I just changed the format. Private journaling took the place of public blogging, giving me the time and energy I needed to produce publishable material as an intern at D Magazine. (Missed my articles? Feel free to check out a few here, here, and here).
It’s hard to believe how many things can happen in a relatively short span of time. How many thoughts you can think, dreams you can dream, people you can meet, and plans you can make…then change. As I was flipping through my journal at church yesterday, I realized I’ve been living in a highly controlled, laser-focused whirlwind. Like a test tube tornado, if such a thing existed. But although my focus has been razor sharp, the focal point of my frenzied activity has been something of a shape-shifter.
Cheesin’ at the judges reception with my new friend Christa, Miss Texas Panhandle
An athlete I met this spring at the Special Olympics
So what does that mean, exactly? Well, something like this: what I want keeps taking different forms, morphing from becoming a published novelist to owning my own business to getting my PHd to being crowned Miss Texas. So varied, I know. But I think I’ve realized that there is a common thread somewhere underneath all of those ambitions: they’re all kind of…impressive. Resume builders. Bullet points sure to show people I’m made of promise. That I haven’t just done cool things in the past, but that I’m going to do even cooler things in the future.
Just dance! Talent competition
Don’t get me wrong - there’s nothing wrong with ambition, or achievement. But it can become a dangerous thing if we become consumed by the story we’re trying to tell. When all of our energy goes into accumulating experiences that make the most interesting plot twists, or keeping our (Facebook) audience guessing about what fantastically exciting adventure will unfold in the next chapter of our life.
Christa, myself, and Victoria (Miss Fairview) before shooting our video introductions
I think a lot of it’s normal. We want to see things, do things. Big things. We fear running out of time, being left behind, not living loud enough to be heard. We’re scared of blending in. Afraid we can’t keep up. Maybe we feel the need to control our future, to try to ensure our future happiness or security by surrounding ourselves with a cushion of life experience. But I think what we (or at least what I) tend to forget in the middle of the me-vortex is this: we’re not meant to be the star of our story. That role is reserved for our Lord and Savior alone.
Sometimes, I think I get so caught up trying to be a scene-stealer that I forget what I really am: a vessel meant to be filled by Christ. A mirror that reflects His love. An arrow that points to the saving power, the mercy, and the grace of the cross. The shiny bullet points on my resume? Those are extras! Gifts of opportunity the Lord has used to teach and refine me, and to reveal more of Himself. Ultimately, it comes down to this: there is no lasting worth in accomplishment for the sake of accomplishment. Because give an earthly victory a month…heck, give it a week!…and it goes stale. Not only does it go stale, it leaves you hungry for something else that’s new and fresh.
If the pressure to continue racking up accomplishments doesn’t come from within, it will certainly come from without. Just weeks after graduating college, and literally hours after Miss Texas ended, I was already being bombarded with that killer question of all questions: “So…what’s next?” And I know I’m not the only one to get hit with the question. My newly married friends, for example, get this version all the time: “So…how soon are y’all planning on having kids?” No pressure there, right?
Reading a sweet birthday poster that my pageant sisters made for me!
I get the intent. We’re being supportive! We’re excited about what lies ahead for our friends! And often times, we’re just plain curious. But we’re also pushing ourselves and our friends out of this moment in anticipation of the next. We’re just trying to make conversation. But in doing so, we need to consider the possibility that we’re diminishing the value of the present by bullying our way into the future before it’s time to live in it.
That being said…in my own life, I am so excited for what’s next! But here’s the deal: I have no idea what “next” will look like. I have a few ideas about what form it could take. A lot of dreams about writing books, places I’d like to go and people I’d like to meet. But here’s what the Lord has been so faithful to teach me: I don’t have to see it all in detail for Him to bring it to life.
Right now, my prayer is that the Lord will refine my vision, and change my focus from what I want to what I have that the world needs and He can use. And I know He’ll be faithful to do it, because every dream I’ve ever had has been revealed to be just a dusty sketch after He’s painted over it in technicolor. My life has become a million times more brilliant with His touch, and my most carefully constructed plans have crumbled under the greater weight of His perfect will, providence, and timing.
Arrival ceremony
Jammin’ out during opening number
Christ is always faithful to reveal the truest version of the men and women we were created to be when we call upon Him, and I believe that He longs to give life to the desires of our hearts. The catch? We have to stop looking in the mirror for long enough to fix our eyes on Him.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
And now for that recipe I promised:
PB Choco-Chip Cake Batter Blondies!
I just made this gem for a coffee date on Friday, and you better believe the pan has long been licked clean. Find the yummy recipe here on one of my favorite blogs, Girl Meets Life.
Until next time! xo
Monday, January 23, 2012
Another new chapter
Are you a reader? I’m a reader.
As readers, I think we’re all familiar with the concept of comparing life to a book. And for the most part, it’s an excellent, if way overused, metaphor.
But there are a couple of exceptions that keep the comparison from being exactly apples to apples (and yep, I’m cliche-ing all over the place today). So let’s explore them for a sec, shall we? And then I promise, I’ll get to my point.
#1 When you read a book, like it or not, you’re subjecting yourself to authorial manipulation. Don’t believe it? Think about the range of emotions you experience when you’re reading. You’re up, you’re down, you’re caught in a game of suspense, torn between your allegiance to two different fictional love interests (Twilight readers, raise your hand). Authors craft their writing carefully, choosing scenarios that will play on your emotion and using suspension to build enough tension to carry the story as the plot pushes on.
When you’re living life, you’re still going to experience a vast range of emotions. The amazing difference? No manipulation is involved. The Author of your life is a good, loving Father who sees the span of your experience, but has given you the free will to write your story alongside Him. Surprises will happen, and love interests will inevitably have to be chosen between…but isn’t there such a freedom in knowing that the heart of this Author is for you?
#2 In books, you can almost always feel the changes coming. The suspension is built slowly, cliffhangers nudge you forward, and when the big “AHA” moment finally comes, you’re ready. It’s another part of that authorial manipulation, after all!
In life, sometimes we don’t get that advantage. Things just seem to happen, whether good or bad, completely out of the blue. At times, changes don’t seem to make sense. And often times, we just don’t feel ready when it’s time to move on to a new chapter of life. At all.
#3 In books, you can skip ahead when the tension gets too high. Or at least I do!
In life, you’re lucky if you can see five minutes into your own future! It’s one of the most frustrating things about making decisions or being surprised by change—our human inability to see exactly how it’s all going to work out. And so that tension has the tendency to turn, in real life, to anxiety or over-control.
Here’s a confession: in life, I’ve been known to forget #1, dread #2, and succumb wholeheartedly to #3’s temptation to panic.
But that stops now. It’s not a New Year’s resolution, exactly. Just a refusal to overthink the changes. If the past few months have taught me anything, it’s to accept the open-endedness of a life lived moment-to-moment with Him.
I graduated Pepperdine a year early without a plan and without any idea of how to start building a life for myself. If my life was a book, that definitely would have been the point where I would have tried to skip ahead a few chapters to see how it would all work out. But praise God, He walked me through a series of experiences that taught me how to stop trying so hard to see the big picture and trust Him fully in every circumstance.
There were fun interludes, like competing in Miss Dallas. There were deeply-felt losses, like the passing of my grandmother—a woman who was not only my hero, but a kindred spirit and a dear friend as well. There were unexpected paths to adventure that opened up, like the offer to live and work in France for the past three months—truly one of the most incredible opportunities I’ve ever had.
And now, there are more pages to turn, another new chapter to begin. A French class to help me keep up the language, a new job as an editorial intern at D Magazine, dance practices to help me prepare for a Miss Texas preliminary, business meetings with my family as we seek to build something together, new volunteer opportunities, and obviously, lots and lots of baking.
When I look at all these pieces of a life that are beginning to assemble in Dallas, it starts to get a little jumbled in my mind. “Do these things all fit together?” I’ll ask myself. “Does everything I’m involved in make sense in relation to one another?”
Well, no, to be honest. I could definitely run into a few dead ends. But that’s the beauty of it all! It’s life. I have the opportunity to add things to my “experience bank” and invest in the lives of others without seeing how it’s all going to add up. I don’t have to know the end of the story to keep reading (and living!) the chapter that’s right in front of me. What freedom!
For now, my personal blog is going on a temporary leave of absence as I take on the world, AKA figure out my new role in a new office tomorrow afternoon at orientation. With a little luck, I’ll have the chance to blog over at D—and I’ve got a few other writing projects up my sleeve as well. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to share them with y’all sooner rather later, and get this blog up and running again before too long. I’ve gotten really attached to my little space at Decaf & Dessert!
To everyone who prayed me through my time in France, and before that, through my time in California: thank you, thank you, thank you. I told you before I left that I coveted your prayers, and in a show of amazing selflessness, you lifted them up on my behalf. I cannot tell you how grateful I am, or begin to recount to you the many times when I physically felt the Lord’s presence because of the network of believers lifting me up in prayer from all over the world. It truly overwhelms and humbles me: Philippians 1:3 - “I thank my God every time I remember you.” If any of you ever need prayer in return, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to invest in your life in the same way that so many of you have invested in mine.
I’ll leave y’all with this: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Here’s to new chapters, no road maps, surprises and adventures.
xoxo
Karley
As readers, I think we’re all familiar with the concept of comparing life to a book. And for the most part, it’s an excellent, if way overused, metaphor.
But there are a couple of exceptions that keep the comparison from being exactly apples to apples (and yep, I’m cliche-ing all over the place today). So let’s explore them for a sec, shall we? And then I promise, I’ll get to my point.
#1 When you read a book, like it or not, you’re subjecting yourself to authorial manipulation. Don’t believe it? Think about the range of emotions you experience when you’re reading. You’re up, you’re down, you’re caught in a game of suspense, torn between your allegiance to two different fictional love interests (Twilight readers, raise your hand). Authors craft their writing carefully, choosing scenarios that will play on your emotion and using suspension to build enough tension to carry the story as the plot pushes on.
When you’re living life, you’re still going to experience a vast range of emotions. The amazing difference? No manipulation is involved. The Author of your life is a good, loving Father who sees the span of your experience, but has given you the free will to write your story alongside Him. Surprises will happen, and love interests will inevitably have to be chosen between…but isn’t there such a freedom in knowing that the heart of this Author is for you?
#2 In books, you can almost always feel the changes coming. The suspension is built slowly, cliffhangers nudge you forward, and when the big “AHA” moment finally comes, you’re ready. It’s another part of that authorial manipulation, after all!
In life, sometimes we don’t get that advantage. Things just seem to happen, whether good or bad, completely out of the blue. At times, changes don’t seem to make sense. And often times, we just don’t feel ready when it’s time to move on to a new chapter of life. At all.
#3 In books, you can skip ahead when the tension gets too high. Or at least I do!
In life, you’re lucky if you can see five minutes into your own future! It’s one of the most frustrating things about making decisions or being surprised by change—our human inability to see exactly how it’s all going to work out. And so that tension has the tendency to turn, in real life, to anxiety or over-control.
Here’s a confession: in life, I’ve been known to forget #1, dread #2, and succumb wholeheartedly to #3’s temptation to panic.
But that stops now. It’s not a New Year’s resolution, exactly. Just a refusal to overthink the changes. If the past few months have taught me anything, it’s to accept the open-endedness of a life lived moment-to-moment with Him.
I graduated Pepperdine a year early without a plan and without any idea of how to start building a life for myself. If my life was a book, that definitely would have been the point where I would have tried to skip ahead a few chapters to see how it would all work out. But praise God, He walked me through a series of experiences that taught me how to stop trying so hard to see the big picture and trust Him fully in every circumstance.
There were fun interludes, like competing in Miss Dallas. There were deeply-felt losses, like the passing of my grandmother—a woman who was not only my hero, but a kindred spirit and a dear friend as well. There were unexpected paths to adventure that opened up, like the offer to live and work in France for the past three months—truly one of the most incredible opportunities I’ve ever had.
And now, there are more pages to turn, another new chapter to begin. A French class to help me keep up the language, a new job as an editorial intern at D Magazine, dance practices to help me prepare for a Miss Texas preliminary, business meetings with my family as we seek to build something together, new volunteer opportunities, and obviously, lots and lots of baking.
When I look at all these pieces of a life that are beginning to assemble in Dallas, it starts to get a little jumbled in my mind. “Do these things all fit together?” I’ll ask myself. “Does everything I’m involved in make sense in relation to one another?”
Well, no, to be honest. I could definitely run into a few dead ends. But that’s the beauty of it all! It’s life. I have the opportunity to add things to my “experience bank” and invest in the lives of others without seeing how it’s all going to add up. I don’t have to know the end of the story to keep reading (and living!) the chapter that’s right in front of me. What freedom!
For now, my personal blog is going on a temporary leave of absence as I take on the world, AKA figure out my new role in a new office tomorrow afternoon at orientation. With a little luck, I’ll have the chance to blog over at D—and I’ve got a few other writing projects up my sleeve as well. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to share them with y’all sooner rather later, and get this blog up and running again before too long. I’ve gotten really attached to my little space at Decaf & Dessert!
To everyone who prayed me through my time in France, and before that, through my time in California: thank you, thank you, thank you. I told you before I left that I coveted your prayers, and in a show of amazing selflessness, you lifted them up on my behalf. I cannot tell you how grateful I am, or begin to recount to you the many times when I physically felt the Lord’s presence because of the network of believers lifting me up in prayer from all over the world. It truly overwhelms and humbles me: Philippians 1:3 - “I thank my God every time I remember you.” If any of you ever need prayer in return, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to invest in your life in the same way that so many of you have invested in mine.
I’ll leave y’all with this: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Here’s to new chapters, no road maps, surprises and adventures.
xoxo
Karley
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