Posted on

5th Bloggy-versary & A Contest

***Contest is open until April 17th 2010***

Wow – I can not believe that I am blogging since 2005. What a ride it has been – ups and downs that’s for sure 🙂 – First off, I want to thank my loyal readers. You have stuck with me through the full and not-so-full years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wanted to do something special for my big 5th bloggy-versary…

…so I am holding a contest, which I had mentioned in my last post (still open for comments until midnight, March 26th).  I rambled for months about a photography book I am planning on self-publishing. The tentative date is set for May 20th, 2010. Thanks to Jill Carter at Crossway, I have the official permission to use ESV Scripture passages.

Although I have the cover designed, I need your help with the main title of the book. Leave you suggestion using MckLinky. The contest will be open until April 16th midnight AZ Time with the winner/winning title announced on April 17th. The prize? The winner will receive a hard-cover book of my first-ever published photography book 😉 (value at $35).


I am really giddy about this book. Thank you so much for stopping by today. Remember: you too can dream big when you give your dreams to Him…

Posted on

Thank you Lori!

Not only did my sweet friend Lori from Lori’s Reflections create a new business logo, she also redesigned my website (click on the image to take you to my website). Lori, thank you from the bottom of my heart to work so hard over this past weekend to get my website up and running. BTW –  my beloved thinks my new website is groovy 😉  .

Posted on

Moving Forward?!?

“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.”
~ Psalm 37:4-5 (ESV)

Patience is not one of my strong sides. Little by little the Lord is teaching me to wait on Him, to turn everything over to Him.

Over the last year I have been praying about what to do and how to share my passion of photography. I do not want to be famous, but at some point I would like to leave corporate America behind; make my living through photography. Am I too old to start a new thing? No, because if God is part of the equation, all things are possible (look what God did through Moses at the age of 80).

No, I am not there yet, but the Lord opened a door for me to step through. Kristen Schiffman, editor/founder of Exemplify Online Magazine invited me to become part of the magazine as their photographer. I am giddy about this opportunity. I believe that this was orchestrated by God through my dear friend Debbie from Heart Choices.

Yesterday I shared a photo that I took a week ago, on Facebook. A friend commented on the photo with this: “Good photographers see the same things we all see. They have the gift to present those visions in ways we never imagine. . .and therein lies the art. Iris, you have the gift. I have a camera, but I do not have the gift. You are blessed.” (thank you Hilton – your comment made me tear up)…

Lord of Heaven and Earth. I want to thank You for the opportunity You have given me to be part of Exemplify. Thank You for the gift You have given me. Lord, may I always use it to Your glory and never forget that the gift comes from You. May I always commit may way to You, even if it means to be patient. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank you for stopping by today. Don’t forget to stop by on Monday for part 2 of “Living Fearlessly in 2010.

Posted on

A Plan of Attack (or intentional living?)

I think tonight’s post will go in the category “rambling to myself”…

There is so much going on in my head that I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words (like I ever can put my thoughts into words – ha)…But I have to write it out somewhere 🙂 .

Several weeks ago, my dear friend Lynn gave me the following verse from Psalms:

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” ~ Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

Oh, I so delight myself in the Lord and His Word. There is so much beauty around us but we too often don’t take notice of it. We rush through life without stopping and seeing. I have been seeing the world through my lens for the past 2 years… Not only the immediate surroundings, but also when I watch movies, I see everything in frames (don’t ask).

Well, my friend Lori reviewed a book about photography and Scripture…I had thought about self-publishing a book like this for almost a year now. I wanted to combine scrapping and my photography. But why not use my photos in ‘just’ a book by itself. As I was reading Lori’s review, clicked on the link to see the book…I thought: I can do this. Sure, I am not a photographer like Lori Nordstorm, David DuChemin, or my husband, but I think I have some decent photos in my collection…

Tonight I took a plunge; I contacted ESV to see what I need to do in order to use their Scripture passages in a self-published photo-book through “Blurb“. We will see what they come back with 😛 …I really don’t want to make a huge profit of the book, but want to share my photos to encourage others to see the glory of His creation.

(told you I am rambling tonight – 😆 )…There might be something else in the works regarding my photography, which I am very excited about. I have to thank Debbie from Heart Choices about that. I will share with you when and if this comes to a conclusion.

Thanks for listening/reading my ramblings. Remember: You can’t realize your dreams if you don’t step out in faith…