Got Faith?
Faith… hope is its brother, trust is its sister, belief is its partner and reason is not required. ~ Christine Sternfels
I was raised Catholic. I married a Jewish man. I have friends who practice Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Mormonism, Paganism, Taoism. Some are Christian, Protestants, Baptists, Anglicans, Agnostic and Atheists. Today, my husband, daughters and I are Christians. I don’t go to church all the time, but I try. I can’t call out quotes from the bible, but I own one and read it. I am not religious, but my faith in God is steady most of the time. I’d be lying if I told you my faith can’t be shaken. It has been tested over the years, but I can’t say I’ve ever lost my faith in God.
I am human – not perfect, not without sin and definitely not without fault. Love and compassion are the baseline of my actions, and when you read about the message that different religions have, it boils down to those two words.
Faith is an essential part of my life.
HOPE
Even on the gloomiest day and rain is pouring down hard… the clouds will open up and light will shine through. ~ Christine Sternfels
When I grow up…
When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to grow up.
Now that I’m older, I wish I was a kid again. ~ Christine Sternfels
Driving Miss Daisy
Daisy: “Charles, I think we’re lost. We must stop for directions.”
Charlie: “Shush woman, I know what I’m doing… ooh look…. camera, say cheese!”
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Do you ever wonder what your dogs are talking about?
…
CHANGE
Yesterday I was clever,
that is why I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise,
that is why I am changing myself.
~ Sri Chinmoy
…
Why is it difficult for some of us to simply be the change we want to see in the world? I believe we wake up with the best intentions, but they are empty promises without taking action. If there is one word to identify what gets in my way to change for the better, it would be strength. I am working on that. What is yours?
REFOCUS
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“There are days when things are crystal clear, then there are days when everything is a blur. There will always be obstacles in front of us and around us, so don’t spend your time being confused. Refocus and remember what you were going for.” ~ Christine Sternfels
Unplug
“The best way to recharge is to unplug.” ~ Christine Sternfels
Nowadays, between gadgets, noise, tv, life and the voices in your head, it gets draining. I’ve decided to unplug my computer and phone this week, surround myself with loved ones and go out there to enjoy nature so I can recharge. See you in a week!
Being alive
“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability… To be alive is to be vulnerable.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle
The four-legged human
“Dogs never talk about themselves but listen to you while you talk about yourself, and keep up an appearance of being interested in the conversation.” ~ Jerome K. Jerome
Grow
“Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”
~ Author unknown
Messages
What is the Universe telling you?
Could it be, that fortune cookies may actually be valid messages? That’s almost like saying the magic 8 ball can help me with my decisions, right? Well… I wouldn’t take it that far, but lately I’ve been reaching one crossroad after another because I want to do so many things. I couldn’t decide and that night’s fortune cookie came at the right time because I was actually contemplating going back to work.
“Decide what you want and go for it.”
One thing is for sure, I didn’t want to go back to work, I just need to stick to my plan. Eventually I was able to focus. I made a list, identified which ones I was passionate about and which ones were desirable. As I categorized my list, I started putting them in order.
I’ve completed the first item, finishing all the paperwork for my non-profit. Now I’m just waiting for the IRS to get back to me. Meanwhile, while I wait I have photography to keep me busy. Then there’s this book that I’ve been trying to write. I’ve started it but my self-doubt just kept getting in my way. I felt like my stories and my writing was not good enough. While I contemplated if I should even keep it on the list, I grabbed another fortune cookie.
Ok… I get it. Thanks for the nudge!
Collecting memories
What surrounds your home are reminders of what’s stored in your heart. ~ Christine Sternfels
I collect memories, not things. Memories stay in your heart, even when you’re losing your mind. Things fade, get old, lost, broken, become outdated and useless. As my dad would say about material things ”You can’t take that with you when you’re dead.”.
There was a time when my most precious possessions were beautiful and expensive things. We lived in a neighborhood of ‘Joneses’. One day, the entire hill we lived on was almost consumed by a wild fire in Southern California. The only reminder of those ashes would be the hours of working too much, missing out on my children’s lives and spending whatever time I had at home being too tired and cranky to do anything with my family. The Grand Prix fire changed my life.
When you get that pay check and you’ve paid your bills and set some aside for a rainy day, try to allot a portion for non-tangible things such as travel and giving back to your community.
There’s nothing wrong with working hard for a living, as long as you make an effort to have a life. Work to live, don’t live to work. Then go out there and collect memories.
Shadows
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
It’s bath time!
When you’ve done everything possible to quiet her down, yet a full tummy, a nap and dry diaper didn’t work… a nice warm bath will usually do it.
Finding happiness…
Quoted from one of the seminars given by Anthony Robbins.
6 BASIC HUMAN NEEDS
- Love
- Certainty
- Uncertainty or the need for some adventure
- Significance
- Growth
- Contribution
This topic is just part of a twelve-hour seminar. Out of that, this discussion is what got me thinking. Identifying my most basic needs, my top two, how it controls the direction of my life and what has it cost me? At the end of the day, we all are searching for what makes us feel good. We search for the meaning of true happiness and hope to find it.
As Tony Robbins said… “Life is not about getting what you want. It’s about becoming more. Happiness is temporary moments, fulfillment is what we need to go after because it lasts.”
What’s in a name?
We usually name our pets according to their personality or how they look. Sometimes we use movie characters, like the time we named our black labrador Charlie because of Charlie’s Angels (Now I wish we named him shadow because he always follows me around). Then there are those times when we think we’re funny and name our bull dogs Daphne (Sorry if you named your bulldog Daphne) or when an “Aha” moment hits you and you thought you were such a genius for coming up with such a brilliant idea of naming your smart dog Einstein, only to discover he’s dummer than a rock and everyone who meets him asks you how you came up with that name. But for most families, the kids will name the pets.
Last week, we got Cj – aka The kid – a beta fish…
Can you guess what she named him? Well folks, I’d like you to meet…
Sushi.
Never give up!
“God closes one door and opens another, but it’s hell in the hallway.” ~ Joseph Garlington
Don’t settle. Don’t quit. Persevere. Hope. Achieve. Go on and never give up!
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Thank you to a blog post about “The Dreams of God” I read on “To Live For Him“, I found
Joseph Garlington’s quote (Which inspired me to shoot this photo and make this post).
What’s for lunch?
While scoping out a venue for a wedding we’ll be photographing in June, I saw this eagle checking out that poor fish. I didn’t have the settings right but snapped the shot anyway, he was moving so fast. I didn’t get the details I wanted on the bird, but this shot pretty much tells you what happened to the fish.
Her future
We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that she is someone today.
~ Stacia Tauscher
The Writer
And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath
One of my childhood dreams was to write a book or two. Notice I didn’t say “To be a writer”. There is a difference between being a writer and just writing a book (I tell myself this to take some pressure off, so just go with it).
English is my second language and the fear of grammatical and phrasing errors always stopped me from even trying. Then there’s the “I’m afraid to be judged” part when people read about all the things I’ve done. Oh and there’s one more. The “People in this book will hate me when they read the part they’re in”. Sound familiar? You see… just like you, I have stories to tell, inspiration to share, imagination and creativity but I also have self-doubt. For some reason, around this time last year I was done being afraid of failing and took a leap of faith! I’m glad and proud to say the book is coming along fine, now if I could just stay focused!
So this is what I’ve done so far:
Step one, decide on fiction or non-fiction? It’s about the story of my life with creative exaggeration and ad lib. What’s so interesting about my life that you would buy my book you say? Well… I said I dreamt of writing one, who said anything about selling it? Now if I happen to send an email blast of my story to all the publishers that will read it and hopefully most won’t get lost in spam folders… well I’ll think about that later, for now I just need to type my thoughts first.
Step two, set aside some time everyday to “type” or stare at my computer for an hour. I can’t have writer’s block if all I’m doing is typing stories, don’t you agree?
Step three, save the document and turn my computer off. I try not to go back to read it. Every time I did, I just ended up wasting the hour and deleting most of what I “typed”. Some nights I get into it and just ”type” the night away until I look up and it’s time to pack lunch for hubby and the kid… and brush my teeth.
Step four, well I haven’t gotten to that one yet. Once I’m done “typing” I guess I will take this step to share my work with someone who will tell me like it is… my sisters! This is the part where I give my ego a few shots of the chill pill… I must not be discouraged. So once I’m at this point… I will send out an update!
I know that nine out of ten people reading this post have had some desire of writing a book. I say go for it because the worse thing that can happen is you die wishing you had when here it is… you have today, tomorrow and days to follow. Go ”type” a book and maybe even become a writer!
Vision
Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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