Check It Out!

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting, I've been really busy trying to work on my summer homework, I went to the aquarium in Boston, and spent the day with Lucy out on an island yesterday, so well, yeah...been busy.

But I did go and guest post on THRIVE today and so head on over to Lauren's blog, read my post, drop a comment, and maybe follow. I'm sure she'd appreciate it! :)

beauty of photography (a guest post by Jessica)

Photography can be addicting, if you're like me (and tons of other bloggers).

What you can capture with a camera is beautiful.

The angle of the camera, position of the object, and lighting can make all the difference.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” -Aaron Siskind

photography. it's a way of reliving times with family and friends.

and remembering places you've traveled to.
Of course nature, people, animals, and birds are the most exciting things to capture, but you can also be creative with still life and cute objects.

 

You don't have to have the greatest camera out there. Or even a SLR camera. A simple point-and-shoot camera is all that you need if you have a love for photography.

taken with a point-and-shoot camera. nikon coolpix.

And while editing is you're best friend or right hand man with photography, straight out of camera shots can be perfect.

Photography... it's kind of my life.

Jessica - 15, brown hair, brown eyes. Sister, friend, daughter, cousin, niece, granddaughter, photographer, artist, Harry Potter lover, tree-hugger, sky-sorer. Photography lets me escape into another world where I can capture God's beauty and share with family and friends. Art lets me create things real and unreal, exploring imagination on a new level. I'm the type of person who believes anything is possible if you put your mind to it.


Thank you to Sally for giving me the opportunity to guest post. And if you've enjoyed this, hop on over to my blog.

art | guest post by jennoelle

Art.  That one word can mean so many things.  It conjures up different images in the minds of different people.  It depends on the person, the place, the method.  But in the end, art is art, pure and simple and beautiful.

Art is capturing that perfect moment in a photograph.

Art is coloring away with a best friend to create a masterpiece of your own.

Art is practicing that music for hours no matter how tough it is at first.

Art is the burst of color that occurs when a firework explodes.

Art is stringing words together into something beautiful, be it a poem, song, story, blog post, or journal.

Art is a bud growing into a flower.

Art is settling down to immerse yourself in the lines of that classic favorite book.

Art is brush strokes that recreate a memory.

Art is listening to the music that water makes.

Art is scribbling down thoughts in a notebook just to get them out in a way that is sometimes easiest.

Art is pouring your heart out over the piano keys because sometimes that is the best way to express yourself.

Art is architecture that rises high against the sky.

Art is drinking tea as a pastime, comfort, and inspiration.

Art is putting together that favorite outfit with your own touch.

Art is light and color and God's creation.

Art is laughter with your favorite people.

Art is combining ingredients in just the right way to come up with something totally scrumptious.

Art is editing that photo to bring out the best of it.

Art is relaxing, and thinking, and feeling, and watching.

Art is sketching rough words and pictures to form something unique and special.

Art is traveling the world in search of an adventure and yet realizing you still have so much ground to tread.

Art is possibility-endless, breathtaking, personally-expressive, creatively original magic.

Art is beautiful.

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I'm the girl with a thousand faces, a thousand nicknames, and a million dreams.  I seek adventure and friendship and laughter wherever I can, and then afterward I seek books and coziness and smiles.  I love this life God has given me, and my imagination is my best friend.  I'm the girl who almost always has something to say, and when I don't or can't, I write to express myself, like I do over at Unoriginal Originality.  I intend to live for the sole glory of my Savior.  I'm Jennoelle.  But you can call me Jenn.

music is... {guest post by Jocee}

the emotions that cannot be expressed through words

a desire that is too sacred to be uttered

a heart's song...it can be joyous

a whole new world with caverns that have yet to be explored
my is more than my life. music is me. 

Just a single note can instigate a feeling within you and it can change your point of view on something. It can turn the tables. It can put you in someone's shoes that you may not have wanted to be in, but it did anyway.
I think it's very interesting how people may say that music is their life, and they may have a band or they may play an instrument, and when you take time out of your day to listen to them, they start playing and all you hear is noise. Pure noise. It may be the style of music that they're playing, or it may be the talent of the performer themselves.
Sometimes the style of music you listen to changes the most in your teen years. You may be a ballerina lover, who listens to the soundtrack of Swan Lake daily, and then you may suddenly switch to heavy metal. Whoa. What happened there?
And then music styles can change drastically in the parenting years. They may listen to the latest hits to impress their teens, or they may listen to the oldies. You know, the 1990's, early 2000's  ;)
For me, I'm a consistent lover of soundtrack {major John Williams fan over here, oh yeah!!} and a genre that can only be explained if you listened to it. It's the Jocee genre ;) But mostly, the music I listen to depends on my mood.
Happy ~ "Something in the Water" Brooke Fraser
Sad ~ "Someone Like You" Adele
Angry ~ "Imperial March" Star Wars - John Williams
Conflicted ~ "Near to You" A Fine Frenzy
Anything Else ~ "Rolling In the Deep" Adele
To me, these artists are sincere in their music. I mean, when they start playing, it doesn't sound like my sister's rendition of the "Hallelujah Chant". {which you probably don't wanna hear, by the way, no offense to my sister who's probably going to kill me later since she knows how to read now} It sounds like real music. Sometimes the artist reaches into the book called my soul and turns a page, and quotes me. It's amazing. 
When someone says music is their life, sometimes I think of an all boy band who practices in their dad's garage. The typical D+ average grades and trying to get a "gig" wherever they can. Maybe I'm stereotyping but sometimes you're going to have to specify was music is to you. 
Whether music is within you, or music is your food & drink, or if music is you.
It matters. Because it defines you.
Jocee: dark amber brown eyes, brown hair, dreams with emerald green eyes, sees life the color vintage, cupcake enthusiast, lover of British accents, left-handed, traditional coca-cola bottle lover, lavender vanilla bubble baths, sea shell collector, avid believer in Narnia, Wonderland and Middle Earth, dictionary reader, quill and ink writer, profound quote creator, despiser of capital letters, your personal imagination station, inspired by rainy days, aspiring photographer, bubble blower.

Marching Band (A guest post by Lily)

You are sitting in the stands listening to the music play from the pep band. It starts to get your attention but then something happens when you watch the football team leave the field for half-time. There is a band gathering on the field, ready to pump up the stands. When they start to play it immediately grabs your attention. There is a show happening right before your eyes and you sit there awestruck at the Marching Band. Marching Band has a special place in my life because it really describes my personality.

In Marching Band you can be loud. Or mellow. Or quiet. It can describe your personality depending on how you react to the music. Are you always spirited and joyful? Or maybe you are romantic and passionate? The music plays the way you hear it as. 

But the music is how it describes us. The music can be soft and peaceful, like a quiet person. It can be energetic and fast, like an outgoing person. Or the music can even be dark and mysterious, like a villain. The music can be set to different perspectives. What is your perspective of Marching Band music? 

Marching Band is a way you can show your spirit, your pride, and your life. But everything is perfected. The way you look, sound, hold your instrument, and the way you walk is all perfected. It is perfected with practice. You know that saying, Practice makes Perfect? Well its the truth. If you practice you will learn. Will you show your pride for your school? 

 My name is Lily and I'm from Lily Petals Photography. I am a writer in the making. I am currently writing drama, comedy, and science fiction novels. I play clarinet in the Marching Band at my school. I am a Christian ready to server my Lord and Savior in any way. Thanks for listening! Come and see me at my blog!  

5 things to do if you're bored (a guest post by Hayley)

You know those weird summer days when you suddenly get really bored and have absolutely no idea what to do? Yeah, well if you're ever having one of those days, try a few of these ideas for things to do:

001. Bake some cupcakes, or maybe some cookies. Then give them to a neighbor or friend. :)

002. Make a jumbo crayon! They're great ideas for presents, and they're so much fun! :) Click here, to learn how to make them.

003. Find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootise Pop!

via

004. See how many hours... or days you can chew the same piece of gum for!

005. Go outside and take a whole lot of pictures. :)

Hello! Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Hayley! You may notice that I'm a chatter-box and that I tend to ramble at times. Photography is my passion and I am constantly trying to capture the beauty in life. I also love to write and create things with my imagination. I enjoy improv and making people laugh. I am a Christian and love Jesus with all my heart! I adore everything vintage and bohemian. Visit me at my blog, Fish Flakes!

Living for HIS glory - guest post by Buttercup

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

This is a verse that has been quoted many, many times, but do those who quote it listen to it? Do they heed what they are quoting?

In most cases, the answer is probably no.

Doing all for God's glory and not your own requires a release of your own desires. A laying down of your pride. And most of all, a desire to glorify God above all - a love for God that overrides all else.

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." What does this include?

Everything! Everything from eating and drinking, to mowing the lawn, to singing His praise, to cleaning up a mess that no one else wants to clean up. When you do the seemingly dishonorable, or "lower", things do you do them with a smile on your face? or do you do them with a bad attitude, showing your dislike for the task? Be honest. Which of those two options do you think glorifies God? Which manifests Him in your life?

When you do things with a good attitude - a REAL good attitude - you can shock the world. Why? Because this isn't normal! Doing the dirty jobs with a smile on is completely weird in the world's eyes! This is because our natural tendency is to be self-centered. We naturally want all the focus to be on us.

When you become a believer, you acknowledge that God is greater than you. You acknowledge that you can't save yourself from eternity in Hell because you are dead in your sins. You acknowledge that all the glory needs to go to God and not you. And you WANT all the glory to go to God and not to you.

Right?

Christian's aren't perfect. I guarantee it. But by God's grace we honestly WANT to glorify Him! He saved us and out of gratitude and loyalty we glorify Him.

Giving God the glory means doing things that manifest Him. For example, while in the grocery store, do you walk around the store grumbling about how the prices are going up? or do you smile at everyone, and say hi?

Your attitude is your greatest witness. The first thing people notice about you is what kind of expression you have on your face - your attitude.

Therefore, glorify God through your attitude.

What about words and actions? Aren't those important too?

After your attitude, the next thing people see are your words and actions. Therefore, glorifying God through your words - saying things that uplift instead of put down - and glorifying Him through your actions - doing things that edify instead of tear down - is equally important!

Do you glorify your Savior through your actions, words, and attitude? or do you glorify yourself?

Do you seek to manifest Him when you are around others so they can see Him in you? or do you deny Him while in public so others don't think you are weird?

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. -Matthew 10:33

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. -Matthew 16:24

Glorifying God shouldn't be thought of as a chore, for it's not! Glorifying God should come out of a heart that is overflowing with love for God! A heart that is utterly thankful for what He has done!

Therefore, I ask, are you glorifying God in all you do? Are you giving Him the glory? Are you living in a way that manifests Him?

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

In Christ alone,

Buttercup

Thank you SO much, Sally, for giving me this opportunity to post on your blog!!!

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A bit about me -

I am, first and foremost, a Christian, saved by Christ alone. He is my God, King, Lord, and Savior, and I strive to live my life to His glory alone. I am also an American, a homeschooler, and a teenager. I have five great siblings and two awesome parents. My best friends are those in my Youth Group. I love playing volleyball, reading, crocheting, sculpting, and more. I have been blogging since 2008, and have truly loved it! Please stop by my blog sometime! www.soaringbuttercup.blogspot.com

snapshots (a guest post by vickii)

If you were to ask me my favorite thing to capture, I couldn't give you an honest answer.

Sure, I'd say something vague, like 'nature' or 'everyday life'. But a specific subject? No way.

I consider myself an amateur photographer, pretty comfortable with a camera but not too experienced for the grand title of a professional. I like variety in my photos, something different besides the standards I wish to pass.

Something simple, like a misplaced rubber band on the kitchen table, can quickly become beautiful.

Something ordinary, like my wildly-patterned curtains, inherited from my grandparents, can quickly become an abstract interpretation of life.

Something imperfect, a potted fern, can quickly become unique.

Photography is like an entire different language. Taking photos, editing them, smiling at those captured memories and careless snapshots taken with a friend - it's like retail therapy, only knowing that it comes from you. And browsing those blogs with the breathtaking photos, like these and these and these, well, it's truly therapeutic.

I swear - I swear - my hand was made to hold a camera. Without photography, without that variety in life, without those memories and that ability to transform an everyday item into something beautiful, I think I'd shrivel up and die or something.

Photography is beautiful. Photography is life.

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I'd like to thank Sally for letting me guest post - I enjoy reading her blog, and I'm so glad I was able to help her out while she's having a lovely time at camp. :)

 a little bit about me...

What can I say? I love finding beauty in everything, embracing the small things, capturing memories and discovering new places. It's my dream to travel the world one day. iPod in pocket, camera in hand, I feel ready to accomplish anything. Photography and music are my life. It's lovely to meet you.  :)
Visit my (working on!) project 365 on Flickr.