I have some exciting news this week! I am pleased to announce a new partnership with industry leading album designer GraphiStudio. GraphiStudio offers a fantastic selection of beautiful hand made, Italian albums. Their pages are gorgeous, their covers are amazing, and their hand crafted quality is unmatched.
We will now offer these albums to our clients in addition to our Zookbooks. These are great for weddings and portraits of all types. Moms, dads, babies, seniors, bridals, engagements, and of course, to showcase your entire wedding.
Be sure to ask about them with your consult and session!
This past weekend we had a heck of a church service! Church was held outside at a subdivision recreation center. The band was set up under a pavilion, brisket that had been slow cooked all day was served, and several baptisms were done in the community pool!
Ages ranged from around 4 to, um, at least over 40 (yes, I joke a little bit with that update so I don't get myself into too much trouble). It was so moving to see 3 dads baptize their sons and even 1 son, baptize his dad. If there was one person that cried there were a hundred! It is simply something one cannot appreciate without experiencing it. Experiencing comes with a caveat too. My guess is unless you yourself have done what Jesus called us all to do and have been baptized, you just can't completely appreciate baptism. Added on to that is the inability to completely appreciate the honor and joy of being able to baptize your own child, or for that matter your own father. A quote from a 7 year old while being tucked into bed the day he was baptized:
"Mom? When I came out of the water I felt totally different."
I can appreciate the baptism but cannot yet fully understand all that comes with seeing your own child being baptized and on top of that, being able to do it. Not yet at least.
I had an interesting moment a few days ago that goes along with this. Many of you know that Amanda and I are expecting our first child in August. I say the following with much love...Amanda is obviously pregnant. That is not a comment on her size, just the fact that she is no doubt, pregnant. Because, she just so happens to be, pregnant. My point is that this is certainly not a revelation for me. I've known about this since December. We are preparing for the baby, going to birthing classes, having wonderful shower gifts given to us, talking about the baby, and even feeling the baby move.
I grin in amazement sometimes that my child is actually with my wife, inside my wife, developing in a supremely divine way. That brings me back to reality that having a baby does not mean having a child on layaway and you just pick it up after the 9th and final monthly payment is made.
The moment that I am leading up occurred after Amanda returned from her first baby shower. She/we/our child was given this precious little one piece that we plan on bringing our little one home from the hospital in and Amanda showed it to me. For the first time I saw my child. I saw my child safely wrapped up in this pint sized outfit, protected and comforted from all of its strange new environment. When I held the outfit I held my child. When Amanda and I handled the outfit back and forth, we were delicately passing off our newborn to the care of the other.
After visually removing my child from the outfit prior to folding it up (the child wouldn't fold very easily) the two words that came to my mind were grace and mercy. We as humans can talk about grace, talk about mercy, see signs of it in the world, in our friends and families. However, until each of us had the opportunity to be brushed by grace, rescued by mercy, we just will never truly understand it. We may have experiences that bring us closer to each one but until we are able to have a personal encounter with them and recognize them as such, we will not understand nor appreciate either.
I am preparing at least a little bit to become a father. Books, prayer, discussions, prayer, close observations of other parents, prayer, and then some prayer as well. With all that I have described I still completely know that I don't know what it is like to be a parent. To in an instance be completely responsible for another delicate soul. I know that at some point Amanda and I will be kicked out of the hospital and there will be this third party with no return policy, no rental expiration, no free trial. That for sure will be the instance I feverishly pray for many more spoonfuls of grace. I know I'll need it.
I also know that it is then I will know what it is like to be like to be a father. I'm not saying I will know *how* to be a father, only that I will have the experience to know what it is like, at least the beginning. I liken it also to knowing grace and mercy. To knowing what it is like to be baptized. Experiencing the blessings that grace brings and the freedom that mercy springs. Knowing what it is like to see a son, a daughter, a father, walk into a pool and declare that because of or regardless of who is watching they are a son or daughter of Christ.
All of these things are available to you. No matter who you are, how old you are, what you have done (both good and not so good).
I pray that you seek these things out and they be made clear to you. I pray that you do this sooner than later. As I write this there is a man, Mr. Nichols who is not going to live much longer and may not live through the night. It was tonight, perhaps his last night, that he embraced grace and mercy by placing what is left of his life into the hands of Christ. Anytime that occurs is a wonderful thing. I pray that for you, grace and mercy will accompany long before you draw your last breath.
Until next time.
-Ryan
