So close!

I leave for Kenya in 5 days! I can't wait to show you guys the pictures I'll take there! I'm sure it's going to be an incredible journey with plenty of God given blessings and photographic opportunity.



-Jill

New Camera!

So I know its been a while, but I've been super busy! Here are a couple shots with my new Canon that I just got in the mail today. I'm definitely still learning how to use it, so excuse the slight out-of-focus-ness. I'll get there :)

Thinking Outloud.

Despite it being the beginning of the fifth week of school, it feels like it could easily be just starting. I've barely even gotten a grip on my class schedule! As the semester presses on at a remarkably fast pace, I can't help but get antsy about my upcoming trip to Nairobi, Kenya. I was talking to a couple friends about their experiences in Africa, and it has really brought my thought process away from my normal musical focus. I easily get caught up in everything I am doing and frustration sets in. From there, it usually just turns into me being ungrateful because I have developed a sense of entitlement to some kind of luxury or convenience that was never mine to begin with. Recently, I've been trying to start emotionally preparing myself for what is coming. I know that this trip will give me great memories of laughter and joy, but I know that it will bring a lot of pain and discontent from the reality of living in a third world compared to the cushioned lifestyle I live in the states. While we are there, we will be working with people who are living in extreme poverty, have been infected by HIV, and orphans who have no idea where their next meal will come from. According to UNICEF, there are about 2.5 million orphans living in Kenya. Just Kenya alone. Imagine how many there are in the other at least 50 countries on the African continent. I constantly see pictures of poverty all over the world, and am bombarded with slow motion videos of children in third world countries with depressing music in the background, but I have become so acclimated to seeing these, that I forget that they are real. I haven't even left yet, and this trip has already changed my life. As the trip approaches, I am getting nervous about how this is going to change me. I mean, come on. I am sitting in a four story library full of thousands of books to educate myself with as I type on a laptop that probably cost enough to feed a child for over a year. Reality check much?

I hope and pray that this will make me rethink my approach to my education, relationships, career, and faith. That despite the day to day frustrations of life, I can breathe deeply and know that my stress is a gift.

I also hope and pray that I will be able to influence the people close to me in a way that helps them see the blessings that have been so graciously given to us from our Creator.




Amani Ya Juu.
Higher Peace.


Jill

Wishlist much?

Can you say wishlist?

I can't wait to own something like this! I seriously think I would spend all of my free time taking pictures and editing photos.

Before and After

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.

So I got this awesome tripod for Christmas from my dad, and so I thought I would take it out for a spin with a good friend of mine!


All we did was change the shutter speed to somewhere between 10 and 15 seconds. Then we just drew and wrote things in with Kaylie's iPhone :)





















































This is definitely my favorite :)



















































































For these pictures, I literally took two (or four) pictures and put them right on top of each other on photoshop. I thought it worked pretty well for the first time doing it! Although, I'm a little ghost-like in the first one. Oh well, it was a blast experimenting with new settings on my little camera.

Wheat.

Do you ever have one of those weeks where all you really need is a break? To be able to cut loose from the chaos, problems, and stess of reality and find peace? That's really where I am at right now. I'm so frustrated with my own injuries and roommate issues that I feel like I'm drowning in a puddle of self-pity, which is something I don't enjoy doing. I guess this whole post is about searching for the things that give you peace. One thing that always makes me stand back and reevaluate is nature. However, it isn't nature alone that gives me peace, its knowing that the God who created it loves me. I know that at the end of the day, He always is, always was, and will be to come.







I actually took this photograph a couple years ago, and I still love it.



He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

Psalm 147:14