God is the best TomTom.....of your life.

When you are young and looking to the future you make plans for set goals….and often times those plans include general deadlines. I’ll go to college, graduate, get a good job, get married, and so forth. I remember a friend of mine even laid out her life after high-school by the year. She pinpointed the age she was going to marry, how many kids she was going to have and when, this list went on. It was quite elaborate and entertaining. While my plans were not as specific I did make some general goals hoping to have them completed within a standard timeframe…but they were nothing concrete.

However, without knowing it, I’ve began to set out my own solid timeframe for my plans; giving them deadlines, and elements that need to be done for me to move on to the next step.  While you might think that setting plans to reach goals isn’t a big issue, the one point you need to focus on in my statement is that I called them “my” plans. An important element everyone needs to remember is: in your life where do God’s plans for you fall into place with ‘your plans’? True, I prayed about my goals and felt they were the right direction God was leading me, but it was after that step where I went wrong. Instead of just nodding and letting God lead I began to “plan” taking my focus off God’s plan and instead thinking of what “I” could do to speed it along. (*sigh* oh the humanity : / ……Does anyone recall that story of Abraham and Sarah in the Bible rushing to get a kid, because they thought they were getting too old?). -_-

So here I was thinking, “I need to get on the ball and get better job, find a man, etc….so I can start really living”……Wait……Does that mean I’m not really living now?……*pause* Did I just say I wasn’t even living yet, then what have I been doing for 26 years? Talk about a slap in the face.

So what had I been doing? The answer to that is simple; I was worrying about meeting a certain point….worried that God’s plan was taking too long….worried that there was something I could do to make it work out better/faster (can we say face slam on table). Worry, the demon that constantly pulls me around. Where was my mind, I mean ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? - Matthew 6:25 people!! After 25 I had planned on being in a good paying job, moved out of Alabama and maturing in a den of culture; but ‘my plans’ have derailed that. Just like Abraham and Sarah…’my’ plans are giving me more issues than solutions. (nothing God can’t fix though ;) ).

Now I’m not saying I’ve not been enjoying life, because I have; but what I’ve been missing out on is the full overcompensating joy that comes with God and life. When you let go and let God things just seem to fall into place. (Just like with Abraham and Sarah, I’m sure they didn’t “doubt” God would give them a kid; I mean after all they had been through so far. I guess they just thought it was taking him too long (sound familiar)…I thinking that’s a patience issue. LOL To them they expected one when they were younger when it would fit ‘their plans’…but that was their plan not God’s.)

So the point is that sometimes in life you might have your life-plan all mapped out and here you go trucking along your route reading your map, making turns and avoiding delays, but what you don’t realize is that your ‘own guidance’ has left you on the wrong path, possibly on the back roads rather than the highway; or maybe you’ve drifted lanes and are on a collision course with a semi truck on the other side of the road. (watch out!) Either way you need to take your hands off the map and let your copilot give you directions. You just need to drive and focus on living God’s plan and let Him tell you where to go.

Stop stressing on the plans ‘you’ made and just listen to God. He knows what’s best and will often give you the ride of your life. ;P

So put the map down! God is the TomTom of your life. He will tell you when to turn, which direction to go, show you how to re-route to get back on track no matter how many times you stray (turn right ahead, turn right ahead, turn right ahead….lol), and help you get to your “final destination”…. you just have to listen!

So yeah that’s my thought for the day….amazing the realizations I get when I’m in the shower. How about you? Have you been listening to your GodGod (hehehe….I’ll stop)…or following your own map?

Until later

Jasmine

Creative Combinations and Green Dreams

Okay so what does The Road Warrior, Pocahontas, and The Little Mermaid have in common? 

Scratching your heads on that one? Well, the answer is that they all have themes/settings in relation to my recent trip to Phoenix, Arizona….and no my brother isn’t Mad Max, though he drives like him sometimes ^_~ just kidding. 

So as you can imagine this trip included getting to see my lovely younger siblings (Oh and on a side note, I don’t consider Ale a mere sister-n-law, and calling her just by ‘my brother’s wife’ just feels like I’m not even claiming her in the family, because to me she is just like a sister so why bother with the in-law details – also I mean who doesn’t want a little sister. So I’ll probably just be dropping all that formal stuff and calling her my sis so try not to get confused ;P). Back to what I was saying…this visit included me not only crashing at their lovely (hotel like :P) apartment, but also dragging them off to Las Vegas to corrupt *insert maniacal laughter*….just kidding. But seriously….we did go to Vegas. $_$ 

So once I landed, we took a day to just relax…….does anyone believe that? I mean who am I kidding, this is the young Mr. & Mrs. Vidal! They don’t rest they do. So after a day of meeting a few of Chico and Ale’s small group we took a quick nap and then we were off onto the Vegas Adventure and a weeklong creative journey that will most likely take me months of editing to finally complete. LOL.

So, a quick tid-bit about my trip for you before I head off to bed…For those of you that haven’t seen (or have) my newest album on Facebook called Under the Sea. This was the first of the photo shoots that we did that week, a playful one at that and for several reasons.

One was the fact is that the only camera we had to go underwater was my old point and shoot which we stuck in a underwater case that reminded me of double bagging a sandwich before packing a lunch. LOL. So the quality of the photos was much lower than what we were use to, but then again we were under water! The other reasons for this to be a play shoot were because we didn’t really have any direction for this seeing we’ve never done anything like it before. Not to mention the water wasn’t very deep and I mean it was a pool, so when you look a lot of the time you can see the numbers on the walls, the filters at the bottom, and even the ladders on the side. Also, I had no way of seeing what I was shooting ROFL. No goggles, so I had to guess an angle and just click away hoping to get a good shot in frame. Not to mention the water wasn’t all that warm, which didn’t bother me too much after I got in because I generate a lot of body heat; but Ale and Chico were troopers for putting up with the chills ^_^

So yeah, the bit I wanted to share here was this one outtake that cracked me up. Let’s just say the drowning sailor was refusing the mermaid’s help. ROFL

Trust me there will be plenty more to come but that one just made my day. Also, just wait to see our Native American Themed Shoot :D.

Onto another topic, while I was out there in the desert I realized how much I love and draw inspiration from the greenery around me here in Alabama. Don’t get me wrong the desert has its allure, and ideas abound out there in the rocky areas and sand blasted buildings, but nothing can top the feeling I get during the evening as the sun is setting between the trees; how it coats the leaves in a golden hue. Its just so lush and relaxing. So here’s to my love of green!

<3 :D

But that’s all for now. Is there any type of scenery or setting that just sets your creative juices on fire? If so, share with us. :D

OH....and HAPPY MOTHER's DAY MOM! <3 you :D

Until later, ciao ciao

Jasmine